Quoting German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, athletic fitness influencer Michael Boyle said truth passes through three stages:

• Stage 1. Ridiculed
• Stage 2. Violently Opposed
• Stage 3. Accepted as Being Self-Evident

Boyle describes traditional strength coaches as barbell meatheads who are stuck in the Violently Opposed stage. As a barbell meathead, I want to challenge 10 of Boyle’s “truths” that conflict with training concepts from Starting Strength and the preponderance of scientific evidence on these topics. I’ll start by discussing six of Boyle’s exercise recommendations, then four general training issues, including his focus on unilateral training.

Before I begin, consider that Boyle wrote an article reviewing 25 mistakes he made in his career. Number 14 is “Confusing Disagree with Dislike.” He believes disagreeing is a good thing and that we should not confuse the act of disagreeing with disliking someone. Knowing that Boyle will not take my comments personally, here we go:

1. Don’t Squat.

Boyle is anti-squatting, noting that 20 percent of his athletes, including himself, experience back pain from squats. I was the editor of Bigger Faster Stronger magazine for over 20 years. During this time, I interviewed hundreds of high school and college strength coaches across the country who included the back squat in their programs. None of them complained that the back squat injured their athletes. I’ve also coached for as long as Boyle has, including 10 years at two universities, and I don’t recall any of my athletes being sidelined from back squats.  

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In a seminar where he discussed his issues with squatting, Boyle said, “The weak transducer, the place where we lose squatting…in the back.” Say what? A transducer is an engineering term describing a device that converts one form of energy to another. A loudspeaker that converts electrical energy into sound is a transducer. A solar panel on a roof that converts light to electrical energy is a transducer. The back muscles are not transducers.

In biomechanics, the lumbar spine and erector spinae function as stabilizers and force transmitters within the kinetic chain. The erector spinae produce extensor torque to resist flexion moments; the thoracolumbar fascia and intervertebral discs share compressive and shear loads; and the entire system maintains spinal position under load. This is not energy conversion – it is moment resistance and load distribution. Boyle’s metaphor, while colorful, misapplies scientific terminology and overlooks the spine’s proven role in heavy bilateral lifts when technique is sound.

As for research, a good place to start is the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s position paper on the squat. It was written by two respected sports scientists and included 69 scientific references. They concluded that “While squatting results in high forces on the back, injury potential is low with appropriate technique and supervision.”

2. Bulgarian Split Squats are a Superior Leg Exercise. 

Boyle believes his version of the Bulgarian split squat is better than the back squat. I say “his version” because Bulgarian coach Angel Spassov, who popularized this rear-foot elevated split squat, showed me how to do it when he visited me at the Air Force Academy in the late 80s.

The split squat Spassov taught me has the back foot raised 4-6 inches off the floor, a position that significantly engages the back leg (image below). Placing the back foot at about knee level, as Boyle advises, can cause hyperextension of the lumbar spine, thereby compromising the spine's shock-absorbing properties. In addition to the risk of lower back pain, this extreme stretch under load can also injure the rectus abdominis, which, when well-developed, gives a “six-pack” look. There’s more.

Spine biomechanics expert Dr. Stuart McGill has authored 245 peer-reviewed scientific papers on lower back health. Boyle frequently cites McGill in his interviews and presentations. McGill appeared in a YouTube video discussing how Boyle’s rear-foot elevated split squat can cause one side of the pelvis (the ilium) to rotate forward, while the other rotates backward. McGill said this stress can “compromise the connective tissue across the SI joint so that a minor motion, such as walking upstairs, for example, now becomes painful.” Additionally, posturologist and strength coach Paul Gagné, who has trained over 500 NHL players during his four decades of coaching, found that this exercise may lead to groin and knee injuries among these athletes.

I have two more points. First, legendary strength coach Charles Poliquin championed the “knees over toes” approach to leg training. Boyle often cites Poliquin, but favors a “knees over ankles” approach. There are many issues with restricting the motion of the lower extremities, but my big question is: “How does he walk?” Every time I take a step, my back knee moves in front of the toes of my back foot.

Second, in 2011, I spoke with Ivan Abadjiev during a seminar at our facility in Rhode Island. Abadjiev was the head coach of the Bulgarian Weightlifting Team, coaching 12 Olympic champions. He told me he never had his athletes perform rear elevated split squats.

3. Olympic Lifts Should Start from the Hang.

I lived in New England for a dozen years, and I recently spoke with a weightlifting official who has attended most of the major competitions there over the past 50 years. Like me, he has never seen a weightlifter at a New England competition coached by Boyle. Additionally, I’ve attended over 200 weightlifting competitions across the country since the early 1970s (as an athlete, coach, and fan) and have never heard of a weightlifter coached by Boyle. What’s my point?

If an athlete lacks the mobility to perform weightlifting exercises from the floor, the coach should address these limitations rather than avoid them by performing only partial movements. As weightlifting sports scientist Bud Charniga explains, “The muscles of the lower extremities, the main lifting muscles, are involved in lifting the barbell from the floor, briefly go silent, then are reintroduced two more times in a clean or power snatch. Lifting only from the hang restricts the range of motion of the muscles involved, diminishes significantly the complexity of the intermuscular coordination, i.e., the skill, and, ultimately, a good bit of training effect.”

Boyle also claims that snatches should not be performed with a wide grip because it’s too stressful on the shoulders, a claim not supported by the low injury rates among elite weightlifters. Next, in one YouTube video, he is seen coaching an athlete using straps during cleans. Using straps on cleans is dangerous because they hinder the athlete’s ability to release the bar quickly if they miss.

In another video, he coaches a young woman on the hang power clean. The title of this video suggests that Boyle had coached this athlete for three years. Instead of pulling the bar straight up, it moves away from her body and then back toward her in a large arc, even though Boyle can be heard in the background telling her to “Close to your body!” as she lifts. In his introduction, Boyle said, “I know that this video will be criticized from a technical standpoint. Please don’t waste your time. I don’t read the comments.” (FYI: Coach Rippetoe discusses bar paths in Starting Strength.)

I must also mention Boyle’s hands-on coaching method, which has me scratching my head. In one YouTube video, he demonstrated a bizarre teaching technique, jamming his knee into a female athlete's glute to move her into the optimal pulling position. I included a link to the video in the reference section.

Although Boyle doesn’t prescribe weightlifting exercises from the floor or conventional deadlifts, he does like hex bar deadlifts. Big red flag here. The hex bar deadlift, along with the earlier trap bar design, is less effective than the straight bar deadlift for strengthening the posterior chain muscles (including the glutes, hamstrings, and erector spinae). This statement is backed by research.

In a 2011 article in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers found that the hex bar “significantly increased the peak movement at the knee and significantly decreased the peak movement at the lumbar spine and hip compared to the deadlifts performed with the straight barbell.” Translated, the hex bar deadlift is a “quad-dominant” exercise, similar to a leg press or leg extension, whereas the straight bar deadlift is a “hip-dominant” exercise. Now, let’s address the question, “Is the hex bar deadlift safer on the lower back than a conventional deadlift?”

Because the hands are held away from the body, the hex bar is less stable at the top of the lift than a conventional deadlift, where the bar rests on the thighs at the finish. This instability can produce large, harmful shearing forces on the spine. The lumbar discs are fine with extension, flexion, and lateral flexion, but not with twisting, which, when combined with high compressive forces, can tear the concentric collagen rings of the spinal discs.

What’s worse is when, as shown in many of Boyle’s videos, regular-height athletes use the high handles, since more weight can be lifted with them. I coached one female athlete whose max squat was 160 pounds, but after a few workouts to learn the exercise, she performed a high-hex bar deadlift with 286 pounds. (FYI: BFS invented the high-handled hex bar, as they found that the exceptionally tall players from the Utah Jazz they coached had trouble bending down to use the conventional hex bar. The high handles were not intended to be used by regular-height individuals.)

4. Hip Thrusts/Hip Lifts Activate the Glutes. 

Boyle recommends performing the hip thrust, which he calls the hip lift, to “activate” the glutes, and prefers to perform them on one leg. Let’s talk Anatomy 101.

The glutes help humans stay upright, unlike apes, who have minimal gluteal development and can only stand for short periods. If your glutes didn’t activate, you'd fall face down every time you took a step. Yes, the glutes can be inhibited if their opposing muscles are tight, a condition explained by Sherrington’s Law of Reciprocal Inhibition. In this case, the solution isn’t flopping around on the floor like a dying cockroach but rather involves stretching the muscles that are antagonists to the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius. These muscles include the psoas major, iliacus, rectus femoris, and adductors.

Next, researchers in the UK conducted an eight-week study examining the effects of hip thrusts on sprinting performance. The study involved 21 college students (15 males, 6 females). Although hip thrust strength increased dramatically among participants, its effect on sprinting speed was underwhelming. Here’s what the researchers said: “These findings suggest that increasing maximum hip thrust strength through use of the barbell hip thrust does not appear to transfer into improvements in sprint performance in collegiate-level athletes.” I should note that Boyle prefers to perform his hip lift unilaterally, which, like the Bulgarian split squat, can put unnatural stress on the spine and pelvis. (Note: The extreme stresses on the spine and its connective tissues when the pelvis is tilted or rotated are well-documented, particularly in research on scoliosis. I’ve provided two papers on this topic in the reference section.)

What’s surprising is that Boyle has referenced the late track coach Charlie Francis, who coached Ben Johnson. Johnson could bench press over 400 pounds and parallel squat about 600, both bilateral exercises. Yes, Johnson got caught for doping, but of the all-time top 10 performers in the men’s 100m (from 9.79 to 9.58), only three men WERE NOT caught doping. The point is, there is a connection between strength and speed, or why else would sprinters take steroids? And what resistance training tool is best for building strength?

5. Nordic Curls Are a Superior Hamstring Exercise. 

Nordic curls are in Boyle’s training toolbox as a valuable advanced exercise for strengthening the hamstrings. He says it is a functional exercise for sprinters. My master’s degree is in Human Movement, and based on my understanding of anatomy and biomechanics, the movement pattern of the Nordic curl is ridiculous. Let me explain.

Most hamstring injuries in sprinting occur during the late swing phase when the front leg is extended and about to touch the ground. At this point, the long head of the biceps femoris is stretched more than the other hamstring muscles and must relax. The gastrocnemius (upper calf) muscle crosses the knee and helps flex the knee. It contracts during the Nordic curl as the torso is lowered. How can the knee extend during the late swing phase when the gastrocnemius contracts to flex it? The answer is, it can’t – something has to give, and that’s usually the hamstrings.

Additionally, because the knee is fixed, the Nordic curl places significant stress on the popliteus, a muscle that helps flex the knee, and the menisci. This stress also increases the risk of developing a chronic inflammatory condition known as Housemaid’s Knee (prepatellar bursitis). But, you might ask, what about the studies showing the Nordic curl prevents hamstring injuries?

Even the most frequently cited higher-level evidence does not rescue the Nordic curl. A 2017 meta-analysis of injury-prevention programs that included the Nordic curl screened 3,242 articles. They were left with only five studies (pooled n ≈ 4,455 soccer players), and the authors reported a 51 percent reduction in hamstring injuries. Impressive, but the review has five critical limitations:

First, the study was limited to soccer players. Although hamstring injuries are prevalent in soccer, they are also common in rugby, American football, and Australian football. The authors deliberately excluded prior studies that included other sports, so the findings cannot be reliably applied to athletes in other high-intensity sports with different movement patterns and workload demands.

Second, only one of the five studies included female participants, so the researchers were unable to conduct a separate analysis to determine whether the Nordic curl works differently across the sexes. This is a critical weakness because females often have lower peak torque ratios of the hamstrings and quadriceps than males, potentially necessitating different training protocols.

Third, the studies ranged from youth soccer players (ages 13 – 17) to amateur players (up to age 40) and to professional and semi-professional divisions. Workload and injury risks differ significantly between a 13-year-old youth player and a professional in the Norwegian First Division. Grouping these may obscure how effective the exercise is for specific age groups or professional tiers.

Fourth, the final research pool contained only five studies, all published in English. This approach may have excluded relevant data from countries. Furthermore, one selected study had a compliance rate of only 21 percent. Including a sample with such low adherence weakens the findings on the intervention’s actual effectiveness.

Fifth, in three of the five studies, the Nordic curl was part of the “FIFA 11+” program, which includes several other exercises. The authors acknowledged that other components of these programs may have contributed to the results, so they could not isolate the effect of the Nordic curl alone. Later re-analyses using more conservative statistical methods have described the protective effect of Nordic curls as “inconclusive.”

6. Slideboards are a highly effective training tool for athletes. 

Olympic speed skating champion Eric Heiden popularized slideboard training. Boyle promotes slideboard training to enhance athletic performance, even in sports that don’t involve ice. Biomechanical analysis suggests that slideboard training is nearly worthless for speed skaters and may pose a risk of knee injury.

During a presentation to the International Skating Union, a Finnish coach found, using EMG testing, that the slideboard was the least specific to the skating stride among the dryland training methods he studied. As for general athletic training, sports scientist Mel Siff, Ph.D. said the primary lateral initiators of the movement are the muscles of the torso. He said the leg muscles are primarily used not to generate power for the push-off, but to decelerate the body when the foot hits the stoppers.

Next, there is the issue of risk vs. reward. Siff said that the abrupt stopping at the ends of a slideboard can cause excessive shearing force across the knee. “If sudden changes of direction produce a twisting or tilting action of the knee, then the resulting torque can damage ligaments, capsule, and inner structures of the knee, such as the menisci.” Likewise, Poliquin worked with many world champion speed skaters. He not only never prescribed slideboard training to any of these athletes, but told me, “They are damaging to the knee.”

7. Stretching and Foam Rolling Improve Muscle Density. 

Boyle explains that stretching and foam rolling can influence “Muscle Density.” Muscle density refers to the concentration of muscle fibers in a specific area. Using this definition, stretching or mashing your muscles with a foam roller would not affect muscle density.

Boyle also says that Dr. Mike Leahy’s soft-tissue technique, Active Release Techniques Treatment® (ART), can alter muscle density. In the 90s, I worked with Dr. Leahy on several articles, including one published in Muscle Media 2000 that discusses the history of ART and a chapter in a sports medicine textbook. ART is a remarkable method for treating scar tissue and adhesions, but I don’t see how it can affect muscle density.

Regarding the benefits of a foam roller on flexibility, a study was conducted with 23 college-aged men and women with tight hamstrings (as measured by a knee extension test). Participants in the treatment group performed foam rolling on their hamstrings three times a week for two months. The results? “This study revealed no significant difference in the interaction between the treatment and control group’s pre- and post-measurements,” concluded the authors.

I know a bit about soft tissue treatments, having worked as a masseur for the YMCA. I received a certification in Swedish massage endorsed by the California Nursing Association and completed a hands-on continuing education course in fascial release. Also, foam-rolling techniques were covered in one of my corrective exercise classes in my master’s program. One possible reason for the lack of flexibility improvements from foam rolling in this study is that a shearing force, not compression, is needed to stretch the fascia. A better approach to using a foam roller is to pull it across the tissues rather than using your bodyweight to create compression.

8. Unilateral Training Is Superior to Bilateral Training. 

Boyle’s workouts emphasize unilateral exercises, which he believes are more effective than bilateral barbell exercises. In one interview, Boyle said he does not prescribe any barbell exercises for his senior clients. The pros and cons of unilateral training deserve an article by itself, but let’s consider four factors.

First, the strength demonstrated by single-limb exercises can be influenced by the testing method. Because the body works as a complete system, the only way to determine a true bilateral deficiency is to isolate individual muscles. In sprinting, you do not hop on one leg – right foot, then left; rather, numerous muscles work synergistically to propel the body forward, including the muscles that move the arms. Let’s look at two examples from the Iron Game.

Paul Anderson could perform a one-arm dumbbell overhead press with 300 pounds for reps, which contrasts with his world record in the clean and press at 408.5 pounds. Shouldn’t he be pressing over 600? And in a 1977 exhibition, Vasily Alexeev did a one-arm power snatch with 220 pounds but couldn’t power snatch 440 pounds with both arms. That year, Alexeev won the World Weightlifting Championships, snatching 407.5.

Second, Boyle often discusses how the total weight lifted in single-limb exercises generally surpasses that of similar bilateral exercises. However, performing bilateral exercises can enhance performance in unilateral movements. In the 80s, I had a 240-pound lineman on our football team perform barbell split squats. After a few sessions, he was able to split squat 505 pounds with each leg. This athlete was strong, but he wasn’t back squatting over 1,000 pounds.

As another example, Video 1 shows my 145-pound weightlifter, Christian Rivera, easily performing deep, assisted (i.e., holding a post for balance) pistol squats with 100 pounds for three reps. This is the first time he tried the exercise. If you use the calculation that squatting on one leg represents 75 percent of your bodyweight, Christian was pistol squatting over 200 pounds.

Third, there is the issue of coordination. Coordination involves factors such as the contributions of synergist muscles to stabilize the joints, which becomes a much bigger issue with unilateral exercises. Since unilateral exercises often rely heavily on coordination and generally have a longer learning curve than similar bilateral exercises, I suspect Christian could lift significantly more weight in the pistol squat after a few sessions.

Fourth, as discussed in the section on the Bulgarian split squat and the hip thrust, the harmful stresses on the spine during unilateral exercises are often much higher than during bilateral exercises. “In fact, any actions which tend to isolate and create asymmetric loading of specific spinal joints and the discs within them are known to cause damage to the spine,” notes Siff.

Weightlifter Christian Rivera performing three reps in the assisted pistol squat with 100 pounds at a bodyweight of 145 pounds. The second part of this video shows Christian’s remarkable vertical jumping ability achieved from bilateral training.

9. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) Predicts Movement Inadequacies. 

The FMS is a screening tool promoted by Boyle. However, a review of six studies in Physical Therapy Reviews found that “Composite FMS scores generally did not correlate with athletic performance.”

10. Avoid doing sets of 1 to 3 reps. 

When discussing the best reps for strength training, Boyle said, “The bad stuff happens between 1 and 3.” This statement explains why his functional training book often recommends sets of 8-10 reps for free-weight exercises. But how can you do sets of four or more reps without going through reps 1 to 3?

Boyle says he avoids low reps because the injury risk is greater. In effect, he is condemning the sport of weightlifting, as those are the primary reps performed in the snatch and clean and jerk, and promotes bodybuilding protocols for all athletes. Boyle’s repetition protocols stand in stark contrast to those promoted by Coach Rippetoe in Starting Strength, which emphasize sets of five reps or fewer to develop strength. And with good reason.

The main training stimulus for building strength is mechanical tension, which depends on the amount of weight used. The higher the reps, the lower the mechanical tension. Focusing on higher reps also encourages the production of substances that do not aid muscle contraction. These substances add bodyweight, thus decreasing relative strength (i.e., strength per unit of bodyweight). Relative strength is especially important in sports where extra body weight can be detrimental, such as wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, distance running, figure skating, and the high jump.

The bottom line is that until scientific research and real-world evidence prove otherwise, you should stick to the Starting Strength philosophy that focuses on barbell training and champions the cause that it’s OK to be strong.

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References

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