

Starting Strength Radio
Mark Rippetoe
Starting Strength is the bestselling book on the most fundamental and effective approach to strength training ever written. Mark Rippetoe hosts Starting Strength Radio where he discusses topics of interest, primarily to him, but perhaps also to you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 26, 2023 • 1h 9min
Aesthetics vs Performance | Starting Strength Radio #214
Rip talks about how other fitness programs want you to focus on aesthetics and training muscle groups. Machines cannot produce enough systemic stress for growth.
Performance-based training works better for aesthetics than training separate muscle groups on machines. The body works as a system of levers powered by contractile motors, “muscles.” None of the muscles function in isolation from the others.
01:44 Comments from the Haters!
13:12 Starting Strength and aesthetics
20:13 We aren’t bodybuilders, but the body gets built
25:23 How to get bigger muscles
31:12 Machines and barbells are not the same
39:24 Getting bigger muscles is a side effect of getting strong
47:12 Machines can’t make you gain weight
52:14 People that train with machines
56:34 Your health

May 22, 2023 • 1h 1min
500lb Squatter, Gym Owner - Lt Colonel JD Thomason
SS Colorado Springs Gym Owner, JD, joins Ray on the podcast to discuss his role as a military leader, his motivation for opening a gym, recovering from a rooftop fall with strength training, and squatting 500 lb in his 40s.
01:25 - JD's squat PR with no proof
03:29 - Role in the military
08:38 - Motivation for opening Starting Strength Colorado Springs...you fell off a roof?
15:03 - Back to Starting Strength
17:29 - When did you start hurting less?
19:00 - Other considerations than opening a Starting Strength Gym
25:31 - JD's role in the military and the skills needed
29:49 - Philosophical viewpoints coming from the military
32:59 - Plan for hiring
39:17 - How to contact JD
41:42 - Goals for the next few years
46:08 - We will grow as slowly as we need to
49:21 - Apprenticeship in Orlando
57:40 - Last day in the Army

May 19, 2023 • 1h 14min
Statin Deniers! With Dr. Malcolm Kendrick | Starting Strength Radio #213
Rip and Dr. Malcolm Kendrick discuss statins, accusations of harm caused by "Statin Deniers," and Dr. Kendrick's libel suit against media companies.
00:39 Malcolm Kendrick/News attacks
11:56 Studies prove cholesterol doesn’t kill
18:25 Ancel Keys and data suppression
29:14 Why cholesterol is important
37:25 When does it become dangerous?
47:57 Cholesterol in Men and Women
55:06 Thoughts on doctors

May 12, 2023 • 1h 23min
Q&A Episode - Rusty, Man of Mystery, and Other Topics | Starting Strength Radio #212
Rip answers questions live from Starting Strength fans.
01:57 Comments from the Haters!
09:38 Hernia surgery
20:47 Where is Rusty?
21:35 The feds and the constitution
38:41 More reps for diabetics
52:20 Groin pull and squats
1:00:17 Trying to lose weight by swimming
1:05:28 Deviated septum tips
1:12:55 A new Jew/Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

May 8, 2023 • 1h 10min
Fitness “Beliefs” Versus What Actually Works Best | Starting Strength Gyms Podcast #50
Everyone's favorite guest, Nick, joins Ray on the podcast today to discuss how popular culture's conception of fitness is exactly backwards. Listen and nod in agreement, or angrily share your misunderstandings in the comments.
01:57 - Argument for Starting Strength
05:33 - Adaptions are specific to the stress that you apply
08:03 - How do adaptations carry over into life?
09:58 - Guiding people through the most optimal way to improve performance
17:02 - Where should you spend your time and energy to benefit everything else?
18:48 - People have preconceptions
21:00 - Process-oriented solution to a common misconception
32:09 - High levels of conditioning are specific to the activity that you're doing
36:42 - Most people have their priorities backward
45:08 - Progress that can be measured
47:53 - We are selling improved capability
56:55 - Two types of coaches that aren't ideal
58:54 - How to guide clients when things get hard
01:05:54 - Starting Strength Gyms is getting a new website

May 5, 2023 • 1h 7min
Q&A Episode - Ice Baths, Facing the Plates on Deadlift, Feeding Beef | Starting Strength Radio #211
Rip answers questions from Starting Strength Network subscribers and fans.
02:33 Comments from the Haters!
16:35 Join the Network
18:54 Chiropractic a scam
28:21 Coaching your husband
34:11 Hurt my shoulder deadlifting
37:09 Wife has bad knees…squat?
41:31 Ice baths
48:17 Press programming
56:03 Plates face in on deadlift
57:23 Feeding beef differently and taste

Apr 28, 2023 • 1h 26min
A New Definition for Strength Training | Starting Strength Radio #210
Rip discusses what is and is not strength training along with a new and novel way to look at the process of getting stronger.
00:58 Today’s topic
02:48 Comments from the Haters!
20:24 What is training?
29:05 Everything is about force production
35:05 Not everything is strength training
43:21 Stress must be accumulative
45:34 Six movement patterns
52:44 Doing things optimally
59:26 Olympic lifting is not strength training
1:07:02 Training and practice
1:12:28 Closing

Apr 24, 2023 • 45min
Ray's First Fitness Industry Interview | Starting Strength Gyms Podcast #49
Carl Case invited Ray to join him for a discussion on the Local Business Hacks podcast where Carl interview fitness industry leaders to discuss their keys to success. To save you a click, we've re-posted the episode here. Interested in hearing how Ray communicates Starting Strength Gyms to the uninitiated? Listen in. Spoiler: Carl became a Starting Strength Gyms Online Coaching client immediately after the interview was recorded. At 6'4", Carl needs to be at least 260lbs. We'll get him there, with a 500lb+ deadlift, in 18-months or less - as long as he sticks to the program.
01:53 - Ray's business background
03:50 - Coming across Starting Strength
06:29 - How to make Starting Strength more accessible to more people
11:50 - How can the world get involved with Starting Strength Gyms?
15:55 - How to get connected with Ray
18:24 - Think big and go for it
22:12 - Hire Slowly. Fire quickly.
26:21 - Are you a right fit for Starting Strength Gyms?
30:37 - What historical figure would you have dinner with?
31:31 - Empowering the right people to make decisions
39:01 - Ray's current top books and podcasts
40:57 - Starting Strength Radio
41:33 - Lex Fridman
42:10 - Negative and positive character traits

Apr 21, 2023 • 1h 39min
Q&A Episode - When You Shouldn't Gain Weight, Twinks, and Difficult Training Schedules
Rip answers questions from Starting Strength Network subscribers and fans.
02:23 Comments from the Haters!
13:14 Steve shouldn’t gain weight
24:40 Advice on coaching my wife
36:02 Jodie wants to lose weight
52:13 Training with a hard schedule
1:00:23 Female clients won't gain weight
1:06:31 Jodie’s brother calls
1:09:25 Training and new to TRT
1:16:46 SSC Andrew Lewis calls in
1:25:05 My wife likes twinks

Apr 14, 2023 • 53min
The DEA and Restrictions on Testosterone with Dr. Wittmer | Starting Strength Radio #208
Rip and Dr. Wittmer discuss the DEA attempting to impose regulations on telemedicine and restrict the usage of testosterone.
00:43 Dr. Mike Wittmer
10:57 TRT And Steroids
13:53 Government Intervention
21:00 The Telemedicine Exemption
25:16 How Many And Who Is On TRT
29:17 Testosterone And Depression
36:09 The Healthcare Industry
42:09 Culture And The Government