Give Me Strength: 4 High-Calibre Strength-Training Programs for Maximum Gains
Ever stepped into the gym and thought “I don’t have the strength for this. Literally”? You’re not alone. My maiden lifting sessions were spent wondering why I couldn’t already pick up four plates and chasing my protein shakes with shots of both impatience and incompetence. Indeed, bro, I didn’t even lift. I didn’t even lift at all.
Source - One Man One Barbell - Covered Below
Fast forward half a decade, and many of my lifting programs still have strength training at their core. Aside from mitigating incidence and severity of injury, developing overall strength – particularly for novices – is the foundation of good lifter that strives for developing and maintaining strength over time. Just as you wouldn’t start building a house from the roof downwards, you shouldn’t start trying to curl your way to big biceps before you’ve become familiar with foundations of strength training. A combination of some of compound exercises - squats, deadlifts, bench press, rows, and overhead pressing – should feature heavily, so look at these 4 programs: they’re guaranteed to lead to increases in both strength and size for the novice lifter.
Starting Strength
Mark Rippetoe doesn’t take any nonsense, and this extends into his legendary Starting Strength program. Aimed at younger athletes that want to get stronger by utilising compound lifts as well as many variations included within the comprehensive Starting Strength book (incidentally this is perhaps one of the best books for lifting novices ever to be written).
Along with Stronglifts 5 x 5, I can personally attest to the effectiveness of Starting Strength. It will take you through the calculations necessary to know what weight progression you should aim for each week. Visit the Starting Strength website and watch the gains train pull up to the station. Destination? Massive-gains Parkway.
Stronglifts 5 x 5
Devised by Reg Park in the 1960 and later popularised by Mehdi, Stronglifts 5 x 5 is the program by which I cut my weight-training teeth. This program will have you Squatting, Bench Pressing, Deadlifting, Rowing, and Overhead Pressing, as well as throwing in some accessory lifts like dips and chin ups.
It isn’t an all-in-one solution and you shouldn’t stay on this program forever. However, it will allow you to not be in the gym 6 times a week and still make gains in size and strength, adding weight to the bar regularly and tracking your progress. It even has an app to help you quantify your gains over time – you can find all you need at https://stronglifts.com/5x5/.
One Man One Barbell
This one isn’t necessary ideal for true beginners. However it is a program that will allow you to get strong and maintain a very good level of conditioning simultaneously. It’s a little more complex than Starting Strength or Stronglifs 5x5, but its results are probably more desirable for those who want a both strength and conditioning to come along for the ride.
You’ll be working at different rep ranges across the weeks (4 reps, 3 reps, and 2-2-1-1s), with 3-5 minutes of rest between. The program culminates with a straight 15 minutes of EMOM. Check out http://www.onemanonebarbell.com/ for more information.
Bigger Leaner Stronger
BLS is a push-pull program designed to split your pushing and pulling. Unlike many strength programs, this one includes more emphasis on chest, arms, and shoulders, so for any of the bros out there worrying about aesthetics, this one will allow you to keep the boulder shoulders while solidifying your strength foundation.
The program is found in its entirety in book form, with the paperback, audiobook, and Kindle versions all available from Amazon.