Look Good, Perform Great, and Be Strong

A 6-Week HFT Program for Fixing Muscle Imbalances, Getting Stronger, and Feeling Your Best

     Sometimes, the more a lifter trains, the worse he looks.  I say “he” for a reason.  You just don’t see this problem so much in women, but we’ll get around to that in just a little bit.  The problem, to put it quite simply, is imbalance.  If you spend the majority of your training time blasting your pecs and “bombing and blitzing” your biceps, you may, indeed, develop large, muscular, and even downright strong, pecs and biceps muscles, but at an expense.  Because if a lifter keeps this up, he will end up looking more like an ape than the well-developed towering mass of muscle that he wants.  Doubly so if he’s eating everything in sight.  His gut grows along with his chest and biceps, turning him into a mountain gorilla minus the strong back, traps, shoulders, and legs that I’m pretty sure all mountain gorillas probably have.  But it’s not just about not looking good.  Oh, he may look imbalanced from an aesthetical dimension, for sure, but he ends up with physical imbalances that lead to an inability to perform in the short run, and a lot of physical pain in the long run.

     There are times, I admit, when this can’t be helped.  Most elite athletes who excel in their sports, end up with a lot of physical pain when they retire and then, of course, age.  To be at the top of your game, whether it’s powerlifting, strongman competition, gymnastics, or throwing the discus, doesn’t matter, you have to naturally put in a tremendous amount of time to develop the specific muscles needed to excel at that sport.  It is in many ways, a deal with the devil, perhaps even a deal with the gnostic demiurge, where what appears to be true is not quite what it seems.  But it’s also a deal you sorta have to make if you’re going to be the best of the best.

     I was an elite powerlifter for a number of years, capable of totaling more than 1,500 pounds in the 181 pound division.  I’ve also trained in traditional Japanese martial arts for 40 years.  That kind of stuff takes its toll.  Some days, I can hardly bend over to tie my shoes because of back pain.  Of course, if I stop training, I don’t feel any better, and, in fact, feel quite worse.  I just find things that I can still train heavy on, and I find other ways to push my body from more of an endurance standpoint.  (Not to get off-topic, but most easy strength methods are pretty good for older lifters who have a lot of acquired injuries.)

     Anyway, strength coach Dan John said this several years ago on our very subject: “Athletes make a Faustian deal when they enter into the world of sports, as it’s a rare sport that doesn’t cause massive asymmetries.  Elite sports demand world-class strength at the cost of ignoring other weaknesses and issues.  Over time, performance improves because of this focus, but it leads to long-term issues.  Randy Matson, former world-record holder in the shot put, was once asked if he still threw.  He answered, ‘I can barely pick up my briefcase with my right hand.’  That’s the deal with the devil elite athletes make to get to the top.”

     Now, about women who lift, even fairly “casual” trainees that just want to get in shape or look good naked.  They often simply want good-looking legs, a curvaceous butt, a small waist, and strong shoulders.  When a guy looks at a male physique athlete, he tends to admire the muscles that can be seen in the mirror—primarily the aforementioned chest and biceps.  When a woman sees a female figure that she admires, it tends to be the legs, the butt, and the waist.  She sets about training these muscles much in the same way that the male wannabe bodybuilder sets out training his pecs and biceps.  She’s not trying to stay away from muscle imbalances, but when you do a lot of work for your glutes, legs, abs, shoulders, and triceps—women almost unanimously train their tris hard so they don’t end up with those hanging, saggy triceps that affect the vast majority of our female population—you end up naturally training all the muscle groups that improve muscle balance and prevent a lack of symmetry.  So when women often train, they end up looking better, but also improving their postures, and, probably unbeknownst to the majority of them, end up adding years of pain-free living to their lives.

     Guys need to train that way, too.

     The one good thing about Crossfit—as much as I have on more than one occasion maligned its programming; workouts-of-the-day and group classes just don’t cater enough to what an individual needs because, well, he or she is an individual—is that it has put quick lifts and hard back-and-leg work back into the American training lexicon.  The programming of Crossfit isn’t the best for a couple of reasons.  Too much random training thrown together for one.  For another, too many high-rep sets of the various quick lifts.  High-reps and various cleans, snatches, and high-pulls really have no place going together.  For the quick lifts, you can do plenty of sets, but keep the reps low. But it does tend to be very good when it comes to imbalances.  Men who train in Crossfit don’t neglect the previous things that I mentioned that women do well when training.  You get plenty of glute, leg, back, lumbar, abdominal, shoulder, and triceps work in Crossfit.  That has to be a plus, poor programming aside.   If you train in Crossfit, you also don’t neglect the big 4.  You pick heavy stuff off the ground.  You press heavy stuff overhead.  You squat heavy things.  And—you’ll know this even if you’ve only ever watched Crossfit on the telly—you drag, carry, push, or flip a variety of assorted things.  Maybe this is the primary reason that men and women who take up Crossfit get in so much better shape than when they were simply going to the gym.  At the gym, they were probably and primarily wasting their time doing steady-state cardio and a variety of machines, mostly while seated.  At Crossfit, they work the muscles they actually need to work, and they do the big 4.

     None of this is to say that I’m in any way recommending Crossfit.  If you enjoy Crossfit, then, by all means, do it, don’t get me wrong.  I’m sure if it would have come on the scene when I was much younger, and before I ever took up powerlifting or other strength sports, I might have wanted to train and compete in it too.  One day not long ago, to be quite honest, my oldest son, Matthew, said that it looked as if I was training Crossfit.  Why?  Because he watched me do a session of bench presses and chins, followed by some hill sprints, then I finished it off with some kettlebell swings for high-reps.  He was only half-serious, as he probably heard me rant about early Crossfit one too many times when he was younger to think that it was something that I might actually take up.  But I told him that I was simply doing some heavy benches and chins for strength, and some hill sprints and swings for some metabolic conditioning.  The point I made to him after that was that I was not just doing some random workout of benches, chins, sprints, and swings which would be followed by who-knows-what and had been preceded by much the same who-knows-what before it.  No, that particular workout was programmed into my training.  It was part of an actual plan, a vision to get to where I was trying to go.

     So, no, you don’t have to take up Crossfit, but you can implement some of its better tools into an overall program.  You can do the big 4.  You can make sure that you’re doing a variety of pulls, not just deadlifts, but an assortment of different snatches and cleans.  You can do some metabolic work, such as actually going for a run on occasion instead of just sitting on your ass after your workouts because you “need the recovery to grow.”  (Now, don’t get me wrong, there are times when you might need to implement such a tactic, and that kind of training can be effective for your proverbial 98-pound weakling who doesn’t want sand kicked in his face, but most people—simply based on the health of America, especially the American deep south, where I live—need to do more.)  You can make sure that you’re doing at least as much work for the rear of your body as for the front, though it probably needs slightly more.

     With all of that in mind, here is a workout program that can ensure you never acquire imbalances, or, if already acquired, can improve those imbalances.  Oh, and the other thing it will do is put slabs of muscle on your physique in all the right places, even when the places are those pecs and biceps you desperately desire to become muscle-bound.  In fact, when the average American gym-goer gives up on all of his bro-split training, and switches to some workouts like the one presented here, he’s often shocked to discover that his pecs and biceps—even though he’s now training them less—actually get bigger and look better.  But this shouldn’t be surprising because it isn’t anything new.  I remember meeting Tom Platz in ‘94 at a seminar he gave in Hoover, Alabama.  It was a small gathering, only about ten of us as I can recall showed up to it, but that allowed everyone there to pick his brain about training for a couple of hours.  When one of the kids asked what was the secret to big arms, he told them it was heavy leg and back work.  Ditto for the pecs.

The Program

     For this program, you’ll train 4 exercises at each session.  Pick a lower body movement.  It can be either a squat variation, a deadlift variation, or a quick lift such as power cleans.  Pick an upper body pressing movement.  It can be some sort of overhead press or some sort of chest press.  Yes, if you want to do bench presses, then by all means include that here.  The example program below will utilize bench presses.  Pick an upper body pulling movement.  Chins are a great choice, as are some sort of row.  Stay away from lat pulldowns or any kind of machine or cable work, however.  Your last weighted lift will be used for metabolic conditioning.  Select something that has both a pull and a press.  Once these 4 lifts are complete, you’ll do one set of some sort of loaded carry or some hill sprints, and then one set of some sort of abdominal exercise.  Then you’ll call it quits.

     You will stick with the same 4 lifts for 2 weeks before switching to another 4 for the next 2 weeks, then another 4 in the final 2 weeks for a total of 6 weeks.  At the end of the program, I’ll give you some tips for what to do if you want to continue past the 6-week mark.

     This is a 3-days-per-week program.  The most popular days are usually Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.  Although, to be quite honest, I was always fond of Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays when running these sorts of programs.  Training on Sunday evenings always felt as if it prepared me for the coming work week.  If I got a really hard-as-hell, heavy workout on Sundays, the beginning of the workweek on Monday morning just didn’t seem so hard.

     Unlike some similar 3-days-per-week HFT systems that I write about here that are primarily based on Bill Starr’s heavy/light/medium modus operandi, this one will use an intensity/active recovery/volume methodology.  Intensity here is used the way it is in powerlifting and Olympic lifting circles, as a percentage of your one-rep max.  The closer it is to your one-rep max, the higher the intensity.  Active recovery and volume are exactly what they sound like.

Weeks One and Two

Day One: Intensity

• Squats: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles.  If you’ve read some of the last few posts here at Integral Strength, you’re already familiar with this method and can simply move on.  If you’re not familiar with it, you start by doing sets of 5s even on your warm-ups.  Start with just the empty Olympic bar.  With each set, add weight.  Once you reach the point that 5s become very hard, switch over to sets of 3.  Do ramps of 3s in the same manner until you reach a hard, but not max, set of 3.  At this point, start doing ramps with singles until you reach a near max.  There should always be a little something left in the tank, so to speak, in each rep range.

• Bench presses: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles, same as the squats.

• Weighted chins: Ramps of 5s and 3s.  Forego the singles here on weighted chins.  If you’re not that strong on chins, then you can simply do sets of 5s with the same weight, even if it’s just your bodyweight, then start doing triples once the sets of 5 become tough.  Don’t worry, either, if you do far fewer ramps here than on the other two exercises.  For instance, you may do a set of 5 with your bodyweight, add weight and do just one more set of 5 before you add weight and start doing triples.  If one triple is tough, you can even stop there.  Remember, this is your intensity, and not volume, day.  Your goal here is to simply train heavy.

• Double kettlebell clean and press: 10 sets of 3 reps.  For these, select a weight that would be really hard for around 8 reps.  Now, do 10 sets of 3 reps, taking as minimal rest as possible between sets.  I don’t generally recommend rest times, but probably 20 to 30 seconds rest would be best at first.  As you fatigue throughout the sets, you can start resting a little more, but not much; try to keep the rest period much the same through all 10 sets.

• Farmer walks: 1 set with heavy weights, close to as far as possible.

• Ab wheel: 1 set of 5 to 8 reps.

Day Two: Active Recovery

     The lifts on this day are meant to be nothing more than tonic sessions.  Don’t push yourself hard on this day.  You should feel refreshed at the end of the session, generally better than when you started.

• Squats: 2 sets of 5 reps.  Do a couple of sets that are the same weight as, maybe, your 2nd and 3rd set on your Day One, depending on how heavy you went.  50% of what was used for your top set of 5 on Day One should be the absolute heaviest you go, 40% might be even better.

• Bench presses: 2 sets of 5, same as the squats.

• Chins: 2 sets of 5, same as the squats and bench presses.  If you didn’t do ramps on Day One, but just used your bodyweight for sets of 5s and 3s, then only do 2 sets of 2 or 3 here.

• Double kettlebell clean and press: 2 sets of 5 reps.  Once again, do only 2 sets of 5, using the exact same weight as what was used for your 10 sets of 3 on Day One.  Take as long as you want between the first and 2nd set.

• Farmer walks: 1 set with the same weight as on Day One, but about half the distance.

• Ab wheel: 1 set of 2-3 reps.

Day Three: Volume

• Squats: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps.  Do a few warm-up sets, then load the squat bar with a weight where you could probably get 15 tough reps.  Do 10 reps.  Add weight—how much will depend upon your strength levels; it could be 5 pounds, it could be 15 or 20—and do a set of 8 reps.  Rest a few minutes, and add more weight, and do a final set with 6 reps.

• Bench presses: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps.

• Chins: 3 sets of hard sets.  The first 2 sets shouldn’t be all-out, but should leave one or two reps in the tank.  The 3rd set can be to your absolute limit.

• Double kettlebell clean and press: 100 reps.  For these, pick some kettlebells that are at least half of the weight used on Day One.  Do a hard set, but make sure you have a lot of reps still in the tank.  Do as many sets as it takes to get 100 reps.  Don’t even count sets.  Just reps.  Make sure that you don’t take any of the sets too close to failure, otherwise you’ll end up taking longer—and it will be harder—to get 100 reps.

• Farmer walks: 1 set with heavy weights, close to as far as possible, same as Day One.

• Ab wheel: 1 set of 5-8 reps, same as Day One.

Weeks Three and Four

Day One: Intensity

• One-arm thick-bar dumbbell deadlifts: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles.  In reality, you will be doing double ramps here, since you will need to do a set with each arm.  If you don’t have access to a thick-bar, you can do these with regular dumbbells, but I would advise investing in some “Fat Gripz” if you don’t have a pair.  They’re inexpensive, and can travel to the gym easily in your gym bag.  Another, even cheaper option, is to simply wrap a towel around the weights.

• One-arm dumbbell overhead presses: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles, each arm.

• One-arm dumbbell rows: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles, each arm.

• Double kettlebell squat and press: 10 sets of 3 reps.  Do these in the same manner as the double kettlebell clean and press from Weeks One and Two.

• Hill sprints: 1 to 2 sets, not quite all out.

• Hanging leg raises: 1 set of 8-10 reps.

Day Two: Active Recovery

• One-arm thick-bar dumbbell deadlifts: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• One-arm dumbbell overhead presses: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• One-arm dumbbell rows: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• Double kettlebell squat and press: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• Hill sprints: 1 to 2 sets, less “intense” than Day One, more like a “hill jog.”

• Hanging leg raises: 1 set of 8-10 reps.  You can perform these the same as Day One.

Day Three: Volume

• One-arm thick-bar dumbbell deadlifts: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps, each arm.

• One-arm dumbbell overhead presses: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps, each arm.

• One-arm dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps, each arm.

• Double kettlebell squat and press: 100 reps.

• Hill sprints: 1 to 2 sets, not quite all out.

• Hanging leg raises: 1 set of 8-10 reps.

Weeks Five and Six

Day One: Intensity

• Front squats: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles.

• Weighted Dips: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles.

• Barbell rows: Ramps of 5s, 3s, and singles.

• Single kettlebell clean and press: 10 sets of 3 reps.  Use a heavier weight than what was used for double kb clean and presses during Weeks One and Two.  Do 10 sets of 3 for each arm.  As soon as you do one set for one arm, immediately do another triple with the other arm.  Rest then in the same manner as the other weeks.

• Sled drags: 1 set, heavy, close to as far as possible.

• Dragon flags: 1 set of 5-8 reps.

Day Two: Active Recovery

• Front squats: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• Weighted Dips: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• Barbell rows: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• Single kettlebell clean and press: 2 sets of 5 reps.

• Sled drags: 1 set, about half the distance as Day One.

• Dragon flags: 1 set of 3-4 reps.

Day Three: Volume

• Front squats: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps.

• Weighted Dips: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps.

• Barbell rows: 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps.

• Single kettlebell clean and press: 100 reps.

• Sled drags: 1 set, heavy, same as Day One.

• Dragon flags: 1 set of 5-8 reps.

Some Thoughts and Recommendations

     You may have noticed that the middle two weeks of the program are less “intense” than the other weeks because you simply can’t utilize as much weight on one-arm dumbbell movements, especially when done with a thick-bar.  This is intentional, as it allows for two weeks of deload while still training hard.

     This program will obviously fix any imbalances you have if you’ve been training nothing more than benches and curls (or machines) since you’ve been going to the gym.  It will also fix imbalances if you’re a powerlifter—or just a casual lifter who mainly likes to train using the powerlifts or their variants—assuming you haven’t been doing any form of loaded carries or hill sprints before beginning the program.  In that case, you probably don’t have many imbalances in the first place, and it may simply be a good training regimen to switch to for a change of pace.  Also, if you have major imbalances, you need to stick with programs just like this one for a long time.  (You can look through this blog, and find many other programs of a much similar bent.)

     I usually recommend changing to a different program after 6 to (no more than) 8 weeks.  But since this program has variety already built into it, you can run this program 2 or 3 times back-to-back, if you want, especially if you’re not the type of lifter that gets bored.  You can also run it using some different exercises.  Just remember: same but different.  Other good exercise selections would be bottom-position squats, overhead squats, barbell overhead presses, floor presses, board presses (of various heights), inverted rows, T-bar rows, whatever other kettlebell exercise you want to try for your metabolic conditioning movement, and other loaded carries such as stone carries, sandbag carries, or tire flips.

     In many ways, this program is also a continuation of my HFT series since it includes training each lift 3-times-weekly.  (3x weekly is the minimum that I consider “high-frequency.”)  If you’ve tried, or are in the process of trying, some of my HFT routines, this would be a good program to slot in after 12-16 weeks of following a couple of those.

     Writing, as with life, can sometimes be odd.  I set out to simply write an 800 to 1,000 word essay on “the more you train, the worse you look,” but then realized that I may have a pretty good idea for a training program.  And since you’ve now read almost 4,000 words of text, it’s probably best that I simply wrap this thing up.  Give this program a try, however, and not only will it take care of some of your imbalances, but it will also give you new gains in strength, size, and performance.  And not only will you look better and be stronger, but you’ll feel better, as well.

     Until next time, good luck and good lifting.

     If you’re looking for more mass and power programs, be sure to check out my latest e-book, aptly titled, “Ultimate Mass and Power.”