Starting Strengths over my head
dafoots0911
Posts: 347 Member
I finally purchased the book and is it me or what but I find there are so many parts that are just soooo technical that I feel I need to have a physics degree to understand some of -- a lot of the book so I just look at the pictures or read the parts I do understand.
I get lost and bored.
I get lost and bored.
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I browsed the book online, and I agree! I got more out of watching the Rippetoe utube tutorials.0
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I'd give it another chance. I found it technical too but reread it and focused on the key elements and moved forward when it got too technical. You'll find much of the info extremely helpful once you get started and most of it will make sense. Focus on the form instruction and the do's and don'ts. It's my bible when I'm not sure I'm using proper form and I revisit it to correct any errors.0
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It is very technical, and certainly not an easy read.
I was able to get mostly through it only because the technical aspect of it was exactly what I was trying to get my head around. But, I can see why someone would just give it a superficial read-through, shelve it and then revisit it later when they're at the point of needing to extract information from it. It's certainly not a waste of money, but it's more of a technical manual, really. Don't feel bad for getting lost. Pull out of it what you find helpful and don't worry about the rest. He puts a lot of stuff in there that's designed for coaches and serious power lifters, not necessarily for regular folk who aren't going to lift at a competitive level and who aren't professional athletes. Make sure you get a solid handle on the basics, and don't get too hung up on the many, many, many, many details.0 -
I read it cover to cover and lived to tell the tale.
I agree that some parts of it are a bit off the geek scale, but let them wash over you. Just scan those pages for "easy sentences". You'll probably find that as you get more advanced in your lifting, you will want to come back to that squat chapter or the deadlift chapter. And they will make a lot more sense the second time around.0 -
Some add'l thoughts.
MR does a good job of making important points prominent. A few things he repeats again and again are key: his "cues" are super-useful, for example. Like "knees out" while squatting. Another point of his that really stuck with me is "bars like to move in straight lines". Videotape yourself doing a squat from the side, and look at nothing but the path of the bar. If the bar does not move in a path that's close to a straight line, you've got a form problem. Same for deadlifts.
The last chapter is quite useful in designing your workout regime, although be warned that he is not writing for women at all when he talks about nutrition. He practically says as much--he says he's writing for younger men. So I largely skimmed that part. But when he talks about how to sequence your lifts in a session and how to structure your program overall, it's super-useful stuff and not at all technical.0 -
You are right. It might as well be a damn textbook!
As far as the nutrition thing, a vast amount of people tend to disagree with the GOMAD thing. Even guys on the starting strength forums. It's like a "there's no such thing as overtraining, only under-eating" style of strength training. The side effect of that is fat gain.
Do you have any questions about the book?0 -
Whew! Glad it wasn't just me. Thanks for all your responses. I do agree it will become a bible for me and I do bypass some of the technical jargon and get right to to the real nitty gritty.0
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It is definitely very technical. I've picked out a few key pieces of knowledge and tried to implement those- not too many at a time though or it's too overwhelming! I think I'm going to order the DVD because I'm more of a visual learner. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos but I think it would be nice to watch the whole DVD.0
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Well, here's the thing. You can invest the time and money and find a trainer who knows about lifting (which are apparently very few and far between at commercial gyms), or you can invest the time and study books like this. The book's intended audience includes trainers and coaches, and it uses a lot of anatomical terms that you just need to look up and get used to. Acting as your own coach is not easy, because you have to learn how to be a coach. This requires acquiring explicit knowledge of things that people struggle to explain even if they know how to do them by rote. It's one thing to know how to do something well, and it's something else to be able to teach it to another person via book. I would say Rippetoe does an excellent job, in part because he explains the concepts on multiple levels (both really basic and highly technical).0
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^^
I basically made Rip my personal trainer, and went to the book and/or his videos with my many questions, and watched them over and over again to familiarize myself with proper form.
During the first few weeks of lifting, I had my tablet in the garage and would pull up the videos for each lift and would play them while I was performing the lifts myself, just to be sure I was doing them right. Even so, my form still wasn't very good but at least it was acceptable and gave me something I could start with. It's fine to start with "acceptable" form at the lower weights. You will get better as you lift as long as you keep good form a priority. As Rip says, weight lifting isn't a safe sport, but keeping good form does help make it as safe as possible and avoid injuries.0 -
He has DVD's? Gotta find em.It is definitely very technical. I've picked out a few key pieces of knowledge and tried to implement those- not too many at a time though or it's too overwhelming! I think I'm going to order the DVD because I'm more of a visual learner. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos but I think it would be nice to watch the whole DVD.0 -
^^
I basically made Rip my personal trainer, and went to the book and/or his videos with my many questions, and watched them over and over again to familiarize myself with proper form.
During the first few weeks of lifting, I had my tablet in the garage and would pull up the videos for each lift and would play them while I was performing the lifts myself, just to be sure I was doing them right. Even so, my form still wasn't very good but at least it was acceptable and gave me something I could start with. It's fine to start with "acceptable" form at the lower weights. You will get better as you lift as long as you keep good form a priority. As Rip says, weight lifting isn't a safe sport, but keeping good form does help make it as safe as possible and avoid injuries.
This is me exactly. I've looked around my gym at the trainers and overheard them giving instruction and I'm not confident that they'll be able to help so.... "Rip" and the folks on MFP have become my trainers. I too downloaded the book onto my tablet and use it as a reference. I just started taping myself too. Very helpful.
I guess I'm pretty geeky -- I loved Starting Strength *because* it was so technical - I felt like I had to understand why I was doing something to be able to answer my own questions. That said, there are definitely sections that I skim until I need them.. and some that I just know will need to wait until I'm a little more advanced! I'm intrigued by the classes/workshops he teaches, I'd like to just hang out at one but I can't see myself doing that just yet - that and he doesn't seem to get to the East Coast much.0 -
I'm intrigued by the classes/workshops he teaches, I'd like to just hang out at one but I can't see myself doing that just yet - that and he doesn't seem to get to the East Coast much.
The September one is in New York and costs $945 to attend. Knock yourself out
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I'm intrigued by the classes/workshops he teaches, I'd like to just hang out at one but I can't see myself doing that just yet - that and he doesn't seem to get to the East Coast much.
The September one is in New York and costs $945 to attend. Knock yourself out
Lol...tempted but not tempted enough...maybe when the lottery pays off or something.0
