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Best back squat explanation, HANDS DOWN Nov 21, 2009
This book is, hands down, the best explanation of the basic barbell lifts, especially the barbell backsquat, ever put on paper. It also taught me that all the myriad of lifts the muscle and fitness magazines have are a waste of time for 95% of the general population.
The majority of this book is the explanation of the 5 core barbell lifts: Squats, bench press, shoulder press, the deadlift, and power cleans. While it also has a chapter on auxiliary exercises, learning the core lifts properly from this book has made me see that you need very little else besides these core lifts to get strong in a very real way. I gained more brute strength from a few months of real barbell training with these 5 lifts than years of aimless workouts gleaned from fitness magazines.
Bottom line: If you want to know how to do REAL lifts the RIGHT way, and get rid of all the garbage you see most people wasting their time on in gyms and get this book! I WISH I had had this book when I was younger.
Great seller, fast shipping! Nov 14, 2009
Book was in great condition and arrived very quickly. I'd recommend this seller for their excellent service.
Great Strength Training Book: Step by Step instructions on the Core Lifts Oct 20, 2009
High Level Overview:
Reviewer Background:
Degree in Exercise Physiology - BSU 1996
Personal Trainer
Pros:
*This book is very very very detailed on how to perform the main core lifts, Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, and Power Cleans and generally focuses on multi-joint exercises and down plays isolation type exercises.
*The book spends a great deal of time and effort explaining proper form for doing the basic lifts (which if you have spent any time in the gym at all you can see all kinds of wild interpretations of the basic lifts)
*This book is a perfect example of how little equipment you actually need to get not only a good workout, but a great workout. Essentially you can work all of the main muscle groups with the following pieces of equipment. Power Rack, and adjustable bench, barbell, and weights.
*The book does a very good job of breaking down the mechanics of how your body's center of gravity changes as it moves through different exercises.
Cons:
*There is not clear cut program that one can take from the book and start using. The instructions for how many reps and sets too use is going to be somewhat confusing for someone just getting starting. I have been working out for 20 + years plus several years of training clients and I had a hard time developing a workout plan around what is presented in the book. To make it adaptable to the beginner, a plan needs to be step by step and map out percentages as a goal for doing various exercises.
*To add to the confusion, for the most part you are doing 3 sets of 5 reps for your work sets with the same weight, but on occasion you rotate in 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets with increasing weight and 3 sets at the same weight. Again in the book, this is hard to decipher and put into a training log you can use. I just don't see how someone with little or no experience in a weight room is going to get the idea.
*The nutrition part is sort of weak: Here the advice is drink a gallon of milk, and take in 2500 to 5000 calories a day.
*The book although does a great job with the mechanics (i.e. leverage) it really doesn't touch on the physiology behind how muscle work and how they recover (there is a very drawing of the "Metabolic Speedometer" which describes which energy systems are in use with different types of activity)
Overview: This is a STRENGTH book, not a book on bodybuilding/body sculpting (hence the name "Starting Strength". I can't emphasize enough you need to know what you are training for before you commit to a book purchase and exercise routine. This book is focuses on strength and nothing else, hypertrophy may be a side of affect of strength but is not the goal, nor is the goal to produce shapely well defined muscles and washboard abs. This book is written by a power lifter (Rippetoe) for strength and power and that's it.
The book easy to read; is full of illustrations, and flows together very nice. Rippetoe drops in some dry humor to keep it fresh.
Overall:
This is a great book if you have some experience in the weight room and are very familiar with sets, reps, warm-up sets, work sets, and back off sets, and most importantly, if your goal is "STRENGTH"
*If you are sporting a "dickie-do" then this book is probably NOT going to be your official guide to getting back in shape.
*If you are a coach, then this book is a must
*If you are an AD, then the book is a must
*If you are a teenager or your adult wanting to get stronger for a host of different sports or for competition, then this is the book for you.
*You are NOT going to find a diet plan in here if you are wanting to drop a good deal of your body fat and tone up.
Bottom Line:
*I would recommend this book as a supplement to your fitness library, but not as a base. *I would check out some books by Ellington Darden, the exercises and machines are very different than what this book presents (that does not mean better), but his books have a wealth of information concerning the physiology behind weight training , diet, and rest. His books also tend lean more towards getting in shape and dropping excess body fat as opposed to pure strength gains.
*In the end for a training program to be successful, the trainee needs to believe it will work, and part of believing it will work is understanding how it will work.
Update: 10-31-09,
I've been following the routine for two weeks and starting to see some strength gains after years and years of a plateau. The training volume is way down from what I am used to and so is the intensity, but I am getting stronger. It took me 1 week of workouts to get my weights adjusted correctly
As good as it gets! Oct 16, 2009
This book is simply a must read for anyone interested in gaining strength and size through weightlifting. Lifting weights my old way left me with severe muscular imbalances since I stuck with the lifts I was good at (bench press) and ignored the exercises I was not good at (squats). Coach Rippetoe addresses my old form of programming in his book by stating: "wandering around the gym, deciding what looks fun, doing it until the fun stops, and then doing something else IS NOT TRAINING." When I read about Coach Rippetoe's 3 days a week in the gym, 5 core lifts, and relatively few sets across, the program seemed insufficient. After doing the program, I now see how wrong I was and what a solid program Rippetoe has crafted. Each workout has a goal, and the weights just get heavier and heavier - you to the gym with a purpose - you leave having accomplished something. You build on your accomplishments every workout. This is a proven program that I wish I knew about years ago. I now view my pre-Starting Strength training as wasted time and effort.
I have two more recommendations: (1) Rippetoe's Starting Strength DVD, since it helps with the more technical lifts and with little things you could miss in the book; (2) Coach Rippetoe does a Q&A on the forum [...] where he answers programming questions and gives feedback re: form, etc. Not only is the information he posts valuable, but Rippetoe is extremely witty and his posts are always helpful and amusing (be sure to use the search function before you post, lest you be ripped by Rip). In sum, buy this book, you'll never look at the guys doing biceps curls in the squat rack the same again.
I've been doing it wrong! Oct 14, 2009
I've started serious weight lifting about a month ago and bought "Starting Strength" shortly thereafter. I had some weight training and almost a year of strength training, but while reading the book I realized just how many things I could improve in my technique. Applying Mark Rippetoe's advice in the gym allowed me to make much better progress in my training and it's just great to see the look on some guys' faces when a girl half their size squats more than they do.
The book also provided me with some excellent insight on *why* we should use a correct technique and I now have a better understanding on how the body works during certain exercises, so I can better focus on doing them properly.
Highly recommended for anyone doing barbell training or who is looking at starting a strength training program.
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