If you are a proponent of the big compound lifts; power cleans, deadlifts, bench press, and squats you probably know of Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore and their well-known book, Starting Strength, Basic Barbell Training. I can’t think of a better how-to book to learn these lifts.

Have you ever used Wikipedia, the user-editable online encyclopedia? Then you have an idea about the Starting Strength Wiki. There is some great information here in this wiki so I invite you to take a look.

Here are a couple of classic Mark Rippetoe quotes you’ll enjoy.

“There are few things graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you’re a pussy.”

“Pierre, if you are eating 5500 calories a day, then I am a female kangaroo with a Sonic Drive-In franchise and a heroin habit.” (I have no idea what that means).

On steroids:

“There are no shortcuts. The fact that a shortcut is important to you means that you are a pussy.”

“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.”

Newb: Got any good ab exercises?

Rip: Got any better questions?

I could go on, but you’ll have to go to The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Rippetoe.

Related posts:

1. Starting Strength: Basic Barbell TrainingI just got my copy. Have you gotten yours yet? You could (try to) read "Supertraining" by Mel Siff, and it is a great resource, or you can read Rippetoe and Kilgore"s SS:BBTand use that extra time and newly gained and readily applied knowledge to lift barbells the right way....
2. New Rippetoe/Kilgore BookOne, if not the best weightlifting book out there, "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore is a "must have" in your library. If you don't have it, get it. Next up is the sequel, "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training". **Could the sequel be better than the original? Bet...
3. Rest Day ReadingAfter three days of high intensity training sessions, I am enjoying a rest and recovery day day by reading some of my favorite and some new fitness blogs. First, I would like to thank Scott Bird of straighttothebar.com for the kind words words for the MarkFu today. Scott calls his...
4. More From Coach Rip  For those of you who enjoy powerlifting, you probably know who Mark Rippetoe is and if you don't, you should. Mark is the author of Starting Strength, Second Edition, Basic Barbell Training and Practical Programming.Craig Rasmussen of Elite Fitness Systems posted the second installment of Texas BBQ Part 2: More Shop Talk With Mark Rippetoe....
5. Strength Training the US Navy SEAL WayMost of the best conditioned people in the world are Navy SEALS. Their training is legendary and it has to be since their life depends on being better than the other guy. The surprising thing is while their work capacity far exceeds what we do or need, they use the...
6. Back Squats, 21 repsBack squats were on the menu today and that meant doing 7 rounds with 3 reps each. Other back squat days call for single repetitions or 5 reps per set. Each workout requires a different strategy. Clearly the more reps per set, the lower the weight will be. I have...
7. The Power CleanLast night Jon Curry and I trained with power cleans and squat cleans. I went more with the former. Many lifters and strength coaches consider the power clean one of the top three most beneficial compound lifts with the deadlift and the squat. For that reason, athletes at all levels...