Slip Edition

Starting Strength Weekly Report

January 19, 2026

On Starting Strength

Events, Economy, and Energy – Rip welcomes Karl Denninger back to the show to discuss events in the news, economic factors, and energy capacity.
Goals 106: Plan to Fail by Carl Raghavan – I see this time and time again – setting ambitious yearly goals in January. I get it, having goals is important, I have several articles on the subject. The new year feels like...
Using Straps – Grant McCaulley talks about why straps are a good training tool and shows his method for getting them set up for use.
Strength, Fatigue, and Forty-Two Kilometers by Sarah Jones – On December 14, 2025, I crossed the finish line of the BMW Dallas Marathon – my first full-length marathon – in 5 hours and 26 minutes. Not a competitive time, not a dramatic breakthrough...
Five Important Things by Jim Steel – Forty-one years ago, I lifted my first weights on a Universal machine in Mr. Mcclung’s class at Buck Lodge Junior High School. I was a big kid but weak, and lifting on the machine...
Weekend Archives: Novice Lifters: Learn from My Mistakes by John Petrizzo – The first time I ever touched a weight was the summer of 1997. My best friend Kevin had gotten a Weider adjustable bench and a standard 110-pound barbell set. In addition to the bench...
Weekend Archives: Who Wants to be a Novice? You Do by Mark Rippetoe – At any given time, most of the guys training in gyms around the country are novices. And by “most” I mean the vast, overwhelming majority. Like 95%. This means you, probably...

In the Trenches

chris coaches charles as he locks out a deadlift

Coach Chris Palladino takes trainee Charles through his top set of five at 385lb this past weekend at the Deadlift and Power Clean camp in NY. [photo courtesy of John Petrizzo]

Coach John Petrizzo takes trainee Andrew through his top set of five at 245lb this past weekend at the Deadlift and Power Clean camp in NY. [photo courtesy of Chris Palladino]

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Best of the Week

SS in the NYT

HailMary

How I Learned to Love Lifting Heavy

"Not to be all Russell Crowe about it, but this morning, I biked to the gym before dawn, loaded up a barbell and did three sets of five squats with the weight of a small washing machine on my back. Then, having done that without too much trouble, I picked more than a hundred pounds of metal off the floor..."

Mark Rippetoe

Thanks for this. I would never have seen it.

Best of the Forum

Bench specialization

s.oliver

Rip, In this video you're talking about pressing 3-4x/week to get a big press: How to get a Big Press

Does the same approach apply to someone who wants to specialize in the bench press?

Thinking that it's a heavier lift than the press, recovery might be an issue with the 3-4x/week approach.

Mark Rippetoe

Big benchers probably go no more that 3x/week, and they need to press at least once every couple of weeks to maintain A/P balance. The primary difference between the press and the bench is that you're trapped against a solid stop on the bench, thus absorbing all the stress in the shoulder girdle, while the standing press distributes the compression all the way to the floor, and is easier to recover from.

s.oliver

What type of programming would you suggest?

Mon 5x5/Wed dead bench 1x5/Fri heavy single?

Mark Rippetoe

I would not suggest bench specialization.

s.oliver

The reason being?

Mark Rippetoe

Practical Programming for Strength Training, 3rd edition – The Aasgaard Company

Stump

"Specialization is for insects."

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