Mark Rippetoe
American
Born 1956
Mark Rippetoe is an American strength training coach, author, former powerlifter, and gym owner. He is best known for his barbell training program, the subject of his book Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training. Rippetoe is known for his brash teaching style and humor, prompting several online compilations of his attributed quotations.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed Starting Strength.
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Books ReviewedMark Rippetoe books in order
5 books; 1 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.
2007Our review →
2007Basic Barbell Training LogAmazon ↗
2007Strong Enough? Thoughts from Thirty Years of Barbell TrainingAmazon ↗
2009Mean Ol' Mr. GravityAmazon ↗
2014Practical Programming for Strength Training, 2nd editionAmazon ↗
Ask LuvemBooks about Mark Rippetoe
Mark Rippetoe is an American strength training coach and author whose single reviewed title on LuvemBooks, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, has earned a reader rating of 4.8/5 across more than 6,600 Amazon ratings — a rare level of sustained consensus for a fitness book. He writes with the precision of a coach rather than a motivator, grounding his instruction in biomechanics and programming logic rather than inspiration or anecdote.
- Where should I start?
- There is only one place to start: Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, which is both Rippetoe's defining work and the foundational text of the methodology he teaches. It is written for beginners to intermediate lifters and works best when read as an instructional manual rather than a cover-to-cover narrative — the early chapters on squat mechanics alone are worth the price for anyone serious about barbell training. With a reader rating of 4.8/5 from over 6,600 Amazon ratings, it has proven consistently useful across a wide range of readers.
- What's their writing style?
- Rippetoe writes in a direct, opinionated voice that reads more like a seasoned coach talking to a serious student than a fitness author pitching a product. He is not reluctant to argue against commonly held training assumptions, and he backs his positions with anatomical and biomechanical reasoning rather than appeals to authority or popularity. His prose is dense in places — Starting Strength devotes significant space to the physics of the squat and deadlift — but readers who engage with it carefully tend to find that density informative rather than excessive.
- Books we've reviewed
- LuvemBooks has reviewed one book by Mark Rippetoe: Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, a detailed instructional manual on barbell lifting technique and novice programming that carries a reader rating of 4.8/5 from over 6,600 Amazon ratings — one of the highest-rated books in its category.
- What genre do they write?
- Rippetoe writes in the Health & Wellness genre, with a specific focus on strength training instruction and exercise science. His work sits closer to coaching manual than general wellness guide — Starting Strength is built around the biomechanics and programming of barbell lifting, and is most relevant to readers with a genuine interest in getting stronger through structured resistance training.
- What should I read after Starting Strength?
- After Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, readers who want to continue with Rippetoe's approach typically move to Practical Programming for Strength Training, which he co-authored with Andy Baker and which addresses how to structure and progress training beyond the novice phase. For readers who want to broaden their understanding of strength and conditioning more generally, works by coaches like Dan John or Pavel Tsatsouline offer complementary perspectives on similar themes.
Who is Mark Rippetoe?
Where should I start?
What's their writing style?
Books we've reviewed
What genre do they write?
What should I read after Starting Strength?
Who is Mark Rippetoe?
Mark Rippetoe is an American strength training coach, former powerlifter, gym owner, and author based in the United States. He is best known for developing and articulating the Starting Strength training methodology, which centers on a small set of compound barbell movements — squat, deadlift, press, and bench press — taught with rigorous attention to technique and progressive loading. His work has made him one of the most cited voices in evidence-based strength training, particularly among beginners and intermediate lifters.
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What is his background in powerlifting?
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Authors Like Mark Rippetoe
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Lou Schuler
Health & Wellness
Lou Schuler's The New Rules of Lifting shares Rippetoe's compound-lift-first philosophy, offering accessible programming and context built around core barbell movements.
2 books reviewed
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Alwyn Cosgrove
Health & Wellness
Alwyn Cosgrove’s The New Rules of Lifting shares a compound-lift-first philosophy, pairing foundational movement patterns with accessible, evidence-backed gym programming.
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Cassandra Forsythe
Health & Wellness
The New Rules of Lifting for Women applies a compound-lift-first philosophy specifically to women, pairing evidence-backed programming with nutrition guidance.
1 book reviewed
Timothy Ferriss
Health & Wellness
Timothy Ferriss's The 4-Hour Body shares Rippetoe's contempt for overcomplicated fitness, exploring body composition, strength, and performance across modalities with a breezy, experiment-first style.
1 book reviewed
Kelly Starrett
Kelly Starrett’s Becoming a Supple Leopard complements barbell mechanics with equally detailed mobility and movement-prep guidance for serious lifters.
1 book reviewed
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Glen Cordoza
Glen Cordoza’s Becoming a Supple Leopard complements barbell mechanics with equally detailed, technical mobility and movement-prep guidance for serious lifters.
1 book reviewed