ok?

ok ISTbros, I need to ask, is starting strength actually a meme? I remember doing it a few years ago and becoming much happier with my body, and I finally started working out again just the other day. I've been seeing the memes floating around tho and while I'm much more invested in working out to help with my depression than just looking hotter, I won't pretend that I would be discouraged if the end result is looking like a clown. Thanks in advance.

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  1. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    frick, *wouldn't be discouraged

  2. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    yes

  3. 12 months ago
    Anonymous
  4. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    If I could travel back in time I'd slap myself in the face for not taking Starting Strength seriously. For not doing GOMAD, not bothering to learn technique exactly as explained in the book and videos and adding stupid accessories and cardio. Doing SS should be like being in a cult for a few months.
    Rippetoe is completely dedicated to training noobs, that's all he can do really he's not a powerlifting coach or an athletics coach, he's a noob strength coach who has chewed through more noobs than anyone in the world. Many things I learned doing SS only made full sense after a decade when I started competing in powerlifting, then you see how vital a solid foundation is, powercleans, hip drive, proper bench grip. God bless that piss-stinking man.

  5. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Starting strength is a meme because people do it, and then don’t do anything else, and they just keep stuffing their face with oats and milk doing nothing but squats, getting really fat and moronic
    Starting strength IS good, but for like a year, and then after that you go off and do other programs and splits, different diets, bulking and cutting, because you’re NOT STARTING OFF in fitness, you have training and experience, so you have the foundation to do other things to get your goals
    If you’re a beginner, then yeah, give it a read, watch some of Rippebreasts videos, and happy hunting
    If you already have a year or more of training, then no, don’t do it because it’s pointless

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      well it has been a while, so I guess it matters to recover a foundation, but what would you suggest for after that initial period? If it matters, I have the tall skinny build.

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Then yeah, get back into it doing some SS
        After that, do whatever I don’t know it’s your fitness journey
        You can do what

        SS with accessories and abs is fine. Also it's a beginner program so if you do it longer than like 3 to 6 months you are dumb. People meme that it makes you a bloated powershitter when in reality it's your diet making you fat as frick. Lots of moronic disinfo on this board

        said and do SS and add some accessory lifts with it

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          I'll look into it then. I'm not looking to become a professional athlete or anything, I just want a healthier lifestyle both mentally and physically. Wasting away with sedentary habits is neither of those.

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Last time I lost all my gains I did 5x5 weekly linear progression and recovered most them over six months. It took a bit of patience and being humble but I'm glad I did it, it put me back where I was before losing them, and made me mature as a lifter.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      well it has been a while, so I guess it matters to recover a foundation, but what would you suggest for after that initial period? If it matters, I have the tall skinny build.

      well first understand how to program a routine for your specific goals. You can't just do whatever after learning a beginner routine, you will still have beginner knowledge and not know why you aren't progressing or needing to lower the weight constantly

  6. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    SS with accessories and abs is fine. Also it's a beginner program so if you do it longer than like 3 to 6 months you are dumb. People meme that it makes you a bloated powershitter when in reality it's your diet making you fat as frick. Lots of moronic disinfo on this board

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      Gotcha, I appreciate your clarification. I know some diets are memes, but my family is mostly low carb, so my main intake is meat, vegetables, and milk. I avoid super sugary stuff like cereals and crap with high fructose corn syrup.

  7. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    SS is actually amazing for beginners, even though I think the SL program is better
    for me it's the most fun and by far the most effective beginner routine, and making PRs every week or training session will keep you motivated until you reach very good numbers
    now, will it give you a good looking body? Well, it depends. If you don't care about the looks, wanna become a powerlifter, etc. stick to the program and put on as much weight as you can. If you want to look decently: don't stuff your face with whatever food you can put your hands on, focus instead on high quality, protein rich meals (if you can afford it); and also add at least one accessory lift to every session (best ones are: chin ups, dips, and something that isolates the arms). You will look good and be strong, and if you like the program is gonna be a blast

  8. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Depends on your goals
    If you want to get strong fast, it's a good program
    If you just want a beach body, not so much because it will give you a more bottom-heavy physique. Better than not working out at all but if you care about looking good, there are better programs out there

  9. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    the meme is watching beginners do bodybuilder exercises on machines for no gains because they aren't strong

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >the meme is watching someone who has never worked out start working out, they should just stay weak

  10. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    I wasted years doing starting strength. So much is wrong with it.
    >squat every workout
    >low bar squat, not ass to grass high bar squat
    >low volume
    SS is more definitely not for hypertrophy. Only someone interested in power lifting should do it, and even then they should only do it at the VERY beginning. Like, you’re 16, interested in power lifting, and need to learn what it feels like to squat, deadlift and bench with regularity. Once your form is solid, you need to then switch to something else.

    If you are interested in hypertrophy or just looking good/fit (which is 99% of people), you should STAY AWAY as it is a waste of fricking time. Like I said, I wasted years on it. I wish I had known earlier that
    >you should lift 4+ days a week
    >hit push based lifts twice a week minimum
    >perform high bar squat
    >aim for 8-12 reps on most of your lifts
    >do some fricking cardio, fatty
    >count macros, fatty

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >doing starting strength for YEARS
      yeah you're a fricking moron and nobody should take your advice on anything

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      uhh, isn't doing cardio to lose weight the dumbest shit ever? Not that it matters, since I'm skinny as frick and trying to gain muscle mass, not lose fat.

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        Generally yes. Trying to lose weight by tipping the CI part of the scale is not a good idea. However, starting off with a bit of cardio (ie walking) can help. An hour of walking will burn a few hundred calories. That adds up. You also start to get in better cardio shape, so you can start to jog or cycle. Building up yo an hour of jogging (what I do now every day) you can burn 500 calories. That is a good chunk and now I use it to avoid weight gain during the holidays or even lose some weight after the holidays. You don’t need to worry about muscle loss because your body will likely use the glycogen and fat for fuel, not muscle. You can also drink a protein shake before hand to preserve muscle mass.

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          >Building up yo an hour of jogging (what I do now every day) you can burn 500 calories
          and then your body will crave 500 calories of carbs to replace the glycogen you have depleted.
          cardio is less effective for body fat loss than dieting alone. the only effective way to lose fat through cardio is by doing super low intensity activity. for most people, anything beyond walking around is going to backfire on your goal. its the slowest and stupidest way to lose body fat, but technically, it is possible so long as you keep the intensity moronicly low to the point where you don't even feel like you are working out and would rather just have a nice day.

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          My impression was that weight lifting was always the superior option for burning fat, and that cardio was important for health reasons, like avoiding heart attacks, and instead of jogging or running, high intensity interval training was the best move for pure cardio. I'm not well read on the science though, so I might be completely wrong.

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            if u want to avoid heart attacks keep pufa below 4g a day

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      >does SS for years
      >manages to stay weak
      >gives up and curls 30lbs x infinity for mad hypertrophy

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        I still do the same lifts. Mostly bench, OHP, squat, DL. But I do PPLUxLx now and have made insane gains in strength and size at fricking 34 after spending a decade making little gains in either on SS. But yes, I also incorporated not-so-compound lifts like curls, skull crushers, lat raises etc…

        I’ve had to tinker with my program to balance volume and weight. If it’s too low volume/high weight, I don’t get that pump and don’t make as many muscle gains. But too much volume and I start to get overuse injuries because I’m fricking old now.

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          see

          I bet about 1% of people who say they do SS actually do it as laid out in the book

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            I was doing it by the book and made Jon progress. I changed it to make progress. SS is defined by 3x5, squat every workout, 3 days a week etc. that is not helpful long term. It’s “starting” strength.

            • 12 months ago
              Anonymous

              >It’s “starting” strength.
              yeah, but you're still a beginner

  11. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    You should do it. My body after around 10 months of SS + a cut (don't do this, transition to an intermediate program and don't spin your wheels). Made me a twink basically.

    Squat 315, Bench 215, OHP 130 for reps.

  12. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    I bet about 1% of people who say they do SS actually do it as laid out in the book

  13. 12 months ago
    Anonymous

    Just do SS and add a upper day to avoid t-rex mode.

    • 12 months ago
      Anonymous

      I mean, it's been a hot minute since I read the book. I mainly do what my dad taught me, which is Squat, alternating Bench and Shoulder Press, and Dead Lift, 3 times a week along with pull ups. Should probably revisit the book and double check that I'm not fricking shit up tbh.

      • 12 months ago
        Anonymous

        You should stop deadlifting 3x per week quite soon in the program and alternate it with rows/chins or power cleans. Then drop it to once a week when your squat starts to get grindy, make one day a light squat day (80%, 2x5), and do deadlifts on your light squat day.

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          I'll make sure to remember that. Power Cleans will need some work though, because I remember only lightly touching on them when I was last on a roll.

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            To be fair no one actually does them.

        • 12 months ago
          Anonymous

          When I hit my absolute cap (probably months away, but still important to consider), is it really all just about shifting volume and intervals? Not learning any new exercises?

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            Those are just tools to keep your linear progression going for another few weeks. Ultimately you should shift to an intermediate program soon after, such as The Bridge. When and which exercises you learn in addition to the main lifts is up to you. But they will be the backbone of most routines.

            Here's something else you can do when your upper body lifts start stalling before your squat and deadlift - again, just a short-term tool before a full transition to an intermediate program: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/novice-bench-and-press-plug-in/

          • 12 months ago
            Anonymous

            Those are just tools to keep your linear progression going for another few weeks. Ultimately you should shift to an intermediate program soon after, such as The Bridge. When and which exercises you learn in addition to the main lifts is up to you. But they will be the backbone of most routines.

            Here's something else you can do when your upper body lifts start stalling before your squat and deadlift - again, just a short-term tool before a full transition to an intermediate program: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/novice-bench-and-press-plug-in/

            You can check out Practical Programming and Base Strength by Bromley for more information about intermediate programming.

            • 12 months ago
              Anonymous

              intermediate programming is goyslop

              • 12 months ago
                Anonymous

                Do Sheiko then.

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