Why "Starting Strength"? A Squatting Introduction.

The questions are inevitable: "Yo man, why aren't you doing a bodybuilders routine?", "Why do you go so low when you squat?", "Why do you only do a 3x5 on everything?", "Why not more benches and curls?", "Don't you know you can't get heeeyyyuuuuuuuge doing squats? You gotta do lots of upper body work!"

I can answer all of these questions, and more, but bear with me while I explain a bit about "Starting Strength." The title is fairly self explanatory. Starting strength is a program designed to put the most amount of mass/strength on a person in the least amount of time, considering the given that they are a newbie to weight training. The good news about being new is that you will make an incredible amount of progress in a short time if you put work in. The bad news is that most people have no idea what to do in the gym, and need some direction and help.

The core of the routine is the squat. You do it first thing, every time you work out. This is important for a few reasons. First of all, a great deal of the mass you want to build, is right in those skinny ass legs of yours. They have the most growth potential out of all your muscles. (Do you want to look like that the rest of your life?) Second of all, the squat serves as a great general warm up. After a good squat session, you should be breathing heavily, sweating, and asking where all the lights went. Thirdly, put your ass under the bar and start squatting already.

The squat is done DEEPLY. In fact, if you have to ask "How deep?" then you aren't going deep enough.; you want your hips to be below your knees. You drive from the heels, and push the bar as hard as you can from your heels, and your hips. You stay on your heels the entire movement. The back remains in a neutral position all the way down and all the way up. Yelling is optional, but entirely understandable given how hard it gets to do this when pushing some serious poundage.

Increase the weight ten pounds every single workout until it becomes impossible to do and you have de-loaded three times. After that you should be at roughly 1.5 times your bodyweight.

Any other questions or concerns about the squat you would like me to address? Bar placement (protip: rear delts or traps are both acceptable places). I would be more than happy to answer any and all questions in the comments section.