Starting Strength (2nd edition)
by Mark Rippetoe, Lon Kilgore
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Book Summary Information
Author: Lon Kilgore, Mark RippetoeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-21
ISBN: 0976805421
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: The Aasgaard Company
Book Reviews of Starting Strength (2nd edition)
Book Review: Great Strength Training Book: Step by Step instructions on the Core Lifts
Summary: 5 Stars
High Level Overview:
Reviewer Background:
Degree in Exercise Physiology - BSU 1996
Personal Trainer
Pros:
*This book is very very very detailed on how to perform the main core lifts, Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Press, and Power Cleans and generally focuses on multi-joint exercises and down plays isolation type exercises.
*The book spends a great deal of time and effort explaining proper form for doing the basic lifts (which if you have spent any time in the gym at all you can see all kinds of wild interpretations of the basic lifts)
*This book is a perfect example of how little equipment you actually need to get not only a good workout, but a great workout. Essentially you can work all of the main muscle groups with the following pieces of equipment. Power Rack, and adjustable bench, barbell, and weights.
*The book does a very good job of breaking down the mechanics of how your body's center of gravity changes as it moves through different exercises.
Cons:
*There is not clear cut program that one can take from the book and start using. The instructions for how many reps and sets too use is going to be somewhat confusing for someone just getting starting. I have been working out for 20 + years plus several years of training clients and I had a hard time developing a workout plan around what is presented in the book. To make it adaptable to the beginner, a plan needs to be step by step and map out percentages as a goal for doing various exercises.
*To add to the confusion, for the most part you are doing 3 sets of 5 reps for your work sets with the same weight, but on occasion you rotate in 5 sets of 5 reps, 2 sets with increasing weight and 3 sets at the same weight. Again in the book, this is hard to decipher and put into a training log you can use. I just don't see how someone with little or no experience in a weight room is going to get the idea.
*The nutrition part is sort of weak: Here the advice is drink a gallon of milk, and take in 2500 to 5000 calories a day.
*The book although does a great job with the mechanics (i.e. leverage) it really doesn't touch on the physiology behind how muscle work and how they recover (there is a very drawing of the "Metabolic Speedometer" which describes which energy systems are in use with different types of activity)
Overview: This is a STRENGTH book, not a book on bodybuilding/body sculpting (hence the name "Starting Strength". I can't emphasize enough you need to know what you are training for before you commit to a book purchase and exercise routine. This book is focuses on strength and nothing else, hypertrophy may be a side of affect of strength but is not the goal, nor is the goal to produce shapely well defined muscles and washboard abs. This book is written by a power lifter (Rippetoe) for strength and power and that's it.
The book easy to read; is full of illustrations, and flows together very nice. Rippetoe drops in some dry humor to keep it fresh.
Overall:
This is a great book if you have some experience in the weight room and are very familiar with sets, reps, warm-up sets, work sets, and back off sets, and most importantly, if your goal is "STRENGTH"
*If you are sporting a "dickie-do" then this book is probably NOT going to be your official guide to getting back in shape.
*If you are a coach, then this book is a must
*If you are an AD, then the book is a must
*If you are a teenager or your adult wanting to get stronger for a host of different sports or for competition, then this is the book for you.
*You are NOT going to find a diet plan in here if you are wanting to drop a good deal of your body fat and tone up.
Bottom Line:
*I would recommend this book as a supplement to your fitness library, but not as a base. *I would check out some books by Ellington Darden, the exercises and machines are very different than what this book presents (that does not mean better), but his books have a wealth of information concerning the physiology behind weight training , diet, and rest. His books also tend lean more towards getting in shape and dropping excess body fat as opposed to pure strength gains.
*In the end for a training program to be successful, the trainee needs to believe it will work, and part of believing it will work is understanding how it will work.
Update: 10-31-09,
I've been following the routine for two weeks and starting to see some strength gains after years and years of a plateau. The training volume is way down from what I am used to and so is the intensity, but I am getting stronger. It took me 1 week of workouts to get my weights adjusted correctly
Summary of Starting Strength (2nd edition)
Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training is the new expanded version of the book that has been called "the best and most useful of fitness books." It picks up where Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners leaves off. With all new graphics and more than 750 illustrations, a more detailed analysis of the five most important exercises in the weight room, and a new chapter dealing with the most important assistance exercises, Basic Barbell Training offers the most complete examination in print of the most effective way to exercise.Bodybuilding & Weight Training Books
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