Bill Starr routine later in life

[jeb455]

Does anyone know what sort of routine, if any, Bill Starr followed in his 60s and 70s?

[Mark Rippetoe]

In his 70s, Bill became convinced that very high reps (80-100) with light weight were the best way for old people to train. I completely disagree with this, and we didn't talk about it much.

[jeb455]

Thanks. I assume he based this on concerns about joint health and so on? I have noticed that in some old bodybuilders who follow this kind of high rep, low weight strategy, their training doesn’t appear to effectively maintain muscle mass. Rick Drasin is an example (to use a YouTube personality). However, I have seen examples of some old Russians who follow routines that call for (for example) heavy squats and deadlifts every other week (like, ramping heavy singles), and the people I am thinking of (who I’ve seen video of) maintain very good thickness and mass in the legs, back, and shoulder girdle — the “yoke.”

I asked about Starr because I couldn’t find any photos of him late in life. Not that I think the main purpose of training is “looks” — but a thick strong back, shoulder girdle, and legs are evidence of muscle mass; and this appears possible to maintain even into one’s 70s.

[jeb455]

Example: YouTube

In this video he squats 160kg; deadlifts 200kg; does ten pull-ups; clean and jerk 110kg; and presses a 40 kilo kettlebell 8 times with one arm. The “old man” is Alexander Skonnikov. Born in 1954; the video was made in 2015.

Just in case wanted to see someone besides you lifting heavy weights in his 60s! 😆

[MichaelHupfer]

At 13:20 I thought the dude was going to squat it.

[FatButWeak]

Example: YouTube

In this video he squats 160kg; deadlifts 200kg; does ten pull-ups; clean and jerk 110kg; and presses a 40 kilo kettlebell 8 times with one arm. The “old man” is Alexander Skonnikov. Born in 1954; the video was made in 2015.

Just in case wanted to see someone besides you lifting heavy weights in his 60s! ��

I just spent 90 minutes watching Russian youtube videos on lifting. Thanks for wasting my life!

[Sean Herbison]

I have noticed that in some old bodybuilders who follow this kind of high rep, low weight strategy, their training doesn’t appear to effectively maintain muscle mass.

Old/retired bodybuilders losing mass has very little to do with their training, and is almost entirely due to no longer force-feeding themselves to keep the weight on. Once they're done competing and/or making money from being a huge mass of muscle, most of them aren't going to put up with the hassle of eating massive amounts of food. And yeah, PEDs play a role, but I'd say even that is a far second to the food.