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I second the sentiment but would also suggest https://startingstrength.com/ https://startingstrength.com/ :) Mainly for the wealth of online videos & other tra

I second the sentiment but would also suggest https://startingstrength.com/ https://startingstrength.com/ :) Mainly for the wealth of online videos & other training materials I've found to help learn the lifts. I do recommend the book and the app costs a few bucks if you want it.

bproven 9y ago
Both of these are excellent. Even if you don't want to follow these programs exactly at least grab Rippetoe's book "Starting Strength" (3rd edition). It is a great reference for all the big lifts - very well illustrated with detailed explanations. Getting stronger (especially as you get older) is critical to good quality of life. Once you have hit your limits on those two programs move to Wendler's 5/3/1 :) I've done SS and now 5/3/1 for the last 4-5 years and I'm the strongest I've been in my life in my early 40s! EDIT: Also another great thing about Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is that it doesn't require much of a time commitment. You can easily be in/out of the gym in an hour or less - if you are not goofing off, 40-45 minutes is pretty typical.
- ryanchants 9y ago
  I just finished my second week of my first cycle of 531 Triumvirate + FSL and I'm loving it. In the next week or two I'll probably start tacking on some conditioning(prowler/ropes/kettlebells) after cause I still feel pretty good.
andy_ppp 9y ago
Great site! I’ll have a good read, this stood out: https://startingstrength.com/article/the_first_three_questions https://startingstrength.com/article/the_first_three_questio...
- bproven 9y ago
  Yes, I found as you get older (if you start when you are older at least) it might be a good strategy to bump the weights in lower increments. For example, instead of adding 10lbs to the bar every workout which works well for younger folks add 5lbs instead. This is not a sprint, but a marathon. Slow steady progress is what you want.
vinceguidry 9y ago
What I want before I start lifting again is rock-solid advice on avoiding injury. I have Starting Strength and have trained it before with a trainer who went through Rip's program. Stopped after a couple of injuries in a row. Rip's injury advice is "you're going to get them, train through." Fuck that. It's just not worth it. Injuries are massive, debilitating events and having even a minor one makes all the previous months useless. Only a pro or someone desperately trying to believe that strength training is the key to being a man or whatever would train past that. Being able to deadlift 325 is in the "nice-to-have" bin of life achievements. The other thing I want is to be able to do it without making my hands all rough. Eventually I think I'll just build a t-handle kettlebell* and just go super slow on the weight increases. When I finally get back into it, I plan on doing it for the rest of my life. Without a single injury. I do not think this is possible with barbells. At least not without a lot more study than is currently being done on it. * http://www.instructables.com/id/T-Handle-Kettlebell/ http://www.instructables.com/id/T-Handle-Kettlebell/
- rjeli 9y ago
  I do quite a bit of strength training and have near-baby hands. Rippetoe has videos on how to hold the bar. You should never be cinching skin against skin.
  - always_good 9y ago
    I'm not sure how you can lift and not get rough hands without using gloves. I also don't see why someone would care about their baby hands in the gym. It reminds me of Costanza's hand modeling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxX3-rJoNI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxX3-rJoNI
- drumttocs8 9y ago
  http://www.gymnasticbodies.com http://www.gymnasticbodies.com may be interesting to you. So many people focus on strength or cardio, while mobility is just as important.
- Gatsky 9y ago
  I can't recommend Michael Boyle's books enough - "Functional Training for Sports", and "New Functional Training for Sports". He trains athletes at a national and olympic level, and injury prevention is a key theme running through everything he says. In contrast to Starting Strength et al, he actually makes the point that heavy bilateral squats and deadlifts are often too hard to teach and do well. He doesn't recommend doing back squats at all. The programs they use for athletes focus on single leg work, the argument being this is both safer and more 'functional' (how often do you back squat heavy stuff in the real world?).
drharby 9y ago
Rippetow ftw

bproven 9y ago

Both of these are excellent. Even if you don't want to follow these programs exactly at least grab Rippetoe's book "Starting Strength" (3rd edition). It is a great reference for all the big lifts - very well illustrated with detailed explanations. Getting stronger (especially as you get older) is critical to good quality of life. Once you have hit your limits on those two programs move to Wendler's 5/3/1 :) I've done SS and now 5/3/1 for the last 4-5 years and I'm the strongest I've been in my life in my early 40s! EDIT: Also another great thing about Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5 is that it doesn't require much of a time commitment. You can easily be in/out of the gym in an hour or less - if you are not goofing off, 40-45 minutes is pretty typical.

ryanchants 9y ago
I just finished my second week of my first cycle of 531 Triumvirate + FSL and I'm loving it. In the next week or two I'll probably start tacking on some conditioning(prowler/ropes/kettlebells) after cause I still feel pretty good.

andy_ppp 9y ago

Great site! I’ll have a good read, this stood out: https://startingstrength.com/article/the_first_three_questions https://startingstrength.com/article/the_first_three_questio...

bproven 9y ago
Yes, I found as you get older (if you start when you are older at least) it might be a good strategy to bump the weights in lower increments. For example, instead of adding 10lbs to the bar every workout which works well for younger folks add 5lbs instead. This is not a sprint, but a marathon. Slow steady progress is what you want.

vinceguidry 9y ago

What I want before I start lifting again is rock-solid advice on avoiding injury. I have Starting Strength and have trained it before with a trainer who went through Rip's program. Stopped after a couple of injuries in a row. Rip's injury advice is "you're going to get them, train through." Fuck that. It's just not worth it. Injuries are massive, debilitating events and having even a minor one makes all the previous months useless. Only a pro or someone desperately trying to believe that strength training is the key to being a man or whatever would train past that. Being able to deadlift 325 is in the "nice-to-have" bin of life achievements. The other thing I want is to be able to do it without making my hands all rough. Eventually I think I'll just build a t-handle kettlebell* and just go super slow on the weight increases. When I finally get back into it, I plan on doing it for the rest of my life. Without a single injury. I do not think this is possible with barbells. At least not without a lot more study than is currently being done on it. * http://www.instructables.com/id/T-Handle-Kettlebell/ http://www.instructables.com/id/T-Handle-Kettlebell/

rjeli 9y ago
I do quite a bit of strength training and have near-baby hands. Rippetoe has videos on how to hold the bar. You should never be cinching skin against skin.
- always_good 9y ago
  I'm not sure how you can lift and not get rough hands without using gloves. I also don't see why someone would care about their baby hands in the gym. It reminds me of Costanza's hand modeling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxX3-rJoNI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZxX3-rJoNI
drumttocs8 9y ago
http://www.gymnasticbodies.com http://www.gymnasticbodies.com may be interesting to you. So many people focus on strength or cardio, while mobility is just as important.
Gatsky 9y ago
I can't recommend Michael Boyle's books enough - "Functional Training for Sports", and "New Functional Training for Sports". He trains athletes at a national and olympic level, and injury prevention is a key theme running through everything he says. In contrast to Starting Strength et al, he actually makes the point that heavy bilateral squats and deadlifts are often too hard to teach and do well. He doesn't recommend doing back squats at all. The programs they use for athletes focus on single leg work, the argument being this is both safer and more 'functional' (how often do you back squat heavy stuff in the real world?).

drharby 9y ago

Rippetow ftw