[Podcast] Pros & Cons of Starting Strength

Starting Strength is probably the most famous strength training program in the world, and a huge reason that barbell lifting took off 15-20 years ago.

But is it really a good program for beginners in the gym? And which claims by Mark Rippetoe in the Starting Strength book have aged badly? How would we improve Starting Strength?

A listener on Spotify requested an episode about the pros and cons of Starting Strength, and today we deliver just that!

Pour yourself a gallon of milk; this is going to be fun.

With the player above, you can listen to the episode directly here in your browser.

You can download the episode here or use one of the links below:

Wherever you find The Strength Log podcast, don’t forget to hit the follow button. A new episode is released every Monday (or Sunday, depending on your time zone).

You can also search for The Strength Log, if you use another podcast player.

This is episode 113 of the podcast. Check out the five previous episodes below:

Do you like what you hear so far? Please leave a five-star review in your podcast player.

You can also follow us on Instagram. You’ll find Daniel at @strengthdan, and Philip at @philipwildenstam.

To discuss the podcast with us, or to leave a question, join our Reddit community at r/strengthlog.


Further Reading


To support the pod, download our free strength training app StrengthLog. It’s completely ad-free and the most generous workout tracker app on the market, giving you access to unlimited workout logging, lots of workouts and training programs, and much, much more, even if you stay a free user for life.

If you want a t-shirt with ”Train hard, eat well, die anyway”, check out our shop here.

Photo of author

Philip Wildenstam

Philip used to be a powerlifter (his best lift was a 275 kg raw squat), but now he mostly eats, drinks, and sleeps. He's also a certified nutrition coach and a co-founder of StrengthLog, and he's always trying to make the app better and more user-friendly. If you ask Philip nicely, he might share his recipe for Swedish meatballs with you.