Looking to get hard(er) to kill? In this article, you’ll read about how to get stronger (and harder to kill). But if you want strength AND fitness you are going to love End of Three Fitness!!
As a Garage Gym Athlete, I’ve pulled 540 lb in the deadlift at 180 lb bodyweight, gone sub-4 hours in a marathon, the fastest recorded mile I have is 5:11, and I ultimately completed MURPH with a vest in 27:47. If you want to learn HOW…Get access to our method RIGHT HERE, for FREE.
What is the best strength training program?
How long should you train? How many days a week? Which lifts?
Well, if you want to increase your better humanness and have the ability to lift your significant other (maybe?) or dog over your headNo? How about a cat?
Either way, you should be looking into a strength program. It doesn’t matter if you are a CrossFitter, stay-at-home mom or dad, or a fierce tax accountant. There are way too many benefits to not be moving heavy weights from time to time.
I get a lot of questions about strength programs and how they compare to one another. I’ve written A LOT about strength training, how it works and different methods you can usebut not really about the specifics of particular programs. Well, that’s what we do today!
Today, we talk about 5 strength training programs, or rather, methods you can use to get stronger.
Why only five?
These five programs I have some, or extensive, experience in using and watching other people use with great success. I KNOW all of these programs work. I wouldn’t recommend it to my readers otherwise.
They all work because they rely primarily on heavy barbell multi-joint lifts performed with good form. And they are all rather simple. The more complicated a program gets and the more it strays from the basics – the less effective and more gimmicky it becomes.
- Bottom line #1: If you want to become a better human, you need to get stronger. It helps with everything!
- Bottom line #2: If you want to get stronger you need a barbell and you need to put more weight on it frequently.
Here are 5 different programs which will put more weight on the bar each week…and make you a better human:
Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength
- Who’s it for – Newcomers, coaches, or those getting back into barbell training after a long hiatus. Primarily aimed at young athletes.
- The Good – Probably the most comprehensive book on barbell training ever written.
- The Bad – The 3rd edition clocks in at 360 pages, so if you are looking for a quick fix or light read – this isn’t it.
What Starting Strength Looks Like:
Now, in all of the rest of the examples, it is easy for me to give you a template to see what the program looks like and how it is followed. With Starting Strength keep in mind it is for “STARTINGâ€, and it is great for learning. There are a lot of variations and progressions you can use as you build and go through the book. I almost didn’t include it because there is so much information, so many variations and different routes you can take in the Starting Strength Book. Not to mention the book itself has different editionsyes, it can get a bit confusing. But it starts out rather simple in the Starting Strength (3rd edition) Novice Program.
Here’s what you do:
| Workout A | Workout B |
| 3×5 Squat | 3×5 Squat |
| 3×5 Press | 3×5 Bench Press |
| 1×5 Deadlift | 1×5 Deadlift |
- Then, once you get a good deadlift you will stop doing deadlift twice a week and add power cleans in the place of one of the deadlift sessions.
- After that, you will eventually add chin-ups and pull-ups and even back extensions or glue/ham raises.
Eventually, a two-week, 3-day split, looks like this:
Week 1:
| Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
| 3×5 Squat | 3×5 Squat | 3×5 Squat |
| 3×5 Press | 3×5 Bench Press | 3×5 Press |
| 1×5 Deadlift | 3×10 Back Extension | 5×3 Power Clean |
| 3xFailure(15 max) Chin-ups |
Week 2:
| Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
| 3×5 Squat | 3×5 Squat | 3×5 Squat |
| 3×5 Bench Press | 3×5 Press | 3×5 Bench Press |
| 3×10 Back Extension | 1×5 Deadlift | 3×10 Back Extension |
| 3 sets to Failure(15 max) Pull-ups | 3 sets toFailure(15 max) Chin-ups |
How Starting Strength Fits in Your Life:
Just remember this: If you have no experience with barbell training and want to learn while taking a very simple approach to getting stronger, or if you want to introduce young athletes to barbell training – this is the book. The program will end up breaking down into a three-day-a-week program which will look similar to the above. However, there are different variations in the book you could follow.
Top 3 FAQs about Starting Strength:
- What weights do I use? You start with the bar and add weight, doing 5 reps, until the bar slows you down. That is your first “3 sets of 5” workout for that exercise. Pretty easy starting point.
- What if I have experience lifting? If you already know your 5 rep maxes, you should work backwards in the program. Meaning if you deadlift 300 lb (for 5 reps) and you do six weeks of the program you should end your sixth week at 300 lb. Every week should increase so you need to calculate backwards 10 lb lighter (squat and deadlift) 5 lb lighter (presses) for each week. So Week one would start at 250 lb, week two, 260 lb, week three, 270 lb, week four at 280 lb, week five at 290 lb. and finally week six at 300 lb. Then, your next cycle you would add 10 lb to all of those.
- Can I add accessory movements or other exercises? From Mark Rippetoe: “Since the trainee is both inefficient and unadapted, only a few basic exercises should be used, and they should be repeated frequently to establish the basic motor pathways and basic strength.†Soyou can, but it’s not recommended.
TWITTER-SIZED SUMMARY:
Starting Strength is the place to crack into barbell training; it’s a system aimed at beginners but beneficial to all.
Check out the program here.
A lot of other good information about the program can be found here.
Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1
- Who’s it for – Not beginners and not professionals, yet, everyone else… If you’re interested in fitness and want to get toned…not your program. It was designed for real lifters that want to push their own training and their PR’s up to the next level.
- The Good – A logical, predictable, progressive structure to gaining strength.
- The Bad – Potential boredom if following cycle after cycle for months on end.
What Wendler 5/3/1 Looks Like:
Each training cycle lasts four weeks and the rep schemes for each week (and each exercise) look like this:
- Week 1: 3 x 5
- Week 2: 3 x 3
- Week 3: 3 x 5, 3, 1 (get it?)
- Week 4: deloading
This is how the percentages for each set are broken down:
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | |||||
| Set 1 | 65% x 5 | 70% x 3 | 75% x 5 | 40% x 5 | ||||
| Set 2 | 75% x 5 | 80% x 3 | 85% x 3 | 50% x 5 | ||||
| Set 3 | 85% x 5+ | 90% x 3+ | 95% x 1+ | 60% x 5 |
If you see a “+†you are to attempt as many reps as you can.
After the “working sets†you would follow one of the “Assistance Work†templates provided in the program (there are multiple):
- Boring but Big – 5 sets of 10 reps of the same exercise
- The Triumvirate – Limit each workout to only 3 exercises, including the main lift, in which the other two exercises are assistance lifts.
- Dave Tate’s Periodization Bible – Different assistance exercises for each main lift.
- I’m Not Doing Jack Shit – Just the main lifts if you are pressed for time.
- Bodyweight – Bodyweight exercises which complement the main lift.
How Wendler 5/3/1 Fits in Your Life:
It works best if you train four times a week, although three times a week could work as well, as long as you train all four core lifts (bench press, parallel squat, deadlift, and standing press) before repeating. Don’t train more than two days in a row. Sessions last about an hour+.
(NOTE: As a Garage Gym Athlete, I’ve pulled 540 lb in the deadlift at 180 lb bodyweight, gone sub-4 hours in a marathon, the fastest recorded mile I have is 5:11, and I ultimately completed MURPH with a vest in 27:47. If you want to learn HOW…Get access to our method RIGHT HERE, for FREE.)
Top 3 FAQs about Wendler 5/3/1:
- How does Wendler 5/3/1 and conditioning work? Wendler 5/3/1 conditioning is composed of three days a week of sled work, prowler work or running hills. You never do conditioning the day before lower body lifting. If you are not accustomed to lifting a lot of volume don’t start with Wendler 5/3/1 and conditioning at the same time, work up to it.
- How many cycles should I do? Do at least 5 cycles and monitor your progress. If you get stalled jump back to weights in your second or third cycle, then do five more cycles from there.
- Can I do power cleans, front squats and other movements as the main lifts of Wendler 5/3/1? Quick answer, no. Jim Wendler recommends using front squats as accessory work and recommends the same with movements like cleans. Now, this doesn’t mean it won’t work for you, but that is the recommendation from the creator of the program.
TWITTER-SIZED SUMMARY:
Wendler 5/3/1 is a NO-BS approach to strength. It’s simple. It’s effective. I would not recommend it be your intro to barbell training.
Check out the program here.
Jerred Moon’s One Man One Barbell
- Who’s it for – “The Other Guyâ€, or the guy who wants to be really strong AND really fit.
- The Good – Gives the ability to pack on serious strength using short-time high-volume training sessions; which gives time for conditioning.
- The Bad – No programmed assistance exercises and timed dynamic efforts can be intense for some.
What One Man One Barbell Looks Like:
First, it’s not only for men, the name comes from the origin of the program – not a gender bias.
Unlike the other strength programs discussed in this article, One Man One Barbell was created for “the other guyâ€. Meaning it balances a high level of strength while also being able to incorporate a high level of conditioning. Not sled pushing and running hills, but the type of conditioning that will allow you to run a marathon without training and deadlift near 3x your bodyweight .
Disclaimer: I created this program. I have been using, testing and refining it for years.
At the basic level, One Man One Barbell has two versions one which is programmed at your training max and one which is programmed at your true max. Furthermore, there are a dozen other methods to increase the longevity and effectiveness of the program in the “One Man One Barbell Methodology†book. Today, we will take a quick look at version one which is based on your training max.
Working sets:
| Week 1 (4 reps) | Week 2 (3 reps) | Week 3 (2-2-1-1) |
| Set at 60% | Set at 70% | Set at 80% |
| Set at 70% | Set at 80% | Set at 90% |
| Set at 75% | Set at 85% | Set at 95% |
| Set at 85% | Set at 90% | Set at 100% |
After the working sets you rest 3-5 minutes then perform dynamic efforts (the speed-focus and quality lifts). This is where you get a lot of volume in a short amount of time. The dynamic efforts are performed every minute on the minute, or if you follow other methods in the program even every 45 seconds or 30 seconds. This is where it can get taxing for some.
Each week’s dynamic effort increases in weight decrease in reps and increases in time. By the final week, you will be lifting a solid 15 minutes every minute on the minute.
How One Man One Barbell Fits in Your Life:
Training sessions are quick for most, so long as you are timing your rests and getting to work. You can pick your splits for either a 3, 4 or 5 day a week program. Each day is a different lift.
Top 5 FAQs about One Man One Barbell:
- How long do training sessions take? For me, I can knock out the strength portion of my workout in 35 minutes, or less. Avg = 30 minutes.
- What Equipment is ACTUALLY needed? Yes, one barbell is needed. But your will also need the weights and if you want to squat or bench you will need a rack, but that’s about it. Technically if all you had were weights and a bar you could do a three-day a week split of deadlift, cleans and snatch (no rack needed).
- Which version should I follow? If you want to follow multiple cycles for a few months I recommend version one. If you just want to do one or two cycles and have experience in strength training, go version two.
- Can I use Olympic lifts in the program? Yep, yep!
- What kind of conditioning do I do? That’s up to you. In the program, conditioning is laid out, but CrossFitters do their own thing, cyclists do their own thing and runners do their own thing. It’s been used and tested effectively with multiple different forms of conditioning.
Other FAQs for this program can be found in our community forums here.
TWITTER-SIZED SUMMARY:
One Man One Barbell is highly effective strength trainingfor the other guy (and gal).
Check out the program here.
Reg Park’s 5×5
- Who it’s for – Beginners to intermediate; the next logical step after Starting Strength (and similar).
- The Good – Very easy to follow.
- The Bad – Can be taxing both mentally and physically if followed for a prolonged period.
What 5×5 Looks Like:
Now, first things first. I am talking about THE ORIGINAL 5×5 program by Reg Park created in the 1960’s. Most people know “StrongLifts 5×5†because Mehdi (the dude who uses, not created 5×5) popularized an already proven strength program through his website and the creation of an app for your phone. It doesn’t mean StrongLifts isn’t awesome, I just like for the right person to get the credit, even Mehdi states this fact (it’s Reg Park’s program) in the first few paragraphs of his website. There is also 5×5 by Bill Starr that uses cleans, bench, and squat. Also a good program.
AnywayToday, I am talking about Phase 1 of Reg Park’s program since the other phases of his program are geared towards bodybuilders (because that’s what he was).
Reg Park’s 5×5 Program:
Phase One
- 45-degree back extension 3×10
- Back squat 5×5
- Bench press 5×5
- Deadlift 5×5
- Rest 3-5 minutes between the last 3 sets of each exercise.
- Train three days per week for three months.
The first two sets of 5 are to be heavier warm-up sets before moving into 3 sets at the same weight. Once you can do the last three sets of five reps, you move all weights up 5-10 lbs.
Don’t train to failure, but at the end of a cycle (phase) you can test your 1 RM again.
How 5×5 Fits into Your Life:
If you really get into 5×5 and the later phases (talking Reg Park here), training sessions can last two hours and beyond. Especially with the later phases and scheduled rest times. However, Following the simple phase, one outline should not take too long and it is a simple 3-day a week program.
Top 3 FAQs about 5×5:
- What weights do I use? This is similar to Starting Strength in the fact that you need to find what your 5-rep range looks like and then move up from there.
- Will this program make me bigger? It can. Reg Park was a bodybuilder and valued the importance of proper sleep and nutrition. If you do the same you can pack on some serious muscle from this training stimulus.
- What are the other phases? Read the article linked below to get all the details…we are talking about all the phases. It gets kind of crazy in my opinion. We are talking LOOOONG training sessions.
TWITTER-SIZED SUMMARY:
Reg Park’s 5×5 program is simple and effective, yet unconventional in today’s world due to training volume and length of training sessions.
Check out the program here.
Louie Simmons’ Westside Barbell Conjugate
- Who it’s for – The dedicated. The pros (intermediates allowed too).
- The Good – Very effective.
- The Bad – Complex. Takes a lot to fully learn it and it takes special equipment/items (chains/bands) to execute.
Technically, the conjugate system was developed by Soviet sports scientists in the 1960s, but the only reason most anyone knows about it today is because of Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell (the strongest gym in the world).
What Westside Barbell Conjugate System Looks Like:
The basic breakdown:
|
WEEK
|
Monday | Wednesday | Friday | Saturday |
| Max Effort Squat/Deadlift | Max Effort Bench | Dynamic Effort Squat/Deadlift | Dynamic Effort Bench |
6-week sample template:
|
WEEK
|
Monday | Wednesday | Friday | Saturday |
| Max Effort Squat/Deadlift | Max Effort Bench | Dynamic Effort Squat/Deadlift | Dynamic Effort Bench | |
| 1 | 1) Close-Stance Below Parallel Box Squat. Work up to a 1RM | 1) 2-Board Bench Press. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Wide Stance Below Parallel Box Squat: 12 x 2 @ 75% 1RM | 1) Close Grip Bench Press: 9 x 3 @ 50% 1RM |
| 2 | 1) Rack Pull from Pin 1. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Close-Grip Bench Press. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Wide Stance Below Parallel Box Squat: 12 x 2 @ 80% 1RM | 1) Close Grip Bench Press: 9 x 3 @ 50% 1RM |
| 3 | 1) Wide Stance Above Parallel Box Squat. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Floor Press. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Wide Stance Below Parallel Box Squat:10 x 2 @ 85% 1RM | 1) Close Grip Bench Press: 9 x 3 @ 50% 1RM |
| 1 | 1) Good Morning Variation. Work up to a 3RM | 1) DBell Bench Press. Work up to a 3RM | 1) Conventional Stance Parallel Box Squat vs. Bands: 12 x 2 @ 75% 1RM | 1) Floor Press: 9 x 3 @ 50% 1RM |
| 2 | 1) Sumo Deficit Pull from a 2†Mat. Work up to a 1RM | 1) 1-Board Bench Press. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Conventional Stance Parallel Box Squat vs. Bands: 12 x 2 @ 80% 1RM | 1) Floor Press: 9 x 3 @ 50% 1RM |
| 3 | 1) Zercher Squat. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Rack Press. Work up to a 1RM | 1) Conventional Stance Parallel Box Squat vs. Bands: 12 x 2 @ 85% 1RM | 1) Floor Press: 9 x 3 @ 50% 1RM |
How the Westside Barbell Conjugate System Fits in Your Life:
Bottom line: It’s not for fat loss. It’s not for conditioning. It’s for raw strength. Louie Simmons has made professional athletes stronger, faster and more powerful – but at the end of the day, his method is aimed at being the strongest human being possible.
I have seen a lot of people successfully program this into a weekly schedule for normal human beings (a.k.a people who don’t squat and deadlift 4 digits). However, at Westside Barbell two-a-days are not uncommon as they are training to be champions – the strongest in the world. If you learn the system, you could fit it into your schedule training only four days a week with about an hour per session IF you limit the accessory work.
Top 3 FAQs about Westside Barbell Conjugate System:
- Where can I buy the program? You can’t. You can only learn how it works and master programming it, or find a coach who is good at it and let them help you. Start with The Westside Barbell Book of Methods.
- One more time, how does this program work? There is so much that goes into this programming… The best guide I have ever seen was written by Jordan Syatt (and that’s where the charts came from above) and you can read it here.
- What kind of accessory work should I do? This is different per individual and another reason beginners shouldn’t go too far down this rabbit hole. In short, do what you suck at – but make sure the target muscle groups for that day are trained.
TWITTER-SIZED SUMMARY:
The Westside Barbell Conjugate method to gain strength is complex and not for beginners, but perhaps the best strength programming ever.
Check out the program here.
Well, that’s it!
5 proven programs to pack on some serious strength! Good luck!
Here’s to being a better (stronger) human!
-Jerred
All sources were linked in the article.
(NOTE: As a Garage Gym Athlete, I’ve pulled 540 lb in the deadlift at 180 lb bodyweight, gone sub-4 hours in a marathon, the fastest recorded mile I have is 5:11, and I ultimately completed MURPH with a vest in 27:47. If you want to learn HOW…Get access to our method RIGHT HERE, for FREE. )