The 5 Keys to Success

 

Read On and Discover the 5 “Musts” of All Good Training Programs

     If you want to make gains in training—be it mass gains, getting as strong as humanly possible, or you simply want to look good in a pair of swimming trunks or a bikini—then there are several universal features to a training program that all lifters should be doing.  If you include these elements in your training then you will get good results no matter your goals.

     It doesn’t matter if you train with high-intensity and low volume or vice versa, whether you train every day of the week or can only make it to the gym a couple times per week, whether you train with high reps, low reps, or something in between, every successful training program should include the following elements.  Here are the 5 musts of all good workout programs:

#1: You MUST Squat

     I wrote this in a separate essay over 10 years ago:

     Saint Augustine once uttered the phrase “love, and do what you will.”  The blessed Augustine was basically saying that as long as you do everything out of love—love for others, love for God—then whatever else you do will be correct.

  I happen to think the same thing about squatting.  As long as you are squatting—if not at every workout, then at least on a very regular basis—then you can do what you will with the rest of your workout.  In fact, I think squatting is the foundation of all successful training.

     I, of course, haven’t changed my mind since penning those words in 2013.  I may have changed my mind about some things over the course of my training, and writing, career but the benefits of squatting sure as hell ain’t one of them.

     You don’t have to just do the barbell back squat, either, although if you are chasing mass and power, then that movement should be your primary form of squatting.  Even then, you can do other barbell iterations of it.

     If you have the flexibility for it, I think the bottom-position squat is the best replacement for the traditional barbell squat.  I once squatted 510 raw in the 165 lb category of a powerlifting meet and used nothing but the bottom-position squat in preparation for it.  The bottom-position squat has a few unique benefits.  For one, it builds tremendous strength out of the “hole” since you’re starting from the bottom—this is the reason that powerlifters (who actually utilize it) prefer it.  Another, less thought of, benefit of the movement is that you don’t have to walk the lift off the pins in the rack.  (This is the reason some powerlifting meets use, and allow, the monolift.)  Walking a heavy squat off the pins can take a lot out of the lifter.  So, starting from the bottom-position helps with recovery by not taking so much of a toll on the nervous system.

     Another good barbell movement is the front squat.  Since most lifters don’t have the flexibility to do a proper bottom-position squat, I believe they could simply alternate between the back squat and the front squat and, really, would need little else.

     I have written before that, aside from the barbell squat, I think the best exercise for developing overall mass and power is the sumo deficit deadlift.  But, when you think about it, it’s still a squatting movement.  That’s what makes it so effective.  It forces you to get into a deep squatting position to initiate the lift.  So, if, for flexibility issues, you have trouble doing other squatting movements then give this one a try.

     You don’t have to use barbells, by the way.  Dumbbell squats are great.  You can do them with the ‘bells hanging at your side or in the goblet position.  Either way is effective.  Kettlebells, too, are great for squatting.  In fact, although I like dumbbells, I prefer the double kettlebell front squat if I’m lifting sans barbells.

     Even if you’re doing only bodyweight workouts, you should still squat.  Bodyweight squats should be the foundation of all calisthenic-based programs.  You will have to really push the reps up there when only using your bodyweight, which some lifters like and some lifters abhor, but whether you love it or hate it, if you reach the point where you can get 100 reps or more on a single set, your lack of additional weight won’t be a hindrance to gains.

     Bottom line: don’t neglect squats.  They are the most transformative of all exercises.

#2: You MUST Properly Balance Volume, Frequency, and Intensity

     There are 3 training variables: volume, frequency, and intensity.  For any program to be successful, two of the variables must be high (or one high and the other moderate) and the other variable must be low.  The exception is when all 3 variables are moderate.

     The most common forms of training seen in gyms around the world—at least for bodybuilders or just the “average” trainee—are high-volume, high-intensity, low-frequency routines.  If you train each muscle group once-per-week (or close to it) and train only 1 or 2 muscle groups (or lifts) at each session, then this is exactly the kind of program that you’re using.  I’ve long argued that one of the reasons this kind of training is so popular is because it’s incredibly easy to program.  You go to the gym, train with as many sets per muscle and as hard as you want to, then you wait until the muscle is no longer sore—which typically takes between 5 to 7 days—before training it again.

     Of course, if you know me, then you know that high-volume, high-intensity, low-frequency training is not my favorite method of training, but I do understand that it works for some lifters, and for a select few it might be the best method.  But I prefer high-frequency training in one of its various guises; most lifters will get better results from it.  Easy strength methods, of which I’m admittedly a fan, work because the frequency and intensity is high and the volume is low.

     Programs that don’t work are ones where all of the variables are high or one of the variables is high and the other two are low.  What can be confusing is that there are times when such programs will work.  Typical “HIT” programs, for instance, use high-intensity (obviously) but also low-frequency and low-volume.  They can work in the short term, and often dramatically so.  Why?  Because the lifter who gets good results from them was using a program where all the variables were high beforehand.  The converse is also true.  If you have been using a program for an extended period of time where only one of the variables is high and then you switch over to a program where all of them are high then you’ll get good results.  But not for long.

     Bottom line here: For most of the training year, use programs where 2 of the variables are high and the other variable is low.  Over the long haul, this leads to the best gains.  (If you want to read more on this key to success, then I suggest you read my article “Volume, Frequency, and Intensity: Manipulating the 3 Training Variables.”)

#3: You MUST Utilize the Big 4

     No matter how you manipulate the 3 training variables in your program, you must utilize what I call the Big 4.  If you’re not familiar, this is what they are:

1. Squat something heavy.

2. Pick heavy stuff off the floor.

3. Press heavy stuff over your head.

4. Drag or carry various objects or implements.

     When lifters come to me for advice, or when I’m training a lifter personally, the first thing that I do is look over, or discuss with them, their current training program.  The first problem with their program is quite clear.  Often, a lifter will be doing 1, maybe 2, of the Big 4.  If I’m lucky (or he’s lucky, I guess) the lifter will be doing 3, though I find that to be rare itself.  I have yet to have a casual lifter come to me for advice who is already doing the Big 4.  If they had been, then I seriously doubt they would have reached out to me in the first place.  (Caveat: I have had high-level athletes come to me for advice who were doing all 4, but what those lifters needed was nothing but for me to look over their programs and see if I could find any “holes” in it.)

     When a lifter includes all 4 in their program, dramatic results happen.  I actually think that one of the reasons Crossfit training can be so effective for a trainee—despite its lack of proper programming—is because it does include all of the Big 4.  Before taking up Crossfit, these same trainees were often piddling away at their local gym, doing machines and slow cardio and never utilizing any of the Big 4.  But when you combine proper programming with the Big 4, the effects are physique-altering.

     We’ve already covered squats, so let’s look at the other 3.

     For #2, you can do deadlifts of all types, along with various forms of cleans and snatches.  Barbell, dumbbell, and kettlebell versions all work along with different implements such as sandbags, kegs, barrels, and stones.  Same thing goes for #3.  Military presses, jerks, and push presses are all good whether you’re using barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, or stones.  You can do them seated or standing, though I think standing versions are the best—obviously, you can’t do a jerk or a push press seated.  I’m particularly fond of one-arm presses with either dumbbells or kettlebells.

     When it comes to #4, it’s the most neglected.  You do see a lot of lifters using farmer walks these days, but I recommend including a wide range of other loaded carries.  Drag a sled forward or backwards.  Hook it to your lifting belt, hold the sled rope in your hand or hoist it over your shoulder.  Carry a sandbag or stone.  You can bear hug a heavy one or lift a lighter one overhead and walk with it while it maintains its place overhead.  If you can find one that’s heavy enough, tire flips are also great.

     Bottom line: Don’t neglect the Big 4.  Do them in the same workout or spread out over the course of a week.  If there really is a “what-the-hell effect” from training, the Big 4 might just be it.

#4: You MUST Lift with Free Weights

     There are times when machines, bands, and bodyweight training have their place, especially as a lifter ages.  In my own case, now that I’m in my 50s and have subjected my body to a lot of wear-and-tear, I certainly use bodyweight training and bands as a regular part of my workouts.  But I still do predominantly free weight training.  Oh, I don’t do quite as much barbell work as I did once-upon-a-time, preferring more dumbbell and kettlebell lifting but even now I still use barbells for about half of my exercises.  (I, honestly, never use machines.)

     If you want to make serious gains, free weights are a must—not to overuse that word, but, hey, it’s true.

     Even within free weights, some movements are superior to others.  If you’re unsure about what movements are the best, here’s an easy determination: the more your body moves through space during the exercise, the better the movement. This means that pretty much any standing exercise is superior to seated or prone movements.  Squats, deadlifts, cleans, snatches, standing overhead presses of all types—you may notice how all of these fit into our 3rd must, as well.  Bench presses?  Not so much.

     This also means that there are non-free weight movements that are superior to some free weight exercises.  Chins and dips, for example.  With both of those, the entire body is moving through space, making those better than pressing, curling, or pulling movements that are done while standing or lying down.  But, overall, if you stick with free weights, you’ll be just fine.

     Bottom line: You should almost always select free weights over machines, especially when those free weight movements are one of the Big 4.

#5: You MUST Implement Variety into Your Training but You Also MUST be on a Program

     It’s cliche but true—the best workout program is the one you’re not doing.  Or, as I’ve written repeatedly in some of my recent articles and essays, everything works… for about 6-8 weeks, then it’s time to make changes.

     Now, just how much variety will depend upon the individual lifter.  Some lifters need more change.  Some less.  After 6-8 weeks on a program, some lifters will need something completely different.  And some will do just fine with very minor changes.

     It’s also true—stay with me here—that a lifter can stay on a training template for years on end.  For instance, if you train “Westside” or with Bill Starr’s H-L-M system, you can follow those templates for a decade or more.  But here’s the thing.  Those programs have change inherently built into the system.  With Westside, you never change the training days.  Two days are always focused on speed training on the core lifts and 2 days each week are always centered on max-effort training, but the Westside lifter is constantly rotating to new exercises, sometimes at every training session.  With H-L-M training, it’s the same thing.  The template is the same week in and week out but the sets, reps, and exercises vary with some degree of regularity.  The frequency of variation will depend upon how advanced the lifter is.

     For bodybuilders, the late Charles Poliquin recommended changing exercises or sets/reps at every 4th workout.  I think this is sound advice and probably the ideal “sweet spot” (between too much change and too little) for the average bodybuilder.  Let’s say you’re training your chest on a 10x10 program.  The first workout, you do bench presses for 10 sets of 10.  At the next 2 workouts, you can probably add 5 pounds to the bar at each session and continue to do the 10x10.  But most lifters will find that, by the 4th workout, they can’t add weight, so it would make sense to go ahead and rotate to something new at this session.  You could still do 10x10, but change to something such as weighted dips or incline dumbbell presses.

     The mistake that a lot of lifters make, especially those just starting out, is to change things too much.  You shouldn’t change over to a completely new program every 2 weeks or change exercises at every single workout.  If you try a H-L-M program for a few weeks, then decide you’re going to use a Westside program for a week or two, and then you switch over to a calisthenics program for 2 weeks, trust me, you won’t make any gains.  That’s workout ADHD, not to mention just sheer training stupidity.  As Vince Gironda often said, and I’ve often quoted, “Are you on a training program or are you just working out?”

     The bottom line: Make sure you are following a training program, but one with plenty of variety “built” into it.

     I have plenty of workout programs here on the blog that utilize all of these 5 keys to success.  I recommend spending some time searching through the blog.  Find a workout program that fits the goals you are hoping to achieve but also one that you know you will enjoy.  If I was going to add a 6th key, it’d probably be this: the more you enjoy your training, the greater your chances of sticking with it.