Starting Strength

Excellent resource that has had an enormous impact on my quality of life. Combine this with the free Starting Strength podcast and instructional YouTube vids and you have your self a worthwhile education and practical application class. I put a rack and barbell in my garage and have been applying what I have been learning over the past 6 months.Bench was 195lbs for 5 reps and is now 245lbsOHP was 115lbs for 5 and is now 155lbsDL was 315lbs for 5 and is now 455lbsBS was 285 for 5 and is now 365lbsand all still climbing..Update: My Squat is now 415lbs DL 505lbsAs an added benefit, I am not constantly hurting myself with bad form and having to take time to heal and thus lose gains. Also, I don't hurt when I get up in the morning. All this with previous C-Spine, knee and nerve damage injuries from three combat tours to Iraq.

I heard about SS on the Art of Manliness podcast and was intrigued, as it coincides with my general philosophy around weight lifting - big, multi-joint movements that use the most muscle are the most efficient way to get strong and big. I had kicked it around but never really pursued it until a friend recommended it to me strongly. I would absolutely give the program 5 stars all the way, even if the adherents are little cultish :)I give the book 4 stars because, overall, it's an excellent introduction to the method, system, program, philosophy, etc. of Starting Strength. Rippetoe's ("Rip" to the disciples) style is very strong and opinionated, which I like but I think needs to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, the diagrams (even in the Kindle edition) and explanations of the movements are really top notch and do a great job of helping you visualize the movements and do them right. I only deduct a star because some of the descriptions get a little long-winded. It can take a lot of patience to get through pages and pages of why low-bar is better than high-bar or front squat, e.g., with detailed anatomical descriptions, diagrams, physics lessons, etc.The official Starting Strength app is a great complement to this book, and a really useful tool once you start training. It also contains a very consolidate set of excerpts and diagrams from the book that might be enough to get some people started on the system without reading the whole book. That said, I think it's still worth buying and reading the book for additional information and the context (even if some of it is a little drawn out).I would recommend that anyone considering starting this on their own either consider finding a local SS coach (if you can afford it!) or SS-knowledgable friend to help get started, but with or without that I would recommend checking out the Starting Strength Youtube channel (DVD excerpt playlists for each move in particular) as well as the Art of Manliness videos where Rip coaches Brett on the moves.

This is one of my all-time favorite books, and started me on the path of strength training through compound lifts. I've even evangelized it to others, including both friends and parents. One of the best quotes of the book, which I still reflect on when demotivated to go to the gym: "A weak man is not as happy as that same man would be if he were strong."The reason I give 4 stars, though, is due to the author's way of communicating his belief system; many times in the book, Rippetoe will dismiss alternative exercises or forms of performing an exercise out-of-hand, without providing any reasoning, only harsh words. Such discussion may come off as authoritative to some, but it can feel a bit like promoting intellectual insulation.

I'm not a fitness professional, but the general consensus seems to be that programs like starting strength are very good for beginners (squat-intensive whole body workout repeated three times a week, small number of reps per set, increase weight every workout). This book offers some coaching on how to perform the exercises (the basic instructions for the program can be found anywhere on the internet). It does it's job, though now that I've read it I'm really not sure it's necessary. Youtube and internet articles (some written by the author!) are a better teacher, and you really should find someone to show you the basics, even its a one time coaching session at the local YMCA.The book and Rippetoe's internet articles very much argues that you must follow the program exactly, and that if you are unsuccessful, it is because you did not follow the program. I've taught people before (other topics) so I appreciate that students are always taking shortcuts or asking to apply adaptations and customizations that don't apply to beginners. However, if you read and watch other coaches, some of this absolutism is overkill. (e.g., on the topic of whether high or low bar squats are better suited to the program). His dietary advice... is old fashioned and seemingly not informed by science, but you can take it with a grain of salt.

The only bad thing about this book is that it makes you want to go up to people and correct their awful form. Once you learn it, you can't unlearn it.Mark Rippetoe provides an irrefutable argument that the best exercises we should use in the gym are barbells.1. The exercises we choose from should use many muscle groups2. The exercise takes us through the full range of motion3. The exercise allows us to lift the heaviest weights possible (with good form of course)As a personal trainer It's a shame that this information is neglected in most standard textbooks of the subject.If you're going to buy one book to become a stronger version of yourself and not waste time then make it this one. You won't regret it.

This book is the best selling of its kind because it is chock full of the fundamentals of the stress, recovery and adaptation cycle that anyone can use to get strong. Although the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression program is aimed at those new to strength training with a barbell, the detailed information regarding the main lifts and the case for lifting as a means to getting more from life for longer makes the book essential reading for trainees of any age, sex or current ability. Alongside the Starting Strength website, this book can make a real difference to your life in a very tangible way. Not a novice lifter? You should still get it for the lifting instruction and anatomical knowledge and move on to the equally excellent "Practical Programming for Strength Training" that the author produced with Andy Baker. Between these two books you could glean all the information required to create and maintain the best physical version of your self - and for the rest of your life. Valuable knowledge indeed.

It goes into great detail and is highly credible (there is no bro-science in this book whatsoever, every detail is gone through in detail using real science), but it's a bit overwhelming. It would really benefit from a couple of page 'cheat-sheet' at the end just summarising the key points for each exercise.

Fantastic detail, without getting bogged down in "baggage-knowledge". The main lifts are so well explained in this book, and the waypoints so clear and lucid, that it genuinely affects what I'm doing under the bar.I'm so glad I bought this book.Downside is, I learnt that I can't squat 150kg, not properly. The upside is that I'm sure I will be able to, in due course. I dropped weight off the bar, and my technique, and awareness of my positioning, is now so crisp.Can't recommend this book enough.

DO NOT BUY KINDLE VERSION. Fantastic book, but i would recommend sourcing the real book. The real book is fantastic with big pictures and diagrams and big clear pages. the kindle version is hard to follow as the diagrams are small and cant be zoomed and often many pages away from the text concerning them.Its expensive, but id recommend finding the real book. I think i paid around £35 from a strength training website in the uk

I’ve had the kindle version for a while now but wanted the paper version. Some books are better on paper and this is one of them.You will get strong if you follow the program, eat well, sleep well and stop mincing about.