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Even Easier Strength
Even Easier Strength
The workouts
Two sets of Five: it should be easy and be like your second or third warm up lift in a typical workout. The
idea, the secret, is to get THIS workout to feel easier and easier!
Five-Three-Two: Five reps with your 2 x 5 weight, add weight for three, then a solid double. Make the
Double!!!
Six Singles: I dont care how you do this, but add weight each set. No misses!
One set of ten: the day after six singles, very light load for ten easy tonic reps.
Day Ten is often the day where people test themselves a little and this can be fine as long as you feel
like going after it. Again, dont miss.
Week Three, Option One
Now, the original program designed by Pavel demanded that you repeat Weeks One and Two for three
additional times. Oh, and it works well. By Week Five, I was a machine on the lifts and broke lifetime
Personal Records, smashing my Incline Bench Press record by fifteen pounds (and doing it for two reps,
not just a single) and crushing my old Thick Bar Deadlift record (from 265 to 315). This is staggering
improvement. So Option One is to simply keep on keeping on.
Week Three, Option Two
I like this one more for most athletes. You make small changes to the movements, from Bench Press to
Incline Bench Press, Thick Bar Deadlift to Snatch Grip Deadlift and Front Squat to Back Squat. This is
Pavels Same, but different approach. That small change seems to keep enthusiasm high for the entire
Eight weeks.
Week Three, Option Three
I have a few athletes doing this now and I believe (maybe hope is a better word) that this is the better
option for speed and power athletes. It is both a deload week and week filled with more metabolic
challenges.
Day One
Push Press or Push Jerk (Rule of Ten) Five sets of Two, adding weight each set, is a great workout.
Litvinovs: After doing a Hinge or a Squat movement, either sprint, sled or prowler immediately after
finishing the first movement. In a gym setting, this can be difficult, but I have done this outside with
great success with just a kettlebell and a hill. The complete article will be in the appendix.
Day Two
Left Hand Only!
Waiter Walk
Suitcase Walk
Single Arm Front Squat (Kettlebells are best)
Suitcase Deadlift
One arm row on the TRX (or suitable device)
One arm Bench Press.
Reps, sets, load, time and every other factor depends. The idea is to push the stability and symmetry
muscles and movements. There is an odd metabolic hit to these moves as one sweats a lot more than
expected doing this. So, for example, this can be done with a single Kettlebell in a park (which is
wonderful, by the way) and the athlete can challenge various aspects of training and get a good workout
while also practicing mastery of body position and dynamics.
Doing just one side also frees up the mind a little bit. It is pretty obvious what you will be doing in a few
days so you can experiment a bit and play the edges of tension and relaxation as you train.
Day Three
Push Press or Push Jerk (Rule of Ten) Five sets of Two, adding weight each set, is a great workout.
Litvinovs: After doing a Hinge or a Squat movement, either sprint, sled or prowler immediately after
finishing the first movement. In a gym setting, this can be difficult, but I have done this outside with
great success with just a kettlebell and a hill.
Day Four
Right Arm Only!
Waiter Walk
Suitcase Walk
Single Arm Front Squat (Kettlebells are best)
Suitcase Deadlift
One arm row on the TRX (or suitable device)
One arm Bench Press.
At the beginning of Week Four, the athlete will mix up the variations in the basic movements (Push, Pull,
Hinge, Squat, Loaded Carry) and progress along using the same rep and set template in Weeks One and
Two.
After finishing the program (Weeks One and Two repeated four times total; Option Three would be a
twelve week program), fully assess mobility, basic strength levels and the program vis--vis your goals. I
would suggest maybe an FMS screen and blood tests, too, but costs can be an issue.
Now, the workout itself does NOT necessarily go in this order:
Warm-Ups
1.Push
2.Pull
3.Hinge
4.Squat
5. Walk/Run/Sprint under load
Correctives
In fact, I think the real insight of the past ten years for me is understanding the role of perceived
strengths and weaknesses by the athlete in their training system. It has changed the way I view
programming.
Simply, divide the TIME involved in workout in half. So, yes, it will involve math. If each day is an hour
workout (about right for most strength programs), the total time for strength training in the above
template is five hours a week. I think elite athletes can train in the weight room up to ten hours a week,
but that would mean actual athletic training would be upwards of forty hours a week (including film,
games, and all the rest. And, all the rest can be a lot of time for a professional).
My simple method is this: divide the time in half. The first half of every training session would be
devoted to the perceived strengths that the athlete has in the five basic human movements. This time
would also include mobility and flexibility correctives. It is an aspect of human nature that I have come
to simply acknowledge: if I reward you with what you do well, you will do the little things like
correctives.
The other half of the training time will be dedicated to weaknesses or omissions. Since the athlete will
be learning some new skills and movements, all energy has to be devoted to mastering the new tasks. I
remember well learning to squat deep with Dick Notmeyer and every set and rep was stressful
physically, mentally and emotionally. It flat out hurts!
Some movements, like the warm up movements of Goblet Squat, Swing and Get Up, also serve as
correctives for many athletes. If the athlete is learning the squat, a set of Goblet Squats in between a set
of Bench Presses is actually quite instructive. It develops the pattern certainly, but it also gives some
extra time to master the movement. If you ever give this an honest try, you will be amazed at the
simplicity of this game-changing tweak.
Correctives can be those Kettlebell moves labeled in the warm-ups, but it also includes any specialized
mobility work like we would find in the FMS library of movements. It can also include foam rolling and
general flexibility work, too. So, instead of resting between sets, you are actively battling your issues.
It doesnt always work perfectly with time as advanced athletes often have few weaknesses in the
weight room. But, almost universally, they ignore Loaded Carries and struggle with squat depth. So,
finishing a workout with Squats and Farmer Walks or Predators is going to be exhausting and it might be
the right time to simply rest.