Saturday, January 14, 2012

tailoring your program by Bill Starr

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Tailoring Your Program

by Bill Starr
tailoring your program by Bill Starr


Tommy Suggs and I have known each other since we were collegiate lifters in Texas. When he brought me to the York Barbell Company in 1965 to be his assistant editor at Strength & Health magazine, we started training together. It didn’t take Tommy long to figure out that I was an overachiever in the gym. He quickly determined that he didn’t need to do as much work as I did in order to be successful. He made it a rule to do half of what I did.

strengthening the ankles by bill starr

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Strengthening the Ankles

by Bill Starr
strengthening the ankles by bill starr


I’ve observed over the years that most people, athletes and non-athletes alike, take their ankles for granted – that is, until they injure one. Then they fully comprehend just how vital ankles are to their well-being. Simple everyday tasks such as walking and climbing stairs suddenly become very difficult, and participating in any type of physical activity is out of the question.

starr fullproof dumbell

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Fool-Proof Dumbbell Training

By: Bill Starr
starr fullproof dumbell


Bodybuilders always include plenty of dumbbell exercises in their routines, but quite a few strength athletes avoid them completely. If they use them at all, they relegate the dumbbells to auxiliary exercises and use light weights. I'm a big fan of dumbbells, both light and heavy. They're most useful to all serious strength athletes, as well as those who only train for general fitness, and they're invaluable for rehab. What's more, for people who train alone, they're extremely beneficial, since you don't need a spotter.

stabalizing the shoulder girdle

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Stabilizing The Shoulder Girdle

by Bill Starr
Stabilizing The Shoulder Girdle


One of the basic keys to continually gaining strength is to avoid injuries. Nothing, and I mean nothing, deters progress like a severe injury. Smaller problems can also be quite irritating, but in most cases you can work around them successfully until they’re healed. Most people, when they embark on a strength-training routine, worry about hurting their backs. In truth, however, the most frequently injured area is the shoulder girdle. Injuries occur in that area primarily for two reasons: 1) People overtrain it, and 2) they use faulty form on shoulder girdle exercises.

squat variation by bill starr

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Squat Variation

by Bill Starr
squat variation by bill starr


Most lifters want to make continuous progress and move their top-end numbers up on a regular basis. Change is an excellent method of achieving these goals. Changing a routine, even slightly, can instill enthusiasm for your workouts, and anything that helps you look forward to your next session in the weight room is a positive thing.

squat alternatives by bill starr

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Squat Alternatives

by Bill Starr
squat alternatives by bill starr


I get a lot of questions from strength athletes regarding squatting. Some say they’re stale after doing the same squat routine for a number of years. Others relate that they’re unable to do conventional squats due to an injury or shoulder surgery. Still others want to know how they can build more variety into their squat routines.

sid henry program

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Only the Strong Shall Survive

An Ideal Beginning Strength Program

By: Bill Starr
sid henry program


The majority of requests for information I receive deal with back injuries and programming. This month I present what I believe to be one of the best beginning routines for strength training, but it also holds special interest for anyone who includes high-skill exercises in his or her program. While I like to think that I've come up with some original programming concepts over the years, this isn't one of them. This came from Sid Henry of Dallas.