Why do so many people injure themselves at the gym? What is the key to lifting more weight on the Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press & Overhead Press?

Exercise technique.

Correct exercise technique minimizes risks of lower back, knee and shoulder injuries. Proper technique also allows you to lift more weight: you’re using your muscles more efficiently.

But how are you going to learn how to do your exercises correctly? Who will teach you proper technique so you don’t hurt yourself? More important: who can explain you why you fail to do your exercises right?

• Not Personal Trainers. Most trainers can’t teach you how to Squat or Deadlift correctly because they don’t do these exercises.
• Also Not the Internet. Too much bad advice. You’ll waste many hours separating the good from the bad and getting frustrated.
• And Certainly Not You. Practice leads to injuries if you don’t have guidelines on what to do and what to avoid.

Starting Strength. The reference on exercise technique. Starting Strength is the only book you’ll ever need on this topic. It counts 320 pages and 750 illustrations. Some things you’ll learn inside:

• Technique for 29 exercises: Squat, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Deadlift, Power Clean, Halting Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Stiff-Legged Deadlift, Deadlift from Blocks, Rack Pull, Shrugs, Goodmorning, Barbell Row, Box Squat, Rack Squat, High Bar Olympic Squat, Front Squat, Close Grip Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Rack Bench Press, Push Press, Rack Press, Chin-up, Pull-up, Dips, Back Extension, Glute Ham Raise, Reverse Hyper-extension and Barbell Curl.
• More than 50 pages on how to Squat. Why Squatting below parallel is safer on your knees, how to grip the bar, foot stance, …
• How to fix bad Squat technique. Why your lower back rounds, how to keep your heels on the floor, why your knees buckle in, …
• How to avoid Bench Press injuries. How to grip the bar correctly, how to position your upper-back and elbows to minimize shoulder injuries, …
• 38 pages on the Bench Press, 44 pages on the Deadlift, 20 pages on the Overhead Press and 40 pages on the Power Clean technique.
• Tips & Tricks. How to minimize callus formation. Nutrition. Breathing. Using belts. Weight lifting shoes. Gym equipment.
• And much, much more.

What’s New in Starting Strength 2nd Edition. Starting Strength was originally published in 2004. If you already own the first edition, here’s what changed in the 2nd edition of Starting Strength:

• 72 Extra Pages. Book went from 248 to 320 pages and the margins are smaller. Starting Strength 2nd edition has more than 72 extra pages.
• Chapters Extended. Squat chapter has info on how to keep your chest up. Bench Press chapter has info on neck position. Deadlift chapter includes info on back injuries. Each chapter has new text & images.
• 77 Pages Assistance Exercises. Starting Strength 2nd edition has 1 new chapter explaining technique for 24 assistance exercises.

Starting Strength 2nd Edition Sample Pages. Check the quality of the book by reading the following 29 samples pages. The file is 5MB & takes less than 4mins to download. Unzip the file using WinRAR. View the pages with Acrobat Reader.

Click here to download Starting Strength’s sample pages (right click – save as).

How Much Does Starting Strength Cost? Starting Strength is a manual you’ll come back to over & over to check your technique when in doubt. Starting Strength is not a quick fix, it’s an investment in yourself.

• It’s cheaper than a personal trainer who can teach you how to Squat & Deadlift correctly. Yes they exist, but they’re rare & expensive.
• It’s also cheaper than the supplements you buy to get stronger and bigger. Try correct technique, that will make you lift more weight.
• And it’s certainly cheaper than getting a scan of your shoulder joint to find out why it’s been hurting for months on the Bench Press.

Starting Strength 2nd Edition, the complete 320 pages & 720 illustrations and with free shipping for US residents, costs 29,95$. For this price you get the knowledge you need to lift more weight without hurting yourself.

Try Starting Strength Risk-Free for 30 Days. Starting Strength comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. If after 30 days you feel you haven’t learned anything reading the book, return it and you get every cent back.

Click the button below to order Starting Strength.

P.S. EU residents: Starting Strength costs about 30€ depending on the dollar’s course and choosing fast expedition rate. You never pay import tax for products cheaper than 25€. Starting Strength costs 21€, meaning no tax.

Quotes from StrongLifts.com Readers. Here’s what some of StrongLifts.com’s readers say about Starting Strength 2nd edition:

“I assumed that Starting Strength would go over a lot of stuff I already knew (I considered myself somewhat knowledgeable on weight lifting), and that I would pick up a few things. I was wrong. When it comes to weight lifting I guess I’m pretty ignorant. This book helped a lot with knowing how to lift, and just as importantly how not to lift.

Using compound barbell training is the key to developing strength. Down side to barbell training is that there is no machine to help you compensate for muscle weakness, or if you can’t squeeze out that last rep or two. Doing the exercise using correct form is key to avoiding injuries. This book has an unbelievable amount of information on barbell strength training.

If you are serious about the Stronglift’s 5×5 program, or any barbell training, you need this book.”

GenGau

“I thought i was doing everything correctly but after getting the book I had to drop the weight on everything and almost start over. I thought I was squatting low enough but now that I break parallel, well the weight was a lot harder. And i was going down to parallel. It was that extra inch or so further down that really made it harder for me.

On overhead press I had to go back to the bar and start over and most of it was technique. It was kind of a bummer but I feel better about the lifts now and more confident. I will bring the weight back up (but don’t laugh because my max is probably your warmup)

Required reading as far as I’m concerned. Good stuff in that book.”

Elisa

“I’m about halfway through Starting Strength so I’ve got lots of reference to with all the great info from others logs and the blog.

I’m to the point that my form is really being tested. I’m glad that I started with the bar and worked my way to this point. I’ve put the effort in and now it’s paying off. I know what to do and when I do something wrong I know how to correct it. Again Starting Strength has be awsome in this regard and highly recommend it.

Bryan

“I found my self reading “Starting Strength” whilst training. Previous to this my form was all wrong on rows. I was pulling first with my arms and then throwing my chest towards the weight as my vertical movement began to stall.

Now starting with my back and then catching the movement with my arms makes all the difference in the world. I can work my back harder and move more weight under control. Amazing!

All I can say is to buy the book!!!”

Gheb

“Now that I’ve read most of Starting Strength I’ve been reducing the amount of weight I’m lifting and putting more time into my warm ups. Mostly while I’m making big improvements to form and I’ve been feeling the lifts a lot more then before.

Especially with squatting… I knew you should go deep but I didn’t really understand how or why. Plus pushing up with hips made it easier to get back up from a deep position so it didn’t seem so difficult anymore. Adding 5 pounds every time increased the weight I was lifting but now I realize I was compensating by doing the “football squat”. Now I’m focused on really improving my squat.

I think reading Starting Strength should be a necessity not just a recommendation alongside StrongLifts.com. I read a lot of blog posts and watched plenty of youtube videos but they didn’t help much compared to this book.”

StreetCarnage