First off let me give credit to the tagline in the image for this article, that line belongs to Mark Rippetoe and it is the name of his famous book “Starting Strength.” I am not affiliated with him or the book in any way but you should definitely check it out if you’re think about getting stronger.

Now to the nuts and bolts of this article. I am assuming that if you’re following this site/blog that you are interested in getting stronger, and probably getting stronger in general as opposed to competing in powerlifting or weightlifting. The focus of the majority of my content is going to be about general strength and athleticism. There are plenty of great websites out there specific to bodybuilding/powerlifting and weightlifting. many of which will be mentioned and quoted here but my main focus is general strength as opposed to competing in a strength sport. This article is going to be a quick primer so to speak of some of the things I would recommend if you are new to this pursuit.

Now to it. Here is my advice for a beginner:

1. Get Started-If you are completely new to the gym as opposed to a person transitioning from another sport or type of weight training my first piece of advice is to get started. That sounds so simple and that’s because it is that simple. The first step is to get started with going to the gym and making it first a habit and secondly a point of enjoyment.  A lot of why people hate the gym or are apprehensive at first is because it’s new to them and they are unfamiliar with the equipment and movements and they feel out of place among all the avid gym goers. The first simple step is to go to a good gym, meaning a gym with free weights, and walk around and get a feel for things, talk with other members and become more familiar with the setting. Every person in that gym was a beginner at one point so they all know how you feel and most will be happy to answer questions or provide help. Don’t be afraid to approach them, just be careful about when you decide to as the middle of a hard set is probably the wrong time.  The second part of this is establishing a habit of going to the gym. In the very beginning it doesn’t matter at all what you do in the gym, just get in there and start getting in there consistently. It’s easy to skip the gym for lots of reasons but after a while it really becomes hard to skip a workout or leave once YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE GYM. Getting there is the first step and once you’re there it’s just easier to rationalize working out rather then leaving and wasting a trip. Get to the gym!
2.  Use a Proven Plan-After you’ve found a gym and become familiar with it and started cultivating a habit of going it is now time for my second point of advice: Use a proven plan. There will come a time when your own specific needs will dictate a plan of your own design but now is not that time. There are just too many trainers and coaches who have dedicated whole careers to proving what works to ignore their work. You are not a special snowflake, barring some unique physical abnormality you are just like every other person who has ever begun lifting weights. Make it easy on your self and use what has been proven to work. Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength is a good one, Wendler’s 531 is another, Bigger, Faster, Stronger is another, Stronglifts 5×5, Bill Starr’s 5×5 and on and on. These are proven plans that consist of the best overall movements for building strength and muscle and the best part for you is that they are simple to learn and require a minimum amount of equipment. The temptation to customize a plan is to be avoided at all costs especially during this stage. Worrying about big arms or calves when you can’t even squat your own bodyweight is foolish and short sighted. It’s a much better investment of your time and effort to get really strong first, then work on anything that has lagged after that point. Establishing a good base line using a simple beginner program is going to be the best bang for your buck.
3. Set Goals-This is a crucial point because this helps provide the glue that holds your motivation and mindset together. Pick a specific goal, most likely in this instance it’s a strength goal, but it could be a specific weight loss goal, or another performance goal or even a physique goal. I remember my first physique goal and it was to be like Bruce Lee from enter the dragon. Bruce Lee was ripped and athletic and most importantly, attainable. In that movie he weighed 127 pounds and at that time in my life I weighed about 112 pounds, so ripped at 127 was an attainable goal which is a point I’ll address later. The goal needs to be specific. I absolutely hate the goal of “getting in shape.” What the hell is “in shape?” At what point are you in shape? Another one is “I want to get toned” Again, what the hell is toned? When are you toned enough? The goal needs to be specific so you know when you achieve it. An ambiguous goal is much easier to slack on once you realize that you can change the definition in your mind to suit your current level of fitness, or strength or whatever. If your goal is to bench press 300 pounds then you know exactly when you have reached it and then hopefully, you reevaluate and make new goals afterwards. These points are not numbered and listed in order of importance as your goals may dictate what plan you decide to choose, or what gym you have access to may dictate your goals at first.
4. Manageable-This is my last point and it goes hand in hand with points 3 and 1, make things manageable. This goes hand in hand with point number one. Just like going to the gym needs to happen before you start training, having a manageable way of making this happen is key to sticking with it. If you really, really, can only get to the gym twice a week then just go with that and alter your routine to accommodate that.  You have to be able to actually get to the gym, actually able to do your workout, actually able to recover enough to hit your next one and your goals need to be realistic enough to attain them. This is a good time to put your ego aside. I know watching some guys on youtube doing crazy crossfit WOD’s or Smolov squat routines looks cool but trying to emulate these things as a beginner will run you into the ground and next thing you know you aren’t going to the gym at all, partly from being sore and partly from a new found hatred of training. It simply won’t be manageable or sustainable.  The same goes for your goals. Making your strength goal  squatting 1000 pounds is a stupid goal. That would take years to achieve if you achieved it and long term goals also become easy to drop. It’s good to envision a future but that needs to consist of small manageable goals along the way. Squat 100 pounds, then 250, then 400, etc. My first physique goal was Bruce Lee, as I got bigger my next one was Steve Reeves. It was never a Ronnie Coleman or Dorian Yates. Now lots of guys were inspired by the greats from a beginner and they always strived to be like them or hit those goals and this is what made them champions, and that’s a good thing, but along the way they made smaller goals part of the larger goal. Your goals can grow and change as you achieve them but they must be achievable goals first. This goes for your training, your meal prep, and your personal life. Make it manageable first and then make adjustments as necessary as they are needed.

Those are my best pieces of advice. Some of those points I know very well because I chose  not to do them at various times and it derailed my progress and set me back. This is the good part of experience, someone else’s experience can now help someone else avoid potholes in the road.  Get started, pick a plan, make some goals, make it manageable and get to it. Starting strength? Yes, Starting Today!