Starting Strength program guide and free spreadsheet
Beginner · 3 days a week · Until you stall · Barbell novice linear progression
A three-day barbell routine of three sets of five that teaches the squat, press, bench and deadlift while the bar gets heavier every session.
Free. The spreadsheet needs no account.
How Starting Strength works
Starting Strength is a novice linear progression by Mark Rippetoe. You train three non-consecutive days a week and alternate two full-body workouts. Both open with the squat for three sets of five. Workout A adds the overhead press for three sets of five and one heavy set of five deadlifts. Workout B adds the bench press for three sets of five and a power clean.
A new lifter recovers fast enough to lift a little more than last time at almost every workout. The same few lifts in the same rep range let you add the same small jump each session, so progress is easy to see.
Week one runs A, B, A and week two runs B, A, B, so you squat three times one week and twice the next. The deadlift is a single set of five because every rep starts from a dead stop and drains more than a set of squats.
Published versions of the novice program disagree on small things: which day holds the bench and which the press, and whether the power clean or the deadlift fills the last slot. This page follows the Symmetric Strength template. The book is the authority on the exact layout and on coaching each lift.
The schedule
Train on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or any other days with rest between. Every set uses the same weight, the one you can lift for the written reps.
Workout A
| Lift | Sets and reps |
|---|---|
| Squat | 3 x 5 |
| Overhead press | 3 x 5 |
| Deadlift | 1 x 5 |
Workout B
| Lift | Sets and reps |
|---|---|
| Squat | 3 x 5 |
| Bench press | 3 x 5 |
| Power clean | 5 x 3 |
Week pattern: A-B-A / B-A-B, repeating.
Progression and stall rules
Add weight every time you lift it
When you finish every rep of every set with good form, add 5 lb (2.5 kg) to that lift at its next session. Published versions let squat and deadlift jump more in the first few sessions, while the weights are light.
Track each lift on its own
Each lift has its own weight and its own record. A missed press does not hold back the squat.
Repeat after a miss
If you cannot finish all the prescribed reps, repeat the same weight at the next session. Sleep and food are the usual reasons for a single miss.
Reset after repeated misses
If the same weight beats you in consecutive sessions, drop that lift by about 10% and climb again. The creator's reset advice varies with the lift and how many resets you have used, so check the book before relying on this sheet.
Move on when resets stop working
Once resets only buy you a few weeks, the novice phase is over. Move to a program with a lighter day and weekly structure.
Weekly volume
Work sets per lift, counted from the schedule above (warm-ups not included).
| Lift | Week 1 | Week 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Squat | 9 | 9 |
| Overhead press | 6 | 3 |
| Deadlift | 2 | 1 |
| Bench press | 3 | 6 |
| Power clean | 5 | 10 |
Who it suits
A good fit
- New lifters who want a short list of lifts and a clear rule for adding weight.
- Returning lifters who have been out of the gym for a long stretch and want to rebuild a base.
- Anyone who can train three days a week for about an hour with a barbell, a squat rack, a bench and plates.
Look elsewhere if
- Lifters who already stall on most lifts. Adding weight every session is the whole method, so it has nothing left once that stops working.
- People who want built-in arm, back or shoulder work. The base program is compound lifts and little else.
- Anyone with no coach and no way to check their form. The power clean in particular is technical and hard to learn from text.
Common mistakes
Starting too heavy
Begin with weights that feel easy and use the first sessions to learn the movements. The method works because you can add weight for months, and a heavy start burns that runway.
Skipping warm-up sets
Work up to your first set in a few steps from the empty bar. It sharpens your work sets and gives you extra practice on bar path.
Resting too little
Heavy fives need several minutes between sets, longer than most beginners expect. Short rest is a quiet cause of missed reps.
Counting sloppy reps
A squat above depth or a bounced bench does not count toward adding weight. Only clean reps earn the next jump.
Ignoring food and sleep
A linear progression needs food and sleep to recover on. A lifter who stalls in week three is more often underfed or underslept than stuck on the program.
Staying too long
Weekly jumps end for everyone. When resets stop helping, move to a program with more structure instead of starting over.
Your sample week
For each lift, enter: Weight you can lift for 5 reps today (power clean: for 3 reps). The weights below update as you type. Your numbers stay in your browser and are not saved. The numbers shown are an example lifter.
Workout A
| Set | Reps | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 135 |
| 2 | 5 | 135 |
| 3 | 5 | 135 |
| Set | Reps | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 65 |
| 2 | 5 | 65 |
| 3 | 5 | 65 |
| Set | Reps | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 135 |
Workout B
| Set | Reps | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 135 |
| 2 | 5 | 135 |
| 3 | 5 | 135 |
| Set | Reps | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 95 |
| 2 | 5 | 95 |
| 3 | 5 | 95 |
| Set | Reps | Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 65 |
| 2 | 3 | 65 |
| 3 | 3 | 65 |
| 4 | 3 | 65 |
| 5 | 3 | 65 |
The spreadsheet
The file has three sheets: your numbers, the full week with every weight as a formula, and a progress table that carries the weights forward. It opens in Excel, Numbers and LibreOffice. The weights in the link below use the numbers you typed above.
Open it in Google Sheets
- Download the .xlsx file above.
- Go to Google Drive and choose New, then File upload, and pick the file.
- Double-click the uploaded file and choose Open with Google Sheets.
- Choose File, then Save as Google Sheets so you can edit it.
Want the weights to follow you into the gym? Create a free account and the program loads into Train for you.
How it compares
Starting Strength vs StrongLifts 5x5
Both alternate two full-body workouts and add weight every session. Starting Strength uses three sets of five and a power clean. StrongLifts uses five sets of five and a barbell row, so it has more squat volume per day. Read the StrongLifts 5x5 guide.
Starting Strength vs Greyskull LP
Greyskull LP ends the main lifts with a set of five or more reps, so progress is tied to how many reps you get. Starting Strength keeps every set at a fixed number of reps. Read the Greyskull LP guide.
Starting Strength vs GZCLP
GZCLP changes rep schemes as you stall and adds accessory work, so it lasts longer than a pure novice program. It takes more planning and tracking than Starting Strength. Read the GZCLP guide.
Load Starting Strength into Train and log each session against the plan.
Start it in Symmetric StrengthThe workouts in Train are a simplified version of this program, with one rep count per lift. Use the schedule above for the exact sets.
Common questions
Is Starting Strength free?
The basic novice program is published widely, so the sets, reps and progression are free to follow. The full method, with coaching detail on each lift, is in Mark Rippetoe's book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. Read it for what we skip.
How long does the novice progression last?
Until you cannot add weight after a reset or two. Many new lifters get a few months and some get much less. Returning lifters can hit the wall sooner on lifts they already know.
Why is the deadlift only one set?
The deadlift starts from the floor on every rep, so there is no stretch reflex to help. One heavy set of five is enough, and more would cut into your next squat session.
Should I do the power clean?
It is part of the program as Rippetoe teaches it, but it needs coaching. If you cannot learn it with feedback, deadlifting every workout is a common swap. The Symmetric Strength template lists the clean as five sets of three.
How much weight should I add?
Five pounds (2.5 kg) per lift per session is the usual figure in published versions. Smaller plates, such as 1.25 kg or 2.5 lb, help once jumps get hard.
What comes after Starting Strength?
An intermediate program that spreads heavy work across the week, such as Texas Method, or a weekly-wave program like 5/3/1. Switch once resets stop working on most of your lifts.
Know where you stand
Before you start, check how your lifts compare on the strength standards, estimate a max with the one-rep max calculator, or score your total with the DOTS calculator.
Sources and credit
Starting Strength is a trademark and a book by Mark Rippetoe. The official site is startingstrength.com and the full method is in Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. This guide describes the novice program in our own words; the creator has the details.
- Official Starting Strength source
- Basic Novice Programming (SpotterUp)
- Novice Linear Progression Program Explained (Barbell Logic)
- Starting Strength Phase 1 (Liftosaur)
- Mark Rippetoe (Wikipedia)
Checked . Symmetric Strength is not affiliated with Mark Rippetoe, Starting Strength or the Aasgaard Company. Program names are used only to identify the programs.