Starting Strength in the UK: A beginner’s guide

Jul 20

6 min read

Starting Strength means many things to many people. In simple terms, Starting Strength is a beginner strength training system built around barbell exercises, straightforward programming, and measurable progression designed to help ordinary people become dramatically stronger in the shortest realistic amount of time.

The brand has a number of distinctive characteristics that people recognise as being uniquely “Starting Strength”, from the way we perform certain exercises, to the way we program, there are certain elements that make Starting Strength instantly recognisable. Even the author himself, Mark Rippetoe, is a unique character, frequently turning out pithy quotes and regularly upsetting people with the things he says and the way he says them (Rip is a bit of a marmite character). While these details give Starting Strength its unique flavour, to lock in on them as the sum total of what Starting Strength has to offer is to miss the bigger picture and make a big mistake. Starting Strength is more than just a squat technique, a programme, and a loud mouthed Texan with a goatee. It’s a comprehensive system of barbell training designed to maximise progress for beginners. Let’s look at the key components of the Starting Strength system that make it so effective and so distinctive.

Who is it for?

Before unpacking, it’s fair to ask who Starting Strength is for. The clue is in the name. Starting Strength is designed primarily for beginners. However, that doesn't just mean people who have never touched a barbell before, it really means anyone who still has the ability to make rapid progress from workout to workout. This means that the method is applicable to total newbies, people coming back after time away from training, and even to regular gym goers who have never really followed a well structured strength training programme. The truth is that all but the most experienced and advanced lifters can benefit from Starting Strength in some way. So, what exactly is Starting Strength?

The book

Rippetoe’s best selling book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training 3rd Edition has sold over half a million copies and is widely regarded to be one of the most influential books on barbell training ever put in print. Often referred to as the “bible” of barbell training it’s more than just the musings of an old gym rat. The book is a technical manual presenting a system, built from the ground up using first principles of classical mechanics, anatomy and physiology and is backed up with over 30 years of experience and data from top coaches and doctors.

Although the book is written as a technical manual, it's still absolutely approachable for beginners. If you only buy one book on strength training, this is the one I'd recommend. It teaches not just what to do and how to do it, but why you're doing it too.

The exercises

Starting Strength is famous for the lifts it uses and for the way it teaches them. The basic programme is built around five main lifts: the squat, the press, the bench press, the deadlift, and the power clean. Each lift in the Starting Strength method is easily recognisable and frequently copied. The squat famously has lifters bend over far more than they are used to and “drive their hips” on the way up, the press uses a signature hip throw not seen anywhere else in mainstream lifting culture and the five step method for setting up the deadlift has been almost universally adopted by serious coaches around the world.

These instantly recognisable elements of the Starting Strength method aren’t merely a bit of creative flare we add to each lift to make them look cool. Starting Strength is all about getting you strong, and to that end every exercise and the technique used for each has been carefully chosen and developed to incorporate the greatest amount of muscle mass, over the longest effective range of motion, in order to allow you to lift the most weight possible and thereby get as strong as possible. It is these core principles, coupled with a thorough understanding of anatomy and physics, that produces our five core exercises and the instantly recognisable technique used in each.

The programme

The Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression (NLP) is the flagship programme that everyone credits Starting Strength with. It’s both beautiful in its simplicity and life changing in its effect when done right. The programme is run three days a week, alternating between two different workouts every session.

Workout A

Squat 3x5

Bench Press 3x5

Deadlift 1x5

Workout B

Squat 3x5

Press 3x5

Deadlift 1x5

When the lifter successfully completes a session, they add 2.5kg to each lift the next time they come in to train.

That’s it. That’s the basic programme. It couldn’t be more simple and yet the results it produces are dramatic. Progressing at a rate of 1-2.5kg per session at three sessions a week a lifter could expect to add up to 90kg to their lifts in 12 weeks.

The Starting Strength programme works because beginners recover quickly enough to become slightly stronger between training sessions. Rather than waiting weeks or months to increase the weight, Starting Strength takes advantage of the rapid recovery and adaptability of new lifters by adding small amounts of weight every workout. This makes the NLP one of the most efficient and effective programmes available anywhere for beginners.

How do I begin Starting Strength in the UK?

There are two main routes one can employ to begin their Starting Strength journey in the UK. The first is what I’d call the autodidact route. Buy the book, read it cover to cover, watch the relevant tutorials on youtube and then get stuck in. As someone who took this path themselves I can offer a few pieces of advice for getting the most out of your training journey:

Start lighter than you want to

Even with the empty bar if necessary. Leave the ego at the door and focus on learning the technique, the weight on the bar will come on quickly enough if you’re following the programme.

Film your lifts and review the footage

This will help you to identify and troubleshoot your technique rather than just using guesswork. You can even upload clips to the Starting Strength forums to try and get a form check here and there.

Eat enough

It’s easy to get so focussed on the technique and programme that you forget to eat enough to actually fuel your progress. Get you calories and macros dialled in sooner rather than later.

Be patient

It can be tempting at the start to get too greedy with adding weight to the bar. Stick to the plan. Jumping too much too quickly is a fast track to bad technique and stalled progress.

The second route is to hire a coach to help you. Starting Strength credentials its own coaches who have a considerable depth of coaching experience using the teaching and programming methods found within the books across a wide range of demographics. Becoming a Starting Strength Coach (SSC) isn’t easy. You must run the gauntlet, demonstrating your ability to coach each and every lift in front of veteran examiners and then having your knowledge base grilled in a rigorous 2 hour oral exam. This is a highly selective process and fewer than 20% of applicants pass through to become certified SSCs. As a result of this costly and demanding process, there are very few coaches in the UK who are certified SSCs. I became a certified SSC after completing this process myself in 2023, and today I'm one of only three SSCs practising in the UK. It's the same system I use with every novice I coach, whether they're training with me in Cardiff or online.

Hiring a coach will streamline the whole process for you, taking out the guesswork and making sure you’re doing things right from day one. A good coach will fast track your gains and keep you making smooth and steady progress for years after the end of your NLP.

To summarise

Starting Strength is popular because it solves a simple problem well: how do you take someone who isn't very strong and make them significantly stronger in the shortest realistic amount of time? The answer is found in consistent training built around basic barbell exercises, simple yet intelligent programming, and damn good coaching.

If you're interested in reaping the benefits of Starting Strength in the UK for yourself, I would recommend hiring a coach. Starting Strength coaching will accelerate the learning process and avoid the common mistakes that slow beginners down. Currently, there are only a handful of certified Starting Strength Coaches practising here. If you're based in Cardiff - or you'd like online coaching anywhere in the UK - I offer both online and in-person coaching as well as a free introductory technique assessment. I'd be delighted to help you get started

If you plan to go solo there are a wealth of free resources produced by the few credentialed SSCs in the UK to help you along your way. I will list them at the end of this article for your review.

Whether you decide to work with me, another SSC, or simply buy the book and begin on your own, my advice is the same: start now, work hard, and trust the process.

If you're looking for Starting Strength coaching in Cardiff or online anywhere in the UK, I'd be happy to help - Learn more about my coaching

Free Additional Resources

The British Strength Podcast

The UK’s 3 SSCs sit down every fortnight to discuss training - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/british-strength-podcast/id1850685259

Jack Bissett, SSC

Personal Website - https://www.castironstrength.co.uk/

Author Page - https://startingstrength.com/author/jack-bissett

Carl Raghavan

Personal Website - https://www.beautifulstrengthgym.com/

Author Page - https://startingstrength.com/author/carl-raghavan-ssc

Coaches Registry - https://coaching.startingstrength.com/coaches/united-kingdom/greater-london/london/carl-raghavan-ssc/

Byron Johnston