Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners [Paperback]

Mark Rippetoe (Author), Lon Kilgore (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2005

Starting Strength offers a unique approach to coaching barbell weight training and is written by experienced coaches and sports scientists who designed it specifically for training beginners. Learn how to effectively and safely coach the basic core lifts and their programming in an easy to do, step-by-step process. Featuring the most heavily illustrated exercise chapters in print, Starting Strength shows the reader not only how to teach the lifts, but how to recognize and correct the technique errors common to all novice lifters. The book includes sequential animations of each exercise performed correctly, along with practical interpretations of coaching theory, and the anatomical, physiological, and mechanical principles of training. It will help prepare coaches and personal trainers to be more effective strength and conditioning professionals.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... information that it can take coaches years to learn on their own, all collected into a single resource." -- Lyle McDonald, Author "The Ketogenic Diet"

"A new notch in the tradition of Texas strength training exposition" -- Mike Lambert, Editor Powerlifting USA

"I honestly believe that this book ... should be in everyone's bookcase, office or gym bag." -- Jim Wendler, Elite Fitness Systems

From the Publisher

Anyone interested in teaching these major multi-joint lifts should find these chapters most helpful no matter what level of trainee you are instructing. The coaching tips are outstanding, and the photos and line drawings are excellent. The final chapters cover administration and the misconceptions about youth training. These are some of the most interesting in the book and contain a lot of wisdom from both academia and the school of hard knocks. If you are looking for a hard-core instructional text on the basic lifts spiced with humor and years of in the trenches experience, you will enjoy Starting Strength. - Dan Wathan, ATC, CSCS (from a review in the NSCA Strength & Conditioning Journal)

"Starting Strength" is excellent. Your detailed breakdown of the movements and your method of "cueing" the lifter are very helpful. Thanks for a great training resource! - Frank DiMeo, NSCA-CPT

You can't go wrong with the basics because the basics work. Getting stronger and bigger is hard work and STARTING STRENGTH is the beginner's Bible on how to do the basics and get bigger and stronger the correct way, the efficient way, the safe way. - Dr. Ken Leistner

This is, without question, a superb book. Guys, where were you when I was fumbling through the squat and the deadlift ten years ago, falling over and smashing the bar into my shins? This straightforward book contains an immense amount of practical information about several basic lifts: squat, bench and overhead presses, deadlift, and the power clean. Each chapter examines a different lift in great detail (the squat section alone is about 50 pages), explaining everything from the biomechanics of the movement to how to teach it to others. I thought I knew just about all there was to know about these lifts, but I was mistaken. The authors' knowledge is encyclopedic and their treatment of the subject exhaustive. Lifts are literally explained from head (looking forward) to toe (curl them up and drive through heels). Along with explaining correct exercise technique in meticulous detail, the book is full of handy little tips such as looking for shirt folds on the lifter's back to ensure that spinal extension has occurred, using strategically placed duct tape to get wrists into the proper position (no word, though, on how to get it off without some unpleasantness), or how to troubleshoot common form problems. The book concludes with a chapter on training programming so that coaches and lifters can begin to develop training programs based on their own needs. I would call this book an absolute must for any beginner as well as any coach. The practical advice is excellent. - Krista Scott, PhD

I'd have to say this is better than 99% of all weight training literature available today. I'm really impressed by the detail that can only come from someone who's actually been teaching these lifts. Anyone who's written, or thought about writing, a book or essay on weight training should read this one, and learn from it. - Michael Worrall

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: The Aasgaard Company; 1st edition (July 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976805405
• ISBN-13: 978-0976805403
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #854,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Rippetoe is the author of Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, Practical Programming for Strength Training 2nd edition, Strong Enough?, Mean Ol' Mr. Gravity, and numerous journal, magazine and internet articles. He has worked in the fitness industry since 1978, and has been the owner of the Wichita Falls Athletic Club since 1984. He graduated from Midwestern State University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in geology and a minor in anthropology. He was in the first group certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a CSCS in 1985, and the first to formally relinquish that credential in 2009. Rip was a competitive powerlifter for ten years, and has coached many lifters and athletes, and many thousands of people interested in improving their strength and performance. He conducts seminars on this method of barbell training around the country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

209 of 238 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the best training book I have read, July 18, 2006

By 

Ahmik L. Jones (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners (Paperback)

I am a physician and a trainer. I came from a middle distance running background. After medical school I continued to run but of course never got to the point where my fitness was at the level that it was when I was competing in college. I started adding strength training using mainly Olympic Weightlifting. While I was certainly gaining strength, it was not happening as fast as I would have liked. About 5 months ago I purchased Starting Strength. The book is very detailed, but unlike most books on training, it does not put you to sleep. It holds your interest through the plain language, and often funny, explanations of what should be done and also why it should be done.

I used what I learned in the book to modify my training, and I saw results fast. Lifts such as the Deadlift that had been giving me problems based on the form training I got from other sources improved quickly. My leg strength improved rapidly as I began squatting correctly. I did not focus on the bench press as much as the other lifts, but my strength there improved as well. Exercises that were not directly related to the training found in the book, such as pull-ups, also had big improvements. One of the biggest improvements to my performance was my improved running speed. Although I was spending less and less time running, and more time on strength, both my distance running and my sprinting have improved dramatically. The explosive speed that I had back in college has returned. It is amazing what doubling your leg and back strength can do for your overall fitness. I am in the best shape of my life.

I have also used what I learned extensively when I train other people. I have yet to come across a problem with form that is not addressed in the book along with a method of fixing it. I am also able to tell my clients why they should do something so that they understand the importance and will remember it. By using the cues that I learned in the book, I am able to see someone on the far side of the gym doing something that could be unsafe and correct it before there is an injury. I can't express enough how much reading the book has improved my confidence in my ability to train strength movements. So far I have not been at a loss at how to correct a problem. There is always a drill available that can be used to effectively address an issue. This book also increased my appreciation for the slow lifts and encouraged me to emphasize them more when I train other people. The short and long term results have been fantastic. Every day I fix someone's form on a squat or deadlift and have people say things like: "It is so much easier this way. Is it allowed?"

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who trains any type of athlete, including distance events, and to anyone who is interested in improving their athletic abilities or even just their basic functionality. It is true when the authors say, "Physical strength is the most important thing in life."

168 of 197 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn How To Do It Right, January 15, 2007

By 

Steve Tennison - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners (Paperback)

I'm not really the intended audience for this book. It was written primarily for coaches wanting to improve the strength of their young athletes through effective strength training. Me? I'm just a 40-something bodybuilder wanna-be who never stepped into a weight room until 18 months ago. At one point in my struggles, I wanted to learn how to squat and deadlift. I looked around on the internet for information and pestered a couple of people for tips on form and how to not injure myself. I got a lot of bad advice and was lucky to survive with my back in one piece until a friend recommended that I read Starting Strength.

Starting Strength is very detailed and methodical in its explanations of the basic lifts. Where other descriptions of a properly executed squat can be a single paragraph in length, this book dedicates 50 pages to the topic. The descriptions begin with step by step explanations of how to execute a lift followed by information on fixing various problems that might arise either initially or later as greater weights are lifted. The language gets technical at times, but never to the point of incomprehensibility. The material is completely within the grasp of an average Joe like me. There are many excellent pictures and drawings that clearly illustrate the concepts conveyed in the text.

After reading Starting Strength, I changed almost everything about how I do squats and I now deadlift with confidence knowing that I'm using the right form. And with good form, my weights lifted have increased dramatically. I highly recommend Starting Strength. If you are seeking a better education in proper lifting, this book is the right tool for the job.

Update: A lot has happened since I wrote the above review. I got my squat up to 360 pounds and hit 410 on deadlifts before transitioning to competitive Olympic weightlifting. My back and knees are holding up great thanks to the good training foundation I received from Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength. There's now a second edition of the book that includes additional useful information for lifters of all ages.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read, January 31, 2007

By 

T. Reilly - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners (Paperback)

I have been working out for about 7 years and I have read quite a few of these types of books. At one point, I finally realized that none of these books really offered anything different from one another, except maybe a slightly different viewpoint on one or two things. I decided to give this book a shot after hearing about Mark Rippetoe's workout programs and then seeing the reviews here that other customers gave for this book. All of the great reviews are indeed well-earned. While the title may scare some intermediate to advanced bodybuilders away, I definitely recommend they give this book a read. I have learned more from this book (particularly about the squat, bench press, deadlift) than I have learned in the past several years through reading magazines, forum posts, etc. While it is aimed at coaching beginners, I was easily able to take what was being said and apply it to my workouts. All in all, I highly recommend this book for anybody looking to build strength/muscle - regardless of whether you think you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced lifter.