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LIFEHACK
Health45 minutesmoderate

The Strength Floor

Three movements, twice a week, for the rest of your life.

Most training plans fail because they are too complicated to survive a busy few months, not because they are wrong. A plan you can keep for ten years beats a perfect one you drop in March.

You get stronger by adding load to a few big movements over time. Nearly all of the benefit comes from pushing, pulling and hinging, a little heavier each time. Everything past that is fine-tuning, and fine-tuning is worthless if the basics keep stopping.

  1. 01

    Pick one movement per pattern

    A press, a row or pull, and a hinge or squat. Choose the version you can do without pain and will not argue with each session.

  2. 02

    Two sessions, three sets, five to eight reps

    Stop each set with two reps left in you. Going to failure costs far more recovery than it adds progress.

  3. 03

    Add weight only when the last set was clean

    If the final set looked good and the last two reps were not a fight, add the smallest jump next time. If not, repeat.

  4. 04

    Back off before you have to

    Every sixth week, halve the volume. Doing it on purpose is what stops you taking six weeks off with an injury.

Go deeper

What the paid version adds to this one.

  • Filmed technique for each lift, including the mistakes writing cannot catch

  • Swaps for shoulders, lower back and knees that keep the benefit

  • What to do when just adding weight stops working, which it will

  • Twelve weeks with real numbers, plus how to restart after time off