The Drop Set with Darin Starr: Bodybuilding for the Masses

…and now for something completely different. It used to be a recurring segment here to break down recent TV shows I’ve watched so I figured I’d bring that segment back IN FORCE with an entire episode doing that…with my TV watching partner in crime (my wife). This won’t be for everyone and I get that – so no harm, no foul.  For the record (as you know), I’m...

First up: a warning!  I kick things off today with a fairly profanity-heavy rant based on a weekend experience.  For the faint of heart (really, are there any of you listening to this podcast if you’re faint of heart?), skip to like 8:30 (you’re welcome). BEYOND THAT, we have questions about natural bodybuilding and the integrity thereof, as well as talking about optimal sugar intake a...

We’re back today with a whole mish mash of stuff ranging from gym bag contents to macro specifics and all the kind of nonsense you’ve come to expect from me.  Including the seemingly standard 14 month break between episodes.  Working on that part!

Back at it with 2 episodes in 2 days!  Don’t forget to call in with your question at 865-518-6569 and have your voice heard! Today it’s a topic that came from a client check-in, I floated the idea of transitioning her OFF a meal plan and towards a macro based plan to make regular travel a bit easier to handle – and she’s on board with the idea, but needs a primer covering a...

In 221 we have a guest appearance of sorts from Grace, the reigning MVP of The Drop Set – she calls in to give us some insight on how she approaches prep and deals with times when she is kinda forced to be “less than perfect”, as we all have to deal with it some point (or points). And then as if to show off her MVP trophy, she comes back around with some great coaching related qu...

Back it today with a HUGE grab bag of Q&A, coming from voicemails as well as sourced from a Facebook group I’m a member of – as the saying goes,  give the people what they want – and these were the questions getting asked so I know they’re relevant – a wide spectrum of stuff ranging from somewhat beginner-ish to more advanced. Got a question you’d like answe...

Based on a couple questions, I knew it was time for a deeper dive into the world of what “natural” bodybuilding really means, in the competitive world.  Are there different, fluctuating definitions on what this means?  When might an exception be made?  Do *you* qualify or not based on something you may have taken in the past?  Let’s dive in!

Well if that isn’t a super sexy and attention-getting topic, I don’t know what is.  Returning from a brief hiatus, in 218 I field first of the RETURN OF THE CALL-IN SEGMENT, which will continue running despite low turnout – call in to 865-518-6569 and give me your questions!  Also head to TheDropSet.com and vote in the latest poll.  And rounding out this short episode, an update...

First up and most important – THE CALL IN NUMBER IS BACK!  Call 865-518-6569 and leave a message and I’ll play it in an upcoming episode – and I won’t be screening these prior!  Anything goes. Jay Cutler made a great point in a recent interview about the Olympia weekend basically (paraphrasing here) being a shitty fan experience.  Too much show, too long, and just WAY too m...

Well, another Olympia weekend has come and gone so it’s time for the annual tradition of complaining about results and lamenting all the ways in which bodybuilding has “lost its way” – kinda joking, kinda not.  There are definitely some trends in judging I think set a bad precedent from this weekend, and some very easy calls where things mostly looked great.  The open men f...

In 215 I’m mostly going over the latest installment in the Washington Post’s deep dive into the dark recesses of bodybuilding, going over drug protocols and competitor deaths.  You can read the original reporting here (paywall may be in effect, the article can be found elsewhere also). https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/bodybuilding-extreme-training/?itid=hp...

Today on The Drop Set, it’s the Festivus Edition:  the airing of grievances!  My favorite part, always. So I’m gonna complain about some stuff today. First up, NPC Nationals (which were last weekend), judging issues abound, but mostly it’s the NPC’s absolutely laughable attempt at judging transparency.  Seriously, it’s a hoot.  Also, I didn’t mention this but ap...

First up:  go check out the new website at FiveStarrPhysique.com !  This episode was delayed a few days while waiting for the new site to get published (otherwise this episode would get lost in the shuffle) so apologies for the delay but we’re in business now! So, today!  We’re tackling a few listener questions (special hat tip to Ron in Tennessee for a couple of these) – the fir...

Note:  this episode is being reposted from an earlier date, as the original upload was lost in a website migration.  Apologies for the confusion! By now I’m sure many of you have seen, read, or heard of the article published as a result of a fairly lengthy and involved bit of investigative journalism by Desmond Butler of the Washington Post. (links below) There’s certainly an expectati...

210 – “Medical Update”, Exercise Modalities So I had a little procedure done which gave me the heebie jeebies – listen to my dramatic retelling of the story here. And we have the physics lesson to end all physics lessons after that, at least with respect to gym equipment and why the type of equipment you use (free weights, machine, cable, etc) matter. Before that, a quick f...

209 – Vacation Update and Bouncing Back, Problematic Exercises Well it seems like a much bigger deal to me than it probably is in reality, but posting my interview with Wendy Levra last week as episode 208 took some logistical planning to make happen while I was on vacation – nice to not miss a week! Today I give you the recap on my trip (for those who care) and also what I’m doi...

208 – NPC WPD/WBB Competitor Wendy Levra I had the pleasure of sitting down for a nice extended interview with national level women’s bodybuilding competitor Wendy Levra recently go discuss all the things and we had a great chat. Wendy narrowly missed a pro card at North Americans earlier this year and will be taking another stab at it in December at Nationals. In this conversation we...

207 – Find Your ‘Why’, Food Regrets, Holiday Planning Today, on “Therapy with Darin”, we play some head games, because I love Foreigner. Anyone? Anyone? Ok, moving on. Stop for a hot minute and think about WHY you spend time on bodybuilding? Make sure you can really answer that question in great detail (what’s my answer? Of course…you have to listen to fin...

206 – Stress Hygiene, Maintaining Leanness, Injury Management Today (well, yesterday and today, really) I tackle a couple questions posed by Romy and Jen (thank you both!): How do you handle – and I mean REALLY HANDLE – stress? If you’re like most people, you just eat shitty food and realize you’ve made the problem worse. What’s a better (read: actual) way to ge...

205 – Cardio Timing, Likes & Dislikes, Bodybuilding Psychology Time for a Q&A grab bag! In this episode I’m actually tackling 7 distinct questions provided by three active listeners (thank you Grace, Ron, and Adam!) that run the gamut from the serious to the slightly more frivolous. Specifically, Ron asked about a breakdown on my show experience last year and in going over that...

204 – Plant-Based Diets, Beyond Progressive Overload Today we dig in on a few listener questions (thanks Grace!) on the efficacy of plant-based diets for starters, as Grace kinda wonders if there’s anything significant she’s missing out on being plant-based herself (the answer? You guess it: depends). A short thought on keto dieting and then, live on air, I start to flesh out my...

203 – Flipped Interview! Darin on the Hot Seat! For today, something a little different – when I put out the call for discussion topics last week in 202, my client Frankie MacGregor reached out to me and said “Hey – what if I interview you?” I was all about it, because it meant she had to do all the prep and hard work and if there’s one thing I love, it’s...

202 – Coachability, Helping Others, Leveling Up Your Training Back from summer hiatus at long lost! Today we talk about 3 big topics: the first being coachability. Are you really ready to have a coach? What does it mean to turn control of your programming over to someone else? Do you need to “just follow orders” or should it be more nuanced than others? Second, what do you do whe...

201 – Garbage Coaches Revisited, Gear for Guys We’ve talked about this before but it’s time to revisited the warning signs of some lousy coaches – and let’s be clear, they’re everywhere. But also, I give some coach shopping tips and provide some questions that I always appreciate being asked and it shows me when someone is really doing their research. Also, time...

200 – Place Fixing Scandal, Dead Bodybuilders We made it to episode 200! Thanks to everyone for listening and don’t forget to share the episode on social to help grow our audience! I always appreciate that. There’s a scandal brewing in the UK surrounding the Arnold Sports Festival and the organization that was formerly promoting it – we’ll dig in on that for an appeti...