Disadvantages of Starting Strength

raporteur · 3 months

You won't realise how strong you're becoming, and you'll accidentally break stuff.

bythog · 3 months

The only real disadvantage I can see is that it gets boring after a while:

squat, deadlift, OHP
squat, bench press, clean
repeat

Yeah, you can throw in some pullups, dips, and curls but that honestly gets old after a while.

That's not to say to not do it. It works. The results are worth the boring, hard work. I hate squats. Hate, hate, hate them. I still do them nearly every workout because they still work. Going to the gym isn't necessarily "fun" but, to look good, you still have to do things that you hate or are boring.

HurstT · 3 months

My biggest problem with bulking is eating loses it's enjoyment. It literally becomes a chore..

theleprechaun69 · 3 months

Let's be honest: a lot of us are focused on looking really good, and not necessarily being strong like bear. IMO, SS/SL ignores a lot of aesthetics-focused lifts.

wakeupsnorlax · 3 months

Not enough lat work IMHO

dangerousdave · 3 months

Most (average) people will actually make better progress on their upper body lifts on SS than on any Bench-curl-bench-curl bro program.

Doing a bodybuilding program or focusing on particular body parts will not work so well unless you are already strong.

locklearjet · 3 months

I can't fit into my skinny jeans anymore :(

evilgenius134 · 3 months

Disadvantages of Starting Strength seem irrelevant as it is for beginners to mainly create motor engrams to perform the required movements, especially with people who have never taken any part in any regular physical activity and so do not have the lower body strength that they should have.

The disadvantages would only become apparent if an experienced lifter used the routine; no dips/volume work for building a strong press, no accessory lifts.

Even squatting every day may not be enough for some people who cannot squat; I certainly had to practice the squat most days without weight and force myself into the bottom position, feel and move my balance to get used to it and get the ascent right as I fell backwards otherwise. Since only doing heavy work each session was not enough variation to get used to the squat as it was always a struggle with the weight increasing and my coordination and balance being poor.

The worst thing you can do is not start soon and practice often, regardless of the exact routine you do getting the movements done well, practiced with the bar, visualising the movement without mirrors and trying to increase the weight as much as you can handle is what matters.

J-Appleseed · 3 months

I'm 5'9" and already a little stocky. SS made me much wider everywhere. Now I look like a cinder block.

novacaak · 3 months

T-REX MODE

roflcoptor69 · 3 months

Taking a different tack, I feel a disadvantage to Starting Strength is that it is not as much fun as a lot of programs, mainly because of the squats. I know this might draw some squat evangels to arms, but people who actually enjoy doing squats are a lot like bisexual women, in that there seem to be a lot more of them online than in real life. If you can do Starting Strength and stick to it you will have significant gains, but I personally would have found it a harder program to get excited about when I was starting lifting, and less likely to stick with it.

playdo-h · 3 months

The disadvantages of SS depend on one's goals. For me, being a former fat boy, the disadvantage came in putting on more body fat than I expected, but my lifts all went up. I also think that SS doesn't emphasize resting or de-loading weeks. This gives newbies like me a lot of unnecessary frustration when linear progression stops.

atromic · 3 months

Lack of conditioning. I got a lot stronger when I did SS, but I got shittier at everything else in my life that I enjoy (downhill skiing, biking, hiking, etc). If I could do it over again I would do a program with less lifting volume and more room for conditioning. Honestly I wouldn't recommend SS to anyone except the desperately weak and skinny based on my experience with it.

Coldhardt · 3 months

One big disadvantage is having everyone want to fuck you after your attractiveness increases tenfold. Seriously, though, keep a stick handy to beat them away.

SoupOfTheSeason · 3 months

ITT: People overlook that SS is first and foremost a strength program. Not a conditioning program. Not a mobility program. Not a nutritional program. Not a whatever else program. It's not meant to make you win a marathon or cure cancer.

Scipio_Africanus · 3 months

Lack of curls.

melbat0ast · 3 months

So this is just my opinion, but big and ripped >> skinny and ripped. If you actually want to look good with a shirt on (and off) you gotta spend some time getting big before you worry about the small stuff.

That and the fact that noobs make tremendous gains on a program like SS makes it worth doing

ProfessorFoo · 3 months

The advantages are that it's great for increasing strength and decent at increasing muscle mass (though likely not quite as good as a body building routine). The disadvantages are that it isn't very good at anything else. From what I remember it only has one explosive movement (power cleans), almost no endurance training or conditioning, and very little emphasis on flexibility and coordination. If you want to be a well rounded athlete you're going to need to do a lot more than SS.

And I have no idea why so many people are saying you can't run marathons when doing SS. You definitely still can, it just won't be as easy if you get bigger (and you will obviously need to do more than SS to prepare).

unexpected · 3 months

You won't be able to run a marathon on SS.

i1der · 3 months

It needs side/rear delt work imo. When I was doing only pressing movements, it caused some shoulder problems but once I started working out the whole shoulder, it went away.

Roninspoon · 3 months

I'm in my second week, and so far the disadvantages are five days of comically sore legs and some lingering mild joint pain in the hips.

mrbrinks · 3 months

Cleans are a scary exercise if you've never done them before. I still refuse to do them.

Lanada · 3 months

If you follow SS you will put on a bit of fat. Some people think this is unacceptable. Given most peoples desk jobs I also believe it needs one or two external rotation movements.

I'd recommend SS over pretty much anything but don't forget it's pretty much just a compound focused linear progression program in the presence of excess calories. It's perfect for beginners wanting to build strength and muscle.

interpenduncularfosa · 3 months

The main disadvantage to SS is that people who start lifting on SS often fail to develop some of the most important prerequisites for lifting excelence: Critical thinking, self reliance, the willingness to experiment and learn from one's mistakes, the ability to push oneself as hard as possible and find out what one is capable of because the number of sets and reps he has to complete written down, the understanding that if one's going to suceed, one is going to have to become the worlds leading expert in how you should train, etc.

Sure, Ripps legions learn how to squat. And that's nice. But pretty much anyone who stays in the gym long enough or makes any attempt to educate himself about strength training is eventually going to learn that he needs to squat, and how to squat right.

A kid who goes to the gym his first day and doesn't know to do anything but bench and leg press, but is willing to experiment and find out what works best for him, will probably do better in the long run, because he will have developed the necessary mental attributes for lifting success.

Now these criticisms can apply to most programs, but they apply most to Starting Strength because of Rips "Do it like it's written down, don't customize it, shut up don't think, follow the program" attitude. Starting Strength breeds people who are dependent on authority who go from one expert to the next, making mediocre gains, but never getting as strong as the innovators who wrote the programs they use.

moedef · 3 months

Can one still get cut by doing SS or will I have to do the bro routine of chest/tri's one day, back/bi's another day, and shoulder/legs one other day? I like SS and I don't like the other routines.

Eloni · 3 months

The problem is have with it is OHP -> Power Clean. Doing OHP first really screwed with both my form and the weight of my cleans. So changing which workout I do DL and which I Clean feels much more right for me.

Polyclad · 3 months

Doing squats every day makes it too difficult for me to do any of the assistance exercises by the end.

FLYBOY611 · 3 months

Look at the success posts we have on this subreddit. Everything someone posts their amazing aesthetic results they never mention that they did SS. They've almost always done a different split or set of exercises entirely. SS will make you strong but it is much harder to achieve the aesthetic goals that people strive for.

mamamamaa · 3 months

If you are above 6'6' it's not the best exercise. Squats, bend over rows are not the best idea for very tall people.

I believe people over 40 can find better exercises too. It's not good idea to start with explosive power cleans and heavy squats without proper trainer.

Double_A · 3 months

i didn't really care for it. this is my favorite weightlifting book, Olympic Weightlifting by Greg Everett. Definitely not a beginner's book.

markatwar · 3 months

Ok well since no one has actually done it, here's a disadvantage i've come across. I become too strong at squats and can't add 5 lbs to the bar every workout anymore. i have to switch to front squats some days, and even take some sets down so i'm able to hit all my deads and power cleans or otherwise my legs won't be able to handle it.

RRightmyer · 3 months

SS is NOT FOR FAT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT.

End of. I think all of the huge success stories I see about it are skinny people trying to add muscle, and that's great. But for Fatties to lose a lot of weight, reiteration: Caloric deficit and/or Low Carb!!! (plus some of whatever exercise you want to do, and Protein!)

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