The Bill Starr Power Routine

SkankPatrol

New member
Has anyone ever tried this and experienced satisfactory gains in strength as well as mass, or know people who have? Thinking about giving this a go come december/jan after im done with my current routine~


The Bill Starr Power Routine

When I was a freshman in college, Bill Starr gave me this routine to follow. It was designed for off-season football and general strength training. In the first 16 weeks I was on it, I added about 35 pounds of bodyweight, and took my total from a paltry 600 to over 950. Of course, I was also on the dorm’s prepaid meal plan, and ate like it was going out of style. Plus, I only had four classes that semester, so I spent lots of time sleeping.


Monday – Heavy Day
Squat – 5 sets of 5
Bench – 5 sets of 5
Powercleans – 5 sets of 5
2 sets of weighted hypers
4 sets of weighted Sit-ups

Wednesday – Light Day
Squat – 4 sets of 5
Incline Bench – 4 sets of 5
High Pulls – 4 sets of 5
Sit-ups – 3 sets

Friday - Medium
Squat – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, back-off
Bench – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple, back-off
Powercleans – 4 sets of 5, 1 triple
Weighted Dips – 3 sets of 5-8
Triceps and Biceps – 3 sets of 8 each


Key Features:


* On Monday, the weight for each lift is increased on each set of 5, from a light warm-up to an all out set of 5. For squats, something like 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5. The weight should be increased evenly from your first to last set. If you are working up to bigger weights, say above 500, you can add a sixth set of 5 just to avoid making large jumps between sets. I’ll explain how to choose the top weight in a second…

* On light day, Squat the first 3 sets of 5 just as you did on Monday, and then do a fourth set of 5 with the weight used on the third set. An extra fifth set at this same weight can be added. Incline bench is done using the same scheme, working up to 2-3 sets of 5, but with about 70-80% of the weight flat bench, to accommodate the leverage difference of the incline. High Pulls are done by feel, but usually pretty heavy.

* On Friday, the first four sets are the same as they were on Monday. The fifth set, done for three reps, should be a jump of about 2.5% over what you did for your fifth set on Monday. As you become more experienced with the system, you can experiment with the weight you use on this triple. This should NOT be a PR triple attempt every week. In fact, the goal is to come back the following Monday and get the same weight for 5 reps that you got for 3 reps the Friday before. To avoid missing reps, pick weights carefully. Take it easy the first few weeks, and don’t over do it. After the big triple, drop back to the weight you used for your 3rd set and try to get eight reps.

* Deadlifts, or Speed Deadlifts can be substituted with Powercleans if you so desire. Powercleans are pretty popular among football players for working on explosiveness. They are not as specific for the powerlifter, but they can add strength to your traps and shoulders as well as thicken up your back. They can also improve speed-strength.

* I always trained with three to five guys on a single bar. The rest time between sets was helpful for making an all out assault on that top set. I also used no gear except a belt, which we used only for squats and powercleans. Some guys used grip straps on powercleans or high pulls when attempting heavy 5’s and 3’s.

* The dips, bi’s and tri’s are what Bill called “Beach Work,” in that they tend to have a bigger cosmetic effect than squats or deads. The scheme for these varied by need and based on what I thought my weaknesses were. I went very heavy on the dips, for sets of 5, to help build up my triceps. Other guys did closegrips, or even added in some rowing movements for the lats. No matter what you pick, try and move quickly though this stuff, like one minute rests max.


Advantages:

* Some research shows that full body workouts tend to stimulate more hormone production than isolation workouts.

* Focus on the big three can help with developing good exercise technique for the beginner, and the weekly goal setting from Friday to Monday helps keep you motivated.

* The program is relatively simple, and easy to follow. If you can figure out how to pick your weights, then this can be a very effective program. By starting out with less than max poundage, you can work on form, and build good habits as you increase the weight. You also choose weight week-to-week by feel, instead of calculating reps and sets way in advance.


Disadvantages:

* Not a lot of exercise variety.

* Some people find training the Big three more than once per week to be too taxing, but the total volume is actually not that high because there is not much focus on assistance exercises.

* This method is good for muscle growth and strength, but may not be as effective if you are trying to lose weight, or maintain a weight class.


Recommended for:

* Beginners that are still learning how to squat and bench effectively. If you are new to free weights or to lifting in general, this is a good way to spend a lot of time with real iron learning the basics, because you can start off slowly and train each core lift more frequently.

* Lifters trying to gain both size and strength, who want to add to their core of muscle mass. If you stick with this for more than 12 weeks, you will make muscle gains if you keep up with food and rest.
 
looks like a pretty decent routine for a beginner like it says. even for the novice lifter doing this for 12 weeks would be a good break from your normal routine to try and pack on some mass in the off season. if you have a routine that is working for you i would stick with that until you begin to plateua, take a deload week or even a week off, do this routine for 12 weeks, take another week off and then get back to your old routine. going back to the basics can be a good thing from time to time.
 
Appreciate the insight bro. Ya the routine i am on now is working pretty solid thus far I am just trying to figure out what type of routine to do when i switch it up this upcoming dec/jan unless my results just keep bangin up my physique ill stick with it longer but id imagine ill have to change it up somehow so im preparing ahead of time~ I'm open to any suggestions really =D
 
as long as you're hitting the weights hard, and doing your basic compound movements along with proper rest and diet any routine will work really. now once you've been in the game for years or you are an athlete looking to drop .1 seconds from your 40 or add 2 inches to your vertical, then that's when you need to start looking at your training from a different angle, gettin all scientific and shit. average joes like us who just want a nice beach body and be able to move some impressive weight around the gym...... just move impressive weight around the gym. eat, sleep, lift repeat. people make it too complicated
 
Yea bro im with ya all the way.. I need to gain more patience... My lack thereof has been causing me to want to try a cycle and Id like to think even at 25 still i have a very healthy natty test level~
 
go get bloods done man, that's the only way to know for sure. around 23, 24, 25 is when your test levels are most likely to start dropping. i waited until 24 to run my first cycle and i'm glad i did. now if your test levels are extremely low it doesn't matter what age you are, probably need to go on trt. even at our age, if your test levels are good it doesn't hurt to run 500mg of test a week for 12 weeks or so if you've been lifting for a long time and have your diet dialed in.
 
I prob need to give it a few more mos before attempting a cycle and i def will get my bloods done~ Whats your take on Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)? a necessity or???
 
i believe it is a necessity, others on these boards will disagree. it's about 50/50. even if the only thing it does is restore the size of your nuts while on cycle it is worth it to me, but it does much more than that. in a nutshell, it kickstarts your nuts into producing their own test again and makes transitioning into pct that much easier, thus making it more effective. plus three days after i started it i was fucking my wife and pulled out shooting into her hair, that's never happened in my life before. basically even if you wanted to go the cheap route and just get one 5000iu vial to blast at the end that's only like 40 bucks. that's a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of aas, an Aromatase inhibitor (AI), your liver support, needles, pct etc.
 
Back
Top