Rule 1: Make the Gym Your Habit
In his phenomenal book "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business,"
Charles Duhigg dedicates an entire chapter to what he labels the
"habit loop." Without giving away any spoilers—I'm not kidding, it's a
book that will melt your brain, and you should read it—Duhigg explains
that one of the most fail-proof ways to create a habit is to preface the
behavior you want to reinforce with a cue.
As an example, let's say someone's goal is to go to the gym three
days per week before work. A basic cue would be to place their gym
clothes, post-training shake, and shoes next to their bed the night
prior so those items are the first thing the person sees—or maybe trips
over—when they wake up. The theory is that the cues will create a
routine, and eventually, the person won't need the cue.
The takeaway: Don't just say you're going to start going to
the gym. It doesn't work. Make things more concrete by setting up as
many nudges and reminders as possible to help keep you from backing out.
Your reward will be better health, feeling like a million bucks, and no
longer fearing taking your clothes off with the lights on.
Rule 2: Be Consistent in Your Training
I don't marry myself to particular weightlifting modalities or
principles. Massive numbers of people out there have different goals,
needs, injury histories, experience, and equipment access. What works
for one person won't always work the same way for the next.
Does this mean that everything is as good as everything else? Of
course not. I'm a strength coach, and I believe that a full-body
strength program built around compound lifts is the best place for
almost everybody to start, no matter what they end up doing months or
years later. It's better than so-called fat-loss programs, hypertrophy
programs, programs that help add inches to your vertical jump, or ones
that promise to turn you into a superhero in eight weeks.
"The only program that will work is one you'll actually follow consistently."
Regardless, I also recognize that the only program that will work is
one you'll actually follow consistently. So take that as your rule, but if you want a suggestion, well, follow the program below.
Rule 3: Build on the Fundamentals
Listen up: If you're a guy who just started training and can't do at
least five clean, dead-hang, sternum-to-bar pull-ups, then you have no
business going to the gym to perform set after set of biceps
curls—period! For women, the same rule applies, but I'd say the number
is between 1-3 pull-ups.
Don't get caught up in which exercise works which muscle. Master a
small lineup of proven exercises in the following categories first, and
worry about splits and fine-tuning somewhere down the road, if you worry
about them at all.
Fundamental Exercises
Master at least one from each category
Squats: Front squat, back squat, box squat, and goblet squats. If you go with back squats, check out my article about common squat mistakes.
Hip hinge: Trap-bar deadlift, conventional deadlift, sumo deadlift, and Romanian deadlift. Need a guide? I just so happen to have one handy
Single-leg work: Reverse lunges, forward lunges, lateral lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg RDL, single-leg hip thrust, and step-ups
Pushing exercises: Bench press variations, dumbbell press variations, military press, push press, landmine press, and push-ups
Pulling exercises: Seated cable row variations, chest-supported rows, barbell rows, single-arm dumbbell rows, single-arm standing cable rows, chin-ups, and pull-ups
Carries: Farmer's carry (bilateral), suitcase carries (unilateral), waiter carries, and cross-body carries
Core lifts: Pallof press, chops, half-kneeling lifts, tall-kneeling lifts, overhead lifts, split-stance exercises, plank variations, and roll-outs
Hip hinge: Trap-bar deadlift, conventional deadlift, sumo deadlift, and Romanian deadlift. Need a guide? I just so happen to have one handy
Single-leg work: Reverse lunges, forward lunges, lateral lunges, Bulgarian split squats, single-leg RDL, single-leg hip thrust, and step-ups
Pushing exercises: Bench press variations, dumbbell press variations, military press, push press, landmine press, and push-ups
Pulling exercises: Seated cable row variations, chest-supported rows, barbell rows, single-arm dumbbell rows, single-arm standing cable rows, chin-ups, and pull-ups
Carries: Farmer's carry (bilateral), suitcase carries (unilateral), waiter carries, and cross-body carries
Core lifts: Pallof press, chops, half-kneeling lifts, tall-kneeling lifts, overhead lifts, split-stance exercises, plank variations, and roll-outs
If you follow a full-body program built around these seven
categories, you'll be amazed at how well your body responds. If your
goal is to add mass, these are the movements that will allow you to use
the most weight and provide the training stimulus the body will need to
grow. If your goal is fat loss, these are the movements that will allow
you to burn the most calories and continue working harder in the gym. If
your goal is just to get stronger and more athletic for whatever you
decide to do later, these movements are the perfect tools.
8 Weeks to Full-Body Strength
Alternate between workouts A, B, and C for eight weeks and don't
deviate from the plan. If you feel inclined to add a fourth training
day, do it, but stick to the same order: ABCA/BCAB/CABC/ABCA. Make
consistency your mantra for the next two months!
