Training DIY

[jonfla]

There are many potential pitfalls for the novice trying to get started on their own. Obviously, the best thing to do would be to get a coach. If that isn’t an option, what are some best practices for not totally screwing it up? What would you tell your novice self, or a long-distance friend looking to start training?

[Jeff Illingworth]

1. Get a coach
2. Get an SSOC coach
3. Film everything you do, watch it, compare it to the formal technique videos, post many form checks
4. Do "the program" exactly as it's written
5. Work using the best equipment you can find
6. Read the book, again.

[Treg]

There are many potential pitfalls for the novice trying to get started on their own. Obviously, the best thing to do would be to get a coach. If that isn’t an option, what are some best practices for not totally screwing it up? What would you tell your novice self, or a long-distance friend looking to start training?

Coaching wasn't an option for me, either. I gradually learned to do the lifts properly, but it was a long evolution, since I had learned them incorrectly before I discovered Starting Strength. This list is a combination of things I did when I got the book, and things I do now that I wish I had done right from the beginning.

1. Read each chapter very carefully and do exactly what Rip says. If you're not clear on something, ask about it in the Coaches Q&A. Keep the book handy and refer back to it often.
2. Don't let pride prevent you from learning the lifts pefectly at very low weight (beginning with the unloaded bar). Don't regularly add weight until you really have the form down, and when you do start adding weight, go in lower increments than you think you need to. Perfectly performed squats at 135 lbs. are something to be proud of, and something you can build on. Poorly performed squats at 275 or 315 or whatever with the knees buckling and missing depth are just embarrassing.
3. Use video analysis early and often. Proprioception will only help you so much - you need to get outside yourself and see how the reps look, and no, you can't do that with mirrors. Refer back to the book when analyzing.
4. Read all the supplemental articles and watch all the how-to videos available here for each lift, whether you think you need to or not. I didn't realize I had a little thoracic spine flexion going on in my squats until I read the article about it.
5. Read the Coaches Q&A here regularly.
6. Follow Wolf on IG and watch all his lifting videos.