Starting Strength (2nd edition)

This book is the best in its class. It is not even close. From its well written opening preface to the detailed and professional description of exercises to the excellent trailing section on training principals, I don't know of another book in any field that serves its purpose as well as this one does.

Prior to owning this book, all I would use in the gym were machines. Starting Strength has equipped me with the necessary information to start doing real weight-lifting correctly and safely. The book is an excellent introduction for anyone that wants to start weight-lifting but has no experience. Covering the core lifts: squat, deadlift, bench press, (overhead) press and the power clean, the discussion explains the lifts, the correct biomechanics and common faults. Also includes a section on programming (i.e. creating a program suitable for a beginner lifter). This book is an extensive completely self-contained introduction to the weightroom.

After reading the book, and starting my own strength-training, I can't help but feel that weightlifting (as prescribed in this book) belongs in everyones fitness regime.

Excellent book.Completely changed the way i look at building muscle.
Before i would spend 1hr-2hrs 4 days a week in the gym doing split routines.Working out every tiny muscle group for 10x times infinity with no rhyme or reason to it.Now it's down to the true essentials because that is what works.The beauty of this book is it's simplicity.
Also one thing i never knew before buying this book is how much FUN moving weights with barbells are.So much more satisfying than a lot of the exercises i did in the past.
If you've got to this page while searching for similiar books.Stop right now and buy this.Seriously!
You'll build more muscle than before,save money on gym equipment,save time(my workouts are far shorter than before) and have a lot of laughs reading Mark Rippetoe's informative and very funny prose.

Let me first state that I've been lifting weights for almost 30 years now and competed in several powerlifting meets back in the 80's. Although I have always felt strong, as I've aged, I began to feel pain in my joints when I was lifting, particularly my knees, back, and shoulders. I chalked this up to age and figured I guess I needed to just slow down and accept getting older.
This book has been recommended to me by Amazon quite a bit, but it just looked to simplistic to me and I figured I already knew how to lift properly. I guess I was wrong.
I finally decided to pick this book up after seeing some of its material crossed over on the crossfit website. After reading it I immediately started implementing some of the changes the book recommended into my routine. For the first time in years, I'm squatting pain free, without knee braces. My bench press has risen 30 pounds in just 1 month after implementing standing presses to my routine instead of doing them seated. I feel like an entirely new lifter, one who can continue to improve through his entire life, not just his youth. Thank you Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore for writing such a great book. It belongs in everyone's weightlifting library, and I can easily give it the highest possible recommendation.

This is a very good book for beginning and experienced lifters. The message is simplicity. Follow a basic program and just get strong. The detail on how to perform the lifts is very good. I highly recommend this book.