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(Yes, tried searching, but couldn't get my answer with the search terms I could think of.)
I've read "Starting Strength" and I've been working it.
Now I know "Practical Programming" is what usually comes next, but reading descriptions of "Barbell Prescription", it looked like it might be a better option for a followup for me, being 43 years old.
So which one should I pick up next? Is PP a pre-requisite? Or does BP tailor the info in PP for someone 40+ and make it sufficient?
Depends on how "old" you are at 43. Exercise/medical/work history, etc. Lots of 43-year-olds are capable of using PPST3 programming, but just in case, start with TBP.
Each book brings its advantages. If you have exhausted your novice LP, and want to learn more about Advanced Novice and Intermediate programs, get PP 3rd Ed. For me the hidden gem in PP 3rd Ed was the description of the Stress- Recovery - Adaptation cycle. I felt like a light bulb went off in my head once I understood Selye's Law and how it applies to strength training, it is really the foundation of it all, at every level of training. Some people have a misconception that PP is only for advanced trainees, is not the case.
But TBP is amazing in so many ways. It is tremendously motivating to read and will inspire you to train and train hard because Sully wonderfully writes about what happens physiologically if we don't train as we age. And you still have some of Baker's programming in there as well but not to the extent of PP.
It's a nice problem to have....you will need both. You will be more motivated and have more knowledge for your training.
I'd definitely read the first half of PPST3. You can tell by the questions that get asked repeatedly on the boards that a lot people tend to skip / gloss over the "boring" stuff and flip right to the programs. They never really grasp why they are doing what they are doing nor do they understand how to adjust as they go because they don't have that big picture view that comes through reading the "boring" stuff.
Well I got TBP, and I got to say, Chapter One is the scariest damned thing I ever read in my life.
