A THANK-YOU TO MARK RIPPETOE. So when I was off diving a couple of weeks ago, I took a nasty fall: I had all my dive gear on my back in the mesh bag when one of my Crocs (I had neglected to put down the heel strap) suddenly squirted off my wet foot like a pumpkin seed. I went down, but under control, and I could tell that if I hadn’t been doing all those squats and deadlifts I probably would have wrenched my back enough to put me out of action for a while; instead, I was just mildly sore. He’s right, you know, when he says it’s better to be stronger.