The Best Strength program for a beginner

Lots of people want to get stronger. And the place to start the quest for getting stronger is the internet. Type in ‘the best strength program’ to any search platform and you’ll get pages after pages of forums, articles, and books about the topic.

The most common answers are usually 5x5, Starting Strength, Wendler 5/3/1, Texas Method, Hack squat-program, Russian squat cycle. (These last two are Squat specific, but I’d say they can be modified to other lifts as well.) Not all of these are the best for beginners, but something you may run into.

But which one is the best??!

There isn’t one best program for everybody. Just choose one and stick to it.

As a newbie, anything you try in the gym is going to work. Pretty much anything! Lifting heavy is going to be a novel stimulus to your body. As long as the program has somewhat clear structure you will be making plenty of gains.

The best program is the one you can best fit into your own schedule and lifestyle. For beginners, I’d advice you to start with a program that requires the least amount of work.

It is better to start with small amount and build off on that as you get more experienced. For this approach Starting Strength, 5x5 and Wendler 5/3/1 might be the best options.

Once you found something that sounds good and you’ve heard tons of praise about, go with that program.

You can run the same program for quite a long time. Once you feel like you are not making the same progress as you used to. Then it’s time to try another program. This is again going to provide a novel stimulus, so you’ll make solid gains again. Considering the program has somewhat different structure to the previous one.

This can also be refreshing mentally since you’re not doing the same workouts over and over again. A little bit of change is good at times.

Once you have run through multiple different strength programs, you’ll start to find what style of training gives you the best gains.

Some people benefit more from higher volume lifting, some need only few hard sets. Some people might like more frequency (lifting more times during a week), some like less. There are so many variations you can include in your training, the best way to find the best strength program for yourself is through experience.

As always, consistency is the key to success. Program hopping is the number one sin for many strength hobbyists. Be patient as you run through any on these programs and don’t skip sessions!

-Mitja

Website: www.mlstrengthperformance.com

IG: Mitja Lievonen (@mitja_lievonen)