With all the fluff, nonsense, and flat out lies in the “fitness industry” it’s hard finding reliable, trustworthy information. I know this from personal experience. It is no easy task separating the wheat from the chaff…unless you know where to look. After years of extensive research (and hands-on experience) in the subject of strength and conditioning, I have compiled my “Mount Rushmore”: a list of my top four coaches in the industry. Enjoy, and make the most of what these authors have to share!

1. Mark Rippetoe – Widely regarded as “the authority” on barbell training, Rip has been the single biggest influence in my own strength training journey. His books, videos, and articles are my bread and butter. The Starting Strength Forum on his website is quite possibly the single best source of credible strength and conditioning information in the world. His defining work, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, is a must-read for anyone interested in strength training. Look him up.
2. Jim Wendler – If I could trade lives with someone in the strength world it would be this man. He is someone I admire and aspire to be like in many ways. Jim is the creator of the 5/3/1 Program, an intermediate strength program which I currently follow, and the co-founders of EliteFTS (one of the most popular strength websites in the world). Not for the faint of heart, Jim’s advice is second to none and his practical stance on training simplifies a lot of the junk thats out there. The man is a force to be reckoned with both inside and outside the weight room.
3. Mike Matthews – While his resume may not stack up to the likes of Rip and Wendler, Mike Matthews has grown to become one of the most trusted names in the fitness industry. Author of the best-selling book Bigger, Leaner, Stronger (a recommended read), Mike is a dedicated researcher who consistently puts out credible content. Also, he got tired of big supplement companies trying to rip-off the average consumer so he started his own company called Legion Athletics. It is my go-to store for anything related to training supplements. Fun fact: you can email Mike directly with any questions and he will actually respond to you (I’ve done this a few times). Pretty cool.
4. Andrew Heming – Currently working as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Trinity Western University Spartans, Andrew is a personal friend of mine. I’ve had the privilege of taking his classes during my brief tenure at the school and he is regarded as one of the top strength coaches in the country. With decades of experience in the field, his results speak for themselves. His blog will provide you with some valuable insights.

*Bonus: Any of the Starting Strength Coaches* – These guys (and gals) know their stuff. They’ve been through the crucible of the Starting Strength Coaches Certification and have years of training experience under their belts. Easily accessible via the Starting Strength Forum or their own personal websites, these are some of the best coaches in North America. Some notable coaches include: Andy Baker, Dr. Johnathan Sullivan, Michael Wolf, Beau Bryant, Dr. Austin Baraki, Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum, and Niki Sims.

Of all the beginner training protocols available, none can compare with Starting Strength. It is simply the best resource for building a solid foundation of pure strength for someone starting out on their training journey. The program itself was developed by one of my “heroes”, Mark Rippetoe, and is characterized by progressive loading on the basic barbell lifts. Rip and his team are some of the most highly regarded professionals in the industry and their decades of experience provide a comprehensive view of strength and conditioning.

This is the Novice Program. Follow it and you will find success. I highly recommend watching the tutorial videos available on the website and on YouTube (The Art of Manliness ones are the best of the lot, bar none) for learning proper technique. The point of these workouts is not to feel “thrashed” or “gassed” by the end *insert CrossFit joke here*. Rather, the training methods laid out in the Novice Progression place emphasis on the body’s ability to recover from a loaded movement. As someone who has done The Program I can tell you firsthand that you will not always feel exhausted by the end of a workout; many times I actually felt that I had more gas in the tank and I was somehow doing something wrong because I wasn’t dripping in sweat and breathing heavy! But that is the point: you don’t want to exhaust yourself because you need to recover properly. The equation for getting strong is not complicated.

*Training + Eating + Recovery = Adaptation = Strength*

If you are new to weight training, and you want to maximize your ability to get strong, follow the Novice Program.

“Everything works…for a while. But some things work better than others.” – Mark Rippetoe

Front Squat, High Bar Squat, Low Bar Squat

So you’ve made the decision to start training? Good, now lets get you strong. Stronger is better, every single time. Some people will argue with this but the truth is, no matter what you do in life, strength finishes on top time and time again. Don’t believe me? Read it for yourself.

Strength is the most general physical adaptation the body can make. While not everyone is born with the height of LeBron James or the speed of Usain Bolt, everyone has the ability to greatly increase his or her strength. I will go a step further and say that someone new to strength training will actually be able to DOUBLE their current strength in as little as 3-6 months of proper training, rest, and nutrition. This puts you, the “novice” trainee, at a unique advantage: you have the ability to dramatically increase your strength over a very short span of time. For our purposes, a “novice” trainee is defined as someone who is new to weight training. This can be a complete newbie, or someone who has had previous training experience but has taken signifiant time off (over 3 months).

So, you ask, what is the best training protocol for a novice lifter? For novice trainees the best, most effective training involves compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press, and overhead press) for three sets of five repetitions. These are all to be done with a barbell. Not machines. Not pulleys. Not the latest “military grade” fitness tools. Barbells. It really is that simple. Why a barbell? Unlike any other piece of equipment, a barbell allows for incremental loading to occur. A barbell allows the user to precisely add exact amounts of weight to progressivly load an exercise. You can read more about this here. The big idea is to train compound movement with barbells; you will thank me for it!

Linear Progression of Strength