They're meaningfully different in how they approach failure.

StrongLifts is worse off in this regard for the reason that they teach reducing volume once you start running into plateaus in order to artificially progress. "Benching that lift too hard? Well cut out 40% of the volume and keep going!"

Starting Strength fails in teaches the idea of deloading by dropping weight then taking a run at it without changing any of the training methodology which is arguably a reason for the "spinning the wheels" approach you see from several lifters who claim to run the program for months on end upwards and beyond a year. It's also seen as a less ideal program for its poor split on upper/lower volume and really benefits from accessory lifts thrown in when the lifter is capable.... but at that point you might as well just run a better program.

They're decent programs in that they get a untrained individual to put up enough weight to get themselves out of a horribly weak position but they don't teach anything meaningful for long term. Other programs achieve the necessary linear progression that is capable during your noob gains without having stupid programming quirks that lifters need to unlearn when they move onto intermediate programs.

> They're decent programs in that they get a untrained individual to put up enough weight to get themselves out of a horribly weak position but they don't teach anything meaningful for long term. Other programs achieve the necessary linear progression that is capable during your noob gains without having stupid programming quirks that lifters need to unlearn when they move onto intermediate programs.

I think here I have to argue on the side of "done is better than perfect". StrongLifts/SS are both programs with tons of resources, massive communities and scores of Youtube videos with technique, tips and reviews. StrongLifts actually has a very high-quality, ad-free app (supported only by in-app purchases) that tracks your progress, tells you how long to rest between sets and handles the de-load and other programming quirks for you. In-app purchase also unlocks accessory lifts, which the app will then track for you.

Most importantly, StrongLifts/SS will keep the median person with no knowledge of lifting occupied for at least a year while they build up strength, confidence and knowledge about strength training. It gets them into the rhythm of lifting 3x/week, eating and sleeping right. At that point, they may be better informed and more able to separate signal from noise about all the other programs out there that might better suit their needs.

I'd much rather unlearn programming quirks than bad form. Both programs place strong emphasis on learning good form. That's what a lot of the deload and wheel spinning is often about in my experience; you get more training hours under your belt and improve your technique. IMO this is important for people who just haven't lifted that much in their lives and don't have the muscle memory and feel for body position and form that more experienced lifters have.

> They're meaningfully different in how they approach failure.

All 3 of these programs do deloads to handle failure. StrongLifts also starts dropping sets/reps, but that's after deloading repeatedly at which point Starting Strength just says to go do a different program. So no meaningful difference until you have outgrown the program.

> Starting Strength fails in teaches the idea of deloading by dropping weight then taking a run at it without changing any of the training methodology which is arguably a reason for the "spinning the wheels" approach you see from several lifters who claim to run the program for months on end upwards and beyond a year.

That's not running the program. You can't deload and work back up to the same weight repeatedly. You can call that Starting Strength but it's not. You get some number of deloads (3? can't recall) and then move to a different program. Pretty sure Starting Strength coaches will also tell you you're not eating/sleeping/training right if you keep getting stuck at a novice weight.

> It's also seen as a less ideal program for its poor split on upper/lower volume and really benefits from accessory lifts thrown in when the lifter is capable....

Sure, but for someone untrained, this really doesn't matter much. Hence nitpicking.

> They're decent programs in that they get a untrained individual to put up enough weight to get themselves out of a horribly weak position but they don't teach anything meaningful for long term.

They teach you to grow muscle and to learn to push yourself in the gym. Not sure what else a beginner program is supposed to teach.

> Other programs achieve the necessary linear progression that is capable during your noob gains without having stupid programming quirks that lifters need to unlearn when they move onto intermediate programs.

What programs do better?

Starting Strength is a starting programme for strength development.

It's not a lifetime lifting regime.

That's ... not made entirley clear, though Rippe does address this.

its literally 50% of the name.

programs not called perpetuity strength or elite strength or bodybuilders delight.

> Starting Strength fails in teaches the idea of deloading by dropping weight then taking a run at it without changing any of the training methodology

No, starting strength tells you to take exactly two runs up until your failure weight and then move on to another program, which for many people works very well and allows them to progress far beyond weight they failed at. People who can run an SS linear progression for a year straight are rare, but they exist and they end up in the upper 3s, 4s and 5s for bench, squat and deadlift after their first year.

Agreed. The reason I would recommend Starting Strength for beginners is the tremendous detail in written instruction, forums with free feedback on form, and zero ambiguity about training program, which act together to remove the barriers to entry for many beginners.