The Pros & Cons Of Starting Strength

[@JC-yt1pm]

SS worked well for me at 50. I heard a lot of crap from some old gym rats about it but now I lift more then 80% of them. When I branched out into different lifts I followed the same basic idea start small learn it right and add a small amount of weight as long as you can.

[@clarity2115]

Good for you, esp love the gymrats that say "I lift for muscle growth not strength" becomes the cope when you surpass them

[@BluegillGreg]

I think SS is more adaptable than many think it is. I added chin ups on OHP days, rows on BP days and dips on Power Clean days. These are all gone over in the book and are encouraged as optional enhancements to the program. They build strength in the opposite direction of the lifts I paired them with. It's good to also strengthen the hip flexors to counter balance the squat, though I don't remember seeing that in the book. Hanging from the chin up bar and folding at the hips to bring the feet up to the bar does this really well.

[@xyzct]

Wow, I do exactly the same thing! Including the hanging leg lifts!! Brilliant minds ...

[@BluegillGreg]

Yeah I got the heels to hands from a John Meadows video. He was great.

[@Kiss4cooper]

I loved it, got me on track after many years of wasting time. Now I’m 60, I’ve modified it to suit my needs.

[@RictorIAG]

I would suggest that there's not a lot of ways to eat. There are three: high carb, low fat; high fat, low carb; mixed fuel. What makes people fat is the mixed fuel diet. That's where carbs and fats are combined in high amounts. Why? Because the Randle Cycle is what determines how energy is used in cells. As you can see from any chart showing the cycle, the choice is glucose OR fatty acids. They cross inhibit each other. Meaning, when cells are burning fat, they're not burning glucose. This is because the oxidization of fatty acids in the mitochondria signals to the Glut 4 transmitter on the outside of the cell wall, which is what is triggered by insulin, to withdraw into the cell, turning the cell locally insulin resistant. Meaning, no glucose can enter the cell. This isn't a pathology, this is how it's supposed to work. The cell does this to prevent damage. This means glucose starts to pool in the blood. The body can't have that. It needs to maintain a normal glucose level, which is 4 grams for your entire blood supply. This glucose is swiftly converted through the process of lipogenesis into body fat. I know you've messed with the carnivore diet and the reason it works so well is because you're eating high amounts of satiating saturated fat that your body knows just what to do with. Also, fatty acids produce 3.1x as much ATP as glucose does, so you get more energy too. Notice, I haven't mentioned the word "calories" once. That's because that doesn't apply. The body doesn't burn calories, it oxidizes substrate. That substrate being either glucose or fatty acids and the body gets better at whatever diet it's fed... high carb or high fat, but it can't do much with mixed fuel meals because the cells aren't setup to burn that kind of fuel with any regularity without it starting to cause issues. Great, so we're down to two diets: high carb, or low carb. The problem with a high carb diet is that after 3-5 years, a person on this diet is going to have real vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Or, I suppose they can supplement... but why? All available evidence suggests that the human body is built to be a high fat, and animal protein diet. Look at our guts. They have more in common with a wolf than they do any other primate. Our cecum, which is the part of the digestive tract that allows plant matter to breakdown and ferment, has shriveled up and it's now called our appendix. We can handle a little fiber but nothing like other primates. Again, it's much more wolf-like. That anatomy agrees with our cellular processes, and that is, it prefers a high fat, low carb, animal protein based diet. The people getting fat while getting strong are either already showing signs of metabolic syndrome and are doing things to make it worse or they are just consuming a lot of fructose. As fructose is the switch to turn on fat storage. That can come in the form of a few hundred grams of carbs a day and associated vegetable oils that come with highly processed foods such as sandwich and hamburger buns. Toss in some fries and it's practically a recipe for putting on weight. Mixed fuel meals are the best way to gain weight there is. Look around, that's why everybody you see practically has an unhealthy amount of body fat on them.

[@cavemanjoe79]

People seem to forget, the program is called “Starting Strength”, it looks like a good program for someone to start working out or for someone who wants to get back into working out again, and once a person does have the basics of lifting maybe reevaluate their own personal goals and modify from there.

[@markus64s]

Read the book(s) and they spell out exactly when you're a novice, advanced novice, intermediate and advanced lifter - all bagged in your ability to recover and adapt to the weight. They also have excellent programming for all of those levels of progression. It's dry material but worth its weight in gold.

[@kllrbee69]

Love the DIY setup at 6:10. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. Being hard isnt a con. Im sure Ill reach a point where it gets boring though. But thats after NLP. Ill never get past intermediate as Ill be 50 this year.

[@BluegillGreg]

This program can't be run without a rack, but its principles can be adapted to run an effective close facsimile. Clean and press, clean and squat (front squat) and floor press are all good exercises. My brother and I lifted in the basement with our Dad in the early 70s. We used iron plates from a concrete floor, so everything started with a clean and had to be finished under control. This is also good strength to start with. The principles are the same. Our manual was our Dad's manual from the 1940s, likely written in the 30s. It used sets of 6, not 5. Big difference, I know ; ). What works works. Over 50 years later I still enjoy lifting and am amazed that it keeps helping me more and more for so long. Go for it Everybody!

[@Mr-mopar]

I have a home gym so I just started breaking up my works out through the day. I start with a mile walk on treadmill then my squats and calf raises. Later in the day as I work from home I do my other workout around lunch time. Then after dinner I walk fro 1 mile and throw in some bicep curls a couple times per week.

[@Pumpychan]

Good review of SS, liked your video! I’m just not in favor training without any metabolic component. Your heart is the most important muscle in your body. It needs to be in the game. I have found from experience you can do your fahve’s (with hip drahve) and still, finish up with something that gets you huffing and puffing inside of 15 minutes. 10 EMOMS of 10 kettle swings, or a dynabike 8-round 30/90 HIIT, or an 8 min hard row, (or battle ropes…) or several 2-min heavy bag rounds full out..then you’re gonna be good in all gears. My experience (62, been at this 45 years) … your mileage may vary.

[@markus64s]

Additional food for thought. It's relatively easy to ramp up metabolic conditioning after you're already strong. I typically ramp up via 3-4 short runs, 3 weeks before an annual physical fitness test, which includes a shuttle run and two mile run. I'm 240 and naturally slow, so that says something about the metcon provided by lifting. OTOH, strength takes a lot of diligence & work (-) while also being a longer lasting adaptation (+), so I prioritize it. I also enjoy bag workouts and incorporate them once or twice a week, after my lifts. I have to limit my striking and pad holding bc all the physical impacts start to affect joints and tendons. It took me a long time to swallow my pride, but my body feels so much better bc of it.

[@mertonhirsch4734]

Just do SS until it stops working and switch to 5-3-1. Its STARTING STRENGTH! When it stops working it's not starting strength anymore.

[@Manuandricky]

Can u explain 531 please

[@heterodoxic]

​@@ManuandrickyGoogle "wendler 531".

[@doubtingthomas9117]

@@Manuandricky Check out Wendler 531

[@asi3136]

Wendlers 5/3/1 ​@@Manuandricky

[@travislawrence52]

The main thing that annoys me about Rip and SS is their sole focus on high numbers with the basic lifts to the detriment of anything else. For example, I like that I'm 6'3 and squatting 345 at 37 years old after a year and a half of lifting. I never thought I'd squat that. I'm significantly stronger than anyone I work with. But according to Rip, I need to weigh 300+, and I'm a rank novice until I'm squatting 600.

[@bjrdmb]

Rip and I differ on a few things (politics, lactose tolerance, etc.) but the thing is, the program he is selling promises one thing: increased strength. The only empirical evidence for increased strength is more weight. I don’t know if you can fault him for this.

[@crossfunctionalfitness]

I'm not sure why SS and Rippetoe defining you as a novice based on your lifts annoys you. It's important to distinguish where you are in your lifting career so you know what programme is appropriate to do.

[@astang1072]

My wife has five brothers. They’re all engineers and computer programmers. I’m WAY stronger than all of them (i’m 5’8 squatting 320x5). The physical strength of people my immediate circles isn’t the metric I use to decide if I’ve reached my potential.

[@rizwan1983]

On nutrition. Look into the stuff on Nick Norwitz's channel, specifically the recent video on Eddie Hall's diet.

[@Vahj-Loveuar]

It's worth it. Made the most progress I've ever made in only about 7 months. I still don't know if I'm supposed to stretch or "cool down" when I'm done with a session.???

[@darrenbundt7319]

When I started this program I thought it seemed to lack to basic idea of training opposing muscles groups, sure enough three months in developed shoulder issues, had to take a step back and strengthen back and stabilzer muscles in order to continue progression

[@martystrasinger3801]

I’m pretty certain that no one ever deadlifted 495 without doing 225, 315, and 405 first. Even though there are some who say that high volume with lighter weights will also get you there.

[@MikeXCSkier]

Go look at programs by Boris Sheiko. They work.

[@sidrow11]

Grant, love the Bruins jerseys

[@thestrengthco]

tough season

[@SLG1911]

I love doing SS, and my family and friends are doing it too. everyone has a different experience with how hard it seems from workout to workout so i won't mention that. As far as "an hour in the gym" for novices's, I have just never seen or heard of that. Rest is 15 minutes per lift, warmup takes about 10. 30 minutes per exercise is about right. I've tried warming up during my rest and it saves a few minutes, but not that much. I would love to be in and out in an hour, but it does not seem possible.

[@aosdjgolajsdfgoasrg]

If your rest times are 15 min per lift you're well beyond novice stage. If you're at novice your rests should be 1-3 minutes. You don't warm up during work sets, defeats the purpose of warming up. I think this is a troll post.

[@SLG1911]

@@aosdjgolajsdfgoasrg I think you either haven't read the book, or haven't had competent coaching from a SS coach. I am certainly still a novice, lol. 5 mins rest between sets equals 15 mins per lift. That is the prescribed way to do it. Grant has talked about warming up during the rest between work sets as well. It works just fine, but only saves a few minutes. Everyone I know needs 1.5 hrs for 3 lifts, give or take a few minutes. I don't want to be in the gym longer than needed, but I won't rush and injure myself.

[@ProfJeffreyChasnov]

@@SLG1911 I'm not a novice anymore, but takes me more than1.5 hours for two main lifts and one accessory. I only workout twice per week. Squat and deadlift especially take more than 5 min rest after each set.

[@K4R3N]

SS was super simple to follow. I enjoyed the basic linear progression. Just 4-5 exercises. Minimal equipment. I got injured twice deadlifting and then I learned I needed to incorporate some core rotational and stability work into my routine. Looking forward to getting back after the gainz again.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

You got injured because either you weren't recovering properly before the next session or your form is incorrect. Rotational and stability accessories have absolutely nothing to do with it.

[@K4R3N]

@@matthewstrauts5427 if you have a weak core/back you lose your form, correct?

[@JamesVestal-dz5qm]

I agree these basic barbell movements aren't complicated and people are pontificating on the internet. I lift weights for 2 hours sometimes. I give myself the longer rest period so I can finish high quality sets. I'll do 9 sets of bench press and squat in 1 workout. It's painful, but manageable with long enough rest periods. I agree that strength training is hard. I mix exercises, so some days I'll do squats and other days deadlifts, or some days I'll bench barbells and another day I'll bench dumbbells, for variety. Learning different lifts instead of focusing on one number, for example my bench press weight and reps, helps me avoid the boredom. Eating less is the hardest part of all of these programs.

[@treasurethetime2463]

I like Rip. Further, i like how starting strength doesn't allow one to "hide" a lack of progress or effort behind "variety". It's a good metaphor for life. Master the basics first. Build a foundation. Focus. The industry is just filled with charlatans and cowards. It's uncomfortable to have real conversations with clients who are bullshyting themselves. Much easier to just have them do a bunch of random stuff to keep them coming back.

[@liamjohnson7887]

Your first paragraph sums up nicely what many people do. Never thought of it this way.

[@stevesorensen9648]

Nicely said Grant. You forgot to apologize to anyone who loves doing dumbbell triceps kickbacks!

[@ronburgandy3339]

Gross

[@-b-sharp]

The biggest issue I have with 6:12 is that he didn't spring the extra $100 for safety stands.

[@RockyP-xw8rd]

Starting Strength is fantastic. I got my squat to 405 in 6 months. The idiotic comments about getting fat has to to with the end user eating like shit. The GOMAD is for 18 year old 140 lb skinny kids. Anyone else needs 500-1000 CLEAN calories above maintenance. Any more, if you’re not a hard gainer, you will get fat. I’ve seen guys get fat because they lie to themselves about their metabolism and they over eat thinking it will all go to muscle. It won’t.

[@gumbygreen14]

Rippetoe’s henchmen/ left and right hand men will not like @8:48. Shots fired?

[@classicchristianliterature]

Does anybody find it feasible to add 5 lb per workout? This would be 260 lb per year added to every lift

[@bmstylee]

If you have never touched a barbell maybe. Newbie gains are real. Once those go away it get really hard. Especially for pressing movements.

[@jeffriggins9106]

It's almost like it's called starting strength

[@LSPR93]

It shouldn't last a year. The program lasts from three to nine months depending on individual circumstances. A lifter who already developed his strength for some time will start with bigger weights and end the program sooner. A sedentary guy who just started the program will begin with smaller weights and may need to take smaller increments will take more time to start his strength.

[@JayRuf3438]

I think having a bad ass home gym is a pro. Never need to wait for someone to stop curling in the squat rack.

[@carps_gym]

Yep!

[@LifeisGood762]

Yeah I got fat as fuck and now it's been really hard to get back as lean as I was. But. THE NUMBERS MASON.

[@RonSwansonIsMyGod]

6:11 Ha ha, that's funny. I have a full on squat rack in my bedroom. In a 3rd floor apt. I'm committed. Or maybe I should be committed...

[@PatientVelociraptor]

“People get so addicted to the number on the bar going up they don’t care what they look like.” Yeah, because SS doesn’t allow you to adjust any other training variables.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

The comments here bashing Rippetoe are mind boggling. Dude knows more about strength conditioning then anyone here. A "thank you" for sharing your wisdom with us would be far more in order.

[@waltersobchak6546]

The weight gaining part is a downside. And when it gets hard, 5 reps spikes your blood pressure very hight. I do 8-12 reps now. Better for me. And I split upper/lower now. Full body fives were too taxing at 50 yrs and a 70 hrs a week profession.

[@Patient_Zero01]

Power cleans need subbed out. A high school football player can handle them but for most there are better options

[@astang1072]

“We downt dew body parts. We downt dew ‘abs’, we downt dew ‘arms’ er ‘legs’: we dew ‘mewvment patterns’! The squat is a hip mewvment.” “Whut is strength? Strength is the ability to produce force against an external resistance. How dew yew get stronger? Ba’ lifting more weight!!!” “Running doesn't make yew strong! Getting stronger helps yew run”. “Who’s stronger: a 150lb guy who deadlifts 475, or the 275lb guy who can deadlift 500? THE GUY WHO CAN LIFT MORE is stronger!! I know thats terribly upsetting the the ‘functional fitness’ people!”

[@elobiretv]

Honestly loved starting strength when I did it back during coving times but lately it's become such a damn cult and every video they do has to drag politics or Rips world views into it for some reason. It's still a damn good book though and I still re-read parts occasionally if I need to brush up on my form.

[@deathbare5306]

Other programs may work too, but Starting Strength is the most efficient way. You will gain the most strength in the least amount of time.

[@zerrodefex]

Other programs can do it with much less injury risk, something more important for older lifters starting out.

[@deathbare5306]

@@zerrodefex That just isn't true at all, but no need to disagree with me, just visit any SS gym, plenty of 60+ folks figuring out how to be strong with a coach.

[@thebiggestpanda1]

SS just made me bottom heavy and slow.

[@wafflesmcgallagher934]

Idk about others, but there's nothing more exciting to me than doing the same lifts over and over, lifting more and more and more, and the weight doesnt seem to ever get much heavier

[@southernvoltageelectricser437]

Rip made me fat. I’ve gained 20;pounds in two years of doing Starting Strength. I’ve lost two inches on my waist and put a hundred pounds on my bench, but damm, I’m so fat

[@user-fl5lr1nm5v]

The hardness doesn’t change. It doesn’t get harder. It doesn’t get easier. It stays the same.

[@QuomaD]

Gaining weight is a con? No no no, embrace the bulk. “Never let a few extra calories get in the way of a bench PR.” -the Bloat Lord

[@zerrodefex]

It is if you're starting out overweight. SS is written assuming everyone is some underweight teenager.

[@wafflesmcgallagher934]

​@zerrodefex I got fat, do I care? No. Eventually I'll cut, but for now I'm not too concerned with getting bigger, so long as my strength goes through the roof.

[@elobiretv]

@@zerrodefex Well if your overweight then lose weight first and then do the program, which is what Rip tells people to do. Starting a strength program when your already fat is just fucking stupid.

[@junky802]

Lol the made me fat part is still pretty fair point. Done SS and has bettered my life. Thats said of the many podcast i heard from him. Calories are stressed, not lean protein. But maybe hes gotten better in the years i stoped listening.

[@jvm-tv]

If you could run SS without getting fat Mark Rippetoe would do it.

[@skandalbanker]

I want to go to the gym and grab some random cables ... 🙂

[@pilgrimino]

Keep it simple lift heavy shit

[@Mr66Undertaker]

People getting fat is definitely Rippetoes doing. His recommendations on weight to height ratio will definitely make you too heavy too soon. His recommended weight for somebody 6feet tall is approx 265lbs. You will be fat if you gain that aggressively (since Starting Strength is at most half a year program), unless you have longer working out background. But you will squat some solid weight.

[@JH-dr6do]

Anything Rip does is ALL PRO

[@BambinoFilipino1]

Question # 3 when you get stuck: “how much are you eating? Most human males cannot make progress on a strength program with a diet of under 4000 calories a day” this is why people get fat on this program.

[@edwardburroughs1489]

Biggest con of Starting Strength is Rippetoe! Youve got to love the guy but he talks crap sometimes. I heard him recommend a guy who's 5ft 9 and 200lbs (might even have been 220) to bulk because his OHP had stalled. As you say no need to become morbidly obese.

[@Frennemydistinction]

Grant is a good ambassador for the SS brand.

[@Vahj-Loveuar]

If you write "squat 3×5 of 315" for your next workout, you'll never have to listen to him again. So that "con" is false.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

You don't know what your talking about. What's your PRs?

[@edwardburroughs1489]

@@matthewstrauts5427 Is that aimed at me? If so I do know what I'm talking about. However I dont know my PRs as Im not interested in lifting for PRs. I did try a 3x5 program couple years back though and my legs blew up but bench stalled pretty much straight away, well after a few weeks. Id be surprised if I could 1RM bodyweight but you never know. Sticking to the 'big-5' is not the way to go if you just want a bit of strength, muscle mass and general fitness though.

[@edwardburroughs1489]

@@matthewstrauts5427 I also run about twice a week and I don't know what my running PRs are, but Im sure they would be pretty bad too.

[@skriabinfly]

In my opinion, deadlift and low-bar back squat are not worth the spinal loading and risk of injury. At my high school our strength coach programmed power cleans instead of deadlift and high-bar back squats instead of low-bar. Also, every time I tried listening to Rippetoe he sounded like an immature jackass to me.

[@Lev-The-King]

Uh oh. Rippy is not going to like you criticizing it

[@martinvulu1848]

THAT is the real con, that to him everything else is crap.

[@robert2b2]

Actually, higher fat (saturated animal fats) and low to no carbs is the best way to go. See the work of Drs. Shawn Baker, Anthony Chaffee, Zoe Harcombe, Paul Mason, Ben Bikman, Robert Kiltz, Steve Phinney, Jeff Volek and Tim Noakes for starters. For added benefit, check out the content of Prof. Bart Kay. Also, I love and follow the Starting Strength program and recommend it to everyone who will listen - and a few who won't.

[@thecastle09]

You still need to do other physical activity go for a walk, ride your bicycle you can’t do the program and then lay on your ass all day

[@thebarbelllifestyle1478]

I don't think any of that is necessarily discouraged, but I do agree. Get outside and move as well. All part of the process and just being a healthy human imo.

[@ProfJeffreyChasnov]

Another Con is that it is too easy to get injured if you are not being watched over by a coach or experienced lifter. Learning from videos alone can only go so far.

[@georgeramirez5796]

I've never understood "boring" -- as long as progress is being made it ain't boring. Scary, maybe, but boring? Nahh.

[@shooz4unme]

It's supposed to be boring n hard. This is no con.

[@thestrengthco]

You now understand the video

[@teeed7927]

Why does nobody ever mention that if you're a complete beginner operating extremely heavy barbell weight you're prone to injury

[@epeterson1970]

Its like a cult. Way too dogmatic

[@Vahj-Loveuar]

How is "squat 3 sets of 5, and then add 5 lbs on the next workout" a cult?

[@thebarbelllifestyle1478]

​@@Vahj-LoveuarI think it's just a popular throwaway line people have seen others say at some point in time and parrot it because it must be true because a bunch of random people online said it. Same could he said for people's unabashed hatred of the Olympic press, for example. Just one of those things for whatever reason.

[@zerrodefex]

It's less surprising when you learn about Rip's prior involvement with the other cult called CrossFit.

[@epeterson1970]

@@Vahj-Loveuar That in and of itself is not, but Rips insistence that those are the only things that work. An example would be him dogging the high bar squat and front squat. I get it. That's his schtick. That's how he makes his money, by promoting his system to the detriment of all others. The simple fact is that for newbies, practically any decent program will build strength

[@Panagiotis1709]

The worst con is that programs like these are being pushed to beginners that have bodybuilding goals in mind. If you wanna go for powerlifting, sure. But this program absolutely sucks for bodybuilding purposes (the lower body bias does not help much either).

[@Frennemydistinction]

I think the idea is that to become a good bodybuilder, step one is getting strong. Getting strong would be the foundation to running an effective body buillding program.

[@stark5353]

As a beginner, you'd do great on SS for putting on mass. Beginner bodybuilding programs are barbell focused anyway. Heavily isolating cables and machines, and high rep ranges are good for intermediate and advanced lifters who are running into fatigue issues.

[@MichaelShammasSSC]

Pssst... It's not illegal to add curls and triceps extensions to the end of your workout. Just accept that your workout may take a bit longer. The most useful thing about Starting Strength for aesthetics bros is that it teaches them how to train hard, which seems to be the biggest issue in that community. Also keep in mind that once you finish the NLP, you can do as much bodybuilding as you want and you'll be in a way better position to do so having gotten strong on the compound movements over the last 2-6 months.

[@Vahj-Loveuar]

poor kids being "pushed" strength like crack 😂😂😂 yea, it's bad for wannabe bodybuilders that want to stay skinny.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

Uhhhh... this is news?? Where on earth did bodybuilding ever get mentioned?

[@LukeMosse]

The biggest con is their right wing macho image. It means you can't share their content without alienating 80 percent off the bat with the politics and presentation.

[@matthewstrauts5427]

Grant ... your disappointing me. You piggy back your entire brand off SS than start covering cons? You know as well as anyone you probably need to put on weight to keep progressing. Very very confusing mixed messaging. This is strength training!!! Not what your abs look like.

[@finallychangedthis]

Should he just keep hammering that the program is ‘perfect’? There is more to fitness and health than just absolute weight on the bar, and that is all he is acknowledging

[@operationtruth288]

BS. SS is not a good program at all. First off adding 5 pounds a week runs out QUICK. Second it lacks VOLUME. Nothing beats 3x10. Its proven from Professional Athletes to Golden Era Body Builders.

[@pHaTtY111111111111]

3x10 is bodybuilder shit. You want to get strong, run real strength programs that ever rarely go passed 8 reps. They mostly stay above 80% of your max for singles/doubles/triples. The Ed Coan deadlift program alone, simple as it is to follow, blows SS out of the water with a nuke.

[@operationtruth288]

@@pHaTtY111111111111 BS !!! Some of the Best Professional Hall of Fame Athletes trained in the weightroom with 3x10

[@pHaTtY111111111111]

@operationtruth288 3x10 is basic hypertrophy range. Fairly rarely will powerlifters or strongman athletes work in that set range. Maybe...MAYBE at the start of a program's hypertrophy block to put on size but never for actual strength purposes. Drop names or you're just an angry child spouting your own bullshit rhetoric.

[@operationtruth288]

@@pHaTtY111111111111 Powerlifters are Fat Azz Slobs so are Modern Strongman. Who wants to look like CHIT ??

[@ronburgandy3339]

5:22 who is that? Asking for every guy watching this video.

[@chuckgary6291]

i like to think of starting strength is the fat guy program... rippetoe does say to get fat to lift more weight and get over plateaus. eat lots of cheap meat and die of a heart attack at 70 so you can bench 405 for one. i am just half-joking. in reality, the con I see is the absence of variation...there's not enough variation, and along with that, it's not designed for intermediate and advanced lifters.

[@jennalucia1758]

That's why it's called 'Starting Strength', you don't do the 3x5 forever...