I got home from work and the package was waiting for me. I opened it and the first thing I noticed about the 2nd edition of Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore was that it is a heftier book than the first edition. Obviously there was going to be a good bit of new content in this edition. Given the quantity and quality of the content of the first edition, this is something to be excited about. The second thing I noticed is that the new edition is designed not just for coaches and trainers (as was the emphasis of the first edition), but rather is intended for anyone who wants to train with barbells. This is emphasized by the new subtitle: "Basic Barbell Training." Thus an already great book extends its reach and usefulness.I was anxious to get reading but I had to put the book down as I was due at the gym. I figured I'd get around to it in a day or two. Later that night, at about two a.m., I stopped on my way to bed and picked it up to have a quick look at the table of contents. The next thing I knew, my knees were getting stiff from standing in the same place for thirty-five minutes utterly absorbed in the book. In that time I learned a new assistance exercise, a helpful tip for a staple of my deadlift program, a variation on an important exercise, had a mental argument with Rippetoe, decided he was probably right, and found a good way to start improving my wrist flexibility for Olympic lifts and front squats. And man did I want to go back to the gym and train right that minute. Few training manuals can give you that kind of return on investment. And I'd barely scratched the surface. I can't wait to dig deeply into this book.
You should pick it up. It's available here or here.
