I have read Rip comment somewhere that it is ok to add in excercises if you want to....
Like 3x 8 bicep and a 3x 8 tricep on the 3rd workout day that is followed by 2 days rest....
However Rip also indicates in his book... That the majority of people who fail his program do so because they do not follow the program...
Gidday Bazzo...
As stated above... Both are Rips opinions...
Eitherway... Within the SS programs an option does exist to add in excercises should you choose too...
All depends on what each individual is seeking to do I guess...
In my opinion I see no problem with adding in excercises on the provision that it does not hold back your main lifts which is the crux of SS...
Here is the link to an article outlining SS with optional excercises... Once again I note that while Rip says you can do optional excercises... they are completely unneccessary...
Each to there own...
The Workouts | Starting Strength
The Exercises / Lifts
Here’s a list of the exercises associated for every workout along with their appropriate Sets and Repetitions. These exercises are placed in order, so always follow them accordingly and never do one before the other just because you feel like it or else you will be ruining the whole point of this routine. The numbers next to the exercises are Sets X Reps. If you don’t know any of these exercises or how to execute them properly, look into
getting a copy of the book for your own sake.
Workout A
- Squats: 3 x 5
- Bench Press: 3 x 5
- Deadlift: 1 x 5
- Dips (weighted): 2 x 5-8
Workout B
- Squats: 3 x 5
- Press: 3 x 5
- Power Clean: 3 x 5
- Chin-ups: 3 x 8
Every Workout / Assistance Work / OPTIONAL
- Weighted Sit-ups at a 45 degree angle on decline bench: 3 x 5
- Weighted Hyper-extensions: 3 x 8
Do not add, remove or substitute ANY of these exercises or else you will be wasting your time. These are key exercises to increasing strength in any individual in the shortest amount of time. No other exercises out there come close to the efficacy of the ones listed above. Adding more exercises to this list is considered over-training. Removing any of these exercises just because you don’t like them means you have already handicapped yourself for gaining the most amount of strength. Please do not mess with this routine or else you are seriously wasting your time. You might as well quit now if you don’t believe in Mark Rippetoe.
As you can see, there is no “bicep curls” or any direct arm work involved because your arms will be indirectly trained over time. I have seen my arms personally grow at their peak just by following the Starting Strength routine and I haven’t done any direct bicep work. Why? Sometimes indirect work to a muscle is the best way to train it as opposed to targeting it directly. A lot of people don’t seem to understand that these days and they choose to ignore it. Just give this program a month of work and you will see your arms get sore without you doing a bicep curl.
Lastly, the weighted sit-ups and hyper-extensions are optional. If it gets in the way of progressing on the five core lifts (squats, deads, power cleans, shoulder presses, bench presses) then stop doing them.
What You Need to Know
Proper warm-ups are always required for proper strength training. You should do a minimum of 3 warm-up sets before you start your heavy sets. If you are unsure how to warm up, take a look at my
warming up page.
Never increase (or “ramp”) your working/heavy sets. If you start doing 150 lbs of squats, then you do it 3 times for the remainder of your exercise workout (this is called “sets across”). Do not increase in weight once you have started your heavy set. Leave the increase for the next time you do squats. This goes for any exercise: proper technique is always more important than the amount of weight on the bar.
Somewhat Acceptable Substitutions
Honestly, you should stick to the above exercises, but you can substitute a few of the exercises with the following options. You should know that you’re much better off doing power cleans than barbell rows. As coach Rippetoe has said many times, “My opinion about barbell rows is as follows: f*** barbell rows. Really. F*** them. Stop wasting time worrying about barbell rows and get your deadlift up to 500. By then you’ll have your own opinion and you won’t have to worry about mine.”
- Replacing Power Cleans: you can do Pendlay Rows (3 x 5) and Chin-ups ( 2 x 8 ) as a replacement.
- Replacing Dips: Decline Dumbbell Bench press with your hands’ palms facing each other.
Additions to the Workouts
I’m quite confident to say that these additions will never come handy on this program, but should the need arise, you can add the following exercises to your weekly routine on Fridays only (or the last training day of the week). If you are just starting out new on this program, do not do these until 3 weeks into the routine. Trust me, these are really unnecessary and only here for the few people with exceptions.
- Parallel Bar Dips or Inline Skullcrushers (2 x 8-12)
- Barbell / Dumbell / EZ-Curls: (2 x 8-12)
