Marilia Coutinho

www.mariliacoutinho.com

Marilia Coutinho is a multi-disciplinary educator (researcher, professor, writer, speaker, coach, whatever) who writes evidence-based pieces about both technical and social/philosophical aspects of strength and strength training for elitefts. She has both a MS and a Ph.D. and her background/degrees include biology, biochemistry, ecology and sociology of science and health. Marilia has been a powerlifting world champion, broke several federation world records and one all-time record. She has also been a competitive fencer. She was a faculty member in three universities, has a few published books, many peer-reviewed articles and thousands of other published pieces, from fun to serious.

 
The Diary of an Aging Athlete: Age is Relative
The Diary of an Aging Athlete: Age is Relative

I’m not going to lie—getting old is the opposite of wonderful. But you won’t find doom and gloom in this text—there’s a lot to feel good about as we all go through this aging process.

A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Gym Galaxy
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Gym Galaxy

It’s time for a talk to the young and the old about the inevitable (devastating yet fascinating) aging process under a loaded bar. Buckle up, it’s a bumpy ride!

To Master, With Love
To Master, With Love

The world was a wiser, kinder place with Master in it. Now his body is dead. I guess it’s up to me, then, to live up to his legacy.

Exercise and thyroid function (part 1) - inactivity and thyroid function
Exercise and thyroid function (part 1) - inactivity and thyroid function
The key here seems to be how to figure out what is the optimal and the minimal chronic exercise level, type and frequency to maintain thyroid function.
Nordic Hamstring Exercise, a basic item in injury prevention
Nordic Hamstring Exercise, a basic item in injury prevention
In several sports, neglecting hamstring and glute strength leads to imbalance-associated injuries. It's a great idea to include the NHE in any program.
Yes, there is a limit to strength
Yes, there is a limit to strength
Denialism is not only unhealthy but dangerous. Adults should be comfortable with the idea that humans don't get to choose their facts. Facts are facts, like it or not.
How do we know how far an athlete will get in their performance?
How do we know how far an athlete will get in their performance?
I prefer to focus on the athlete's autotelic enjoyment (enjoy the sport for the sake of it) and intrinsic motivation. It's wise to avoid motivational lies about success. If one in a million will make it, these competitive lies will hurt a million minus one.
Balance and single-leg exercises
Balance and single-leg exercises
As we age, get injured, heal (repeat the cycle several times), get over-specialized in unilateral movements, we deviate from that ideal type and become prone to more injury, more instability and the ensuing snowball effect includes pain, loss of performance, poor recovery and miserable life.
Why do I read the "keep your hips down" recommendation all the time for any deadlift?
Why do I read the "keep your hips down" recommendation all the...
The triple extension of the lower limb joints to execute a deadlift should be orchestrated so that the highest number of synergistic chains participate.
Push-ups and the bench-press
Push-ups and the bench-press
A high correlation between load-velocity of the push-up and the bench press was established and a mathematical model proposed.
To arch or not to arch on the bench press
To arch or not to arch on the bench press
Bottom line is that no, I don't think "training the arch" is relevant or even necessary. Training a stable setup is.
Barefoot, flat shoes or weightlifting shoes?
Barefoot, flat shoes or weightlifting shoes?
Bottom line is that if you just want to know what to wear for squatting and deadlifting, take a look at some of the best athletes. Most wore just chucks. If you are a weightlifter, eventually you will find that perfect beloved shoe to grow old with.
This is maximal effort, dude
This is maximal effort, dude
The relation between bar velocity and intensity (measured as a percentage of 1RM) has been known for a while.
Dumbbells and other pressing exercises to improve the bench press?
Dumbbells and other pressing exercises to improve the bench press?
If we use a stable surface and unstable axial load, then we're talking: this type of motor task transfers to the target movement and improves maximal strength and the sticking point crossing time.
Function and muscle size
Function and muscle size
Maximal strength, power output, rate of force development, coordination, rate coding, proprioception, and kinesthetic awareness are all functional properties that have either non-linear or no relation to muscle mass.
When to fix and when not to fix bench press grip width
When to fix and when not to fix bench press grip width
Moral of the story: each person is going to find their "comfort grip and speed" (as well as their foot placement, chest touching point, arch, etc. What we need to make sure is that scapular adduction, glute/hamstring isometric contraction, overall core stability and wrist elbow alignment are fine.
The training partner
The training partner
It's possible to follow even an elite level training protocol completely alone, with the owls for company. Not at the novice level, though. The number of things that can go wrong is significant.
Surviving COVID-19: suggestions for re-opening gyms
Surviving COVID-19: suggestions for re-opening gyms
It is my belief that those gyms that succeed in implementing effective measures will enjoy a double reward: in the short term, the community’s safety against SARS-CoV-2 contagion. On the long run, the prevention of several infections caused by viruses and bacteria.
Sobrevivendo à pandemia: medidas para a re-abertura de ginásios, centros de treinamento e academias
Sobrevivendo à pandemia: medidas para a re-abertura de ginásios, centros...
Acredito que quem for bem sucedido em implementar estas medidas agora terá um duplo retorno: no curto prazo, a segurança de todos os membros da comunidade que convive na academia quanto ao contágio do SARS-CoV-2. No longo prazo, a prevenção de outras viroses e infecções bacterianas.
Surviving COVID-19: some thoughts about small gyms as small businesses and your new "bizarre" coaching clients
Surviving COVID-19: some thoughts about small gyms as small businesses a...
Most small gyms with good lifting equipment are small businesses / sole proprietor businesses. This is the economic category that took the hardest blow during the pandemic.
Surviving COVID-19: what should we tell people concerning exercise and the disease?
Surviving COVID-19: what should we tell people concerning exercise and t...
You can't advise them whether to exercise or not: it will be his or hers risky choice. You can help design the most cautious approach to exercising.
Surviving COVID - fine tuning exercise and rest
Surviving COVID - fine tuning exercise and rest
For the weird, varied, and unpredictable post-acute phase, everything and anything is inconclusive. Our patients' group is populated with researchers, front line health practitioners, and investigative journalists, all of which had/have COVID. We are listing symptoms and what appears to improve or aggravate them.
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - to exercise or not to exercise?
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - to exercise or not to exercise?
I'm a health researcher and a specialist in medical information. It's my job to monitor the literature. For this reason I'm pretty sure about our level of ignorance in most biological fields. It also makes me more aware that any tentative diagnostic and treatment that I design for myself is on me and on me alone.
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - adding powerlifting lifts with weights
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - adding powerlifting lifts with...
This week we added both squatting and benching starting with the empty barbell and adding 10 lbs each 3-rep set up to when I have no more squats/benches to give. It's an interesting approach that keeps a high volume at a controlled level.
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - adding another session
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - adding another session
Walking and jogging have always been an important component of my training. Not only it provides the constant low-intensity cardio-respiratory training but they are also an important "default brain network" moment. A resting moment.
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - barbell complexes and bodyweight exercises
Surviving COVID and respiratory therapy - barbell complexes and bodyweig...
I was one of the lucky ones: it's been a month and a half, maybe two months when I began to manifest symptoms. Since I have adult-onset asthma and recently had two episodes of pneumonia, I wasn't sure of anything.
Scapular adduction and depression
Scapular adduction and depression
I've always insisted on the importance of strong, powerful and isometric scapular adduction and depression movements for lifting performance.
Programming: the length of the smallest unit
Programming: the length of the smallest unit
We're all on the off-season. We're on off-season on everything. We might as well revisit some issues that frequently come up and have no right answer: what's the best number of days for the smallest unit in a periodized program?
Online coaching: from programming to “something else”
Online coaching: from programming to “something else”
This is the first time that I see a big change in the individualized online programming and coaching scene. The first and obvious reason is that our traditional clients used to have access to a gym – now they don’t. The other reason is that there is nothing to program for.
The Squat Epiphany
The Squat Epiphany

If I was that young woman in the picture with my present old mind, I would do it all differently. Unfortunately, I can’t rewind that tape but if you’re reading this and you are or know of a young couple expecting a baby or handling their first one, this read may change your child-raising perspective.

Quarantine contest #1: fun and effective exercises - intermediary and basic
Quarantine contest #1: fun and effective exercises - intermediary and basic
Here is a weekly contest. You can add it to whatever activity you are already doing or, if you haven’t chosen any yet, this is a fun way to start.
Backlogs - biomechanics
Backlogs - biomechanics
Here are some books on biomechanics. No matter what you choose to read on training, you bump into biomechanics. Now that you are homebound you might as well have a look at it.
Cardio-respiratory conditioning while homebound
Cardio-respiratory conditioning while homebound
There is a third, rarely mentioned training component that is even more severely compromised in the home office life: “low-intensity-steady state” cardio-respiratory training.
Kettlebell and bands for the homebound
Kettlebell and bands for the homebound
It is possible to keep a reasonable level of strength and conditioning without gym equipment? Absolutely.
One Diet Size Fits One
One Diet Size Fits One

There is no universal healthy diet or macronutrient composition. You must identify what is healthy for you. Read on to understand why we are so diverse to discover your best diet options.

Coronavirus and COVID-19: guidelines for coaches and athletes
Coronavirus and COVID-19: guidelines for coaches and athletes
As a coach and an athlete, what else is safe and cautious? I’m sure you are going to hate it, but the first thing is to cancel your competitions until more is known about the disease in the US, or it is contained.
Respiratory illness and your athlete – upper respiratory tract infection
Respiratory illness and your athlete – upper respiratory tract infection
With the threat of coronavirus contagion and development of COVID-19, a particularly severe form of respiratory illness, this issue should be a top concern for both coaches and athletes.
Respiratory illness and your athlete – asthma and pneumonia
Respiratory illness and your athlete – asthma and pneumonia
Respiratory illnesses are an important concern for any coach and athlete. If you are an adult athlete, especially at the elite level, your chances of developing respiratory infections after a competitive season are not small
Children’s repurposing of gym equipment: what we can learn from them
Children’s repurposing of gym equipment: what we can learn from them
Children are free to purpose and repurpose everything around them.
One Training Size Fits One
One Training Size Fits One

Believe it or not, you don’t need the assistance of a research team to make your training, health, and life decisions. Here’s how to navigate through your uniqueness from identification to decision making.

Stability is the mother of strength
Stability is the mother of strength
Anything involving athlete and barbell, forming the athlete-barbell-system (ABS), is a constant and dynamic “negotiation” with gravity, of balance and stability along something we call the line of gravity.
The fear of squatting (in industrial societies)
The fear of squatting (in industrial societies)
Each person will squat according to their anatomic structure but 90% of the “deficiency” cases are imaginary and can be fixed in a very short time.
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – creativity with video feedback – part 6
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – creativity with vi...
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – creativity with video feedback
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – programming is your strong point – part 5
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – programming is you...
Today I will defend the argument that the only strong point an online coach has is being extremely proficient and knowledgeable in training programming
Writing Through the Storm
Writing Through the Storm

Three years and counting, through change of grounding and shelter, one thing remains. Here’s my attempt at living, learning, and passing on.

Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – feedback routine, part 4 (down sides)
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – feedback routine, ...
After many years, my experience is that unless you are working with elite athletes highly motivated to achieve some important landmark, their feedback will be minimal.
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement, part 3 – you don’t know the person (can be an upside)
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement, part 3 – you don’t ...
Sometimes you get to know an online athlete/client better than you know an on-ground one, especially if they have good writing communication skills.
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – real-time input, part 2 (down side)
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – real-time input, p...
If you read the previous article on this series on online coaching, you probably suspect that I am not very enthusiastic about it. However, there are not enough proficient coaches near everyone and sometimes the online coach is as good as it gets for someone living in a technical desert.
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – requirements part 1 (down sides)
Online coaching, programming and analyzing movement – requirements part ...
Is it possible to accurately analyze an athlete’s movement through video? Not even close to what an on-ground coach can by directly looking at the movement as it is executed.
Squatting from Womb to Tomb: Why You Must Train 'Til You Die
Squatting from Womb to Tomb: Why You Must Train 'Til You Die

I’m aging, my parents are aging, and yes, you’re aging too. Aging equals disease. Or does it? In this article, I will introduce explanations about the role of strength and conditioning in healthy living and suggest how we can promote that before disuse and decay unleash their vicious cycle.

The infamous "(coach, athlete, fitness celebrity, etc) of the year" lists: it's that time of the year
The infamous "(coach, athlete, fitness celebrity, etc) of the year&...
The problem with fields that are not highly well structured is not their lack of structure. It is the obscene dishonesty of self-proclaimed rank-builders.
Franck needs a stronger deadlift liftoff
Franck needs a stronger deadlift liftoff
Of the three lifts, the deadlift is the hardest to estimate intensity because the actual performance is a result of different factors
How to Choose the Right Christmas Gift
How to Choose the Right Christmas Gift

A short Christmas gift guide for different types of strong people (including yourself).

The researcher-coach as a source of health advice: prostate cancer and muscle wasting
The researcher-coach as a source of health advice: prostate cancer and m...
I get inquiries that are far from the regular strength coach routine. Mostly, they are inquiries about complex technical issues that involve trust. One of them is muscle wasting in cancer.
The Cycle of Detraining and Retraining
The Cycle of Detraining and Retraining

This is a completely different type of article you’ll find within my column. It’s personal and it makes a case for increased injury burden as an athlete progresses in their career, gets older, trains more, competes more, the list goes on…

“Can the Olympic Weightlifts improve powerlifting performance? Can the powerlifts improve Olympic Weightlifting performance?”
“Can the Olympic Weightlifts improve powerlifting performance? Can the p...
My anecdotal observation is that the “quick lifts” (either full snatch and clean & jerk or their many variations and assistant exercises) have a strong carry-over effect to almost anything but there are considerations to be made.
Video: keep it coming, it’s all data
Video: keep it coming, it’s all data
We need to know why, when and at which point in order to figure out what and how to fix it.
My movement-impaired athlete and pressure ulcers: my mom
My movement-impaired athlete and pressure ulcers: my mom
… because my athlete may be movement-impaired but she is still and will always be my most important athlete.
The Pink Floyd guide to the strength experience
The Pink Floyd guide to the strength experience
My perspective on strength training according to Pink Floyd, the best band ever, in the history of ever

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