[Implo]

I've looked a bit, its really awkward on my phone which is what I use don't have computer access recently. Everyone talks about starting strength, anyone direct me to it?

[Colonel Cathcart]

I'm guessing you haven't searched for it on Google. If you do so, the first link might be a good starting point...

[McHumpy92]

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Strict Press
5x3 Power cleans

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

That's it, but personally I would add in a few more exercises to get a bit of bulk on t-shirt muscles. Keeps you more interested getting results on the more noticeable muscles and stops you jumping on some crappy bodybuilding routine after 2 months.

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
3x5-8 Dips
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Strict Press
5x3 Power cleans
3x5-8 Incline Press
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

[2Plate!1]

(Original post by McHumpy92)

That's it, but personally I would add in a few more exercises to get a bit of bulk on t-shirt muscles. Keeps you more interested getting results on the more noticeable muscles and stops you jumping on some crappy bodybuilding routine after 2 months.

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
3x5-8 Dips
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Strict Press
5x3 Power cleans
3x5-8 Incline Press
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

this is good advice. lotss of people get fed up with SS cos it isnt so heavily geared towards aesthetics... if you follow the routine this guy posted you may not recover as well as you would on just plain SS but you will still make great gains if your diet is right

[RedGuy]

(Original post by McHumpy92)
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Strict Press
5x3 Power cleans

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

That's it, but personally I would add in a few more exercises to get a bit of bulk on t-shirt muscles. Keeps you more interested getting results on the more noticeable muscles and stops you jumping on some crappy bodybuilding routine after 2 months.

Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
3x5-8 Dips
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Strict Press
5x3 Power cleans
3x5-8 Incline Press
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

What's a good way for a beginner to determine how much Kg they should be aiming for? (For the workouts involving weights)

[zjs]

(Original post by RedGuy)
What's a good way for a beginner to determine how much Kg they should be aiming for? (For the workouts involving weights)

There's so prescribed 'starting amount', as it all depends on the person and their strength at the commencement of the programme.

The best bet is to, the first time you head into the gym to start SS, start at a weight of around 30-40k (i.e. Low but not ridiculously so) and work up from there. Take it in 5kg increments and work up to a weight where you can complete a rep. The weight should be enough to be heavy enough to encourage hypertrophy, but not enough to reach failure. If you fail with the weight, or come close to failure, on one rep then it's clearly too heavy. 50-60kg is usually the starting point for squats/deads, but really it's all how you feel. It should be hard to complete the 5 reps, but not so hard that you lose your good form.

Remember: start lower and don't push so hard you're losing your form or failing. This is a good way to sustain an injury or not actually benefit from the exercise. You need to be using heavy loads, of course, but not so heavy you can't actually finish the sets. This isn't doing the workout properly (YNTDP) and you'll find it impossible to reach gradual overload in subsequent workouts as you'll be unable to sustain a steady increase in weight and will plateau early.

To the point: start relatively low and work up to a weight where the rep is hard but you're not feeling yourself losing form or failing. You should be able to do 5 reps with the weight. The reps should be hard, but not so hard that they make you struggle to the point of losing form/failure.

[Gary10k]

(Original post by McHumpy92)
Workout A
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift
3x5-8 Dips
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Strict Press
5x3 Power cleans
3x5-8 Incline Press
3x5-8 Pull-ups

Workouts A and B alternate on 3 non-consecutive days per week.

(Original post by 2Plate!1)
this is good advice. lotss of people get fed up with SS cos it isnt so heavily geared towards aesthetics... if you follow the routine this guy posted you may not recover as well as you would on just plain SS but you will still make great gains if your diet is right

Seen sometimes the power cleans are swapped out for Bent Barbell Row / Pendlay(?) Rows. This okay?

[McHumpy92]

Yes but powercleans are cooler and help general performance more.

[RedGuy]

(Original post by zjs)
There's so prescribed 'starting amount', as it all depends on the person and their strength at the commencement of the programme.

The best bet is to, the first time you head into the gym to start SS, start at a weight of around 30-40k (i.e. Low but not ridiculously so) and work up from there. Take it in 5kg increments and work up to a weight where you can complete a rep. The weight should be enough to be heavy enough to encourage hypertrophy, but not enough to reach failure. If you fail with the weight, or come close to failure, on one rep then it's clearly too heavy. 50-60kg is usually the starting point for squats/deads, but really it's all how you feel. It should be hard to complete the 5 reps, but not so hard that you lose your good form.

Remember: start lower and don't push so hard you're losing your form or failing. This is a good way to sustain an injury or not actually benefit from the exercise. You need to be using heavy loads, of course, but not so heavy you can't actually finish the sets. This isn't doing the workout properly (YNTDP) and you'll find it impossible to reach gradual overload in subsequent workouts as you'll be unable to sustain a steady increase in weight and will plateau early.

To the point: start relatively low and work up to a weight where the rep is hard but you're not feeling yourself losing form or failing. You should be able to do 5 reps with the weight. The reps should be hard, but not so hard that they make you struggle to the point of losing form/failure.

Thanks, that was very helpful. Now I need to find a gym that doesn't cost a bomb!

[mikestraws]

(Original post by RedGuy)
Thanks, that was very helpful. Now I need to find a gym that doesn't cost a bomb!

Where abouts are you mate? The problem I found was that gyms in my area are very ill equipped to do proper strength training. They seem to be 85% cardio machines, 10% light dumbells, 5% heavy dumbells and barbells, smith machine but no squat rack, bench press etc. It reeeeeeeeeli sucks.

[RedGuy]

(Original post by mikestraws)
Where abouts are you mate? The problem I found was that gyms in my area are very ill equipped to do proper strength training. They seem to be 85% cardio machines, 10% light dumbells, 5% heavy dumbells and barbells, smith machine but no squat rack, bench press etc. It reeeeeeeeeli sucks.

SE London. There's a gym just 5 minutes walking distance from my house, but they want £35 a month, an initial payment and you need to set up a direct debit with them. **** that!

[mikestraws]

(Original post by RedGuy)
SE London. There's a gym just 5 minutes walking distance from my house, but they want £35 a month, an initial payment and you need to set up a direct debit with them. **** that!

Seems a lot to me but I don't know London prices. I believe there is a directory online you can use to find "hardcore" gyms near your postcode, cant remember the address though.

[zjs]

(Original post by RedGuy)
Thanks, that was very helpful. Now I need to find a gym that doesn't cost a bomb!

Thegym. £16 a month, no contract. Quite a few in South London and more opening too.

Suffers from the usual 'too many machines, not enough free weights', but there is at least a rack on which to squat and bench free, barbells to allow you to do cleans/deadlifts should the rack be in use and a decent range of ancillary equipment; good range of dumbells, EZ Curl bars and fixed barbells for the beginner.

[Smack]

Starting Strength is not a routine but the name of a book written by Mark Rippetoe. The full title is Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, now in its 3rd edition. This book is primarily based on the lifts themselves rather than routines to follow exactly, although it gives a basic template which works very well. He has also written another book, Practical Programming for Strength Training in which many more templates are given and he also discusses how to create your own.

But the basic template given in the book Starting Strength is:

Workout A

Squats: 3x5
Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5

Workout B

Squats: 3x5
Bench Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5

You follow this template for a few weeks until your deadlift soars and it becomes difficult to do three times per week and better understand how to pull from the floor.

Once you can do this, it then becomes:

Workout A

Squats: 3x5
Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5

Workout B

Squats: 3x5
Bench Press: 3x5
Power cleans: 5x3

Note that power cleans are now added in during the B workout in place of deadlifts. Since you're now much better at pulling from the floor (i.e. you can keep your torso tight, arms straight and use the legs) power cleans will be easier to learn. Chins can also be added in as a useful assistance exercise, too, and are recommended.

This template should work for some time now. But after that you alternate power cleans with deadlifts and in the other workout instead of a pull from the floor you do back extensions. So it goes like:

Workout A

Squats
Press
Deadlift/Power clean

Workout B

Squats
Bench Press
Back Extensions
Chins/Pull ups

I would definitely recommend buying the book if you are going to perform the routine.

[AmoreAmore]

(Original post by Smack)
Starting Strength is not a routine but the name of a book written by Mark Rippetoe. The full title is Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, now in its 3rd edition. This book is primarily based on the lifts themselves rather than routines to follow exactly, although it gives a basic template which works very well. He has also written another book, Practical Programming for Strength Training in which many more templates are given and he also discusses how to create your own.

But the basic template given in the book Starting Strength is:

Workout A

Squats: 3x5
Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5

Workout B

Squats: 3x5
Bench Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5

You follow this template for a few weeks until your deadlift soars and it becomes difficult to do three times per week and better understand how to pull from the floor.

Once you can do this, it then becomes:

Workout A

Squats: 3x5
Press: 3x5
Deadlift: 1x5

Workout B

Squats: 3x5
Bench Press: 3x5
Power cleans: 5x3

Note that power cleans are now added in during the B workout in place of deadlifts. Since you're now much better at pulling from the floor (i.e. you can keep your torso tight, arms straight and use the legs) power cleans will be easier to learn. Chins can also be added in as a useful assistance exercise, too, and are recommended.

This template should work for some time now. But after that you alternate power cleans with deadlifts and in the other workout instead of a pull from the floor you do back extensions. So it goes like:

Workout A

Squats
Press
Deadlift/Power clean

Workout B

Squats
Bench Press
Back Extensions
Chins/Pull ups

I would definitely recommend buying the book if you are going to perform the routine.

Workout A is twice a week and B once a week, right?

I thought bench was workout A and was done twice a week with press in B and once a week?

[Gary10k]

(Original post by AmoreAmore)
Workout A is twice a week and B once a week, right?

I thought bench was workout A and was done twice a week with press in B and once a week?

Well its A/B/A/B/A/B etc. so week 1 would be A B A and then week two would be B A B so each gets its turn twice a week