The Power of Minimal

Minimalistic Programs for Strength and Power, Added Size, or an Aesthetic Physique

     The other day I was at the grocery store stocking up on meat, veggies, and my other pantry mainstay, dog food and treats.  If you have a couple of Labradors who you consider part of the family, then you understand.  I’d actually go to the grocery store less but one of my dogs’ favorite pastimes is riding there, so we go a few times a week.  Anyway, on this particular day, I decided to look over the magazine rack—I’m glad that enough people read so that the magazine section still exists, despite the preponderance of fluff that most of them are filled with.  Obviously, I decided to peruse the “fitness” magazines, just to see what-the-heck are the current fads in training and to see what crap is currently being hawked in the advertisements.  But then I opened a pop-psychology rag and came across an interesting study that claimed that depression is directly linked to the number of choices one has.  The more choices, the deeper the depression.

     I think a bunch of choices affects more than one’s mental health.  The greater your choices, the less likely are you to succeed in life, lifting included.  It’s true.  The more choices, the less you progress.  I think our gyms are packed with way too many choices.  I understand that that is part of the sell—give your gym-goers everything under the sun and every single training option on earth to ensure that you don’t lose members.  But it’s not what they need.  My garage gym has a power rack, a Forza bench, a couple of adjustable benches, a bunch o’ dumbbells, around 1,500 pounds in weights, along with a sled, sandbag, and other implements for loaded carries and “odd” work.  Honestly, that is too much for most folks.  I didn’t start out with all of that equipment and now a garage that doesn’t have room for anything else other than weights.  And I got great results with what little I had.

     When I first decided to get serious about powerlifting in the late ‘90s, I bought a power rack, an adjustable bench, a barbell, and some weights.  The power rack wasn’t a “heavy duty” one, either, like what I own now.  It was rather cheap and flimsy—the only thing that I could find (or afford) at the local Sears store.  I eventually added some dumbbells and a couple of other things, but it was still minimal.

     In 2000, I moved my family from Mississippi where we were living at the time to Alabama for a new job offer.  We moved into a small apartment that didn’t have any room for my weights while we looked for a house.  I stored my rack, bench, and weights on the back porch of my in-laws’ house, a couple miles away from our apartment.  I had already signed up for a big, regional powerlifting meet before getting the job offer and I was determined to still compete in it, despite the fact that I was doing hard manual labor about 60 hours a week, and had a newborn and a 1-year-old son—if you ever had two kids under 2 years of age, then you realize what little sleep you get and how much attention they take.  I needed a very minimal, but effective, training program.

     I settled on a routine that looked something like this:

Workout One:

Bottom-position bench presses: 5 to 8 singles, using the “Hepburn method.”  Use a heavy weight—90 to 95% of your 1-rep maximum.  Do as many singles as you can at each workout, up to 8.  Once you can get 8 singles, add 10 pounds at the next session and repeat.  Bottom-position work is fantastic when you don’t have a spotter but still need to train maximally.

Assistance work as needed.  A couple sets each on a movement for the triceps, front delts, and lats.

Workout Two:

Bottom-position squats: 5 to 8 singles, same as the bench presses. (If you want to see me doing a 405-pound bottom-position squat to see what it should look like, click HERE.)

Deadlifts: 5 to 8 singles or 5 to 8 doubles using the “dynamic effort” method.  I would alternate back and forth between these two methods at each session.

     I typically did the first workout, rested a day, did the 2nd workout, and then rested 2 days before repeating the schedule.  Sometimes I took off 2 days after each session.  Did it work?  Using this program, I squatted in competition over 500 pounds raw for the first time in the 165-pound weight class.  So, yeah, I’d say it worked.

     Let’s break this down a little more.  Though the problem—or, at the very least, one of the problems—with modern training might be the almost numberless choices you have in the gym, you still need to make the right choices in what kind of minimal program you should be doing.  Trainees often think they need more than they really do.  Look at your program and cut out the superfluous.  What do you actually need in order to reach your goals?

     Off the top of my head right now, I’d say there are 3 variables that you need for success.  First, you need to train heavy.  It’s a non-negotiable.  Just how heavy depends upon your goals.  Powerlifters, weightlifters, or anyone who is after strength and power above all else need to get stronger in the 1-5 rep range.  Bodybuilders or those seeking aesthetics above everything else need to get stronger in the 6-12 rep range.  But strength athletes shouldn’t completely neglect the hypertrophy rep range and bodybuilders shouldn’t entirely neglect the strength/power rep ranges.

     Second, you need at least some speed work.  If you only train with the Hepburn method sans all else, you’ll get really strong but also, at some point, will begin to get slower.  The quick lifts—power cleans and snatches, high pulls, and their variations—build speed.  They’re called “quick” lifts for a reason.  For some, they might be all you need.  Bill Starr deadlifted almost 600 pounds the very first time that he ever attempted the lift.  That’s what happens if you’re already world class in the snatch.  If you’re a powerlifter, then you might need a dedicated session—or part of each session—for “dynamic effort” training.  Just don’t do both speed work and maximal-effort training for the same lift in a single session.  But you could press heavy and then do some dynamic pulls.  Or vice versa.

     The third necessity is volume.  You need to put a lot of work in on a few lifts.  I’m not telling you to just start doing more in your workouts.  But you need to slowly build up your work capacity so that you can handle voluminous training.  Over the coming months, and then years, your workload must go up.  Again, just how much depends on the lifter and his goals.  You won’t ever be a world class weightlifter without hours in the gym each week.  Just want to look good with your shirt off?  Maybe decidedly less.  But maybe not.  Especially if you’re a natural bodybuilder who doesn’t take any shortcuts via PEDs.  My son Garret is an example.  He’s completely natural, but he trains 5 to 6 days per week in the gym with a high-frequency, high-volume regimen.  If he was getting his results from a needle, he’d look even better with half the training—but he’s not about to do that.  However, some lifters need less and some need more.  You must train long enough to know the volume that works for you.  But remember my maxim: More is not always better, but it usually is!

My son Garrett shows off his COMPLETELY natural physique.  And, yes, he gets accused of taking anabolics, though he considers that it a compliment.

     So, heavy training, some speed work, and enough volume are essential for everyone, the minimalist included.  In fact, minimal training, I would say, makes all 3 variables work even better.  If you want to build up the three powerlifts, you need little other than, well, the 3 powerlifts.  A lot of heavy training on each one, multiple workouts, and enough speed work to make sure you don’t get slow.

     What would some minimalist programs actually look like?  What follows are some examples of what I have in mind.

3-Days-Per-Week, Full-Body Split for All-Around Size & Strength

Workout A:

Squats:  5x5,5,3,3,1.  Do 5 progressively heavier sets.  The first set of 5 should be relatively “easy” but the next set of 5 should be done with only a rep or two left “in the tank.”  Follow that up with two progressively heavier triples using the same “formula.”  Finish with 1 near-max single, using about 95% of your absolute 1-rep max.

Bench presses: 5x5,5,3,3,1.  Use the same method on the bench presses as with the squats.

Loaded carry of your choice.  Finish the A workout with a loaded carry of some sort.  You can do farmer walks, tire flips, stone or sandbag carries, drag a sled forwards or backwards, carry a log up a hill, or even do hill sprints.  I know that the sprints aren’t “carries” per se, but they have a similar effect and are nice for a change of pace.

Workout B:

Power cleans or power snatches: 5x5,5,3,3,1.  You can either stick with one of these movements or alternate between both of them at each session.  Use the same method as the lifts from the A session.  However, because of the nature of quick lifts, you will stop each set once you no longer have the “speed” to do the lift, making it a perfect “heavy/speed” combo movement.

Deadlifts (sumo or conventional): 5x3,3,2,2,1.  Do these at every other session.  Deadlifts take more out of your CNS than any other lift, hence the reason for the less-frequent training.  Don’t worry, your deadlift will proceed just fine.  Doing the cleans (along with the heavy squatting) will ensure that you continue to get stronger.  Follow the same method as the other lifts, just with less total reps, starting with triples instead of 5s.

Weighted chins: 3x3-5.  For the chins, do straight sets with the same weight, or drop weight if you have to on your 2nd and 3rd set.  Use a weight where you take each set a rep or two shy of complete muscular failure.

Loaded carry of your choice.  Choose a different loaded carry from the A session.

     As noted, train 3 days per week, such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, rotating between the 2 workouts at each session, so that you train each workout 3 times in 2 weeks.  Try to increase your weights as often as possible on each lift—every other session for each workout is a good progression.

High-Frequency, Grease-the-Groove Program for Strength and Power

   This program takes a different approach, training the lifts more frequently but with less “intensity.”  (For more on GTG training, see my last two articles on the blog.)

Workout A:

Squats: 5x3-5

Bench presses: 5x3-5

     For each lift, use the same set/rep scheme at each session but change how you do it.  At one workout, do 5 progressively heavier sets, working up to a heavy set of 5 or a heavy, near-max triple.  At another, do 2 to 3 progressively heavier sets followed by 2 to 3 “straight” sets with the same weight, using a weight on your straight sets that is 90% or so of your 3 or 5-rep max (whatever rep you choose for the day).  At a 3rd session, do 5 sets, all with the same weight, around 80% of your 5-rep max.  And, at a 4th session, do 5 sets with 70% of your 5-rep max, but do these with speed.  This approach does require that you know your body somewhat well so that you know which method to choose for the day.  If you’re not quite at that level as of yet, then simply rotate to each method from session-to-session: 1st workout: 5 progressively heavier sets; 2nd workout: 2 progressively heavier sets, and 3 straight sets with 90%; 3rd workout: 5x5 @ 80% of your 5-rep max; 4th workout: 5x3 @ 70% of your 5-rep max for speed.

Workout B:

Deadlifts: 5x3-5.  Use the same method here as with workout A.  Now, for the “catch” to this program…

     Train workout A at least twice as much as workout B, three times as much would probably be even better.  Your squats and bench presses can handle the frequent training using GTG methods; in fact, they might NEED the extra work.  The deadlift, however, I believe should be trained decidedly less.  As with the first workout above, your deadlift will continue to soar so long as you are squatting heavy and frequently.  A training schedule might look like this:

Week One:

Monday: A

Tuesday: B

Wednesday: A

Friday: A

Sunday: A

Week Two:

Monday: B

Tuesday: A

Thursday: A

Saturday: A

Week Three:

Repeat Week One

     You should add weight naturally on this workout.  Stick with the same weight at each session (depending on the method) and only add weight when the poundages start feeling too light.  The frequency of the training will produce all the strength gains you need.

The Minimalistic Kettlebell Program for Aesthetics

     If there’s a minimalistic tool that has exploded in popularity this century, it’s the kettlebell.  And for good reason.  You can get one hell of a workout without needing anything other than a pair (maybe two) of kettlebells.  Of course, the near-obsession with kettlebells has sometimes gone too far in the fact that certain kettlebell lifters believe it’s the only tool one needs to get in shape or that it’s by far the “best” of the bunch (barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells).  Because of this, you also have certain lifters that hate on them and claim that you should never use kettlebells—barbells and dumbbells are the only answer.  It’s that whole “this/not that” or “either/or” mentality that I loathe.  It’s not an integral vision of resistance training that takes the both/and approach that I promote.  Having written that, kettlebells are a great tool and should be included in your arsenal.  And, sure, you should even do a program such as the one below on occasion where you only use kettlebells.  It’s more about the power of minimalism than it is of the kettlebell in and of itself.

     For this workout, you only need one pair of kettlebells.  If you can afford it, I’d purchase two, so that you can start with a heavier weight and then drop down to the lighter pair if needed.  Having two pairs also allows you to do more workouts down the road or add them to your other programs as auxiliary movements.

The Workout

Double kettlebell front squats: 6-8 sets of 10-12 reps.  You need a pair of kettlebells where 20 reps would be really tough for one set.  Move fast in between sets, limiting your rest time, if possible, to around 20-30 seconds.  When you first start, you may have to rest more.  If you begin with, say, 1 minute of rest between sets, begin to decrease that rest time at each workout until you’re down to 20 seconds.  This same method applies to the 2 lifts that follow.

Double kettlebell cleans: 6-8 sets of 10-12 reps

Double kettlebell overhead presses: 6-8 sets of 10-12 reps

Single kettlebell swings: 2-3 sets of 20-25 reps.  Finish the kettlebell training with swings for more reps than the previous movements.  Once again, try to limit your rest between sets to 20-30 seconds.

Push-ups: 50 to 100 reps total.  Since most lifters want to do some chest work, I’ve included push-ups here at the end, though you can eliminate them if you wish and only use the kettlebells.  Pick a rep total that you can get for frequent training.  If you’re heavier, or just suck at push-ups, then go with 50 reps.  Lighter or already well-conditioned lifters can go with 100.  On each set, do as many reps as you can until you begin to slow down.  Stop your set at that point.  Do however many sets it takes to reach your rep total.  As you advance, you should be able to get the reps with less total sets.

     Start by training on this program 3 days per week or every other day.  After a couple of weeks, add in another workout, training 4 days per week, such as Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  Stick with the program for 6 to 8 weeks and then move on to something else.

Some Final Thoughts on Minimalism

     As with most of my articles, keep in mind that the workouts here are just examples.  You may need more or less training depending on how you respond to the workouts.  If you’re unsure, however, start out by following them exactly as written.  You could even rotate from program-to-program over the next several months.  If you did all three of them, then you’d learn a lot about your body and how you respond to various training methods.  After that, you could create your own workout routines.  You’ll succeed as long as you keep the training variables in mind that I’ve discussed here.

     Having less choices in life may help with your mental health.  I’m pretty sure that article I glanced over was on to something.  One thing’s for sure, however.  Less choices in the gym will undoubtedly help your physique, no matter your training goals.

  If you have any comments or questions, leave them in the “comments” section below or send me an email.  If you enjoyed this article and enjoy my blog in general, then consider purchasing one of my books.  Click HERE for information on all of my books currently available for purchase.