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To get started on the practical while researching the theory: https://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5/

For much more on the beginner stuff, "starting strength" by Mark Rippetoe. The author is, in my opinion, a bit biased towards athletes so he offers a few opinions as facts. But these are harmless early in training.

After you've finished stronglifts 5x5 which will take a few months, buy "5/3/1" by Jim Wendler. IMHO the perfect training program, for a lifetime.

The website t-nation.com has surprisingly high quality considering it exists to sell useless dietary supplements. It's a "tips and tricks" site so you've got to read hundreds of articles before you can tell the wheat from the chaff.

Overall, everything you need to know is on the web. It's just that the signal to noise ratio is so freaking low. Learn to recognize the methods that are for "juicers" - the guys lifting better through chemistry. Stay away from those.

Good luck!

discuss

labarilem|2 years ago

Thanks! Stronglifts looks like a gold mine of information to me. Just what I was looking for. Currently I'm training with a bodybuilder approach and I'm starting to doubt it because it's hard to increase weights when you only have mid-to-high-reps sets. Personally a lot of motivation comes from the increase in the weight I lift so maybe a powerlifting approach would suit me better. Since I'm a novice (started training about 2 years ago), I'm a bit scared of doing PRs though. But maybe it could be an efficient way to force me to improve form?

KenPainter|2 years ago

If you do Stronglifts for two months that will get you a foundation in powerlifting and adding weight.

Then you calculate your theoretical max for each lift on this site: https://strengthlevel.com/one-rep-max-calculator

Then plug those into 5/3/1. I can't say enough good things about 5/3/1 - it gives you an elegant and consistent approach to PRs.

gnatman|2 years ago

I believe Stronglifts is based on the Rippetoe "Starting Strength" program and both are awesome. There are some great diagrams and theory in the book that can help you stay safe while lifting.

Like parent comment says, Rippetoe can be a bit dogmatic, but I personally like my coaches that way!