How Starting Strength works
Starting Strength is Mark Rippetoe's novice linear-progression program — arguably the most influential beginner barbell routine ever written. It's built on a handful of full-body lifts, run three times a week, with the bar getting a little heavier every single session. Two workouts, A and B, cover everything.
The A/B workouts
- Workout A — squat 3×5, bench 3×5, deadlift 1×5
- Workout B — squat 3×5, press 3×5, deadlift 1×5
You alternate them across three non-consecutive days a week — Mon A, Wed B, Fri A, then the next week opens with B (Mon B, Wed A, Fri B) and so on. Squat appears every session, the two presses trade off, and the deadlift anchors each workout. This calculator shows both with your current weights loaded.
Progression
Add weight every session you complete the reps: 2.5 kg / 5 lb on the upper-body lifts (bench, press) and 5 kg / 10 lb on squat and deadlift while you're early. Because squat is trained every session, it climbs twice as often as each press — that's by design. As the weights get heavy the jumps shrink (microplates help) and eventually you stall.
Why deadlift is one set
The deadlift is run as a single set of five. One heavy set is plenty of stimulus, and stacking three would wreck recovery for the squats waiting two days later. It's the one lift that doesn't get three work sets, and that's deliberate.
A note for novices
This is a novice program, and the magic — adding weight literally every session — only lasts while you're new. Those linear gains don't run forever; when the jumps stop sticking across multiple attempts, it's time to move to an intermediate program with weekly rather than per-session progression. Start lighter than your ego wants and ride the climb as long as it lasts.