Mark Rippetoe is a recognized author and accomplished individual within the fitness community. He has penned renowned works such as "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training", "Practical Programming for Strength Training", "Strong Enough?", "Mean Ol' Mr. Gravity", and numerous articles for journals, magazines, and internet platforms.
His career in the fitness industry commenced in 1978, eventually leading him to become the owner of the Wichita Falls Athletic Club in 1984. Rippetoe's educational background is rooted in a Bachelor of Science in geology accompanied by a minor in anthropology, which he received from Midwestern State University in 1983.
Professional Achievements
Rippetoe was part of the first group to be certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a CSCS in 1985. Ten years later, he stepped into the world of competitive powerlifting. His most significant achievement came in 1982 when he won the 198-pound weight class at the Greater Texas Classic. He continued to place in state and regional-level meets for 6 years before retiring from competition in 1988. After his retirement, for about a decade, he announced most of the powerlifting meets occurring in North Texas.
Focus on Olympic Weightlifting
Mark 'Rip' Rippetoe later shifted his interests from powerlifting to focus more on Olympic Weightlifting in 1997. This transition was aided by his initial coaching experience in the Olympic lifts, acquired under Bill Starr's guidance. His further exposure to Olympic lifts came from coaching legends Tommy Suggs, Jim Moser, Dr. Lon Kilgore, Angel Spassov, Istvan Javorek, Harvey Newton, Mike Conroy, John Thrush, and many fellow lifters.
His commitment to Olympic Weightlifting led him to obtain the USWF Level III certification in 1988 and his USAW Senior Coach certification in 1999. Instructors at the USOC's Olympic Training Center included the likes of Mike Stone, Harvey Newton, and Angel Spassov.
Coaching Roles and Contributions
Rippetoe was invited to the Olympic Solidarity course at the OTC in 2000 as an Olympic weightlifting coach. He also stepped into a teaching role for both the USAW Club Coach course and the Sports Performance Coach course with Dr. Kilgore from 1999 through 2005. Moreover, Rippetoe served as the president of the North Texas Local Weightlifting Committee of USAW from 2004 to 2011.
His coaching skills have been instrumental in the growth of numerous national and international-level athletes, such as James Moser, Glenn Pendlay, Dr. Kilgore, and Josh Wells (Junior World Team 2004). He hosted and coached the Wichita Falls Weightlifting team at WFAC from 1999 through 2006 and also led the collegiate weightlifting team from Midwestern State University through 2010.
Mark's Current Roles and Achievements
Rippetoe remains active as a coach at WFAC and regularly hosts power clean and power snatch seminars across the country. His method, known as 'Starting Strength', is a distillation of his extensive experiences. Since 1984, every new member at WFAC has been taught the basic barbell lifts as part of their membership, embodying the principles of the Starting Strength method.
The Starting Strength method, which is extensively detailed in Rippetoe's "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training" and "Practical Programming for Strength Training", aims to use the basics of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting to efficiently meet the needs of the general public.
