I am 33 years old 6ft tall 200 lbs. I was an athlete all my life and started lifting at a very young age. However, I did not start lifting properly and using all the barbell movements until I was in high school. I ended up being strong for my age and exceled at sports mostly because I was stronger than almost everyone in my high school, even as a freshman. In high school I was around 205lbs. After High school, I stopped playing sports and stopped lifting weights. By 25 I was a very fat 265 lbs and started to develop a plethora of health problems. I decided enough was enough and started lifting again on my 30th birthday. However, I avoid the barbell movements mostly because of nagging injuries and a hurt ego. For the past three years I have mostly used plate loaded machines, pulleys, and dumbbells. I have done push, pull, legs 3-5 days a week religiously for three years. I use compound movements and progressive overload but 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps using higher volume “power building” style. I have done 3 bulk and cuts. My question is, could someone like me benefit from switching over to starting strength? Are there hidden gains in starting strength that I would not achieve otherwise? Or would I get just as strong eventually, even if it’s not optimal? I can’t tell you my barbell lifts because I don’t know them, but to give you an idea of my strength level, for seated dumbbell shoulder press I did 3 sets of 8 with 80 lb dumbbells this week.