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Practical Programming for Strength Training
Practical Programming offers a different approach to exercise programming than that typically found in other exercise texts. Based on a combined 60+ years of academic expertise, elite-level coaching experience, and the observation of thousands of novice trainees, the authors present a chronological analysis of the response to exercise as it varies through the training history of the athlete, one that reflects the realities of human physiology, sports psychology, and common sense. Contrary to the one-size-fits-all models of periodization offered elsewhere, Practical Programming explains the differences in response to exercise commonly observed between athletes at the novice, intermediate, and advanced levels, explains these differences in the context of the relevant exercise science, and presents new training models that actually work for athletes at all levels of experience. Complete with new, innovative graphical representations of cutting-edge concepts in exercise programming, Practical Programming is sure to become a standard reference in the field of exercise and human performance. Contributor: Glenn Pendlay
282 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
1090 people are currently reading
3663 people want to read
About the author
Mark Rippetoe
9 books201 followersMark Rippetoe is an American strength training coach and author. He has published a number of books and peer-reviewed articles. He has a BSc in geology with a minor in anthropology, but no degree in exercise science. He has several decades of experience as a strength coach, is a former powerlifter, and is currently a gym owner.
Rippetoe was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he now resides. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in petroleum geology from Midwestern State University, where he met his mentor Bill Starr in 1979. He competed in powerlifting from 1979 to 1988, winning the Greater Texas Classic in 1981. He bought Anderson's Gym in 1984, which later became the Wichita Falls Athletic Club. He collaborated with Glenn Pendlay, international-level Olympic lifting coach and Professor Lon Kilgore, who established the USA Weightlifting Regional Development Center in Wichita Falls. Over the next 30 years, he used the gym to test and refine his training program that would maximize strength gains, ultimately resulting in the Starting Strength program.
Rippetoe was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he now resides. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in petroleum geology from Midwestern State University, where he met his mentor Bill Starr in 1979. He competed in powerlifting from 1979 to 1988, winning the Greater Texas Classic in 1981. He bought Anderson's Gym in 1984, which later became the Wichita Falls Athletic Club. He collaborated with Glenn Pendlay, international-level Olympic lifting coach and Professor Lon Kilgore, who established the USA Weightlifting Regional Development Center in Wichita Falls. Over the next 30 years, he used the gym to test and refine his training program that would maximize strength gains, ultimately resulting in the Starting Strength program.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
September 7, 2012
The vast majority of fitness and training books are worthless dross. They offer templates that worked on a population that likely differs from the reader, using equipment that differs from what the reader has on hand, eating a diet the reader doesn't maintain. And are we even sure the exercises worked? Young men get strong so effortlessly that the assertion "This program got some young men's bench presses up" is worth about as much as saying "This program will protect you from Martians." Young men get stronger from even looking at anything MADE of iron.
Practical Programming distinguishes itself from the other literature by not being total shit. It has a solid summary of the sparse scientific research on strength training, including appropriate caveats and warnings where that research is dubious or incomplete. It then fills in the large holes in said research with the authors' decades of experience training strong athletes. Where the authors only have their own experience to back an assertion, they tell the reader. That is to say, unlike all other fitness books, they treat you like a goddamn grownup that can assess facts and logic and make your own goddamn decisions.
How refreshing!
This book will teach you a method to get much farther along in your strength training than you are ever likely to go. Even if you don't want the strength to move mountains, though, it offers the peace of mind of knowing why you do the things you do. You'll be walked through exactly why the preceding book, Starting Strength, is structured the way it is. You'll understand what kinds of muscular and metabolic adaptations are induced by different exercise stresses.
Most importantly, you'll get fucking strong.
I did not do the Starting Strength novice program very well until I read Practical Programming; I thought I knew better. Practical Programming proved to me that I knew exactly shit, and should try to follow the program. As the weeks go by, I'm shocked by my body's ability, when properly fed, stressed, and recovered, to push 5 more pounds every workout.
It's a good thing.
Practical Programming distinguishes itself from the other literature by not being total shit. It has a solid summary of the sparse scientific research on strength training, including appropriate caveats and warnings where that research is dubious or incomplete. It then fills in the large holes in said research with the authors' decades of experience training strong athletes. Where the authors only have their own experience to back an assertion, they tell the reader. That is to say, unlike all other fitness books, they treat you like a goddamn grownup that can assess facts and logic and make your own goddamn decisions.
How refreshing!
This book will teach you a method to get much farther along in your strength training than you are ever likely to go. Even if you don't want the strength to move mountains, though, it offers the peace of mind of knowing why you do the things you do. You'll be walked through exactly why the preceding book, Starting Strength, is structured the way it is. You'll understand what kinds of muscular and metabolic adaptations are induced by different exercise stresses.
Most importantly, you'll get fucking strong.
I did not do the Starting Strength novice program very well until I read Practical Programming; I thought I knew better. Practical Programming proved to me that I knew exactly shit, and should try to follow the program. As the weeks go by, I'm shocked by my body's ability, when properly fed, stressed, and recovered, to push 5 more pounds every workout.
It's a good thing.
December 22, 2015
Overall definitely one of the best books for strength training, specifically programming. I especially appreciate that he spends the first third of the book going overall the fundamental ideas behind training and programming. Understanding Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome and the basic ideas behind getting stronger over time was important. The only thing that I was uncertain of was some of his recommendations for intermediate lifters. First, some of his examples of 'now intermediate lifters' and 'recent novice grads' had squats/benches/deadlifts of around 335x5/250x5/405x5. I find it hard to believe any novice could make linear gains up until this point. I also find his lack of the use of isolation in the Texas Method to be kind of surprising. This stands in contrast to 5/3/1 (which I have done). I feel that the isolation of 5/3/1 is important for recovery and even growth. Then again, 5/3/1 stresses monthly progress instead of weekly like the Texas Method which is likely the primary difference. This brings me to my final point. I find it hard to believe that someone with the lifts mentioned above could make weekly gains on the Texas Method. If your lifts are anywhere in the range of 335x5/250x5/405x5, I don't see how weekly progress is possible. But, I'm going to run his version of the Texas Method regardless (he certainly knows more than me) and I'll see first hand if what he says is true. I'll come back to this review after a couple of months and update it with how I thought his recommendations worked out.
UPDATE:
This works 100%. That being said I found the lack of focus on upper-body a bit problematic. Personally I took out the recovery day and threw in 2 body-building days (one back and biceps and one chest and triceps). It works great, though if you don't have a good endurance/cardio background you may want to limit it to 1 body-building day. Lastly, this is only sustainable on a bulking diet. Overall, would definitely recommend.
UPDATE:
This works 100%. That being said I found the lack of focus on upper-body a bit problematic. Personally I took out the recovery day and threw in 2 body-building days (one back and biceps and one chest and triceps). It works great, though if you don't have a good endurance/cardio background you may want to limit it to 1 body-building day. Lastly, this is only sustainable on a bulking diet. Overall, would definitely recommend.
November 14, 2024
Great advice for all age ranges. The author has tons of humor in this one and an amazing voice! 🗿
Idk how he can simultaneously be anti Nautilus and pro lat pulldown? The same logic to use the lat pulldown would also apply to the leg press, that you can lift more (compared to pull-ups and squats) at the expense of not developing your stabilizers/functional strength? 🤷
Idk how he can simultaneously be anti Nautilus and pro lat pulldown? The same logic to use the lat pulldown would also apply to the leg press, that you can lift more (compared to pull-ups and squats) at the expense of not developing your stabilizers/functional strength? 🤷
December 24, 2008
Two factor model for adaptation--recovery and fitness. To gain fitness, you must disrupt homeostasis. This gets harder over time as the body adapts. Beginners can recover and gain fitness between workouts; intermediates in a week; advanced trainees takes months. Intermediates and advanced trainees are in a state of constant fatigue until the end of a training cycle.
Overtraining is making recovery take more than the time you want it to.
Hormonal model of adaptation--compound lifts initially (post-workout) decrease your hormone levels. This is part of the stress the exercise imposes on the body, and is desirable. Over the recovery period, the body compensates by producing high levels of hormones. This increase in hormonal levels is one of the major goals of weight training.
Beginners have it easier--just add weight every workout. Overtraining doesn't last very long because the weight lifted isn't that much, and only lasts a short time. Stick to a small number of core exercises (basically those taught in Starting Strength). Learning too many lifts causes the techniques to blur and the lifts to interfere with each other. (For example, a front squat is similar to a back squat, but still different; trying to learn them both will cause the front squat to interfere with the back squat.)
Intermediates must work on a weekly schedule--one workout must be lighter to avoid overtraining, but still require enough effort to keep fatigue levels up until the end of their (weekly) cycle. Intermediates can learn a larger variety of exercises, presumably having mastered the core lifts as beginners.
Advanced is hard--the cycle is much longer (month/months). Screwing it up leads to huge losses of time. Very few people actually get here, though, unless they are actually focusing on powerlifting or other strength competitions. Even great athletes in other sports will generally be intermediate weight lifters because their focus is not on lifting weights.
Training focuses on specific energy pathways--phospocreatine, or PCR, which lasts for a few seconds; glycogen, which last a bit longer; and oxidative, which is the steady-state reaction that works over a longer period of time. Train the energy pathway your sport uses. If you're a marathoner, train oxidative. Many sports use the PCR and glycogen pathways heavily. Weightlifting focuses on those.
Adaptations from training are of varying degrees of persistence. In general, strength is more persistent than conditioning; which is more persistent than sport-specific skills.
Overtraining is making recovery take more than the time you want it to.
Hormonal model of adaptation--compound lifts initially (post-workout) decrease your hormone levels. This is part of the stress the exercise imposes on the body, and is desirable. Over the recovery period, the body compensates by producing high levels of hormones. This increase in hormonal levels is one of the major goals of weight training.
Beginners have it easier--just add weight every workout. Overtraining doesn't last very long because the weight lifted isn't that much, and only lasts a short time. Stick to a small number of core exercises (basically those taught in Starting Strength). Learning too many lifts causes the techniques to blur and the lifts to interfere with each other. (For example, a front squat is similar to a back squat, but still different; trying to learn them both will cause the front squat to interfere with the back squat.)
Intermediates must work on a weekly schedule--one workout must be lighter to avoid overtraining, but still require enough effort to keep fatigue levels up until the end of their (weekly) cycle. Intermediates can learn a larger variety of exercises, presumably having mastered the core lifts as beginners.
Advanced is hard--the cycle is much longer (month/months). Screwing it up leads to huge losses of time. Very few people actually get here, though, unless they are actually focusing on powerlifting or other strength competitions. Even great athletes in other sports will generally be intermediate weight lifters because their focus is not on lifting weights.
Training focuses on specific energy pathways--phospocreatine, or PCR, which lasts for a few seconds; glycogen, which last a bit longer; and oxidative, which is the steady-state reaction that works over a longer period of time. Train the energy pathway your sport uses. If you're a marathoner, train oxidative. Many sports use the PCR and glycogen pathways heavily. Weightlifting focuses on those.
Adaptations from training are of varying degrees of persistence. In general, strength is more persistent than conditioning; which is more persistent than sport-specific skills.
September 27, 2014
I absolutely loved Rip's Starting Strength (see my review), but this one just didn't fit my needs. I'm a marathon runner, so keep that in mind when reading. I used to be the typical runner, avoided weights for the most part, thinking they would make me big and bulky (ha!). When I did occasionally go to the gym, I'd pump out endless repetitions with light weights and machines. Needless to say, I got nowhere.
I read Starting Strength which really opened my eyes and changed my training. I almost IMMEDIATELY increased my strength, which translated into better running. However, the problem with SS is, you eventually stall. It is recommended that to continue to increase strength you put on size, by eating more and avoiding excessive cardio vascular activity. Or you move on to an intermediate program. Obviously dropping my run training would defeat the purpose, I'm a runner first, and use weights to supplement my running. I'm not a professional lifter. Three days a week of heavy lifting was starting to interfere with my race training, so it was time to switch. But I ran into similar issues when I used the PPST protocols. I use Tactical Barbell now which is a better fit for me.
If you're not in a similar situation, I have no doubt PPST would probably work just fine. Unfortunately, I have to balance my strength training with my running work. My run training would be considered excessive by most who lift only.
I read Starting Strength which really opened my eyes and changed my training. I almost IMMEDIATELY increased my strength, which translated into better running. However, the problem with SS is, you eventually stall. It is recommended that to continue to increase strength you put on size, by eating more and avoiding excessive cardio vascular activity. Or you move on to an intermediate program. Obviously dropping my run training would defeat the purpose, I'm a runner first, and use weights to supplement my running. I'm not a professional lifter. Three days a week of heavy lifting was starting to interfere with my race training, so it was time to switch. But I ran into similar issues when I used the PPST protocols. I use Tactical Barbell now which is a better fit for me.
If you're not in a similar situation, I have no doubt PPST would probably work just fine. Unfortunately, I have to balance my strength training with my running work. My run training would be considered excessive by most who lift only.
May 19, 2014
One of the best books if not the best one I've read on strength training methodologies. It dives deep into how to create workouts that give maximum results depending on your current level of lifting experience. Really glad I stumbled upon this book at this time as I've felt like running out of ideas of how to progress in my workouts. Mark does a really good job explaining the core principles and adding specific techniques for advanced lifters to use that produce results. Super excited to try everything I've learned here! If you're going to the gym and want some serious progress this book is a must read even if you're a novice lifter you'll find really good practical advice on starting off right which is very hard to find elsewhere.
October 4, 2019
За разлика от огромното количество други книги относно фитнеса и тренировките с тежести, тази няма на корицата си мускулести батковци, макар да е предназначена точно за такива.
Това е сериозна книга за сериозни спортисти и се занимава с програмирането на силовите тренировъчни периоди на средно напредналите атлети, след приключването на началната силова прогресия, описана в https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Докато при начинаещите силата се покачва лесно и това може да става по малко, но непрекъснато, при всяка тренировка, след няколко месеца организмът свиква с натоварването и за понататъшен прогрес е нужна по-тежка тренировка, съответно и по-дълго възстановяване след нея. Това поражда нуждата от по-сложна програма на тренировка/възстановяване, за да може покачването на силата да продължи.
В книгата, треньор Рипетоу описва няколко метода на седмично програмирани тренировки в зависимост от целите на атлета (обща силова тренировка, силов трибой, олимпийско видгане на тежести или допълнителни силови тренировки за кондиция в полза на друг спорт), вкл. доста важната заключителна фаза на методът за начинаещи Starting Strength (която може би трябваше да е част от предишната книга всъщност) и подробна разбивка на четирите фази на популярния Texas Method.
Това е сериозна книга за сериозни спортисти и се занимава с програмирането на силовите тренировъчни периоди на средно напредналите атлети, след приключването на началната силова прогресия, описана в https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Докато при начинаещите силата се покачва лесно и това може да става по малко, но непрекъснато, при всяка тренировка, след няколко месеца организмът свиква с натоварването и за понататъшен прогрес е нужна по-тежка тренировка, съответно и по-дълго възстановяване след нея. Това поражда нуждата от по-сложна програма на тренировка/възстановяване, за да може покачването на силата да продължи.
В книгата, треньор Рипетоу описва няколко метода на седмично програмирани тренировки в зависимост от целите на атлета (обща силова тренировка, силов трибой, олимпийско видгане на тежести или допълнителни силови тренировки за кондиция в полза на друг спорт), вкл. доста важната заключителна фаза на методът за начинаещи Starting Strength (която може би трябваше да е част от предишната книга всъщност) и подробна разбивка на четирите фази на популярния Texas Method.
January 16, 2015
The complete theory of strength training from the most authoritative source in the field.
Note that for novice trainees, it suffices to read the author's book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, though the material presented herein does add valuable theoretical depth.
Note that for novice trainees, it suffices to read the author's book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, though the material presented herein does add valuable theoretical depth.
September 4, 2023
Brilliant programming for anyone moving past the novice stage of programming through to advanced programming.
December 12, 2019
This book builds on the author’s previous book “Starting Strength” which teaches the basic barbell lifts of squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press and power clean. Here, Rippetoe gives the theoretical underpinning for training and how to organize/program your training to take you as far as you want to go on your weightlifting journey.
Our bodies get stronger by cycling through an iterative process of stress / recovery / adaptation. Initially in the ‘novice’ phase this process plays out from one workout to the next, implying that we both can and should increase the weight on the barbell every time we hit the gym.
Once we have ascended the steep part of the progress curve, and exhausted the gains from linear increases in weight, our bodies are no longer capable of recovering and adapting within a single workout. At this point, there are additional techniques to eek out still more gains, such as back-off sets, a light workout day midweek, or reducing the repetitions from 5 to 3.
Eventually, our progress will stall again, and at this point we segue into the “Intermediate” phase. Here Rippetoe discusses different approaches to training that drive progress on a weekly basis by varying the volume and intensity of each training day across the week.
Few lifters will make the leap from intermediate to advanced unless they are competing in the weightlifting sports, so the last section of the book is mostly for interest and completeness. Programming for the advanced lifter is designed to achieve gains across several months.
The most valuable messages I extracted from the book are:
- The “stress” phase of the cycle is induced by varying load, volume, intensity and rest, not the number of exercises. Too many exercises cannot be revisited enough to improve at, and most don’t recruit enough muscles
- We get stronger through the “recovery” phase wherein our body steels itself for the next “stress” event and forces adaptation of the muscles. This process is aided by ensuring adequate protein
- We should regard the whole organism, and not think of our bodies as a collection of individual parts. That’s how our bodies are designed to operate. Power is transferred in a kinetic chain from our legs through hips, shoulders, arms, and ending when the barbell is fully extended. This process is the same in almost any sport where you are throwing or hitting an object.
- By increasing our strength in a non-specific way (i.e. via barbell training) we can display this strength in sports through specific practice. It is a mistake to attempt to mimic the movements of our sport with weights, as that will neither make us stronger nor hone our skills
- Our genotype (genetics) limits the phenotype (the expression of the organism in its environment). Weightlifting is about testing where those limits lie, and realizing they are further away than you think.
- Weightlifting is a lifelong discipline that anyone can start or continue at any stage of life, including women, children and the elderly. These observations matter because many believe weightlifting is only for young men and will lead to injuries over time, when it in fact prevents the ailments that naturally unfold as we age and lose muscle mass, bone density and mobility
This book and Starting Strength are both excellent reference books that I expect to return to time and again as my own journey under the barbell unfolds.
Our bodies get stronger by cycling through an iterative process of stress / recovery / adaptation. Initially in the ‘novice’ phase this process plays out from one workout to the next, implying that we both can and should increase the weight on the barbell every time we hit the gym.
Once we have ascended the steep part of the progress curve, and exhausted the gains from linear increases in weight, our bodies are no longer capable of recovering and adapting within a single workout. At this point, there are additional techniques to eek out still more gains, such as back-off sets, a light workout day midweek, or reducing the repetitions from 5 to 3.
Eventually, our progress will stall again, and at this point we segue into the “Intermediate” phase. Here Rippetoe discusses different approaches to training that drive progress on a weekly basis by varying the volume and intensity of each training day across the week.
Few lifters will make the leap from intermediate to advanced unless they are competing in the weightlifting sports, so the last section of the book is mostly for interest and completeness. Programming for the advanced lifter is designed to achieve gains across several months.
The most valuable messages I extracted from the book are:
- The “stress” phase of the cycle is induced by varying load, volume, intensity and rest, not the number of exercises. Too many exercises cannot be revisited enough to improve at, and most don’t recruit enough muscles
- We get stronger through the “recovery” phase wherein our body steels itself for the next “stress” event and forces adaptation of the muscles. This process is aided by ensuring adequate protein
- We should regard the whole organism, and not think of our bodies as a collection of individual parts. That’s how our bodies are designed to operate. Power is transferred in a kinetic chain from our legs through hips, shoulders, arms, and ending when the barbell is fully extended. This process is the same in almost any sport where you are throwing or hitting an object.
- By increasing our strength in a non-specific way (i.e. via barbell training) we can display this strength in sports through specific practice. It is a mistake to attempt to mimic the movements of our sport with weights, as that will neither make us stronger nor hone our skills
- Our genotype (genetics) limits the phenotype (the expression of the organism in its environment). Weightlifting is about testing where those limits lie, and realizing they are further away than you think.
- Weightlifting is a lifelong discipline that anyone can start or continue at any stage of life, including women, children and the elderly. These observations matter because many believe weightlifting is only for young men and will lead to injuries over time, when it in fact prevents the ailments that naturally unfold as we age and lose muscle mass, bone density and mobility
This book and Starting Strength are both excellent reference books that I expect to return to time and again as my own journey under the barbell unfolds.
February 9, 2017
This was a great addition after reading Starting Strength earlier this year, Rippetoe's other book. I originally thought that this book may be a little too advanced for me, but after adjusting my program myself after stalling, this book really taught me what was going on, and how I can build a custom program suited to my needs.
There's a lot of in the book about physiology, much like in Starting Strength, but there was ample bits of advice for novice, intermediate, and advanced powerlifters. I skipped the advanced sections since that's way way far beyond my capabilities. This book nailed down some Rippetoe basics, such as working on sets of 5 for strength, and also another thing I learned was about different fundamental variations of exercises that could improve some of the big compound lifts, like variations on bench press and deadlifts. Will look to incorporate his advice immediately.
There's a lot of in the book about physiology, much like in Starting Strength, but there was ample bits of advice for novice, intermediate, and advanced powerlifters. I skipped the advanced sections since that's way way far beyond my capabilities. This book nailed down some Rippetoe basics, such as working on sets of 5 for strength, and also another thing I learned was about different fundamental variations of exercises that could improve some of the big compound lifts, like variations on bench press and deadlifts. Will look to incorporate his advice immediately.
March 28, 2017
This is not fiction but I read it to learn more about weight lifting. It gets a bit repetitive but it is fairly useful. I think the thing I mostly will remember in the long run is how he talks about training "to your potential" -- nothing is ever absolute, there is no discussion of who is "good" or "bad" at weightlifting. Everything is about your potential and your goals -- including "levels" of weight training: he talks about novice, intermediate, and advanced in terms of time and intensity of your workouts, not absolute weight you can carry. It makes the whole thing very approachable and non-intimidating.
November 22, 2024
Very cool and helpful to access the same programming book as the coaches at Starting Strength. I took a first pass through this by listening to Rippetoe narrate it, but this will be more of a reference book since there are lots of charts and tables with sample schedules for different programs.
I also think it would be helpful to extract the part of the audio where Rip reminds you that strength gains are made during recovery, not during the actual lifting. Then I'll put that on loop during my night routine, before bed. Been fine with sleep in general, but it's fall season, when I slip into a mood of self-sabotage.
I wish the annotation followed "sets x reps @ weight" instead of "weight x reps x sets." I watched one of the videos explaining this, and yeah it's trivial until it confuses a coach and you accidentally did too many reps on a set or something.
I also think it would be helpful to extract the part of the audio where Rip reminds you that strength gains are made during recovery, not during the actual lifting. Then I'll put that on loop during my night routine, before bed. Been fine with sleep in general, but it's fall season, when I slip into a mood of self-sabotage.
I wish the annotation followed "sets x reps @ weight" instead of "weight x reps x sets." I watched one of the videos explaining this, and yeah it's trivial until it confuses a coach and you accidentally did too many reps on a set or something.
April 21, 2023
A useful tool for honing in on programming, especially for an intermediate or advanced lifter.
The information is, as the title implies, practical and to the point.
Rippetoe is a weird man with a weird sense of humor, which is in most cases a feature though sometimes an obstacle.
One wishes for more diligently cited claims.
The information is, as the title implies, practical and to the point.
Rippetoe is a weird man with a weird sense of humor, which is in most cases a feature though sometimes an obstacle.
One wishes for more diligently cited claims.
October 4, 2017
I am just starting to implement this program, it is very informative and seems like a logical training guide. If the program works well I will update to a 5 star rating. I also enjoy his youtube videos on proper techniques for lifting.
August 5, 2019
Outstanding. Anyone considering iron work needs to read this (and the book by RIPP).
March 1, 2020
I liked this book more than I thought I would! The book discusses the theoretical aspect of strength workout, which is often skipped/overlooked by most training Manuals and even by some gym trainers. And the best part is, everything is explained in layman terms so one doesn't has to Google complicated terms, every 5 mins. It's a must read for anyone who's trying to get into strength training.
November 22, 2024
This book helped me design my strength training program from first principles.
November 18, 2023
A clear, comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of strength training, and how to craft routines ("programming") that work for novice, intermediate, and advanced lifters. It's a good mix of the science & research behind strength training, as well as practical experience in the gym. If you're just starting with lifting, Starting Strength by the same authors is more appropriate, but as you progress, I'd strongly recommend this book too.
The only drawback to this book, and for that matter, Starting Strength, is that they tend to be optimized for athletes: that is, people whose goal is to compete in various sports (especially strength sports). That doesn't really apply to me and many others, who instead train for general health and longevity. For these goals, I've found that most of what these books recommend carries over, but there are some important differences in terms of exercise selection, rep ranges, the importance of mobility and cardio, and so on. In other words, if you're striving not to get as strong as possible, but to get strong enough, and if you're not looking for a training plan for a competition in 6 months, but a training plan that works for decades, this book will help a lot, but you'll want to look into other sources too.
All that said, it's worth reading. Here are my key takeaways:
Two factors: disrupt homeostasis, recover
One of the key ideas in this book is that, in order to get stronger, your training routine must balance two factors:
1. Stress your body enough to disrupt homeostasis.
2. Give your body enough time to recover (which is when you actually get stronger).
For a novice lifter, it takes relatively little stress to disrupt homeostasis (e.g., a few sets with lighter weights in a single workout), and therefore, it takes relatively little time to recover (around 48h), so they can use a routine where every other day, they can repeat roughly the same exercises, but with more weight, making progress extremely quickly.
For an intermediate lifter, it takes considerably more stress to disrupt homeostasis (e.g., more sets with heavier weights across several workouts), and therefore, they need more time to recover (around a week), so they need routines that vary exercises and volume throughout the week, making progress more slowly.
For advanced and elite lifters, training closer to their genetic potential, it takes still more stress to disrupt homeostasis (e.g., many more sets with much heavier weights across many workouts), and therefore, even more time to recover (multiple weeks), so they need routines that vary exercises and volume throughout the month, or even multiple months, making progress very slowly.
Muscle fiber types, energy systems, and adaptation
The body has different types of muscle fibers and uses different energy systems:
1. Type I muscle fibers primarily rely on aerobic metabolism, which can't generate too much force, but are highly fatigue resistant.
2. Type IIa and IIb muscle fibers primarily rely on anaerobic metabolism, so they can generate much more force, but they fatigue much faster.
Training allows you to improve the function of all these muscle fiber types, but different types of training use different energy systems, and therefore, affect different muscle fiber types. For example, doing a 1RM max lift or an all-out 40 yard dash relies primarily on Type II muscle fibers, whereas doing a 1 hour run or bike ride relies primarily on Type I muscle fibers.
The key point is that you must match the training you do the training effect you want.
- If you're looking to build strength, you need to do training that uses Type II muscle fibers, especially type IIb, which means low reps, heavy weights.
- If you're looking to build muscle mass (hypertrophy), you need to do training that uses both types of Type II muscle fibers, which means medium reps and medium weights.
- If you're looking to build long-term endurance, you need to do training that focuses on Type I muscle fibers, which means doing cardio such as running and biking.
Adaptation persistence
Certain types of adaptations persist for a longer time than others: for example, strength takes a long time to develop, but it also persists a long time, even if you reduce or stop training. On the other hand, cardiovascular endurance can be developed more quickly, but is also lost more quickly if you reduce or stop training.
Key insight: arrange your training to put items with longer adaptation persistence earlier and shorter adaptation persistence later (i.e., closest to the competition).
Rest and recovery
There are two types of rest and recovery to consider:
1. Rest between sets. Different energy systems and muscle fibers take different amounts of time to recovery, so the amount you rest between sets should be tied to your training goals. For example, full recovery from anaerobic exercise (e.g., weight lifting, which uses Type II muscle fibers) takes 3-7 minutes. So if your goal is strength training, you should rest roughly 3-7 minutes between heavy sets; if your goal is muscle mass, there seems to be a link between lactic acid production and increased muscle mass, so you may do better with only partial recovery, resting only 45 seconds - 1 minute between sets; and if your goal is maximizing muscular endurance, rather than strength, then you should use as little rest as possible between sets, as training your ability to recover quickly is the entire goal!
2. Rest between workouts. You don't get stronger at the gym; you get stronger at home, as a result of recovery. Giving your body time between workouts, as well as sufficient sleep and nutrition (especially protein) is critical. However, as you get to intermediate and advanced levels, recovery times may be quite long, and if you do no training at all during those times, you may lose some degree of strength: neuromuscular efficiency is especially known to drop off quickly. Therefore, intermediate and advanced routines will typically do some degree of very high stress work (e.g., lots of volume, etc) followed by a recovery period where you still do training to maintain neuromuscular efficiency while you recover, but at a much lower volume (so it doesn't intefere too much with recovery).
Dynamic effort sets
Training with a high percentage of your 1RM is a great way to increase the number and efficiency of motor units recruited, so it's a very productive way to train. However, it's difficult to recover from. If you do it too much, especially at intermediate and advanced levels, you can develop chronic conditions such as tendinitis, ligament injuries, bursitis, etc.
Another way to increase the number and efficiency of motor units recruited is to generate force quickly and explosively. This is used in a style of training called dynamic effort, popularized by Louie Simmons in the Westside method. The idea is:
- Use 50-75% of your 1RM.
- Move the bar as fast as possible. It's all about acceleration, which requires significant effort & focus.
- Do lots of sets, with just a few reps, and only a short rest time between sets. Example: 10 sets of 2 reps with 1 minute between sets.
Using much smaller percentages of your 1RM is a lot easier to recover from, but if you move the weight very quickly, and generate a lot of power, you still get an effective training stimulus.
Routines
The book defines a number of routines appropriate for novice, intermediate, and advanced athletes. I'll only list a few of them here.
Note that the routines below use the terms "light," "medium," and "heavy." Here is what these mean in this context:
[Novice] Starting Strength
See the book Starting Strength for details.
[Intermediate] Texas Method
- Monday: 5 sets of 5
- Wednesday: 2 light sets of 5
- Friday: 1 heavy set of 5 (alternatives: 1RM, 2RM, 3RM, or dynamic effort sets)
Monday is the "stress" workout. Wednesday is a recovery workout, mostly there to maintain neuromuscular efficiency. Friday is the "heavy" workout when the trainee has recovered enough from Monday to be able to show an increase in performance (and perhaps set a new PR). That means the weight on the bar goes up on Friday, and, assuming you complete the workout successfully, the weight also goes up the following Monday. So you're not making progress in weight every single workout, as a novice would, but you're making progress roughly weekly, which is appropriate for an intermediate lifter.
[Intermediate] Split Routine
Example 1 (track & field athlete):
- Monday: squat, press
- Wednesday: pull (e.g., clean, snatch) and back
- Thursday: squat, press
- Saturday: pull (e.g., deadlift)
Example 2 (powerlifter):
- Monday: bench press and related exercises
- Wednesday: heavy squat, lighter deadlift
- Thursday: bench press and related exercises
- Saturday: lighter squat, heavy deadlift
At intermediate levels, if you try to train the entire body every single workout, the workouts can get extremely long, and are hard to recover from. Therefore, the split routine is a way to train the entire body several times per week, but each individual workout is shorter and easier to recover from.
The only drawback to this book, and for that matter, Starting Strength, is that they tend to be optimized for athletes: that is, people whose goal is to compete in various sports (especially strength sports). That doesn't really apply to me and many others, who instead train for general health and longevity. For these goals, I've found that most of what these books recommend carries over, but there are some important differences in terms of exercise selection, rep ranges, the importance of mobility and cardio, and so on. In other words, if you're striving not to get as strong as possible, but to get strong enough, and if you're not looking for a training plan for a competition in 6 months, but a training plan that works for decades, this book will help a lot, but you'll want to look into other sources too.
All that said, it's worth reading. Here are my key takeaways:
Two factors: disrupt homeostasis, recover
One of the key ideas in this book is that, in order to get stronger, your training routine must balance two factors:
1. Stress your body enough to disrupt homeostasis.
2. Give your body enough time to recover (which is when you actually get stronger).
For a novice lifter, it takes relatively little stress to disrupt homeostasis (e.g., a few sets with lighter weights in a single workout), and therefore, it takes relatively little time to recover (around 48h), so they can use a routine where every other day, they can repeat roughly the same exercises, but with more weight, making progress extremely quickly.
For an intermediate lifter, it takes considerably more stress to disrupt homeostasis (e.g., more sets with heavier weights across several workouts), and therefore, they need more time to recover (around a week), so they need routines that vary exercises and volume throughout the week, making progress more slowly.
For advanced and elite lifters, training closer to their genetic potential, it takes still more stress to disrupt homeostasis (e.g., many more sets with much heavier weights across many workouts), and therefore, even more time to recover (multiple weeks), so they need routines that vary exercises and volume throughout the month, or even multiple months, making progress very slowly.
Muscle fiber types, energy systems, and adaptation
The body has different types of muscle fibers and uses different energy systems:
1. Type I muscle fibers primarily rely on aerobic metabolism, which can't generate too much force, but are highly fatigue resistant.
2. Type IIa and IIb muscle fibers primarily rely on anaerobic metabolism, so they can generate much more force, but they fatigue much faster.
Training allows you to improve the function of all these muscle fiber types, but different types of training use different energy systems, and therefore, affect different muscle fiber types. For example, doing a 1RM max lift or an all-out 40 yard dash relies primarily on Type II muscle fibers, whereas doing a 1 hour run or bike ride relies primarily on Type I muscle fibers.
The key point is that you must match the training you do the training effect you want.
- If you're looking to build strength, you need to do training that uses Type II muscle fibers, especially type IIb, which means low reps, heavy weights.
- If you're looking to build muscle mass (hypertrophy), you need to do training that uses both types of Type II muscle fibers, which means medium reps and medium weights.
- If you're looking to build long-term endurance, you need to do training that focuses on Type I muscle fibers, which means doing cardio such as running and biking.
Adaptation persistence
Certain types of adaptations persist for a longer time than others: for example, strength takes a long time to develop, but it also persists a long time, even if you reduce or stop training. On the other hand, cardiovascular endurance can be developed more quickly, but is also lost more quickly if you reduce or stop training.
Key insight: arrange your training to put items with longer adaptation persistence earlier and shorter adaptation persistence later (i.e., closest to the competition).
Rest and recovery
There are two types of rest and recovery to consider:
1. Rest between sets. Different energy systems and muscle fibers take different amounts of time to recovery, so the amount you rest between sets should be tied to your training goals. For example, full recovery from anaerobic exercise (e.g., weight lifting, which uses Type II muscle fibers) takes 3-7 minutes. So if your goal is strength training, you should rest roughly 3-7 minutes between heavy sets; if your goal is muscle mass, there seems to be a link between lactic acid production and increased muscle mass, so you may do better with only partial recovery, resting only 45 seconds - 1 minute between sets; and if your goal is maximizing muscular endurance, rather than strength, then you should use as little rest as possible between sets, as training your ability to recover quickly is the entire goal!
2. Rest between workouts. You don't get stronger at the gym; you get stronger at home, as a result of recovery. Giving your body time between workouts, as well as sufficient sleep and nutrition (especially protein) is critical. However, as you get to intermediate and advanced levels, recovery times may be quite long, and if you do no training at all during those times, you may lose some degree of strength: neuromuscular efficiency is especially known to drop off quickly. Therefore, intermediate and advanced routines will typically do some degree of very high stress work (e.g., lots of volume, etc) followed by a recovery period where you still do training to maintain neuromuscular efficiency while you recover, but at a much lower volume (so it doesn't intefere too much with recovery).
Dynamic effort sets
Training with a high percentage of your 1RM is a great way to increase the number and efficiency of motor units recruited, so it's a very productive way to train. However, it's difficult to recover from. If you do it too much, especially at intermediate and advanced levels, you can develop chronic conditions such as tendinitis, ligament injuries, bursitis, etc.
Another way to increase the number and efficiency of motor units recruited is to generate force quickly and explosively. This is used in a style of training called dynamic effort, popularized by Louie Simmons in the Westside method. The idea is:
- Use 50-75% of your 1RM.
- Move the bar as fast as possible. It's all about acceleration, which requires significant effort & focus.
- Do lots of sets, with just a few reps, and only a short rest time between sets. Example: 10 sets of 2 reps with 1 minute between sets.
Using much smaller percentages of your 1RM is a lot easier to recover from, but if you move the weight very quickly, and generate a lot of power, you still get an effective training stimulus.
Routines
The book defines a number of routines appropriate for novice, intermediate, and advanced athletes. I'll only list a few of them here.
Note that the routines below use the terms "light," "medium," and "heavy." Here is what these mean in this context:
[Novice] Starting Strength
See the book Starting Strength for details.
[Intermediate] Texas Method
- Monday: 5 sets of 5
- Wednesday: 2 light sets of 5
- Friday: 1 heavy set of 5 (alternatives: 1RM, 2RM, 3RM, or dynamic effort sets)
Monday is the "stress" workout. Wednesday is a recovery workout, mostly there to maintain neuromuscular efficiency. Friday is the "heavy" workout when the trainee has recovered enough from Monday to be able to show an increase in performance (and perhaps set a new PR). That means the weight on the bar goes up on Friday, and, assuming you complete the workout successfully, the weight also goes up the following Monday. So you're not making progress in weight every single workout, as a novice would, but you're making progress roughly weekly, which is appropriate for an intermediate lifter.
[Intermediate] Split Routine
Example 1 (track & field athlete):
- Monday: squat, press
- Wednesday: pull (e.g., clean, snatch) and back
- Thursday: squat, press
- Saturday: pull (e.g., deadlift)
Example 2 (powerlifter):
- Monday: bench press and related exercises
- Wednesday: heavy squat, lighter deadlift
- Thursday: bench press and related exercises
- Saturday: lighter squat, heavy deadlift
At intermediate levels, if you try to train the entire body every single workout, the workouts can get extremely long, and are hard to recover from. Therefore, the split routine is a way to train the entire body several times per week, but each individual workout is shorter and easier to recover from.
November 14, 2020
The program itself is great. I was skeptical of my ability to increase my squat by 10lbs 3x a week for several weeks. I was wrong. I've seen great results in my overall strength. My only reason for a 3 star rating is I found it very difficult to pull out exactly what I needed to do during the novice linear progression. There is a great deal of generalities regarding things like rest time, when to introduce power cleans, etc. I realize this is because all humans are not the same so a strict guideline doesn't always work. Well worth checking out. I've read a good deal if fitness books and this is one of a kind in its philosophy and goals. Now that I'm in my mid 30s I care less about a shredded six pack and am looking for longevity in my training.
May 1, 2019
Great book. If you are into strength training and can't stand the usual nonsense that you can find on the internet, then this is a book for you.
One thing needs to be emphasized though - it's specifically focused on strength training (as in weightlifting) and not necessarily about building muscles. Latter (hypertrophy) is to some extent the result of the former (strength) but it is not always the case. So if your goal of training is to have nice shredded abs to show on the beach, then you need to find some other book. This one won't help you.
One thing needs to be emphasized though - it's specifically focused on strength training (as in weightlifting) and not necessarily about building muscles. Latter (hypertrophy) is to some extent the result of the former (strength) but it is not always the case. So if your goal of training is to have nice shredded abs to show on the beach, then you need to find some other book. This one won't help you.
October 11, 2013
This is an important book. Rippetoe presents the logical, scientific building blocks of the body's adaptation process. This info is then applied to the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced weight trainer through various time-tested training protocols. Anyone who employs the use of a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, or any other progressive resistance device will benefit from the information. Like most training, you won't master the material in a single read-through. It will take several repetitions through the book to fully comprehend and understand the depth of info that Rippetoe discusses. But to the persevering and astute student, the lessons here will provide a lifetime of adaptation possibilities. The only negative is for the upfront scientific walkthrough necessary to lay the foundation for the subsequent material--this will lose many readers. Perhaps there is a way to present this info in a more "friendly", gradual manner. Maybe not. Also, while the vast majority of the scientific info presented is rock solid, the Hormonal Fluctuation Model is based on some very preliminary results.
September 13, 2024
Mark Sorely needs an editor, and to be taught how to do audiobooks.
I'm trying to listen to the audiobook of the 3rd edition as I read along with the 3rd edition, and suddenly for 5 minutes he's talking about stuff that's not contained between the paragraph that was finished and the next one starting.
An audiobook isn't an excuse to go on rants, tangents, or add back in content that was originally cut.
I'm trying to listen to the audiobook of the 3rd edition as I read along with the 3rd edition, and suddenly for 5 minutes he's talking about stuff that's not contained between the paragraph that was finished and the next one starting.
An audiobook isn't an excuse to go on rants, tangents, or add back in content that was originally cut.
April 21, 2012
Solid follow-up to Starting Strength. The first book tells you how to do the exercises. This one tells you when. A lot of information about how to design weight lifting programs and when to change them.
February 18, 2015
Esto debería ser parte del programa de educación física de colegio.
Cualquier persona moderadamente interesada en cualquier tipo de deporte obligatoriamente ha de leer esto. Me puso a repasar conceptillos de biología y de todo.
Coach Rip, respect to the maximum.
Cualquier persona moderadamente interesada en cualquier tipo de deporte obligatoriamente ha de leer esto. Me puso a repasar conceptillos de biología y de todo.
Coach Rip, respect to the maximum.
March 18, 2013
fantastic book, its ideal from every level of athlete and coach. It covers all the necessary areas of program design without being overly complex or simplified.
September 23, 2014
Good advice on training scheduling and periodization for both novice and advanced trainees. Introduces the current knowledge and theory behind strength training
December 10, 2020
The nuts and bolts of strength training with barbells. It was a bit boring, I think I would enjoy this book more had I not been influenced by it indirectly. I probably owe most of my knowledge of strength to Rippetoe indirectly because his beginner system has become the norm. The book covers a large range of how to design a program for strength and the fundamentals of strength training and some in-depth physiology.
Rippetoe is a Texan, he has a no-nonsense attitude to strength training. He has passionate hate against anything commercial and mainstream. He says many gym programs which include machines are designed to maximize profit for the gyms, and not to make anyone strong. He makes a clear distinction between training, and ... exercise. Training is following a plan to meet a goal, whereas filthy exercise is just burning off calories and lifting weights without any particular goal or purpose. Rude.
He gives a firm warning that a lot of exercise science is performed by untrained college novices and the reason why such a large diversity of programs give results is that virtually anything works on untrained novices. When it comes to training novices, everyone's right, but some are more right than others.
The book advocates a low-volume program with lifting three times a week performing barbell exercises. It describes what the lifter can expect in terms of results, and for long before one should switch programs. A novice program is roughly defined by expecting progress each workout, whereas an intermediate program expects progress each week. Rippetoe explains the mechanics and examples of multiple programs which I have found helpful and I have got several new ideas on how to design programs for myself.
The intermediate program, Texas method, is described in detail, where days are split up by volume days, light days/neuromuscular and intensity days.
Some notes:
"Training through a full range of motion and
the correct practice of sport skills will maintain flexibility, just as they have
established it to begin with, and an attempt to further increase flexibility is at
best a waste of time."
Having a Chest, Back day(lats), Shoulders split, triceps work every day, while pectorals once a week:
is an example of poor training organization producing a schedule that includes both inadequate and excessive exercise frequency at the same time.
I'm a bit disconcerted about his dismissal of cardio. He dismisses the claim that cardio increases strength training: "The adaptations required for successful strength and power performance are supplied quite adequately by the stress of the work itself, thus invalidating the argument for including aerobic training in strength and power athletes’ programs." - Which is fair enough, although I think one has to be careful to not falling far into this paradigm of doing everything to increase deadlifts and squat, thinking that's all to fitness. Besides, this seems contradictory to when he says that doing deadlifts and squats benefits from power cleans. He says you will benefit by doing other exercises than power cleans to get better at power cleans:
"In the clean and jerk, for example, simple performance of the exercise will at some point fail to drive adaptation. Once maximum technical performance has been well established, continued repetition of work at the maximum clean and jerk weight will fail to satisfactorily disrupt homeostasis. This is because at maximum weights for the clean and jerk, several factors contribute to the lack of progress – technique, psychological factors, power, and
strength." - Can't the same said with cardio? I mean, when guys are short of breath for minutes after bench pressing heavy, should that be considered a fit, strong person?
Rippetoe is a Texan, he has a no-nonsense attitude to strength training. He has passionate hate against anything commercial and mainstream. He says many gym programs which include machines are designed to maximize profit for the gyms, and not to make anyone strong. He makes a clear distinction between training, and ... exercise. Training is following a plan to meet a goal, whereas filthy exercise is just burning off calories and lifting weights without any particular goal or purpose. Rude.
He gives a firm warning that a lot of exercise science is performed by untrained college novices and the reason why such a large diversity of programs give results is that virtually anything works on untrained novices. When it comes to training novices, everyone's right, but some are more right than others.
The book advocates a low-volume program with lifting three times a week performing barbell exercises. It describes what the lifter can expect in terms of results, and for long before one should switch programs. A novice program is roughly defined by expecting progress each workout, whereas an intermediate program expects progress each week. Rippetoe explains the mechanics and examples of multiple programs which I have found helpful and I have got several new ideas on how to design programs for myself.
The intermediate program, Texas method, is described in detail, where days are split up by volume days, light days/neuromuscular and intensity days.
Some notes:
"Training through a full range of motion and
the correct practice of sport skills will maintain flexibility, just as they have
established it to begin with, and an attempt to further increase flexibility is at
best a waste of time."
Having a Chest, Back day(lats), Shoulders split, triceps work every day, while pectorals once a week:
is an example of poor training organization producing a schedule that includes both inadequate and excessive exercise frequency at the same time.
I'm a bit disconcerted about his dismissal of cardio. He dismisses the claim that cardio increases strength training: "The adaptations required for successful strength and power performance are supplied quite adequately by the stress of the work itself, thus invalidating the argument for including aerobic training in strength and power athletes’ programs." - Which is fair enough, although I think one has to be careful to not falling far into this paradigm of doing everything to increase deadlifts and squat, thinking that's all to fitness. Besides, this seems contradictory to when he says that doing deadlifts and squats benefits from power cleans. He says you will benefit by doing other exercises than power cleans to get better at power cleans:
"In the clean and jerk, for example, simple performance of the exercise will at some point fail to drive adaptation. Once maximum technical performance has been well established, continued repetition of work at the maximum clean and jerk weight will fail to satisfactorily disrupt homeostasis. This is because at maximum weights for the clean and jerk, several factors contribute to the lack of progress – technique, psychological factors, power, and
strength." - Can't the same said with cardio? I mean, when guys are short of breath for minutes after bench pressing heavy, should that be considered a fit, strong person?
June 13, 2021
Rock solid book. Really plugs you into the kinesiology and chemistry of what your muscles do.
Style wise, I like how instead of making statements like 'there is an unhealthy culture of extreme approaches in the fitness industry' at the beginning, Rippletoe instead has a playful approach. He puts in little jabs at how unrealistic many mindsets are, consistently and with quite poetic timing and humor. He is very serious one moment and very wry the next.
My favourite is a graph that shows how more repetitions of an exercise are suited for hypertrophy, fewer for strength, and the relationship of these two factors to neural adaptation and ATP (energy) storage. Pretty standard, boring graph, right? As all the benefits start waning the more you keep doing an exercise (imagine doing a single exercise 50 times in a row) he has little you could easily miss put at the extreme end of the graph. -- Silliness begins here --Madness begins here -- Death begins here.
In other words, this book is about appreciating that the body is an instrument with limitations. You can push yourself, but there are very clear rules for what works and even clear causal relationships between 'do [x] and it WILL eventually harm you with no long-term benefit'.
Even as you strive to push your limitations, the body must abide by what it is. To ignore that is self-harm and also doesn't appreciate the spirit of the sport.
It is a very reasonable book in the face of the 'no pain no gain' bumpersticker style Instagram posts that encourage people to starve themselves, or seek shortcuts for the sake of quick gains (and usually the shortcuts that do not work cost $100).
One of many things I did not know: weightlifting is all about forcing your body to recruit and cultivate more motor neurons around muscles AND that some areas have a very limited number of these neurons out of the gate which creates unique challenges. Our legs have very few motor neurons per muscle compared to our super agile hands and arms for example. It finally explains why deeply working your legs feels so much more difficult. We just have fewer neurons to tell our muscles what to do there compared to other parts of our body. It is more cognitive effort and so pushing ourselves is that much harder. BUT you can make your body recruit (build) more over time. It just takes a really, really long time to do so. Years.
I would read this if you have a good sense of where you want to go with weightlifting but want some information behind your decisions. It is highly recommended across the field and I now know why. It is pretty dense if you just want a 'set it and forget it' solution with a bunch of easy to read routines. I'm an avid amateur myself but have been doing the sport at my own pace and loving it for years.
Style wise, I like how instead of making statements like 'there is an unhealthy culture of extreme approaches in the fitness industry' at the beginning, Rippletoe instead has a playful approach. He puts in little jabs at how unrealistic many mindsets are, consistently and with quite poetic timing and humor. He is very serious one moment and very wry the next.
My favourite is a graph that shows how more repetitions of an exercise are suited for hypertrophy, fewer for strength, and the relationship of these two factors to neural adaptation and ATP (energy) storage. Pretty standard, boring graph, right? As all the benefits start waning the more you keep doing an exercise (imagine doing a single exercise 50 times in a row) he has little you could easily miss put at the extreme end of the graph. -- Silliness begins here --Madness begins here -- Death begins here.
In other words, this book is about appreciating that the body is an instrument with limitations. You can push yourself, but there are very clear rules for what works and even clear causal relationships between 'do [x] and it WILL eventually harm you with no long-term benefit'.
Even as you strive to push your limitations, the body must abide by what it is. To ignore that is self-harm and also doesn't appreciate the spirit of the sport.
It is a very reasonable book in the face of the 'no pain no gain' bumpersticker style Instagram posts that encourage people to starve themselves, or seek shortcuts for the sake of quick gains (and usually the shortcuts that do not work cost $100).
One of many things I did not know: weightlifting is all about forcing your body to recruit and cultivate more motor neurons around muscles AND that some areas have a very limited number of these neurons out of the gate which creates unique challenges. Our legs have very few motor neurons per muscle compared to our super agile hands and arms for example. It finally explains why deeply working your legs feels so much more difficult. We just have fewer neurons to tell our muscles what to do there compared to other parts of our body. It is more cognitive effort and so pushing ourselves is that much harder. BUT you can make your body recruit (build) more over time. It just takes a really, really long time to do so. Years.
I would read this if you have a good sense of where you want to go with weightlifting but want some information behind your decisions. It is highly recommended across the field and I now know why. It is pretty dense if you just want a 'set it and forget it' solution with a bunch of easy to read routines. I'm an avid amateur myself but have been doing the sport at my own pace and loving it for years.
February 9, 2019
Worth the read. Sections on increasing timescales for recovery over time and on increasing specificity of training over time were very interesting. I am still far from needing to worry about intermediate or advanced concerns, and consequently skipped the advanced section entirely. The section on getting a novice unstuck, on the other hand, seems like something I will need.
I was hopeful for more sport-specific discussions in the intermediate section, but Rip only really talks about football, olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting. The take-away is that I should stall out the novice progression from Starting Strength and then worry about sport-specifying (which is roughly what I expected going in). The section on aging lifters was also of interest.
The exercise science sections were a bit of a mixed bag. The section on hormones listed a number of them relevant to building strength, their effects, ... and then not much actionable about them, besides testosterone being produced during sleep and not in women.
The editing (in the kindle edition) wasn't great. In one case I noticed a table that had been transposed, which was quite confusing initially. In another, a whole paragraph was duplicated.
Parts of the book felt repetitive (beyond the paragraph duplication), but maybe I've been reading too much Rippetoe.
I was hopeful for more sport-specific discussions in the intermediate section, but Rip only really talks about football, olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting. The take-away is that I should stall out the novice progression from Starting Strength and then worry about sport-specifying (which is roughly what I expected going in). The section on aging lifters was also of interest.
The exercise science sections were a bit of a mixed bag. The section on hormones listed a number of them relevant to building strength, their effects, ... and then not much actionable about them, besides testosterone being produced during sleep and not in women.
The editing (in the kindle edition) wasn't great. In one case I noticed a table that had been transposed, which was quite confusing initially. In another, a whole paragraph was duplicated.
Parts of the book felt repetitive (beyond the paragraph duplication), but maybe I've been reading too much Rippetoe.
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