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Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training
Starting Basic Barbell Training is the new expanded version of the book that has been called "the best and most useful of fitness books." It picks up where Starting A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners leaves off. With all new graphics and more than 750 illustrations, a more detailed analysis of the five most important exercises in the weight room, and a new chapter dealing with the most important assistance exercises, Basic Barbell Training offers the most complete examination in print of the most effective way to exercise.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Mark Rippetoe
8 books192 followersMark Rippetoe is an American strength training coach and author. He has published a number of books and peer-reviewed articles. He has a BSc in geology with a minor in anthropology, but no degree in exercise science. He has several decades of experience as a strength coach, is a former powerlifter, and is currently a gym owner.
Rippetoe was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he now resides. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in petroleum geology from Midwestern State University, where he met his mentor Bill Starr in 1979. He competed in powerlifting from 1979 to 1988, winning the Greater Texas Classic in 1981. He bought Anderson's Gym in 1984, which later became the Wichita Falls Athletic Club. He collaborated with Glenn Pendlay, international-level Olympic lifting coach and Professor Lon Kilgore, who established the USA Weightlifting Regional Development Center in Wichita Falls. Over the next 30 years, he used the gym to test and refine his training program that would maximize strength gains, ultimately resulting in the Starting Strength program.
Rippetoe was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he now resides. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in petroleum geology from Midwestern State University, where he met his mentor Bill Starr in 1979. He competed in powerlifting from 1979 to 1988, winning the Greater Texas Classic in 1981. He bought Anderson's Gym in 1984, which later became the Wichita Falls Athletic Club. He collaborated with Glenn Pendlay, international-level Olympic lifting coach and Professor Lon Kilgore, who established the USA Weightlifting Regional Development Center in Wichita Falls. Over the next 30 years, he used the gym to test and refine his training program that would maximize strength gains, ultimately resulting in the Starting Strength program.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 553 reviews
May 27, 2015
As an engineer, I like knowing how something works before trying it. So when I wanted to get "fit" I embarked on a internet-wide search for the best resources online. This book was overwhelmingly recommended by many people through many different and diverse internet forums. With such endorsements I HAD to buy it. Now, if you heed the people in any gym, they will tell you that learning to lift weights with a book is useless and you shouldn't do it. Well you MUST buy and read this book.
Mark Rippetoe is not only an expert in the biomechanics that involve each of the exercises described in these book, but he is a magnificent instructor. This is a big difference, as the best coaches are not probably the best athletes themselves, but the best communicators. Rippetoe speaks with the accuracy and efficiency of someone who has been successfully getting people strong with perfect technique with some of the most complete exercises for many decades. The squat is taught in glorious detail since it's the cornerstone of any decent lifting program. The bench press is also given attention since it's a much more known workout and as such, one that is always bastardized. The should press is also present here as is the Deadlift, a workout much feared by gym-goers who would rather look good at the place than working out some real hard sweat. Also present is the Power Clean, a wonderful exercise for athletes and other lesser ancilliary exercises like chin ups, dips, barbell rows, warm ups and dynamic stretches. Rippetoe obviously has a sometihng to say about equipment ("If your gym does not provide bumper plates, it is time to find another gym.") and even provides instructions on how to build your own gym-at-home without buying fancy machines that are ultimately useless.
No word in this book is filler and no instruction has gone untested. This is not a "Encyclopedia" or "catalog" of workouts that one can do willy-nilly in the gym. Rippetoe uses a very wholesome approach to exercise, claiming that without strength, there is nothing and that life of the mind without a healthy body is useless, which I agree. As such, his approach is not that of bodybuilding but that of strength, which is a terribly useful resource to have in everyday life, even in modern times.
Mark Rippetoe is not only an expert in the biomechanics that involve each of the exercises described in these book, but he is a magnificent instructor. This is a big difference, as the best coaches are not probably the best athletes themselves, but the best communicators. Rippetoe speaks with the accuracy and efficiency of someone who has been successfully getting people strong with perfect technique with some of the most complete exercises for many decades. The squat is taught in glorious detail since it's the cornerstone of any decent lifting program. The bench press is also given attention since it's a much more known workout and as such, one that is always bastardized. The should press is also present here as is the Deadlift, a workout much feared by gym-goers who would rather look good at the place than working out some real hard sweat. Also present is the Power Clean, a wonderful exercise for athletes and other lesser ancilliary exercises like chin ups, dips, barbell rows, warm ups and dynamic stretches. Rippetoe obviously has a sometihng to say about equipment ("If your gym does not provide bumper plates, it is time to find another gym.") and even provides instructions on how to build your own gym-at-home without buying fancy machines that are ultimately useless.
No word in this book is filler and no instruction has gone untested. This is not a "Encyclopedia" or "catalog" of workouts that one can do willy-nilly in the gym. Rippetoe uses a very wholesome approach to exercise, claiming that without strength, there is nothing and that life of the mind without a healthy body is useless, which I agree. As such, his approach is not that of bodybuilding but that of strength, which is a terribly useful resource to have in everyday life, even in modern times.
October 17, 2022
It occurred to me, after chasing a one eyed raccoon through a pumpkin patch while drunk on Jack Daniels, that each stride I took was a sub maximal force production event predicated on a physical existence which I had long neglected. As afferent feedback surged through the live wire of my spinal column, reducing motor neuron excitability (i.e. voluntary motor unit recruitment is reduced from the plyometric load inflicted by the sudden lateral movements necessary to track the clever beast through the haunted Halloween maze), I began to stagger like a newborn fawn with bolas of fresh placenta tangled around the stale breadsticks of my legs. Succumbing fully to the accumulation of lactate during this inebriated bout of anaerobic glycolysis, (or because of the associated release of hydrogen ions, i.e. acidosis) and planting myself in the field like a blighted stalk of corn, I vowed right then and there that I would never allow pernicious extracellular potassium to impede the release of calcium ions, or allow the sensitivity of my actin-myosin myofilaments to be bullied into submission by the production of certain metabolic byproducts which interfere with their cross bridge function (phosphate ions and adenosine diphosphate). Condensing these thoughts into a final barbaric yawp for anyone who cared to listen, I screamed into the dirt, “My sarcoplasmic reticulum is in HELLLL!!” The violence of my exhalations sending dust airborne and children reeling.
And thus, like so many of you, my fitness journey began with trying to retrieve my car keys from a far-too-intelligent omnivore of nocturnal disposition. Leading me to consult with fitness “professionals” who proceeded to have me stand on Bosu Balls while holding infinitesimal weights and performing power Kegels. Prompting me to rebuke my fitness instructor thusly, “I know a thing or two about the stress, recovery, adaptation response, and this in no way seems to fit the dominant paradigm of progressive overload. I feel like the benefits of these exercise are quite intangible.” To which I was invited to stand on one leg like Daniel LaRusso about to execute his famous Crane Kick finisher in the Karate Kid trilogy. And, despite the manic intensity of my Cobra Kai infatuation, I have since learned that this posture, or any other ancient martial ballet that purports to ensure the defense of self through channeling spirit beasts, is a sure fire way to get your ass expedited and shipped to you in a live scenario where someone has even a foggy notion of how to intelligently weaponize their limbs (i.e. punch, kick, knee, or elbow you very hard, repeatedly, and without mercy), and so I connected the dots and realized I was undertaking the fitness equivalent of trying to disrupt Butterbean’s chi while he loads up a big haymaker. So I drew upon my inner Hitchens and said, “Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence.” Gathering what dignity I still retained, stepping from the Bosu Ball and heading towards the door.
“Jen! It’s functional! FUNCTIONAL! Think of your stabilizers.” He shouts after me.
“Don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s functional, Joey. Goodbye.”
So I took it upon myself to do some research into the most effective training methods for vaulting pumpkins, which ultimately lead me to Mark Rippetoe’s YouTube videos in which he explains, in great detail, how to do a proper Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Standing Press, and Power Clean, and the central importance of all these exercises in building a capable physique. What’s more, all that was required was (1) access to a metal shaft. (2) metal plates with a machined orifice for said shaft to penetrate symmetrically on both sides. (3) a good pair of shoes. (4) a flat and stable surface. (5) a willingness to attempt 5 more pounds per workout (i.e. linear progression). (6) chalk.
This book is the most thorough examination of the most important lifts a person can do to build and maintain physical strength (especially the squat, because this is of central importance, and perhaps not coincidentally, is the exercise most people avoid if there’s much weight involved) that you can get your hands on. It contains all the information you need to stop face planting in the pursuit of raccoons. Yes my friends, the fitness industry is full of deluded and malicious fuckwits who want to convince you that complexity is key. Why? So they can continue to fleece you. They lend themselves credibility by having elite athletes perform ridiculous tasks of no discernible benefit, and because elite athletes look good displaying their physical genius in even the most grotesquely stupid of ways, we erroneously assume they look (and perform) that good because they adhere to routines stocked with kinesthetic novelty by experts. That is not the case. The cruel truth is that elite athletes are born, not made. If you had the genes that produced a 36 inch vertical leap, you could also get away with being a dumb fuck in your training methodology. The rest of us need to follow tried and true methods. And, thankfully, getting stronger is not complicated, but it is also not glamorous or easy. It is hard and simple. Starting Strength is both of these things. You train with barbells three days a week. You focus on the compound lifts which recruit the largest amount of muscle fibers (and consequently have the most functional benefit to your physical life). And you do this with 3 sets of 5 repetitions (except for Deadlifts which only receive one work set after warmup due to how taxing the lift is on your CNS). You try to incrementally increase the load each week by 5 pounds.
I can now take out my garbage without spewing antinatalist propaganda. Thank you, Mark!
And thus, like so many of you, my fitness journey began with trying to retrieve my car keys from a far-too-intelligent omnivore of nocturnal disposition. Leading me to consult with fitness “professionals” who proceeded to have me stand on Bosu Balls while holding infinitesimal weights and performing power Kegels. Prompting me to rebuke my fitness instructor thusly, “I know a thing or two about the stress, recovery, adaptation response, and this in no way seems to fit the dominant paradigm of progressive overload. I feel like the benefits of these exercise are quite intangible.” To which I was invited to stand on one leg like Daniel LaRusso about to execute his famous Crane Kick finisher in the Karate Kid trilogy. And, despite the manic intensity of my Cobra Kai infatuation, I have since learned that this posture, or any other ancient martial ballet that purports to ensure the defense of self through channeling spirit beasts, is a sure fire way to get your ass expedited and shipped to you in a live scenario where someone has even a foggy notion of how to intelligently weaponize their limbs (i.e. punch, kick, knee, or elbow you very hard, repeatedly, and without mercy), and so I connected the dots and realized I was undertaking the fitness equivalent of trying to disrupt Butterbean’s chi while he loads up a big haymaker. So I drew upon my inner Hitchens and said, “Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence.” Gathering what dignity I still retained, stepping from the Bosu Ball and heading towards the door.
“Jen! It’s functional! FUNCTIONAL! Think of your stabilizers.” He shouts after me.
“Don’t piss in my ear and tell me it’s functional, Joey. Goodbye.”
So I took it upon myself to do some research into the most effective training methods for vaulting pumpkins, which ultimately lead me to Mark Rippetoe’s YouTube videos in which he explains, in great detail, how to do a proper Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Standing Press, and Power Clean, and the central importance of all these exercises in building a capable physique. What’s more, all that was required was (1) access to a metal shaft. (2) metal plates with a machined orifice for said shaft to penetrate symmetrically on both sides. (3) a good pair of shoes. (4) a flat and stable surface. (5) a willingness to attempt 5 more pounds per workout (i.e. linear progression). (6) chalk.
This book is the most thorough examination of the most important lifts a person can do to build and maintain physical strength (especially the squat, because this is of central importance, and perhaps not coincidentally, is the exercise most people avoid if there’s much weight involved) that you can get your hands on. It contains all the information you need to stop face planting in the pursuit of raccoons. Yes my friends, the fitness industry is full of deluded and malicious fuckwits who want to convince you that complexity is key. Why? So they can continue to fleece you. They lend themselves credibility by having elite athletes perform ridiculous tasks of no discernible benefit, and because elite athletes look good displaying their physical genius in even the most grotesquely stupid of ways, we erroneously assume they look (and perform) that good because they adhere to routines stocked with kinesthetic novelty by experts. That is not the case. The cruel truth is that elite athletes are born, not made. If you had the genes that produced a 36 inch vertical leap, you could also get away with being a dumb fuck in your training methodology. The rest of us need to follow tried and true methods. And, thankfully, getting stronger is not complicated, but it is also not glamorous or easy. It is hard and simple. Starting Strength is both of these things. You train with barbells three days a week. You focus on the compound lifts which recruit the largest amount of muscle fibers (and consequently have the most functional benefit to your physical life). And you do this with 3 sets of 5 repetitions (except for Deadlifts which only receive one work set after warmup due to how taxing the lift is on your CNS). You try to incrementally increase the load each week by 5 pounds.
I can now take out my garbage without spewing antinatalist propaganda. Thank you, Mark!
December 29, 2008
I have been lifting weights on and off since the eighth grade, and I was under the impression that I have been using good technique for most of that time. I considered myself quite knowledgeable about form, safety, and proper biomechanics. I was wrong. This book is clearly the work of two whip-smart men who've devoted decades to the teaching of weight lifting. It is funny, well-illustrated and written plainly. This is not to say that the material has been diluted for easy consumption; plan on (re)familiarizing yourself with anatomical terms like distal, anterior, adduction, torque, lumbar, thoracic, acetabulum and lever-arm. I learned more from this book about the correct movement of my body than I did from nine years worth of scholastic and collegiate coaches. The first fifty-five pages are about the squat, and there are only five primary movements covered, so the emphasis is on depth, not novelty. If you lift, even if it's not with free weights, you should read this.
February 26, 2020
...a life is like iron. If you make good use of it, it wears out; if you don't, rust destroys it. So too we see men worn out by toil; but sluggishness and torpor would hurt them more.- Cato the Elder
oop
Here's the first paragraph of this fitness book, stronger writing than you'd ever expect:
Physical strength is the most important thing in life. This is true whether we want it to be or not... Whereas previously our physical strength determined how much food we ate and how warm and dry we stayed, it now merely determines how well we function in these new surroundings we have crafted for ourselves as our culture has accumulated. But we are still animals – our physical existence is, in the final analysis, the only one that actually matters. A weak man is not as happy as that same man would be if he were strong. This reality is offensive to some people who would like the intellectual or spiritual to take precedence. It is instructive to see what happens to these very people as their squat strength goes up.
A salvo(!) This message is repulsive, unjust, and almost exactly fits my experience. (Though he is being imprecise: better to say "the most important foundation", a key instrument rather than the highest terminus. Though even then it's not "most important", since it neglects an even larger nonintellectual effect on my philosophy of life, love.) I was once a very unhappy young man with a tragicomic existential view - and so many fixable, concrete, absurdly powerful options, absurdly unknown to me. The lifter is Sisyphus, happy. Weights are a strong psychological intervention, perhaps the third-strongest for me.
Lots of reasoning from first principles, which is satisfying and gives it an Athenian air, but which I can just barely evaluate. Luckily it is just so easy to check if he's right (for your case).
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The force of gravity acting on the bar is always acting straight down in a vertical line. Therefore, the most efficient way to oppose this force is by acting on it vertically as well. So not only is a straight line the shortest distance between two points, but a straight vertical line is also the most efficient bar path for a barbell moving through space in a gravitational framework.
Your bench press strength doesn’t adapt to the total number of times you’ve been to the gym to bench or to your sincerest hope that it will get stronger. It adapts to the stress imposed on it by the work done with the barbell. Furthermore, it adapts to exactly the kind of stress imposed on it. If you do sets of 20, you get good at doing 20s. If you do heavy singles, you get better at doing those.
“good technique” in barbell training is easily and understandably defined as the ability of the lifter to keep the bar vertically aligned with the balance point.
Rippetoe is the source of the recent renaissance in cheap simple barbells (dozens of muscles recruited at once) over circuits of giant single-muscle machines. He tells a plausibly mean story about the economic perverse incentives that led to the latter, 1980-2010.
There is too much detail here - he discusses variants of the movements and the debate over them. But what a trivial criticism that is! I think most people could skip two-thirds of the book, since there's detailed kinematics for each move, instructor tips and gym-building tips, but it's interesting throughout. You could get the key parts from the final Programme section, then the "what not to do" chapter closing sheets. Warm-up sets chapter was very useful.
if your schedule does not allow time for proper warm-up, it does not allow time for training at all... [The squat] should be carefully and thoroughly prepared with a couple of empty-bar sets, and then as many as five sets between those and the work sets.
There's an abrupt shift in tone, in the chapter on lifting for kids: he starts citing University press books and listing comparative numbers for his claims. So this is a crusade for him.
It is unlikely that you'd learn form from this alone, even like reading it and applying it live with a mirror. It is unlikely that you could find a PT with this much physical knowledge or clarity.
He's quite bitchy, which I like but you might not:
if you continually miss workouts, you are not actually training, and your obviously valuable time should be spent more productively elsewhere.
If you're not increasing your weight, you're not training, and so not following his programme. The obsession with increase is still not mine. Strength, yes, exertion yes, but constant expansion? I aim for 100kg squat, and expect to attain it this year. Not herniating weight, not kneecapping weight, not sclerotic weight: nice big weight. Maybe once I get there I will grow bored, will again be confounded by the power of concrete body on worldview, and have to start climbing again. He thinks everyone gets injured eventually. But is this under the permanent revolution programme?
Ambition is useful, greed is not. Most of human history and the science of economics demonstrate that the desire for more than is currently possessed drives improvement, both personally and for societies. But greed is an ugly thing when uncontrolled and untempered with wisdom, and it will result in your program’s progress coming to an ass-grinding halt.
you’re a little fluffy around the belly, you have obviously already created the conditions necessary for growth. You’ll usually start out stronger than the skinny guy, and because your body hasn’t got the problems with growing that skinny guys do, strength gains can come more easily for you if you eat correctly.
I've been doing a derivative of this program since October, no trainer, lots of missed sessions, just the primary exercises, 1 hour and out, a scaled-up ordinary diet, and saw decent gains, +50kg onto my initial squat. Rippetoe claims that this could be achieved in half the time with many gallons of milk and much more aggro, and I see no reason to doubt this.
---
Philosophical aspects of lifting:
* As above: The body helps determine the mind. You should be wary of your own philosophy, not just because of your local social conditioning, but also because of your diet, your habits, your daily kindness, and your bench. The lifter is Sisyphus, happy.
* No excuses, no wiggle room, no ambiguity: lifting a lot without injuring yourself is a brute fact, unbiased. Rippetoe: "cause and effect cannot be argued with or circumvented by your wishes and desires."
* 'He's a growing loon!' my granny would say, justifying my early gluttony. Well, twenty years later here I am again, a growing boy. Artificial growth, body neoteny. What does a sense of increase, of coming potential, do to you?
*
"Waiting until soreness subsides before doing the next workout is a good way to guarantee that soreness will be produced every time, since you’ll never get adapted to sufficient workload frequency to stop getting sore.
* There are so many ways to do it wrong. (Only some of those wrong ways break you - the others just slow you down or confuse your body.) Rippetoe focusses on five movements, out of however many thousand physiologically possible ones. These are picked for excellent reasons, tested over decades.
*
Exercise is the thing we must do to replicate the conditions under which our physiology was – and still is – adapted, the conditions under which we are physically normal. In other words, exercise is substitute caveman activity, the thing we need to make our bodies, and in fact our minds, normal in the 21st century.
*
Psychologically, 20 [rep max] work is very hard, due to the pain, and lifters who are good at it develop the ability to displace themselves from the situation during the set. Or they just get very tough.
* I live in my head. But the hip drive out of a deep squat is such a strong strange confluence of forces, vaguely under my control but more accurately an explosion I light the fuse on, that I am driven to notice and appreciate neuromuscular marvels.
---
Book epistemic status: Decades of personal experience plus strong amateur theory plus distilled folk wisdom, in a domain with rapid and unambiguous feedback. He's quite open about unknown things, e.g. the molecular nature of soreness. Sometimes a little defensive, against experts less near to the metal. Sample:
Most sources within the heavy-training community agree that a good starting place is one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day, with the rest of the diet making up 3500–6000 calories, depending on training requirements and body composition. Although these numbers produce much eyebrow-raising and cautionary statement-issuing from the registered-dietetics people, it is a fact that these numbers work well for the vast majority of people who lift weights, and these numbers have worked well for decades.
Why trust my opinion at all? I've followed Rippetoe's programme inconsistently for 4 months and still got good returns - worth it for mental health alone. I know sophomore biology and physics, and nothing he says here contradicts any of it.
October 1, 2012
After a year of doing the main exercises regularly (2-3 times a week) (except the power clean which I've only started recently), I'm not exactly a buff ripped machine... but I'm definitely much stronger than when I started, and you can see muscles in my arms where there were never any before, so that's pretty sweet. It's great to go help a friend move and not feel winded at all by the boxes and sofas that leave the friend panting (nor do I worry about my back, after a year of doing squats & deadlifts with good form).
The book's explanations aren't always super clear -- you definitely want an experienced friend/trainer around to correct your form when you're starting -- but the science seems solid and bullshit-free.
The approach of doing the same 5 core exercises every week works well for me: I don't get bored with the routine, but rather I enjoy being able to see my progress clearly over time, whereas I just get confused by those programs with 20 different random exercises each time.
The book's explanations aren't always super clear -- you definitely want an experienced friend/trainer around to correct your form when you're starting -- but the science seems solid and bullshit-free.
The approach of doing the same 5 core exercises every week works well for me: I don't get bored with the routine, but rather I enjoy being able to see my progress clearly over time, whereas I just get confused by those programs with 20 different random exercises each time.
November 19, 2023
really informative if not a bit dry, the audiobook narrator is awesome
December 19, 2017
The tone changes from sentence to sentence, from insensitive meathead ("...if you insist on using [gloves], make sure they match your purse") to PhD anatomy and kinesology ("The supraspinatus, the infraspinatus, and the teres minor attach various points on the posterior scapula to the humerus, and provide for its external rotation..."), it's overly repetitive in some cases, in other cases important pieces of information are only mentioned once, buried in obscure sections of the book. It is however a book on exercise written by someone who is not selling magazines, supplements, or DVDs and who seems to have really done his homework. I thought this was a very good book. I wish I had read it back, I don't know, maybe when I was in middle school, or at least before I hurt myself lifting the lawn mower a couple years ago.
Even though I don't know if I will ever eat 6000 calories a day and enter power lifting competitions, I find myself thinking about how I move my body when doing a lot of different activities now. This book has a lot of good advice and food for thought on that topic.
Even though I don't know if I will ever eat 6000 calories a day and enter power lifting competitions, I find myself thinking about how I move my body when doing a lot of different activities now. This book has a lot of good advice and food for thought on that topic.
October 7, 2011
Starting Strength is a great resource for anybody interested in getting stronger. And as the author notes, everybody should be so interested: "Exercise is not a thing we do to fix a problem - it is a thing we must do anyway, a thing without which there will always be problems. Exercise is the thing we must do to replicate the conditions under which our physiology was - and still is - adapted, the conditions under which we are physically normal."
The book contains detailed descriptions of five basic barbell exercises: squat, bench press, deadlift, (overhead) press, and power clean. The requisite anatomy and biomechanics are thoroughly covered, proper movement patterns are described, and common errors are discussed. There is sufficient information for a trainee completely new to barbell training to learn proper technique.
The program is very simple: three non-consecutive days per week, three exercises per day, add a small amount of weight to the bar each time. This program has been shown to develop significant strength in a very short time, and program modifications are discussed for when linear progression is no longer appropriate.
The one common complaint about the book is its sheer depth. It's not a gym program of the month; it's a detailed reference on basic strength training, and it contains answers to questions that I don't even know to ask yet. I've read and reread the book, visited different internet forums, debated points such as hi-bar vs. low-bar squats or the relevance of the deadlift to the Olympic lifts, and I have yet to read anything which contradicts the information in this book.
Buy the book, get under the bar, and get strong.
The book contains detailed descriptions of five basic barbell exercises: squat, bench press, deadlift, (overhead) press, and power clean. The requisite anatomy and biomechanics are thoroughly covered, proper movement patterns are described, and common errors are discussed. There is sufficient information for a trainee completely new to barbell training to learn proper technique.
The program is very simple: three non-consecutive days per week, three exercises per day, add a small amount of weight to the bar each time. This program has been shown to develop significant strength in a very short time, and program modifications are discussed for when linear progression is no longer appropriate.
The one common complaint about the book is its sheer depth. It's not a gym program of the month; it's a detailed reference on basic strength training, and it contains answers to questions that I don't even know to ask yet. I've read and reread the book, visited different internet forums, debated points such as hi-bar vs. low-bar squats or the relevance of the deadlift to the Olympic lifts, and I have yet to read anything which contradicts the information in this book.
Buy the book, get under the bar, and get strong.
January 11, 2024
Занимавам се със спорт отдавна. Макар че далеч не може да се каже, че съм природно надарен спортист (даже точно обратното), старая се да наваксам това, което природата не ми е дала и като цяло успявам. В стремежа си към здраво и красиво тяло съм се занимавал с много спортове и съм се спрял на тренировките с тежести като методът за поддържане на здраве и кондиция с най-добро съотношение ползи/усилия.
Пробвал съм доста тренировъчни програми, коя от коя по-модерни, но лично за себе си съм установил, че няма нищо по-добро от тежката тренировка с базови упражнения.
Да, няма нищо по-добро и по-резултатно от вдигането на тежки щанги. Не, различните машини, скрипци и т.н. не са нужни. Всичко, което ти е нужно е щанга, лежанка, стойка за клякане и лост за набиране - всички упражнения, които си струва да правиш, можеш да ги правиш с тях. Машините са за деца, щангите са за мъже (и жени).
Марк Рипетоу е написал най-известната и най-експертната книга за тренировките с тежести, в която описва своята проста и тежка програма, с която начинаещият спортист да добие сила и маса. Клякане, мъртва тяга, обръщане на щанга, раменни преси и вдигане от лег - това са петте упражнения на силата и авторът на дълго и широко описва как точно се изпълняват и защо - кое сухожилие от къде минава под какъв ъгъл и т.н.
Системата му за тренировки на начинаещи не е нито сложна, нито изобщо революционна - напротив, доста близко е както до акъла, така и до много други предишни системи. Но именно в тази липса на революционност се крие нейната... революционност. Защото пет серии с пет повторения и добавянето на 2 кг. на всяка тренировка, три пъти седмично, в продължение на няколко месеца, оказва се, е оптималният метод, който работи отлично както за 16 годишния недохранен пубер, така и за 70 годишната му затлъстяла баба.
Въпреки дългогодишните си занимания със спорт преди това, аз имах много ползи от философията на трениране, която тази книга описва и докато преди няколко години, в резултат на усърдни спортни занимания, за пръв път можех да се покажа на плажа, без да ме е срам, сега, в резултат от това, което научих от тази книга, за пръв път другите хора ги е срам, като се покажа на плажа :)
Добро ревю на човек, който не я е харесал особено:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Пробвал съм доста тренировъчни програми, коя от коя по-модерни, но лично за себе си съм установил, че няма нищо по-добро от тежката тренировка с базови упражнения.
Да, няма нищо по-добро и по-резултатно от вдигането на тежки щанги. Не, различните машини, скрипци и т.н. не са нужни. Всичко, което ти е нужно е щанга, лежанка, стойка за клякане и лост за набиране - всички упражнения, които си струва да правиш, можеш да ги правиш с тях. Машините са за деца, щангите са за мъже (и жени).
Марк Рипетоу е написал най-известната и най-експертната книга за тренировките с тежести, в която описва своята проста и тежка програма, с която начинаещият спортист да добие сила и маса. Клякане, мъртва тяга, обръщане на щанга, раменни преси и вдигане от лег - това са петте упражнения на силата и авторът на дълго и широко описва как точно се изпълняват и защо - кое сухожилие от къде минава под какъв ъгъл и т.н.
Системата му за тренировки на начинаещи не е нито сложна, нито изобщо революционна - напротив, доста близко е както до акъла, така и до много други предишни системи. Но именно в тази липса на революционност се крие нейната... революционност. Защото пет серии с пет повторения и добавянето на 2 кг. на всяка тренировка, три пъти седмично, в продължение на няколко месеца, оказва се, е оптималният метод, който работи отлично както за 16 годишния недохранен пубер, така и за 70 годишната му затлъстяла баба.
Въпреки дългогодишните си занимания със спорт преди това, аз имах много ползи от философията на трениране, която тази книга описва и докато преди няколко години, в резултат на усърдни спортни занимания, за пръв път можех да се покажа на плажа, без да ме е срам, сега, в резултат от това, което научих от тази книга, за пръв път другите хора ги е срам, като се покажа на плажа :)
Добро ревю на човек, който не я е харесал особено:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
May 2, 2013
A great introduction to the fundamentals of strength training (NOT bodybuilding...there is a big difference) that has served this middle-aged guy well in terms of improving health, energy, eliminating lower back pain, etc. That being said, a few things to keep in mind:
--Rippetoe's program was developed primarily around high school and college athletes. Rippetoe himself says the demographic is 18-35 year olds. If you're not in that demographic, some things will need to be changed.
--If you're not a teenager, ignore his dietary recommendations. The dietary recommendations are best suited for teens-twenties looking to bulk up. If that's not you, do something different on diet.
--The coaching on how to do the basic lifts is PURE GOLD. Get the DVD, too. Well worth it.
--If you're an oldster, you may get to the point where the 48 hour recovery window isn't necessarily enough once the lifts start to get a bit heavy. Once the weights got reasonably heavy, I found I needed more than 48 hours between squats to recover. So don't be afraid to modify the program once you get to that point. Rippetoe's 'Practical Programming' helps address that.
--If you're not a powerlifter or football player, you may want to consider how heavy you really need to go on the bench press, especially if you have shoulder impingement tendencies like I do.
--Rippetoe acknowledges mobility is very important for certain moves, and does a bit of stretching explanation to address it. That being said, you will be well served by doing serious mobility / stretching work on your off days, but best to look elsewhere for that (I do yoga).
--Rippetoe's program was developed primarily around high school and college athletes. Rippetoe himself says the demographic is 18-35 year olds. If you're not in that demographic, some things will need to be changed.
--If you're not a teenager, ignore his dietary recommendations. The dietary recommendations are best suited for teens-twenties looking to bulk up. If that's not you, do something different on diet.
--The coaching on how to do the basic lifts is PURE GOLD. Get the DVD, too. Well worth it.
--If you're an oldster, you may get to the point where the 48 hour recovery window isn't necessarily enough once the lifts start to get a bit heavy. Once the weights got reasonably heavy, I found I needed more than 48 hours between squats to recover. So don't be afraid to modify the program once you get to that point. Rippetoe's 'Practical Programming' helps address that.
--If you're not a powerlifter or football player, you may want to consider how heavy you really need to go on the bench press, especially if you have shoulder impingement tendencies like I do.
--Rippetoe acknowledges mobility is very important for certain moves, and does a bit of stretching explanation to address it. That being said, you will be well served by doing serious mobility / stretching work on your off days, but best to look elsewhere for that (I do yoga).
February 19, 2010
I've been lifting weights half-assedly for years, using bits and pieces of techniques I've picked up watching other people and vague memories of classes in high school and college. Suffice to say, Starting Strength is a huge eye opener. I ripped open the package as soon as it got delivered and spent about 6 hours just devouring it like I would a good thriller. It feels like it's granted me an epiphany, and I'm sitting here wondering how/why I wasted so much time over the years doing isolation exercises on stupid machines, and kept telling myself that I was physically incapable of doing a squat.
Now I'm about 5 workouts in based on what I've learned and already it feels like a world of difference. Squatting and doing deads just fine, thanks. Don't think I'll try to do cleans on my own, though - especially since I've never seen a gym with bumper plates where dropping the weights was allowed (well, not since college anyway). Just wish I could find a PT in my area with expertise in barbells so I could be sure of good technique - seems to be a vanishing commodity.
Now I'm about 5 workouts in based on what I've learned and already it feels like a world of difference. Squatting and doing deads just fine, thanks. Don't think I'll try to do cleans on my own, though - especially since I've never seen a gym with bumper plates where dropping the weights was allowed (well, not since college anyway). Just wish I could find a PT in my area with expertise in barbells so I could be sure of good technique - seems to be a vanishing commodity.
January 30, 2013
When I enter the gym I see 20 guys and a couple of women doing 22 different things - wildly different. Everyone has their own philosophy about what gets the body stronger, and everyone believes they are right because it is so easy to add strength to a novice.
Starting Strength was the first, well, ANYTHING I'd read about fitness that didn't seem like it was propped up mostly by dogma and anecdotal evidence. Sensible assertions are made in the book, and they are backed by either training experience or research.
This and other works have convinced me that the first step towards either health or athleticism is developing strength. The book itself makes a good case for barbell training - in particular the program described within - being the best way to develop strength. I believe it, but if you are skeptical Rippetoe tries to convince with reason and fact which is an extreme rarity in the fitness book world.
Starting Strength was the first, well, ANYTHING I'd read about fitness that didn't seem like it was propped up mostly by dogma and anecdotal evidence. Sensible assertions are made in the book, and they are backed by either training experience or research.
This and other works have convinced me that the first step towards either health or athleticism is developing strength. The book itself makes a good case for barbell training - in particular the program described within - being the best way to develop strength. I believe it, but if you are skeptical Rippetoe tries to convince with reason and fact which is an extreme rarity in the fitness book world.
February 5, 2017
I'll start by saying that I'm not currently on the Starting Strength 5x5, but doing something very similar in the Stronglifts 5x5 program. Swap out the Power Clean for the Barbell Row for me. This book was a great introduction regarding barbell strength training and a must for anyone getting into weightlifting.
While it did go into extreme detail into the biomechanics of each move, it also provided a lot of guidance in terms of cues and also how to safely execute each movement. This will be a book I'll keep on my phone and reference from time to time for the cues.
While it did go into extreme detail into the biomechanics of each move, it also provided a lot of guidance in terms of cues and also how to safely execute each movement. This will be a book I'll keep on my phone and reference from time to time for the cues.
January 26, 2021
I read this entire thing. Like 350 pages. And when I say I read it, I don’t mean like you read a cookbook, skim it, try some of the recipes. I mean I read every word, including the captions on pictures and diagrams.
This is easily the most comprehensive, scientific text about strength training I’ve ever come across. This is not like that Supple Leopard stuff with the flowery prose, and it’s not like a listing of different exercises that get cobbled together to make a book. This is 350-page book that is meant to teach these things:
How to squat
How to press
How to bench press
How to power clean
How to deadlift
How to “program” the lifts so you have a plan that’s easy to follow
It’s a special kind of person who’s willing to read 80 pages on squat technique. I’m a little undecided on whether that’s “special/stupid” or “special/smart.”
One of the funniest and most interesting topics that comes up only briefly in the book but is talked about widely online: GOMAD, the Starting Strength recommended method of gaining weight that involves drinking a Gallon Of Milk A Day.
I don’t know if people are stupid or intentionally misinterpreting things, but Starting Strength doesn’t advocate that every person put on 40 pounds by drinking a gallon of milk a day. This is a suggestion mostly for underweight young people who can put on a good deal of weight pretty quickly, and if they’re engaging in a strength training program, this will be a positive thing.
Milk is suggested because it’s cheap, portable, prep-less, and it has a pretty good fat/protein ratio.
Now, this is a lot of milk. It’s about an 8 ounce glass every hour, so I guess the amount of water people seem to feel you need (this myth has been debunked, see the book Good to Go for more, but basically you’re not going to be healthier because you pound gallons of water).
As a youngster, I did try the gallon of milk challenge where you try to consume an entire gallon in an hour. I vomited several times, though the entire gallon did go down my gullet by the end of my battle with the gallon. Those gallon jugs hold a surprising amount of liquid.
I also think it’s interesting to see the “body hacking” people are doing. Which in this case is a much cooler way for talking about doing the sorts of stuff Homer Simpson did to put on enough weight to go on disability.
I’ve read many a post about adding olive oil to basically everything, GOMAD of course, and probably my favorite, someone did a replacement for GOMAD: Sheet Pan of Cake A Day or SPOCAD. The original post was hilarious. The guy chronicled baking a sheet pan of cake every morning and eating it in the car on the way to work, with his hands. He claimed it worked great for him. I suppose there’s an individual out there so underweight that they can handle that kind of input, but good lord.
The other misunderstanding is that GOMAD is what you’re supposed to do for the rest of your life. No. If it’s right for you, you do it for a period, then you stop and eat a more reasonable collection of foods.
Anyway, I think the gallon of milk thing is taken out of context. This is a 350-page goddamn brick of a book, and to take two sentences out of it and blow ‘em up seems weird. But hey, it’s just how shit goes sometimes.
If you're interested in learning about barbell training that's a little boring, destroys your ego in the weight room, and especially, if you're a woman who is tired of these moronic Instgram Influencer workouts that involve shit like a thousand air squats twice a day, pick this one up. Hell, it's heavy enough you'll probably get a little stronger just carrying it around.
This is easily the most comprehensive, scientific text about strength training I’ve ever come across. This is not like that Supple Leopard stuff with the flowery prose, and it’s not like a listing of different exercises that get cobbled together to make a book. This is 350-page book that is meant to teach these things:
How to squat
How to press
How to bench press
How to power clean
How to deadlift
How to “program” the lifts so you have a plan that’s easy to follow
It’s a special kind of person who’s willing to read 80 pages on squat technique. I’m a little undecided on whether that’s “special/stupid” or “special/smart.”
One of the funniest and most interesting topics that comes up only briefly in the book but is talked about widely online: GOMAD, the Starting Strength recommended method of gaining weight that involves drinking a Gallon Of Milk A Day.
I don’t know if people are stupid or intentionally misinterpreting things, but Starting Strength doesn’t advocate that every person put on 40 pounds by drinking a gallon of milk a day. This is a suggestion mostly for underweight young people who can put on a good deal of weight pretty quickly, and if they’re engaging in a strength training program, this will be a positive thing.
Milk is suggested because it’s cheap, portable, prep-less, and it has a pretty good fat/protein ratio.
Now, this is a lot of milk. It’s about an 8 ounce glass every hour, so I guess the amount of water people seem to feel you need (this myth has been debunked, see the book Good to Go for more, but basically you’re not going to be healthier because you pound gallons of water).
As a youngster, I did try the gallon of milk challenge where you try to consume an entire gallon in an hour. I vomited several times, though the entire gallon did go down my gullet by the end of my battle with the gallon. Those gallon jugs hold a surprising amount of liquid.
I also think it’s interesting to see the “body hacking” people are doing. Which in this case is a much cooler way for talking about doing the sorts of stuff Homer Simpson did to put on enough weight to go on disability.
I’ve read many a post about adding olive oil to basically everything, GOMAD of course, and probably my favorite, someone did a replacement for GOMAD: Sheet Pan of Cake A Day or SPOCAD. The original post was hilarious. The guy chronicled baking a sheet pan of cake every morning and eating it in the car on the way to work, with his hands. He claimed it worked great for him. I suppose there’s an individual out there so underweight that they can handle that kind of input, but good lord.
The other misunderstanding is that GOMAD is what you’re supposed to do for the rest of your life. No. If it’s right for you, you do it for a period, then you stop and eat a more reasonable collection of foods.
Anyway, I think the gallon of milk thing is taken out of context. This is a 350-page goddamn brick of a book, and to take two sentences out of it and blow ‘em up seems weird. But hey, it’s just how shit goes sometimes.
If you're interested in learning about barbell training that's a little boring, destroys your ego in the weight room, and especially, if you're a woman who is tired of these moronic Instgram Influencer workouts that involve shit like a thousand air squats twice a day, pick this one up. Hell, it's heavy enough you'll probably get a little stronger just carrying it around.
December 19, 2017
Bible for Squat, Deadlift, power clean and bench press
December 8, 2020
Best introduction to strength training I’ve seen
December 19, 2017
Some thoughts on this:
-This training method has been the greatest source of general well being I've come across in my life.
-This was an excellent revision of the 2nd edition.
-Paid special attention to Press, Deadlift and Injury chapters.
-I've been visiting a physical therapist for early injury detection, but the fact injuries are "the price we pay", as Coach Rip says, makes me weary.
-I may stall progress on squat just for other stuff to catch up. Press and Power-clean are way behind.
"There are two more things that everyone who trains with weights will have: soreness and injuries. They are as inevitable as the progress they accompany. If you work hard enough to improve, you will work hard enough to get sore, and eventually you will work hard enough to get hurt. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are using proper technique, appropriate progression, and save weight room procedures. You will still get hurt, but you will have come by it honestly - when people lift heavy, they are risking injury. It is an inherent part of training hard, and it must be prepared for and dealt with properly when it happens."
"Most training-associated injuries affect the soft tissues; bony fractures are extremely rare weight room events. If pain occurs immediately in response to a movement done during training, it should be assumed to be an injury and should be treated as such."
Have also been looking lots into 'Bill Star Rehab method'
Last work set loads before reading this book:
Squat: 275 lb (have stalled for a couple of weeks, increasingly easier with good form)
Deadlift: 285lb (pending doc visit - early hernia detection... ugh)
Bench Press: 160lb (missed last rep from last set)
Power Clean: 125lb (great improvements in form, specially racking)
Press: 110lb (after push pressing for what seemed like months I was able to complete 3 sets of 5 with good technique last week YAY!)
-This training method has been the greatest source of general well being I've come across in my life.
-This was an excellent revision of the 2nd edition.
-Paid special attention to Press, Deadlift and Injury chapters.
-I've been visiting a physical therapist for early injury detection, but the fact injuries are "the price we pay", as Coach Rip says, makes me weary.
-I may stall progress on squat just for other stuff to catch up. Press and Power-clean are way behind.
"There are two more things that everyone who trains with weights will have: soreness and injuries. They are as inevitable as the progress they accompany. If you work hard enough to improve, you will work hard enough to get sore, and eventually you will work hard enough to get hurt. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are using proper technique, appropriate progression, and save weight room procedures. You will still get hurt, but you will have come by it honestly - when people lift heavy, they are risking injury. It is an inherent part of training hard, and it must be prepared for and dealt with properly when it happens."
"Most training-associated injuries affect the soft tissues; bony fractures are extremely rare weight room events. If pain occurs immediately in response to a movement done during training, it should be assumed to be an injury and should be treated as such."
Have also been looking lots into 'Bill Star Rehab method'
Last work set loads before reading this book:
Squat: 275 lb (have stalled for a couple of weeks, increasingly easier with good form)
Deadlift: 285lb (pending doc visit - early hernia detection... ugh)
Bench Press: 160lb (missed last rep from last set)
Power Clean: 125lb (great improvements in form, specially racking)
Press: 110lb (after push pressing for what seemed like months I was able to complete 3 sets of 5 with good technique last week YAY!)
November 5, 2016
This is a terrible book with great advice in it. Skip to the chapter on motivation and programming first, and then skim each of the exercise sections for "things to make sure you don't do wrong." Easy. Done.
October 20, 2021
Fantastic read and just what I needed recovering from a back injury... really enjoyed the structure and the author's approach to barbell training.
Similar but very different from another good resource Becoming a Supple Leopard (love this title). Simpler and more focused on just the core lifts, less visual (Supple Leopard has a million pictures), less accessories, less recovery-based, more narrative- and anatomy-based which is important because you can't see yourself when barbell training - and if you can, your head/neck (and mind) is probably in the wrong place for a good, safe lift.
Borrowed from a pal, will be picking up my own copy.
Similar but very different from another good resource Becoming a Supple Leopard (love this title). Simpler and more focused on just the core lifts, less visual (Supple Leopard has a million pictures), less accessories, less recovery-based, more narrative- and anatomy-based which is important because you can't see yourself when barbell training - and if you can, your head/neck (and mind) is probably in the wrong place for a good, safe lift.
Borrowed from a pal, will be picking up my own copy.
November 12, 2024
The photos were great as well as the fitness advice. 🦾On the health side, I don’t know if I’m taking a 35 bmi powerlifter’s advice on how to eat if I want a long lifespan. 🤔Strokes are real and Mark seems to not get that! 🥶
March 11, 2014
I picked up this book after nearly every credible Internet on fitness recommended it (including the incredibly helpful 4chan /fit/ sticky), and I can definitely understand why they did. I've seen it called the "bible on weightlifting bio-mechanics," a description I don't find hyperbolic in any way.
If you're looking for a no-bullshit, straightforward book on lifting weights for fitness, then this is your jackpot. Be warned; this stuff is as far removed from the "miracle fitness cures" being peddled out there as is humanly possible. Don't expect to be handheld or comforted. It's meant to be difficult, because doing difficult things is how you get better at something.
The book introduces five fundamental strength exercises, all involving the barbell. These are: the squat, the press, the bench press, the deadlift, and the power clean. Because these are "compound lifts" that work entire chains of muscles in a way that approximates how they are used in real-life circumstances, they're all you need to get strong. Note the word: "strong," not "cut with washboard abs." The goal here is strength, not aesthetics. For each exercise, the book goes into a lot of details about the bio-mechanics of the exercise, and how to perform them safely and efficiently. If you think I'm kidding, consider this: the book spends 80 pages explaining a single exercise, the squat. Yeah.
This might be dry and boring for a lot of people, but as a geek and physics major, I ate it up. Where was this book when I was 16 and putting on fat?! There are moment arms and vectors all up in this thing. It's nothing too extraneous math-wise, but it's definitely great to see the authors are not condescending to the reader by hiding the physics principles under the carpet. I found the detailed explanations of, say, the forces at play in the squat to be fascinating, and it gave me a great theoretical understanding of how to perform the exercise and why I should do it in that precise way.
Some other caveats:
- The target audience of this book is clearly wannabe powerlifters and athletes looking to get stronger. As a 40 year-old pudgy guy who has never trained in a gym, I had to supplement my reading with research online. Don't let the authors make you feel guilty because you can't match the progression they're talking about. The gymbro 'tude is mostly to motivate the college jocks.
- The chapter on nutrition is slim, to say the least. The authors' advice to people wanting to build muscle is, I kid you not, 'Drink a gallon of milk a day.' Yeah no. Again, supplement your reading with exhaustive research.
- The details of what program to do are sketchy. For this, I recommend checking out the Starting Strength Wiki, especially their discussion on Starting Strength programs. (By the way, I'm doing the Wichita Falls Novice program.)
- The book gets a little brosy at times. There's some gentle jabs at the reader's masculinity should they fail to commit to this or that aspect of lifting. It's all good-natured and there's not that much of it, but we warned, it's in there.
- Finally, although the descriptions were detailed and supplemented with illustrations, I still had a hard time figuring out how some of the exercises were meant to be executed. For this, the authors have released a DVD, which comes highly recommended. There are other videos online, but the forms they show is not always great. For instance, there are many variations of the squat, so it can be tough finding the one that fits Rippetoe's description.
Overall, Starting Strength was a fantastic book for this weightlifting beginner. It takes a little patience and persistence as it can get dense, but you might want to consider it mental training for what will follow, because this approach is not about being easy, it's about results.
So, are you a man or not? N-n-not that there's anything wrong with not being a man. Haha. Oh boy.
If you're looking for a no-bullshit, straightforward book on lifting weights for fitness, then this is your jackpot. Be warned; this stuff is as far removed from the "miracle fitness cures" being peddled out there as is humanly possible. Don't expect to be handheld or comforted. It's meant to be difficult, because doing difficult things is how you get better at something.
The book introduces five fundamental strength exercises, all involving the barbell. These are: the squat, the press, the bench press, the deadlift, and the power clean. Because these are "compound lifts" that work entire chains of muscles in a way that approximates how they are used in real-life circumstances, they're all you need to get strong. Note the word: "strong," not "cut with washboard abs." The goal here is strength, not aesthetics. For each exercise, the book goes into a lot of details about the bio-mechanics of the exercise, and how to perform them safely and efficiently. If you think I'm kidding, consider this: the book spends 80 pages explaining a single exercise, the squat. Yeah.
This might be dry and boring for a lot of people, but as a geek and physics major, I ate it up. Where was this book when I was 16 and putting on fat?! There are moment arms and vectors all up in this thing. It's nothing too extraneous math-wise, but it's definitely great to see the authors are not condescending to the reader by hiding the physics principles under the carpet. I found the detailed explanations of, say, the forces at play in the squat to be fascinating, and it gave me a great theoretical understanding of how to perform the exercise and why I should do it in that precise way.
Some other caveats:
- The target audience of this book is clearly wannabe powerlifters and athletes looking to get stronger. As a 40 year-old pudgy guy who has never trained in a gym, I had to supplement my reading with research online. Don't let the authors make you feel guilty because you can't match the progression they're talking about. The gymbro 'tude is mostly to motivate the college jocks.
- The chapter on nutrition is slim, to say the least. The authors' advice to people wanting to build muscle is, I kid you not, 'Drink a gallon of milk a day.' Yeah no. Again, supplement your reading with exhaustive research.
- The details of what program to do are sketchy. For this, I recommend checking out the Starting Strength Wiki, especially their discussion on Starting Strength programs. (By the way, I'm doing the Wichita Falls Novice program.)
- The book gets a little brosy at times. There's some gentle jabs at the reader's masculinity should they fail to commit to this or that aspect of lifting. It's all good-natured and there's not that much of it, but we warned, it's in there.
- Finally, although the descriptions were detailed and supplemented with illustrations, I still had a hard time figuring out how some of the exercises were meant to be executed. For this, the authors have released a DVD, which comes highly recommended. There are other videos online, but the forms they show is not always great. For instance, there are many variations of the squat, so it can be tough finding the one that fits Rippetoe's description.
Overall, Starting Strength was a fantastic book for this weightlifting beginner. It takes a little patience and persistence as it can get dense, but you might want to consider it mental training for what will follow, because this approach is not about being easy, it's about results.
So, are you a man or not? N-n-not that there's anything wrong with not being a man. Haha. Oh boy.
September 19, 2013
The book could benefit from better production.
Let me expound. Rather than an introductiory textbook complete in itself with little outside reference needed, this is rather a thesis on how to lift weights correctly. You will read about angles, forces, moments, center of masses. If you're an engineer or scientist, you will be pleased. Do you know anatomy? If not, expect to be looking up words every few minutes. Do you think visually? The book shows diagrams, yes, but sometimes a few pages or sections too late. Have you never lifted weights before? The book has sections exclusively for people who were previously weightlifters. This last bit is reasonably questionable. A book titled Starting Strength sounds like an introduction for beginners. It is not. If it is, then again, this book could benefit from better production.
As presentation is my only gripe, I still consider it an amazing book. The knowledge I acquired definitely benefited me the past weeks I've applied it.
Let me expound. Rather than an introductiory textbook complete in itself with little outside reference needed, this is rather a thesis on how to lift weights correctly. You will read about angles, forces, moments, center of masses. If you're an engineer or scientist, you will be pleased. Do you know anatomy? If not, expect to be looking up words every few minutes. Do you think visually? The book shows diagrams, yes, but sometimes a few pages or sections too late. Have you never lifted weights before? The book has sections exclusively for people who were previously weightlifters. This last bit is reasonably questionable. A book titled Starting Strength sounds like an introduction for beginners. It is not. If it is, then again, this book could benefit from better production.
As presentation is my only gripe, I still consider it an amazing book. The knowledge I acquired definitely benefited me the past weeks I've applied it.
April 17, 2016
My feelings are mixed on this one. On the one hand, very informative, very anatomically detailed, and frankly rather funny (I really enjoyed the icechest / nice chest pun, which I'm still not sure was intentional). On the other hand, Rip's clean technique and diet advice are controversial, and frankly the anatomical detail is rather overkill a lot of the time, serving more to bludgeon into submission than to usefully describe to someone with no background (others may also find the things that I found funny offensive, but that's usually true). Since I don't intend to follow The Program precisely as described, it will be difficult for me to accurately gauge Starting Strength's effectiveness in practice. I don't regret reading this, and it is a useful introduction, but not a perfect one.
March 1, 2012
Awesome! Rippetoe's writing is frank, humorous and easy-to-understand. I'm not new to weightlifting but this book is gold for how deeply it goes into the form of different moves as well as offering basic suggestions about programming, building your gym, etc. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in weightlifting and does not have a coach yet. Even if you don't do the program, you will gain a wealth of knowledge about correct form and it's biomechanical advantages! So interesting!
December 19, 2017
It is a good book. I've learned a lot and I've realised that I was making some mistakes. Complete information.
But, if we see it as a text book, and I don't really know another way to look at it, the information could have been presented in a more friendly way, some parts get really messy, making it difficult to read and follow and sometimes just boring as hell.
The illustrations are fine but not that great.
So, a good book with useful information but difficult to read.
But, if we see it as a text book, and I don't really know another way to look at it, the information could have been presented in a more friendly way, some parts get really messy, making it difficult to read and follow and sometimes just boring as hell.
The illustrations are fine but not that great.
So, a good book with useful information but difficult to read.
July 2, 2018
The content is good, but the author is a terrible writer.
On one page he repeats the same point over and over again, and then on another page he throws at you ten anatomical terms per sentence without any illustrations or explanations, just for the sake of showing off, I presume.
On one page he repeats the same point over and over again, and then on another page he throws at you ten anatomical terms per sentence without any illustrations or explanations, just for the sake of showing off, I presume.
February 25, 2018
I'm rating solely on the writing. I think the information is good and useful, but it is painful to read.
April 19, 2022
Väldigt grundlig, ibland lite för mycket. Går inte att läsa snabbt om man vill ta in och förstå allt.
Följ programmet, håll käft, bli stor. Given 5a.
Följ programmet, håll käft, bli stor. Given 5a.
September 28, 2021
This book should be read by everyone who wants to get stronger. Or considers going to the gym. The detail level in which each exercise is explained is stunning. I have done weightlifting for a few years in my teens, but never heard explanations even close to this. Also, it should serve as a great myth buster for those, who considers group workouts in gyms training (not exact quote from the book):
"Exercise and training are two different things. Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you’re through. Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal. If a program of physical activity is not designed to get you stronger or faster or better conditioned by producing a specific stress to which a specific desirable adaptation can occur, you don’t get to call it training. It is just exercise"
"Exercise and training are two different things. Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today, during the workout or right after you’re through. Training is physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal. If a program of physical activity is not designed to get you stronger or faster or better conditioned by producing a specific stress to which a specific desirable adaptation can occur, you don’t get to call it training. It is just exercise"
March 27, 2020
Treeniosioiltaan ihan loistava tietopaketti. Silti ravintopuolen "gallona maitoa päivässä" ja vähän kuluneet sovinistiset vitsit ei kuitenkaan itselle oikein iskeneet.
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