The best training method for new trainees is Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. This simple template will pack on muscle and make new lifters stronger than any other program I’ve witnessed. I wasted plenty of time doing silly routines copied from bodybuilding magazines, only to learn the hard way that those bodypart split systems only work well for dudes with, ah, let’s just say they’re getting a little extra help from the needle. The amazing thing about SS is that even after all that silly training, I still gained size and strength from using its simplified outline.

Despite being an internet legend, or perhaps because of its wiki-fied viral spread, SS is widely misunderstood and misused. Some versions only use the five major barbell exercises Coach Rip devoted a couple hundred pages to describing in his signature witty style. Other ‘versions’ of SS float around the internet. A change here, a change there; soon enough, you’ve got guys doing ‘Ripetows’ that miss many of the key points from the irreproachable original. I’m going to discuss what I feel is the ideal program for new trainers. Those familiar with his work will understand why I’m giving much thanks and a lot of credit to Rip, but you can still learn a thing or two about how to properly utilize SS:

Here’s the basic outline:

Day 1

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Squat (5x3)

Bench Press (5x3)

Deadlift (5x1)

Heavy abs (5-15x3)

Day 2

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Squat (5x3)

Overhead Press (5x3)

Power Cleans (3x5)

Chinups/pullups (up to 15x3)

First of all, you squat every day. This is because squatting builds more muscle from head to toe than any other exercise (deadlifts being a close second). Unlike deadlifts, which tend to be a little hard on the lower back, beginners can squat three times a week without being overtrained. The low bar squat form works everything from your upper back, all the muscles of the toso, plus the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calvesBy doing the hardest exercise first, your body and mind will adapt and learn to push to a new record each workout.

The second exercise is a pressing motion. This alternates between bench press and overhead press. It’s important to keep these two lifts relatively close to one another to keep the shoulders healthy and balance musculature and athletic performance. A good ratio to shoot for is somewhere between 3:2 and 4:3. In other words, your overhead press one rep max (1RM) should be between 66% and 75% of your best bench press. The combination thoroughly works your chest, shoulders, traps and triceps.

The third exercise is a pulling motion. Alternate between one set of deadlifts and five sets of three power cleans. These exercise differ in rep scheme from those above because a) As mentioned above, the deadlift can be hard on the lower back, especially for new lifters, and especially after squatting, and b) the power clean is an explosive movement, so we keep the reps lower to facilitate good form for beginners. Deadlifts build raw strength, while power cleans build the explosive power necessary for moving heavy weights. By training the body to explode, you’re more able to handle heavy loads in the other lifts. In other words, including the power clean makes the other lifts stronger by improving neuromuscular efficiency.

I have a heavy exercise for the abs on Day 1. This can include things like situps on a back extension ‘chair’, decline situps, hanging leg raises, etc. The key thing is to pick something that’s hard enough that you can’t do more than 15 reps for 3 sets. When that starts to feel easy, add weight, make the decline steeper, or do something else to make it harder. When I did SS, I liked to work in a ‘wave’ where I’d do 10x3 one day, 8x3 the next day and 5x5 after that. You can do abs every day, but I left it as an every-other day thing because we don’t want to over work the raw newbies.

The same is true of chinups/pullups. These can be done every day because there are no other exercises in the template that directly work the lats and biceps as much as these vertical pulling motions. I’d recommend working up to being able to do 8-10 chinups for 3 sets. This should translate to about 5 pullups for 3 sets. Continue to work from there, and you can alternate between the two variations if you like. Once you get to 15 reps for 3 sets, add some weight.

Those are the basic DOs, so what kinds of things should we definitely avoid?

NEVER leave out power cleans! Plenty of internet ‘SS’ templates substitute rows for power cleans. This is downright stupid. Not only do they not work the same muscles, but rows don’t offer the explosive advantage conferred by power cleans.

NEVER use machines. This template is for barbells only. You really shouldn’t even use dumbbells here. Barbells are easier to balance, and allow you to move heavier weights, which means more muscle. Dumbbell movements are great exercises, but it’s best to start out with barbells to learn the basic movements first. This will help you to avoid injuries while you’re ‘greasing the groove’. As for machines, they’re mostly useless. With few exceptions, machines lock you into an unnatural range of motion that prevents your stabilizers from working. Sure, you can grow some muscle by using your fancy pec deck, but you won’t necessarily get stronger, and you might increase your chances of injury by neglecting the all important stabilizers.

NEVER forget to squat. Squats are the cornerstone of this program. It’s ok to switch out for front squats in the middle of your three day week once you get up to weights approaching intermediate trainee-levels, but for the most part, let’s stick to low bar back squats. This style of squatting uses the most muscle fibers and therefore allows the most growth and strength development.

NEVER add reps. If you can do your weights for 3 sets of 5 reps (or the other prescribed rep schemes for power cleans, pullups, etc.), then add some weight. It’s always better to keep moving up gradually than to overtax yourself with extra reps or too much weight. It’s a good feeling to know you smoked all three sets of squats, since you’ll be confident about the next time when you add 5-15 lbs to the bar. On the other hand, adding reps takes you out of the strength and muscle building zone we want to be in, and might make you overtrained.

NEVER add isolation exercises. This program is all about compound movements. The body doesn’t use muscles in isolation, and you shouldn’t. While it can be useful to do barbell curls (*in moderation) later in your training career, new trainers will get more out of doing chinups and pullups. It’s common sense to understand that if you’re moving more muscles, you’re going to grow more. Think of how large powerlifters’ legs are, then compare them to their biceps. Even the hugest men have biceps no larger than a softball (the triceps comprise most of the arm’s mass), but their massive legs can easily make up half of their weight. In short: the more muscle you move, the more you’ll grow.

There you go: the DOs and DON’Ts of the best beginner training program in existence. Read this over, review the form articles, and feel free to leave comments if you have questions. It’s all about getting stronger and bigger, so let’s be smarter too.

I’ll give you $20 bucks if you can name an exercise that is as widely misunderstood and commonly executed as poorly as the power clean.  It’s a staple of high school football weight training routines, yet for some reason, many coaches never bother to teach their kids correct form.  It’s just like the quarter squats these seemingly well-meaning ‘mentors’ espouse: poor form to boost the numbers.  If you’ve been reading our other articles, you notice that we preach the gospel of good form because it both puts you in the strongest position and helps you avoid injury.  We’re going to dramatically simplify the power clean here today so that you can learn how to do it, possibly in one session:
1.    Review your deadlifting form.  Until you can deadlift perfectly, you need to focus on that.  Power cleans start with a deadlift, so it’s critical that you understand how to do those before attempting cleans.
2.    Start the progression by performing Power Shrugs.  This is a deadlift where you shrug hard at the top while jumping.  Start with about 50% of your deadlift 1RM and try sets of 3.  You want to pull the weight smoothly from the floor and explode as you pull it up.  NEVER FLEX YOUR ARMS.  It’s ok if they fly up a little, especially with lighter weights, but you must never flex your biceps to pull the weight up.  When the bar is halfway up the thighs, jump and perform a powerful shrug.  If the weight is too light, you might actually leave the ground, so keep adding a little more until it’s challenging.
3.    Once you get up to a weight where the power shrug is difficult, start in the other direction by dropping the bar down from the rack position.  At first, simply walk up to the bar at chest-height with your arms stretched out in front of you like a mummy, zombie, or whatever monsters don’t have good elbow mobility these days.  Get under the bar and see what it feels like to have it rest on the front of your shoulders.  Once you remember how that feels, step back, put your hands on the bar at the same width as your deadlift, and then bend the elbows under so you can step to the position we were in before where the bar is on your shoulders.  If you do that whilst keeping your hands on the bar, you’ll notice that you probably have to let go of your grip and let the bar roll back onto you fingers.  This is fine, and probably preferred.  Once you can hold the bar on your shoulders with your fingers on it and keep your elbows parallel to the ground, take it out of the rack and practice dropping it down from that position.  If you want, you can simply curl the bar back up to the hooks, get in the rack position again and drop it.
4.    Now that you know the rack position, we’re going to try a hang clean.  Deadlift the bar up to just above your knees, then stop.  Your butt will be back, knees bent, and you must keep your shoulders over the bar.  From there, jump up and shrug powerfully.  If you do this correctly, the bar will fly up, and your elbows will almost automatically whip underneath the bar.  As mentioned above, NEVER EVER FLEX YOUR BICEPS WHILST CLEANING!  Doing so is one of the easiest ways to spend some time in the hospital, some more time in physical therapy, and even more time paying off your surgery bills.  Think of your arms as ropes.  They simply connect your powerfully shrugging shoulders to the bar below.  When you shrug, the ropes will have some slack in them, but the end will find its way to your shoulders.
5.    Now that you can do a hang clean, put it all together and perform a full power clean.  Do a power shrug, but this time, explode and whip your elbows beneath the bar so you catch it on your shoulders.

And that’s the power clean.  There are plenty of schools of thought on teaching it: top down, top up, hybrid, hell, some Olympic coaches require that their lifters practice various other exercises for months before trying the clean.  In my experience, this is the easiest way to get it done.  I had been trying to learn it for a while, but it never made sense to me.  Then one day, a strength coach from my alma mater Virginia Tech was training a young wrestling recruit at the off-campus gym where I trained.  He showed me the method I described to you above and I learned how to clean with good form in about 25 minutes.