Coach, I see sometimes you share your updates/improved versions of old school programs. How would you add lower body to this Bill Starr program?
Four-Days-a-Week Program
Monday – Heavy Day
- Bench Presses* – varies
- Incline Dumbbell Presses – 2 x 20
Tuesday – Light Day
- Weighted Dips** – varies
- Overhead Presses** – varies
Wednesday Medium Day
- Incline Barbell Presses* – varies
- Straight-Arm Pullovers – 2 x 20
- Chins – 4 x failure or Curls – 2 x 20
Friday – Medium Day
- Bench Presses*** – 4 x 8; 2 x 2
- Dips (no resistance) – 4 x failure
- Close-Grip Bench Presses – 3-4 x 12 orPushdowns**** – 2 x 20
Program Details
- Alter your sets and reps each week. One week do five sets of five; the next do a warmup of three sets of five followed by three sets of heavier triples, doubles or singles.
** Alter your sets and reps each week. One week do five sets of five; the next do four sets of eight or three sets of five followed by two triples, plus one back-off set of eight. Do one exercise or the other until you’ve been training for some time and feel you can handle both on the same day. If you dip heavy, use dumbbells on the overhead presses and keep your reps relatively high – 10s and 12s. If you press heavy, do your dips without resistance and run the reps as high as you can.
*** Use heavy doubles. No back-off set.
**** In choosing the close-grip benches or the pulldowns, whichever exercise gets you the sorest is the one you should do more frequently.
Notes
Continue to do trap work at least twice a week. It’s an even better idea to add one other upper-back exercise on Tuesday. It can be a light movement, such as snatches or snatch-grip high pulls.