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