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I read this article around the time it was first published, and it has changed my life. I know it sounds corny and cliched, but it's true. This article was the first seed in my head that I needed to change the way I was doing things.

It took me about 18 months after reading it to actually buckle down and start lifting, but it's no doubt that the journey started here. I ended up reading "Starting Strength" and started up on the program. It's been about 6 months now and I'm stronger than I've ever been in my entire life- by a significant margin. I've gained 40 pounds of muscle. I feel confident, capable, and strong.

The only downside is that I cannot fit into regular clothes anymore- I have to buy clothes made for fat people and just deal with the extra room in the midsection. I also eat an incredible amount of food, which can get tiring and expensive (I eat $40 a week in steak alone). Overall, though, I'm thoroughly satisfied with the path that I'm on, and wish I had started years earlier.

[scrrr]

Congrats and I concur. I wasted 2 years at the gym before I stumbled over "Starting Strength". I just decided to go for it, because I had the feeling that most people, including me, are just messing around wasting time at the gym.

And here's why. _Proper_ squats and deadlifts are hard. You breathe heavily, your whole body (as opposed to just certain muscles) exhausts itself in just a few movements. In the beginning you go to bed with every muscle sore. But I figured: It's pointless to go to the gym and avoid strain and exhaustion. So I might just as well aim for it.

And I did the Ripptoe program, and my life changed for the better.

My posture, ruined by years of computer programming, was fixed in less than two months. People started asking me if I've grown recently. I was just standing and walking properly.

My mood nowadays is good 99% of the time. It's just hard to be depressed or care about the little annoyances (or the whining of some people) when your body is strong. I don't know why exactly, but the mood improvement is significant, lasting and one of the best benefits of weightlifting. I can still enjoy every good thing that happens, but I don't sweat the bad stuff as much. I just shrug it off. A wonderful feeling to be able to do that consistently.

People react differently to me. Women, as you would expect, initiate flirting and so forth, but also I get the feeling that other men, children and the elderly, just look at me in a kinder way. Perhaps increasing strength also makes one seem more reliable. Or maybe they think I am used to hard work. Well, I guess they are right. Building strength is hard work.

There's one downside to all that.

When I started to follow the Ripptoe program, the barbell area at my gym was mostly deserted. After a year or so it's almost always busy. Perhaps I inspired the others or it's a general fitness trend of "less BS" and "back to the fundamentals". But if they don't expand that barbell area and install a few more chin-up bars this year, I'll have to find a new gym where I don't have to wait up to 30 minutes to start lifting.

[CrankyPants]

"My posture, ruined by years of computer programming, was fixed in less than two months."

Would you mind sharing the 80/20 gist of what aspect mainly contributed to that? I'm sure the best method would be to follow the program totally, but if one wanted just to see gains in that area with the least possible investment, what would you recommend?

[dredmorbius]

Posterior chain exercise. Between general posture, sitting, slouching, and the tendency for many people to emphasize "mirror / beach muscles" -- chest and biceps, as well as age-related sarcopenia (muscle loss at the rate of about 0.5 lb/year past your mid/late 20s), most people are losing muscle, including the "posterior chain" (calves, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, traps, lats, rhomboids) which support the body and spine.

You strengthen the posterior chain by training it: squats, deadlifts, rows, chins, power cleans.

The best way to get the gains you're looking for with the least possible investment is to do the program. Get the book. Do the program. Three workouts per week. Squats, deads, bench, press, power cleans, chins. Six to nine months will change your life.

http://startingstrength.com/

As for your questions, I'd strongly recommend looking over the Wit and Wisdom of Mark Rippetoe page as well, I believe you'd benefit from it, particularly the entry beginning "Responding to someone who wanted the book".

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Wit_and_Wisdom_of_Mar...

[CrankyPants]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[scrrr]

The single-best exercise for my back was doing squats. Those, probably mixed with deadlifts, build up my back muscles and my posture corrected itself. (I was slouching a lot.) I just can't think of anything more effective than those two exercises. (Perhaps swimming, though.)

I also recommend proper warmups. e.g. start with no or very little weight, and then keep adding until you reach your maximum, then do 3 sets at the maximum. I usually do 5 - 8 reps each set.

As for time investment: 2 - 3 times a week (doesn't matter if I was tired or lazy, I knew I would feel fantastic at or after the gym), 60 - 90 minutes each time. (no time-wasting, breaks only as long as necessary.)

As for 80/20: After doing the squats and the deadweights, I usually feel very motivated to keep doing other things. It's really switching the body into "workout"-mode.

Check these two videos for proper form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huVujjfzphI , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JYCvtNKWc8

[nbvcxzcy]

how do you spend 90 minutes weight lifting? 5-8 reps, 3 sets per excercise, how many excercises?

[mikedmiked]

> I have to buy clothes made for fat people and just deal with the extra room in the midsection.

You should honestly consider learning some basic tailoring. I'm starting it myself - I buy 'vintage' clothes from charity shops and most wouldn't fit.

Buy a decent antique sewing machine if you want a cheap one.

Its a sufficiently rare but useful skill to make good conversation too. And you can vastly increase the perceived value of your clothes by claiming they are hand tailored! ;)

Here is a good forum to pick up knowledge: http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php?showforum=26

[ashr]

That is fantastic info about actual execution, many congratulations to you. It will be great if you could please share your age group range (very roughly; 20+, 30+, 40+ etc). Just trying to relate the results with the age group.

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I'm 29

[shokwave]

Once you see the strength gains tapering off, go into a cut phase - eating less than maintenance calories - and you'll see aesthetic gains to rival your strength and confidence gains.

[ameister14]

When I was a competitive ski racer I used to ave to buy pants 2-4 sizes bigger than normal because my legs were so big. It was actually really annoying.

All the stuff from this article is what my coach used to have us do for weight training. This really isn't comprehensive, though. Weights are important but actually going out and using your abilities is important too.

[cage433]

Same here - literally life changing. I tried free weights a few years ago after reading the article - loved them - bought the Rippetoe book and didn't look back.

I'm 46 now, before I began I was overweight and had frequent, severe back problems. I'm now two stone lighter, hell of a lot stronger and my back is just fine.

[rada]

How long did it take for the back pain to go away once you started training? How often do you train and which weights do you recommend?

[cage433]

I train three times a week - as little as twice a week is enough if you're pressed for time.

My back problems gradually improved over two years of training. I had a disk that had slipped gradually over the previous several years. Exquisitely painful episodes 3-4 times a year. Certainly not helped by my weight and lack of muscle tone. After a year of lifting I noticed that I recovered from these episodes quicker, and that the intervals between them were longer. I think it's well over a year now since the last. Obviously, don't even think about lifting if you are currently suffering back pain.

I believe there is general agreement that any strength program will be based around low-rep sets of exercises that involve a large number of muscle groups. Typically squats, power cleans, dead lifts, overhead presses and bench presses. Rippetoe's Starting Strength book and DVD are an excellent introduction to these. Eventually (6 - 18 months) you will plateau and need to change program. I'm currently using Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 and so far am very happy with it, but a beginner will progress faster with Rippetoe.

If you don't mind some extra, unsolicited advice;

- start with much lighter weights than you think you can handle and aim for regular, small weekly increases - even a pound or two is fine and quickly adds up.

- Be prepared to end a session the moment you feel any discomfort in your lower back, and don't return until it clears up completely. I didn't do this at first and each time ended up unable to train for a fortnight.

- technique matters. While these lifts are nothing like as complex as the olympic lifts, there is still some technique that you need to learn for your safety, and also to allow progress to occur. If possible film yourself from time to time to check you're not developing bad habits.

Good luck - and have fun.

[foobarqux]

What are your PRs?

[analog]

I've no doubt at all that you're significantly stronger, but not all of that 40 extra pounds is going to be muscle. You might want to reduce the amount you're eating now so that you don't have to eat at a deficit for so long later.

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It's 40 pounds of muscle, give or take (at most) a couple of pounds of increased bone mass. I take weekly caliper-based readings of body fat percentage, which has fallen by over 10% in the last 6 months. Overall I've gained 20 pounds while losing 20 pounds of fat.

[enraged_camel]

Blackjack already said this, but humans can gain up to 0.5lbs of muscle per week. And this assumes perfect sleep, perfect diet, and a perfect workout regimen. A little more than that number is possible, but you have to be either genetically gifted, or use steroids. Assuming neither, the 40 pounds you gained over the past six months was mostly fat. You are probably confused because gaining muscle can make someone look less fat, as muscles are emphasized more.

[BlackJack]

I'm sorry, but caliper readings are pretty inaccurate. Losing 20 pounds in 6 months is solid and believable, but it's hard to believe that you put on 20 lbs of muscle in 6 months. Generally accepted advice is that you can gain about 0.5 lb muscle/week, so I could see you putting on 12-15 lbs tops.

It's also very difficult to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, especially if you're not a teenager anymore. Still, congrats on your progress!

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Individual caliper readings have a pretty high margin of error- I've noticed up to 3% swings from week to week. But when the readings are done regularly and applied as a trend, it's pretty clear.

I've also changed my diet significantly- I eat way more protein and fat and almost no carbohydrates. I think that has as much to do with my fat loss as the exercise.

[AutoKorrect]

generally accepted advice isn't always right: I put on 17lbs of muscle in three months (Parris Island, SC). I was underweight at the time, and a teenager.

[BlackJack]

I did mention in my post that it doesn't apply to teenagers, although I should've been more explicit at that. Growing children can generally make tremendous progress, as can untrained novices.

Your post doesn't really refute my point anyways, because it's very hard to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time for adults. You're talking about one direction i.e. gaining muscle.

[vertr]

Try getting your clothes tailored if you can afford it.