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Comment by elptacek | Hacker News Reader

Well, actually... Daniel the author neglected to tell Nicole the illustrator that the thumbs on the squatter (first graphic) are in the wrong position -- according to Rippetoe, not me. :-)

Humor aside, lifting heavy works for women, to. Women are afraid to get bulky. I got over the idea that lifting heavy wouldn't _make_ me bulky. This is just the way I am. Might as well make the best of what my DNA doled out. As for gyms, I've been harassed at my gym by a trainer for dropping 250lbs a bit too hard (it ripped the callus on my left hand and fell less than a foot, and gym doesn't allow chalk) when I routinely see/hear male lifters throw 100+ dumbbells to the floor. Can't wait to get a cage in my basement so I can spend less time in that place.

I'll be trying Brown's movements to see if they help with the pain in my knees from derby drills. Thanks for posting this!

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Weightlifter here. The squat described in that graphic is high-bar (bar between traps and delts) as opposed to the low-bar form championed by Rippetoe (and powerlifters in general). The back is more upright, so you can't really "trap" the bar just by resting your hands on it and pushing your elbows back, you have to wrap your thumbs around. You should still keep your wrists as straight as possible.

Speaking of women lifting heavy things, my Coach's wife Jo-Ann Aita just set a world record in raw powerlifting last month, and she is far from bulky! See for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n7c5KoyaLI

Congrats on your heavy lift! 250lbs is no joke.

Ah, that explains it. I do low bar and had forgotten there was such a thing as high bar. Do you suppose low bar works better if you have broad shoulders? Low bar certainly alleviates the sore neck problem.

JoAnn definitely not bulky. And cripes would I love to be able to bench 165! Sometimes I resent stumbling on this type of training in my 40s instead of my 20s.

Nia Shanks is something like 122lbs and (last I saw) could deadlift 315lbs. She is not bulky or "'roided out." It is because of her that I've set my goal at 315lbs. I've had two kids by c-section, though. Dunno if I'll get there or not. Sometimes stuff hurts.

Daniel makes this point in his article, in a way: goals are important. From what I understand, there are three goals: get strong, get lean or look good naked. All three are perfectly respectable goals in my book. Approach a random person in the gym and ask them what they are training for, "To lose weight." This is a meaningless statement we believe has meaning.

So far, the best response I've heard is, "Retirement." I forget who said it, though.

Try convincing the women with that. I have no idea where they came up with the belief that lifting weights would make them bulky while it would take a man, on supplements, years and a lot of effort to develop a meaningful amount of muscle to be considered "bulky". They seem to be happy to walk for a half-hour on the treadmill and then run towards the scale as if that half-hour would actually do anything.

It's really difficult to explain to unfit people (who always complain) that the solution is not a pill or some crazy diet you do for a week. It just takes a bit of effort and common sense.

Unconvincing anyone of their convictions is a quixotic undertaking. I've had a few women approach me over the last year and ask me how much I'm lifting, and I've seen them watching me from afar. Alas, the way I am built, I am only going to reinforce the stereotype. My people were built to pull ploughs, apparently.

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