Questions tagged [starting-strength]

A beginner strength program by Mark Rippetoe.

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5 votes
1 answer
186 views

Do isolated exercises really not work as good as compound movements for increasing strength?

The reason that isolated body-part training on machines doesn't work is the same reason that barbells work so well, better than any other tools we can use to gain strength. The human body functions as ...
4 votes
3 answers
431 views

How should I train strength if I want to stay pain-free and have good mobility?

"My best powerlifting accomplishment in the 275-pound weight class was a 1,000-pound squat, 675-pound bench press, 700-pound deadlift, and a 2,375 total. No, I wasn't strong at all! Sure, I could ...
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

bamboo barbells/ unstable loads and research papers [duplicate]

I've been told that there are lots of research papers on this new kind of barbell, but I can't find any of them on google scholar or research gate. Do such papers exist? If so could you give me a list ...
6 votes
1 answer
193 views

What book(s) for beginning routines at PF for 50-year old with 10 years off with strength as a first goal? [closed]

Problem: I have not had an exercise routine in 10 years. I now want to build strength again and look good, and improve my cardiovascular health (stop being winded so easily). I just joined Planet ...
11 votes
1 answer
659 views

Practical applications of the earthquake/bamboo bar

My gym recently purchased this weird bar: I have yet to see anyone actually use it. From what I can tell, the point is to hang weights off the sides and they swing at each rep. The idea (I guess) is ...
3 votes
2 answers
754 views

Should general workouts be done before Starting Strength 5x5?

I'm planning to put my wife on the Starting Strength 5x5 program starting next week. She's 28 years old and has no experience with weight training. Is it a good idea to go ahead and start with the ...
4 votes
5 answers
10k views

How many calories are burned doing Starting Strength, Stronglifts, or equivalent?

Trying to estimate TDEE and don't really know how many calories are burned during 5x5 strength workouts, or equivalent weightlifting time spent in the gym. Want to make sure I am eating enough, and ...
0 votes
1 answer
408 views

Should beginners be doing Rounded Back Deadlifts in a beginner strength training program?

Ma Strength posted a video on Facebook with the following description: "To be prepared beforehand for any contingency is the greatest of virtues.” ---Sun Tzu The Art of War During maximal ...
11 votes
2 answers
6k views

At the top of the deadlift (i.e., when you have picked up the barbell), are you supposed to roll your shoulders back?

At the top of the deadlift (i.e., when you have picked up the barbell), are you supposed to roll your shoulders back? Or are the shoulders supposed to remain the way they were when you grabbed the bar ...
3 votes
2 answers
596 views

What would happen if one added more sets to Starting Strength or Stronglifts?

The number of sets in routines like Starting Strength or Stronglifts seems absurdly low. For example, doing Starting Strength, you are on average doing 4.5 sets per week on the bench press. That's ...
4 votes
0 answers
148 views

Has any man achieved slow high kicks in their 30s?

My goal is to be able to do a slow, controlled side-kick movement significantly above waist level (ideally, head-height). Is there any evidence-based training program that would lead to that? I have ...
1 vote
1 answer
176 views

Is variation of movement important in strength training? [closed]

Exercise is the thing we must do to replicate the conditions under which physiology was - and still is - adapted, the conditions in which we are physically normal. In other words, exercise is ...
2 votes
0 answers
515 views

What to do after failing the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression

I've been doing LP for 4 months. I've gained 10kg in the first 3 months (from 83-93kg), rest between sets, enough sleep, no injuries, and adding weight on the bar. I did not get weaker on any of the ...
4 votes
5 answers
281 views

Looking for a good rotational exercise to add to Starting Strength program

I follow the Starting Strength program. I like that is built around natural movement patterns. The deadlift for instance is really just picking something heavy up from the ground. This is both useful ...
4 votes
1 answer
489 views

Are my forearms too long for a Power Clean?

In "Starting Strength", Mark Rippetoe wrote that there are people who simply cannot rack the bar as required for a Power Clean due to an "abysmal anatomy". I am indeed having a hard time racking the ...
1 vote
2 answers
412 views

Starting Strength without a power rack in a home gym

As a 28 year old desk worker, I'm noticing I'm getting fluffy around the waist and my strength has diminished even more over the years. I used to do aerobic sports so I wasn't out of shape during my ...
3 votes
2 answers
6k views

Changing Starting strength to lose Fat

Is it possible to alter Starting strength to lose weight ? Basically I have three questions : In the existing program how can a person lose weight ? There are many success stories available on the ...
0 votes
0 answers
301 views

How can I split Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5?

Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5 and Madcow 5x5 are popular and similar barbell strength training programs. They all use the same lifts and use sets of 5 and trains the full body 3 days a week. ...
6 votes
4 answers
479 views

What to do after joining the gym?

I am sorry if the question was very vague, Ill clear it out here, I am 26 soon turning 27 by August, I weigh 70 Kgs, I have thin arms but a very fat belly, all I want is a healthy body, maybe work out ...
0 votes
1 answer
208 views

Bench press (starting strength by Mark Rippitoe)

"The pectoralis minor helps stabilize the rib cage into the arched position when the scapulae are anchored by the traps and rhomboids" How scapulae are anchored by traps and rhomboids? I didn't get ...
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

Benching/pressing more than three times every two weeks on Starting Strength

On Starting Strength, the lifter is only supposed to be doing bench press every other workout, and similarly for overhead press, so that one is only bench pressing (or overhead pressing) three times ...
1 vote
1 answer
80 views

I get tight muscles and very painful DOMs after I workout

I’m new to wheight lifting and I’m looking to build size but also lose some fat. Anyway, a day after my bicep workout I could barely extend my arm and it hurt like hell. Same thing for chest. If it’s ...
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

How to find a weight lifting coach?

What's the best way to find a good coach for weight lifting in my area? The trainers in my gym seem to be very big & strong, but not experts in form, or at least not know (at all) how to teach it....
0 votes
1 answer
231 views

Best ways to add explosive strength to a barbell training/HIT program?

I am a 45 year old male. For 2 months I have been training weights acccording to the Starting Strength program twice a week. That is except for the power clean which I have not been doing yet. My ...
1 vote
0 answers
199 views

Weight training for muscular endurance

I have just started doing Stronglifts 5x5 (which is almost the same as Starting Strength). Hopefully in say 6 months time I have made good progress, but are also starting to plateu. In order to get ...
2 votes
1 answer
159 views

Does long distance running prevent muscle/strength gain?

I've read at Mark Rippetoe's website that a long distance running is where catabolic process prevail, and muscle/strength gain is where anabolic process prevail. Therefore, they should somehow impede ...
9 votes
1 answer
3k views

What's the point of the weekly 2-day break in Starting Strength's programming? Can a novice just skip that?

Starting Strength prescribes two daily lifting schedules (A and B), to be performed alternately on 3 non-consecutive days per week. That means something like this: S M T W T F S ---...
1 vote
1 answer
570 views

training abs every day, several times a day

It's all about body fat we all know it that about abs.I have heard much methods but I am curious about "no stop abs workouts". I plan on lots of abs training everyday (and good nutritional food). My ...
2 votes
3 answers
428 views

Carb cycling while maintaining strength on the bar

I'm looking to lose some of the belly fat that I'd accumulated while doing Starting Strength (SS) for the last 6-7 months. At the same time, I don't want to lose the strength that I've on the bar. ...
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

Weighlifting shoes for a beginner

I'm getting into strength training, following the Starting Strength program, and they advise strongly to buy some weightlifting shoes. (Currently, I'm using some tough hiking sneakers, and don't feel ...
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Substitute powerlifting exercises for healing wrist injury

I am doing a Starting Strength-like powerlifting routine and want to continue to improve my strength in the big lifts in the long run. Two months ago, I had a wrist injury from which I apparently did ...
3 votes
1 answer
276 views

Intermittent Fasting Post Workout

I have lost around 33 pounds using intermittent fasting (skipping breakfast by substituting BCAAs). Since then, I have started lifting, first with Starting Strength and now with Texas Method, ...
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

Can starting strength be morphed to fit hypertrophy purposes?

If I take an 'off the shelf' starting strength workout and increase the repetitions to the 8-12 range per set, will it be an effective hypertrophy workout? Day 1 Squat 3x12 Bench 3x12 Snatch ...
5 votes
5 answers
641 views

Is there a Mon-Fri lifting program for beginners, similar to Starting Strength?

I've been doing Starting Strength for a month now and am still progressing fine. However, I'd have time to lift every weekday, and really want to. Is there a similar, well-tested program that I could ...
19 votes
1 answer
741 views

Are there papers about Starting Strength or Strong lifts?

I read a bit abut these programs, I see some results in forums and in internet in general, but any reasonably good method and proper nutrition can get results. I would like to know if: Are there ...
8 votes
4 answers
18k views

My biceps becomes stiff after one workout. How do I fix this?

What should I do when my biceps becomes stiff? When I perform curls by using a rod, I am able to curl my biceps, but later on, when I move to dumbbell curls, even the lightest weight — say 15 pounds — ...
4 votes
2 answers
3k views

Preventing upper back from rounding while squatting

My current bodyweight is 65kg and I am doing StrongLifts 5x5 for past two months. I am stuck between 70-75kg squat. Until 65kg squat it didn't matter much how my form was. I know that, I used to ...
3 votes
1 answer
726 views

Body building workout equivalent to Starting Strength?

I have been following a strength training program for about 14 months (Stronglifts 2.5 months, Starting Strength the remaining time). I'm getting a bit bored of it (going to the gym feels like a ...
2 votes
2 answers
363 views

Can Starting Strength be made faster?

At my work weight it takes me between 60 and 75 minutes to finish the novice Starting Strength program. I would like to be in and out of the gym in about 40 min. When I diminish my work weights I'm ...
2 votes
1 answer
442 views

Starting Strength, time to move on?

I'm 41 years old, 1.82m tall and weigh 82kg. I have been on strength training for 14 months (2.5 stronglifts, 11.5 starting strength). I didn't do the program, as Riptoe would put it. I never got ...
8 votes
5 answers
17k views

What is the best iOS App for tracking Starting Strength progress? [closed]

What is the best iOS application for recording and tracking progress in Starting Strength? I need an app that tells me which lifts I am supposed to do on which day. It must also allow me to input my ...
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

Can Starting Strength be done by women realistically?

Can Starting Strength be done by women? I'm following everything correctly except for the bulking (for obvious reasons). 10 lb weight increases happen every few weeks (as opposed to every few days). ...
-2 votes
1 answer
518 views

temporal instantiation of workout function [closed]

I have been contemplating my daily routine algorithm as of lately.. When should I call my workout function on $self? Before I call my daily work method? Or after I finish this method call? What is ...
3 votes
2 answers
374 views

Practical Programming + Couch to 5K - Diet

I'm looking at starting a regimen combining the Practical Programming strength training routine (a derivative of the Starting Strength program) with the Couch to 5K running plan, in order to improve ...
3 votes
1 answer
315 views

Do training breaks affect the 'novice effect'?

Starting Strength book mentions the 'novice effect', where a novice can gain strength very quickly and increase lifts every workout. Does taking a break during the novice phase affects this? Is ...
5 votes
1 answer
445 views

Deadlift form and individual morphometry

I'm a beginner lifter (female) doing Starting Strength. I'm having a problem with my deadlift form that I think might be partly related to individual morphometry. So, what happens is this: I set up ...
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

How many times a week should I deadlift and squat as a beginner?

I am a 32 year old guy. I haven't done deadlifts or squats before, but occasionally did workouts on individual muscle groups, and running. I am looking forward to building strength, gaining muscle ...
6 votes
4 answers
9k views

Should I really lock my elbows and knees when lifting?

When bench pressing, at max extension, should I lock my elbows or keep them loose? What about my knees when squatting? UPDATE: Here are some links from the Mayo Clinic warning against locking joints ...
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

Elbow movement during Rippetoe Press

When doing a (standing, overhead) press as described in Starting Strength, are your elbows supposed to stay in a vertical plane, under your hands and in front of your hands (more or less), staying at ...
3 votes
1 answer
109 views

How should I interpret this performance standards table?

Starting strength wiki refers to these strength standard tables. Are the values listed there the upper limit for the category, or the lower limit? In other words, I'm 81Kg and I'm able to squat 90Kg,...