Strength building. A simple approach. Part 1

I am always banging on about the state of the industry and how bad I think the level of coaching is becoming. Too many personal trainers have become more concerned about how much weight they can get their clients lifting, or how hard they can push their clients, rather than focusing on the main aim of our profession,

IMPROVING peoples lives through exercise.

I know my opinions offend people (as some of you out there are fond of sending me PM’s telling me) but I’m not going to apologise for them, (if you have haters, then you are doing something right). I believe my opinions are spot on and I am very, very passionate about helping others change their live. Then it has occurred to me, instead of just moaning about how things are turning, I could try and help the situation by providing an example of what I do when designing a simple strength program. One that progressively builds strength, muscle and mobility without destroying the body.

So for this week I am going to do a day by day article that builds into a basic, no need for any calculating, strength program that will help most people. One thing I strive for in all my programs is making the most out of the training session. Dan John has taught me many things, most are unbelievable “Nuggets of Gold,” that are simple but so effective. One of the best is his active rest method. Instead of stretching at the end of a session, Dan suggests building it into the program and doing it DURING the rest time. This way you get much more done, in a shorter time frame. As this is a strength program, the rests will be a bit longer than what some of you may be use to, use this to your advantage and get a ton of mobility work in.

This article is just going to go over the layout of the program. Over the coming days, each article will go into more detail and I will also add some videos to accompany the exercises.

Every day warm up:

5 minute mobility flow

20 kettlebell swings

10 “pause and pry at the bottom” goblet squats

Foam roll tight spots 2-3 minutes

Day 1

• Squats: One set of 20 reps
• Bench: 5×5 method 2 warm up sets 3 work sets (mobility while resting. Zenith. 10 each side)
• Pull ups: Ladder (mobility while resting. Straight leg bear crawls. 1 minute)
• Resistance band wood chops: 4×4 each side. Tempo 4:4:4:0.  4 seconds out. 4 seconds hold. 4 seconds in. 0 seconds rest (mobility while resting. Hanging)
• Finisher: 10 swings on the minute, every minute, 10 minutes

Day 2

• Shoulder Press: 5×5 method 2 warm up sets 3 work sets (mobility while resting. 6 point rock. 10-20 reps)
• Inverted row: 5×5 method 2 warm up sets 3 work sets (mobility while resting. stoney stretch. 1 minute hold each side)
• Turkish get up & KO8 T’s: 1 TGU each side/10 KO8 T’s x 5
• Barbell Russian twists: 4×4 Tempo 4:1:4:1.  4 seconds to other side. 1 second rest. 4 seconds to other side. 1 second rest (mobility while resting. Hanging)
• Finisher: Bodyweight farmer walks for distance. Carry your bodyweight (or as close to it as you can lift safely) as far as possible. Rest as needed. 10 minutes

Day 3

• Squat: 5×5 Start with 50-60% of 1rm and do 5 sets of 5. Each week add approx 5kg to the bar. Over 12 weeks this equates to 60kg. (mobility while resting. 6 point rock  10-20 reps)
• Deadlift: 5×5 Start with 50-60% of 1rm and do 5 sets of 5. Each week add approx 5kg to the bar. Over 12 weeks this equates to 60kg. Remember just because you aren’t lifting close to your 1rm doesn’t mean you aren’t improving it. (mobility while resting. Loaded KO8 lat stretch)
• Pull up ladder: Day 2 (see day 1 for guidance)
• Paloff press: 4×4 each side. Tempo 4:4:4:0.  4 seconds out. 4 seconds hold. 4 seconds in. 0 seconds rest (mobility while resting. Hanging)
• Finisher: 12 swings on the minute, every minute, 10 minutes

Day 4

• Bench: 5×5 method 2 warm up sets 3 work sets (mobility while resting. Zenith 10 each side)
• Pull ups: Ladder (mobility while resting. Straight leg bear crawls)
• Turkish get up & KO8 T’s: 1 TGU each side/10 KO8 T’s x 5
• Resistance band wood chops: 4x4each side Tempo 4:4:4:0.  4 seconds out. 4 seconds hold. 4 seconds in. 0 seconds rest (mobility while resting. Hanging)
• Finisher: Finisher: Bodyweight farmer walks for distance. Carry your bodyweight (or as close to it as you can lift safely) as far as possible. Rest as needed. 10 minutes

Day 5

• Squats: One set of 20 reps (same weight as Monday)
• Shoulder Press: 5×5 method 2 warm up sets 3 work sets (mobility while resting. 6 point rock. 10-20 reps)
• Inverted row: 5×5 method 2 warm up sets 3 work sets (mobility while resting. Stoney stretch. 1 minute hold each side)
• Barbell Russian twists: 4x4x4 Tempo 4:1:4:1.  4 seconds to other side. 1 second rest. 4 seconds to other side. 1 second rest  (mobility while resting. Hanging)
• Finisher: 14 swings on the minute, every minute, 10 minutes

Now before anyone begins ripping this apart with, “you didn’t do this” or “you should include that” blah blah blah, there are literally HUNDREDS of methods to build strength and they all work… for around 6 weeks. The methods I employ with my clients and our groups all vary depending on the goal but they all follow a similar pattern. Push, Pull, Squat, Hinge, Rotate, Carry.

Strength training should be simple, it should be easy. This program is exactly that. It’s a basic, no thought required, FREE, strength and mobility program, that if followed by Mr or Miss average, will get them moving better and feeling stronger. It is not designed for athletes (though IMO, it would work better than some of the programs I’ve seen athletes following), its not designed for bodybuilders, it is not designed for anyone with any specific issues and just like with all exercise, you should get cleared by your doctor before beginning (reread that last sentence #healthandsafetyfirst).

Remember the number one rule when training is “keep the goal, the goal”.

The goal for this program is to increase strength and mobility and if followed correctly, it will work.

Enjoy.

Pól