The Drop Set with Darin Starr: Bodybuilding for the Masses

Welcome to episode TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY! In the first segment, I dive deep into strategies for busting through growth plateaus in bodybuilding. First, I emphasize the importance of consistency and dedication during the off-season or growth phases. I discuss assessing whether you’re truly at a plateau and stress the need to attack growth seasons with the same intensity as prep. I also go ove...

In this episode, we dig in on the finer points of having a successful cut, whether it’s for a contest or just a personal transformation. The final point I make here is possibly the most important: remember to have fun with it all – it’s a challenging journey, but it should still be enjoyable overall. Next, I dive into bodybuilding and its suitability for everyone. Reflecting on m...

In episode 248 of The Drop Set, I delve into the intricate journey to becoming a professional bodybuilder in the USA, breaking down the processes of various amateur organizations like NPC, OCB, INBA, and INBF. From earning qualifications to competing at national levels, the road to obtaining a pro card is filled with complexities and nuances. While the quest for pro status may seem enticing, the r...

(3:15) In this episode of The Drop Set podcast, I can’t help but unravel the aftermath of the Arnold Classic with a heavy dose of frustration. I find myself questioning the show’s BEYOND curious choices, particularly in excluding categories like women’s physique, figure, and 212 men’s bodybuilding. With a healthy dose of skepticism, I delve into the prize money distribution...

I’ve had a lot of coaches myself over the past 20 years and I’ve spent the last 15 years being a coach myself, so I’ve seen every argument there is on the topic of meal plans vs. macro plans. Let’s put this to rest once and for all. Also some training and hormone management discussion! 0:00 – Intro 0:57 – Necessary evils 2:44 – Maximizing “easy on paper” workout...

Episode 245 marks the PERMANENT return of The Drop Set to YouTube – so if video is your thing, check it out there as well going forward.  All episodes will be geared towards an audio only format so listeners here, you won’t be missing anything.  No sweat! 0:00 – Intro/story time 1:57 – Technical difficulties? 5:48 – Seeking out photo comparisons of others 7:53 –...

One of the absolute most common questions I get is “when will I be ready for a show”, or “I’m 14 weeks out, will I be ready?” or some variation on the theme.  My usual answer is “well, it’s complicated….” and this episode seeks to finish that sentence in 30,000 words or less. Call in and leave a question! Drop me a voicemail at 865-518-6569 Che...

Hey Darin, can you be rambling and borderline incoherent for 40 minutes?  CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.  The real question:  drunk or sober?  Sadly, the latter.  Yes, this is sober me and I still behave like this. Prep is underway, let’s talk about how it started.  Also, how to mess up your macros in one easy step.  Also also, the TOP SIX things you need for your kitchen RIGHT NOW. Call in and leave a...

Autumn Cleveland has been around for a bit – with a competition history of 20+ years and a couple Olympia appearances to show for it. She has also positioned herself as an authority on posing, offering courses, direct coaching, seminars and more to help competitors more accurately present themselves on stage. And as we discuss here, she’s still always learning and aiming to step up her...

What makes for a good and productive growth season?  Conversely, what makes for a bad one?  How do we define whether it’s good or bad?  What should your goals be?  How much balance is too much balance?  Today we dig in to all of those questions and more so let’s hit it! Call in and leave a question! Drop me a voicemail at 865-518-5659 Check me out on YouTube and subscribe to see what’s...

A little random pre-Christmas catch up on some stuff, and thankfully MUCH lighter fare than last week – and then we dive in to a topic suggested by my former client Jessica who wanted to get my take on semaglutide.  I’ve talked about this before, and recently, but I wanted to dig in a bit deeper here and, in real time, kind of develop and flesh out my philosophy on how I’d recomm...

Rest in peace to my friend and coach Krissy Lia, you will be missed.

Lots of ground to cover today.  Michelle called in with some solid questions concerning peptides and deloads (separate questions…not a weird combination of deloading peptides), and I ramble on for a bit about trying to find the right mix of what is OPTIMAL versus what is often the most PRACTICAL path forward as it relates to training, diet, and everything else.  Also, let’s talk about...

Throwback episode!  No not a ‘greatest hits’ release but just going back to the old formatting.  Call me an optimist but I think after 237 episodes I’m starting to get the hang of this podcast thing.  A few “confessions” to go over today which is really just exposing my ridiculous OCD, but also an update on what I’ve been up to and also some common client issues...

Future generations will look back and see Episode 236 of The Drop Set as a watershed moment for humanity.  Maybe.  Ok, maybe not so much.  But let it be known I’m trying some different stuff here, so as always let me know what you think. This is a solo episode published as audio-only AND video (on YouTube), and does incorporate a little video into the mix so the audio listeners WILL be a lit...

Hannah Hussein and I have one thing in common (well, we probably all do) – we both did dumb shit in our 20’s. The difference is that today, she’s here on the hot seat to talk about hers while mine will continue to go unreported (at least for awhile). Hannah won her IFBB pro card in women’s bodybuilding earlier in September at North Americans, and she sat down for a lengthy...

I recently had the chance to have an extended conversation with IFBB Pro women’s bodybuilder Sherry Priami. Sherry turned pro in women’s physique in 2018 and quickly turned in a string of steadily improving placements before taking a year off and making the plunge into women’s bodybuilding – a decision that has, so far, paid off well. She’ll be competing this upcoming...

In episode 233 of The Drop Set I had the chance to sit down with Paige Sandgren following her narrow miss at an IFBB Pro card at North Americans. We talk about that experience, what’s next, and cover a lot of coaching-related topics including binge eating behavior, one of her specialties. Follow Paige on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/beefnuggette/ Watch the full video interview o...

In episode 232 of The Drop Set I am super excited to have the opportunity to chat with former Olympia competitor Dani Reardon – now OUT of bodybuilding for about 6 years and exploring entirely new areas of her life. We talk about her competitive days, why she got out, how she feels about it looking back, if she has any regrets, and of course dig in on what she’s doing now – inclu...

In episode 231 of The Drop Set I welcome BACK Wendy Levra, NPC NQ bodybuilder and empowerment coach who was last here following a narrow miss at an IFBB Pro card at North American’s last year – following that, she had a bit of a rough time. But as one might expect, she regrouped and is back now with a new and improved focus – we talk about the highs and lows of her last year and...

In episode 230 of The Drop Set I interview my own coach – IFBB Women’s Physique Pro Kristyn Lia (I kinda bury the lead on that but it’s mentioned in there somewhere – space case!) She has recently moved to the US from Australia for the express purpose of having better opportunities to compete as a pro – that’s a pretty big leap and a lot of work, so it says some...

In episode 229 of The Drop Set I catch up with returning Drop Set Champion Paige Sabedra, after having wrapped up her first year as an IFBB Pro in which she hit THREE shows in pretty rapid succession. We talk about the results of those shows, the feedback she got, prep details (diet, cardio, supplementation), and how she managed to drop ANOTHER 12 pounds between shows 2 and 3. Always a good chat w...

In episode 228 (following a 1 month hiatus) I offer a recap of the local Knoxville NPC show that was held last weekend as, because you know I can’t resist, offer some suggestions on how I’d do it differently.  No fault to the promoter who’s a good dude and knows what he’s doing, this is largely about the overall structure of shows in general. https://knoxclassic.com/ And al...

Today we tackle a question from my (former) client Paul asking about the mental side of bodybuilding – well not really a question, just asking me to talk about it a bit, and so I oblige.  How it CAN be a thing that’s good for someone’s mental health (as opposed to bad, which it also can be) and how to hopefully keep it there. And then Trevor asked about tips for becoming an onlin...

The podcast episode so epic it took 3 days to record.  Or maybe the host was experiencing some squirrel-like ADD in spite of tooting his own horn in the first segment of today’s episode. So that first segment is about time management – why it’s so damn important and some easy things you can implement if it’s something you struggle with. Next up, my client Leslie had some qu...