Strong

STRONG
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.....................................................................................................03
My History of Getting Women Strong...........................................................05
Why You Aren’t Getting Stronger...................................................................07
Program Overview.................................................................................................09
Strength Training vs. Bodybuilding..................................................................09
Neurological vs. Hypertrophy Adaptations..................................................10
Strength Qualities....................................................................................................11
Specificity...................................................................................................................12
What about Cardio?...............................................................................................13
12-Week Training Program..............................................................................14
Phase Breakdowns..................................................................................................15
Phase 1: Accumulation 1 - 4 x 8,6,6,4 . ................................................15
Phase 2: Intensification 1 - 6 x 6,4,2,6,4,2..........................................16
Phase 3: Accumulation 2 - 5 x 5..........................................................18
Phase 4: Intensification 2 - 5 x 5,3,3,2,2............................................18
Week 13 - One Rep Max Testing.......................................................................19
Squat Programming...............................................................................................20
Deadlift Programming...........................................................................................21
RPE....................................................................................................................22
Training Stimulus.............................................................................................23
Neurological Adaptations...................................................................................24
Hypertrophy Adaptations....................................................................................24
Keys to Strength - Beginner to Advanced ...................................................25
Repetition..................................................................................................................26
Technique.................................................................................................................26
Structured Training Program..............................................................................26
Optimising your Training.................................................................................27
Warming Up.............................................................................................................27
Lower Body Warm Up...........................................................................28
Upper Body Warm Up...........................................................................28
Loading The Bar......................................................................................................29
Rest Periods..............................................................................................................29
Tempo........................................................................................................................30
Muscle Contractions..............................................................................................31
Eccentrics.....................................................................................................32
Concentrics................................................................................................32
Isometrics....................................................................................................33
Purchased by Nicole Karamanlis of Nicole Karamanlis Enfield. Email nicolerk@optusnet.com.au | Phone:
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exercise Breakdowns.....................................................................................34
Low Bar vs. High Bar..............................................................................................34
Low Bar Squat Technique....................................................................................36
High Bar Squat Technique...................................................................................39
Knee Valgus..............................................................................................................40
Buttwink.....................................................................................................................41
Deadlifts - Conventional or Sumo?..................................................................42
Conventional Technique......................................................................................43
Sumo Technique....................................................................................................46
Core Stability............................................................................................................47
McGill Big 3................................................................................................48
Bracing.......................................................................................................................49
Recovery..........................................................................................................50
Supplementation.............................................................................................51
Creatine......................................................................................................................51
How much do I recommend?............................................................52
Caffeine......................................................................................................................53
Dosage for performance.......................................................................53
Lifting Accessories...........................................................................................54
Squat Shoes..............................................................................................................54
Lifting Belt.................................................................................................................55
Wrist Wraps...............................................................................................................55
Knee Sleeves............................................................................................................55
Steps.................................................................................................................56
Building......................................................................................................................56
Cutting........................................................................................................................56
Can I Train 4 Days a Week?............................................................................57
Training Programs............................................................................................58
Nutrition...........................................................................................................86
Building......................................................................................................................86
Cutting........................................................................................................................87
Macronutrients Splits............................................................................................88
Summary..........................................................................................................89

0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
01 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to STRONG!
I am so excited to have you onboard for this program! STRONG has been a program that I have really
wanted to create for well over a year now as I have a true passion for getting women stronger. I may be
known for building glutes and transformations but I have always created and developed these whilst also
still prioritising strength adaptations.
I can tell you first hand as a coach who trains primarily women, strength gains will always lead to women
feeling so much more confident in the gym, which I LOVE! Whether it’s doing your first bodyweight pull up
or hitting a big PB on a lift, those strength gains through my programs do a world of good when building
up confidence and self-belief.
I have always had a passion for achieving hypertrophy results with my clients whilst also progressing in
their strength. One of my favourite things to hear as a coach is when female clients message me to let me
know that there was a guy using the gym squat rack before them and then they go to use it and ADD MORE
WEIGHT! Feeling strong is a power move, especially when you are backing up the weight lifted with higher
quality reps too.
That confidence there is contagious and powerful for your mind and others around you. I’m not trying to
say that you need to be squatting 100kg to feel confident. Your strength is going to progress at a different
rate to everyone else around you, meaning your lifting confidence is going to come from different PB’s and
weights to everyone else too! Be the best version of yourself - that’s your focus!
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A D VA N C E D F E M A L E S T R E N G T H P R O G R A M
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
01 INTRODUCTION
In this guidebook, I will go into cover how it’s possible to build strength and muscle at the same time as
it is something I routinely do with my clients. In saying this, sometimes it is best to be more specific with
our training program especially when we are truly after the most optimal strength gains. This is why I am
so excited for you to use this program as I know you would have already achieved amazing strength gains
with my other programs, like the Building the Bikini Body series. Now you can really focus on your strength
gains with STRONG!
When it comes to getting as strong as possible, spending time focusing directly on that task
can lead to rapid strength gains. This is what STRONG is all about.
I have also filled this guidebook with a lot of education, particularly around the program design. PLEASE
take the time to read the ins-and-outs of my programming! I have broken down each of the 3-week phases
(4 phases in total) to give you the best understanding on how to get as much out of this program as you
can. I am huge on education and I think this guidebook will give you the education and tools to really take
things to a new level.
Finally, as always, please follow the plan! I have helped thousands upon thousands of people around the
world now and I have seen what can be achieved when people put a lot of time, effort and heart into one
of my programs - it’s truly amazing. All you have to do is follow the plan and work hard, this is how great
things will happen.
Good luck!
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0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
MY HISTORY OF GETTING
02 WOMEN STRONG
As a coach, I have always strongly believed in a direct relationship between being strong and looking
amazing as I think that they should work hand-in-hand with one another. Why would you want to look
strong but not actually be strong?
I’m going to assume that the majority of you who are reading this also follow me on social media and have
seen many of my clients over their years of working with me and lifting. When you see my Bikini clients
who compete and get very lean before stepping on stage, please remember that they created that figure
by lifting tremendous amounts of weight! That, to me, is super cool and inspires me, so I know it definitely
inspires other women.
When I coached Lauren Simpson to the WBFF

Bikini World Title in 2018, just 3 weeks prior to her
stepping out on stage and WINNING she was Low
Bar Squatting 130kg for 5 reps whilst she was under
60kg body weight! Also, 8 weeks before winning the
Bikini World Title, Lauren competed in a powerlifting
meet with a squat of 147.kg and a deadlift of 160kg!
Those weights are insane, let alone for someone
who was about to step on stage. This strength gave
Lauren a great foundation to her physique and I
believe is what led to her success and the win.
Lauren still lifts heavy and recently squatted

150kg at 60kg body weight - amazing!
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0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
MY HISTORY OF GETTING
02 WOMEN STRONG
Another client of mine (and also my General

Manager), Jenna Davies WBFF Bikini Pro, recently
won her WBFF Bikini competition and just a month
later squatted 150kg for 2 reps! Jenna was also
squatting 115kg paused reps just 3 weeks out of her
comp.
These are insane numbers for any woman, let alone

women who are not powerlifters. These numbers
are by women who use strength as a secondary
aspect to building their number 1 goal; an aesthetic
bikini physique.
What I am trying to say here is just because

someone goal isn’t purely strength, does not
mean that they can’t get strong as f*ck at the
same time.
A big issue for many women and men after comps or after achieving a fat loss transformation is when their
motivation and love for training dwindles as they no longer are in a deficit. When they don’t see themselves
as lean in the mirror or no longer obtain that ‘pump’ during their session like they do when in a fat loss
phase, passion for training drops along with their own body image confidence.
It is because of this common drop in confidence that I LOVE strength training as it can give you a goal and
purpose when you feel lost in the gym. Training purely for the way you look doesn’t always serve people
well internally, due to body dysmorphia. On the other hand, strength training and coming into the gym
with a purpose and seeing strength gains occurring each week will give you something to look forward to
in the gym!
I also have found that strength training whilst getting clients lean, like “comp prep lean”, is a great way to
ensure their muscle mass is kept when dieting. This is why you will often see many of my clients hitting PBs
just weeks out from their comps.
The goal, regardless of whether you are in a deficit or a surplus, is to add weight to the bar
and keep getting stronger!
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WHY YOU AREN’T GETTING
03 STRONGER
Remember how in those first few years of training, how quickly your strength gains progress? Now, you’re
probably noticing it slowing right down and maybe not even progressing at all. This is common, especially
in long term lifters. It is because of this slowing down in progression that I think it is important to really attack
the basics of lifting.
The most common reasons why strength progression slows down are:
Not following a structured or periodised program.
Making up your training program on the day depending on what

equipment is available.
Not constantly working on the lifts you want to get stronger in.
Not prioritising the main lifts, aka exercising in the wrong order.
Not resting long enough to allow your nervous system to recover

between sets.
Using the wrong or bad technique/movement pattern.
Forever dieting on low calories.
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03 STRONGER
This program is all about combating these above, common issues. I have created a strategic periodised
training program which prioritises the key lifts that are going to get you strong! I’ve then used supplementing,
additional exercises in the program that support the strength goals of the first, main exercises. I’ve also
utilised longer rest periods for your nervous system to recover after each set, exercise and day of training.
With all of this for the programming covered, I have also included detailed breakdowns on optimal lifting
techniques, which you’ll see in this guidebook. In regards to your nutrition ( I will speak on this later), as a
general overview I would strongly recommend that you use this program at maintenance or in a surplus
and not in a deficit. We want to focus on strength and growth and this just isn’t achievable in a long-term
deficit.
With all of these things combined together, we are creating the platform to break through strength plateaus
and hit some new personal bests! Let’s f*cking do this thing.
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03 STRONGER
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Obviously, the goal of this program is to get stronger, which is why I wanted to go into the education
surrounding the training program and getting strong in general. I’ve been working on this education for a
few years now and I’m going to cover a lot so please read it, make notes and read it again!
STRENGTH TRAINING VS. BODYBUILDING
The purpose of this section is to simply distinguish the difference between strength training and the typical
bodybuilding training. With both of these styles of training, the training itself is resistance training and both
are aiming to get you stronger. However, there are a few key differences between the two:
Strength Training Bodybuilding (Hypertrophy)
Strength training, generally, Hypertrophy training will be higher

is when we are talking about rep ranges, typically 6-20+ reps.
training lower rep ranges,
typically 1-5 reps. The goal of body building is to
improve muscle mass and shape a
We also call strength training physique.
neurological training in that
strength adaptations are from We are still improving our strength
improving our nervous systems when taking a bodybuilding
ability to recruit motor units approach to training, it’s just
quickly to allow us to lift more not as high of a priority as body
weight. composition changes.
The goal of strength training is General strength focus.

to get stronger!
Specific strength focus.
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03 STRONGER
There are two different types of strength improvements, which I’ve

put in the table above:
01 General Strength
02 Specific Strength
General strength is the general ability to exert force using the body’s musculature. Specific strength, on the
other hand, is the ability to express that strength in the one- repetition maximum in the squat, bench press,
and deadlift.
With bodybuilding training, we primarily want to get stronger on a very broad amount of movements. The
stronger we get, the more weight we can use on all our different body parts. The bodybuilder is not dialled
in on needing to improve only 2-3 specific training lifts.
With strength or powerlifting training, the goal is to usually get very strong at only a few specific movements.
Commonly the big 3 lifts - squat, deadlift and bench press. Therefore, with this being a strength-focused
program, this is the approach we are taking in the training by supplementing the big 3 lifts. Our goal is to
be able to perform as optimally on those specific lifts here.
NEUROLOGICAL VS. HYPERTROPHY ADAPTATIONS
A question I am often asked is why I like having my clients do strength phases. The reason is simple: getting
stronger on low reps can very much contribute to then becoming stronger on higher reps. The stronger
you get on low reps, the more it carries down towards load increases as the reps increase. However,
this does not work in the opposite order. Strength increases normally work down the ladder of strength
qualities (which we will get into next).
What I mean by all of this is that by getting stronger on your 3 reps lift, you are going to be getting stronger
on higher rep lifts (5, 6, 8 10 reps etc.) as it has a carry over effect. It doesn’t go the other way, meaning
your strength increase on 15 reps will not increase your strength on 3 reps and so on. It only works one way.
So, why does this all matter? It does when you transition back to traditional hypertrophy rep schemes as
you will be able to lift more weight for reps, which further unlocks more hypertrophy potential!
I look at strength phase as potentiating future hypertrophy adaptations for clients. No, more weight on the
bar is not everything for hypertrophy adaptations but it’s definitely not a negative factor either.
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03 STRONGER
STRENGTH QUALITIES
RELATIVE STRENGTH - 1-5 REPS
FUNCTIONAL HYPERTROPHY - 6-8 REPS
HYPERTROPHY - 9-14 REPS
STRENGTH ENDURANCE - 15+ REPS
These strength quality outlines do not mean that by training outside of the hypertrophy-based rep ranges,
you won’t achieve hypertrophy. These strength qualities also do not mean that you can only build strength
on low reps. I am simply outlining these as a simple way to break down and differentiate rep
ranges.
Now, back to what I was covering above, the carry over effect of strength in reps. What I was meaning by
all of this was you will achieve different types of improvements in strength qualities with different phases
and programs. Whilst in one program, your strength endurance will increase, this does not necessarily
mean that your functional hypertrophy strength quality will increase. This is because it is going backwards,
and up the ‘ladder’, like the reps.
However, if you achieve gains in your relative strength quality, this will have a carry over effect to improve
the other 3 strength qualities as it is working down the ‘ladder’.
That’s the whole point and power of doing some phases in strength rep ranges. I often use this as a way
to break plateaus for clients who are stuck in their improvements after long periods of higher rep work. A
way I like to attack fast progress is by focusing on what a client has not been doing, and then attacking that
new pathway for a period of time.
When it comes to programming strength qualities for my traditional hypertrophy programs, it usually is a
blend of numerous strength qualities.
For example, a 12-week program may look like a linear progression of:
Weeks 1-4 - Strength Endurance
Weeks 5-8 - Hypertrophy
Weeks 9-12 - Functional Hypertrophy
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03 STRONGER
Each of these strength qualities can lead to hypertrophy adaptations IF each rep range is taken close to
failure. We know that hypertrophy adaptations will be consistent, regardless of the rep ranges. On the other
hand, when reps begin to get very low (relative strength), the adaptations for hypertrophy begin to lower.
Look at elite powerlifters vs. bodybuilders for an example. Powerlifters are far stronger, yet have less, but
still a considerable amount of muscle mass. On the flip side, bodybuilders have far more muscle mass and
yet are not as strong, particularly on low rep ranges.
Basically, what all of this means is that your prime goal and focus will lead to your greatest progression.
Strength and hypertrophy adaptations can still occur for each option.
Our focus for the 12 weeks will be:
01 Relative strength which should lead to neurological adaptations (I go into

this a bit later in the guidebook), and;
02 We will also use functional hypertrophy and a little hypertrophy strength

qualities to lead to hypertrophy adaptations
SPECIFICITY
Specificity is a very crucial variable/principle of training. What you want to improve the most, should be
trained in a manner that is specific to that goal. Just like a marathon runner would do lots of running in
preparation, we are going to be focusing purely on strength to get stronger!
For this 12-week program, the goal is to get strong on low reps and bring up your strength on squats,
deadlifts, presses and pull ups. That is exactly what this program is created for!
When I am referring to the specificity, I am talking about the systems/stimulus responsible for achieving
your goal. For this program, the focus will primarily be around neurological work. Our goal is to improve
our strength in a 1-5 rep range. Therefore, the bulk of the 12 weeks needs to be training in those specific
rep ranges, or just above.
If we want to rapidly improve strength in specific movements, we want to be training specifically to those
goals. As a coach, I will choose a few movements that you want to get strong on and then build the
program around those lifts. The other exercises should complement your focus of building up strength in
the specific movements.
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03 STRONGER
Fast strength adaptations come from practice, as strength is a skill. This is why powerlifters are so incredibly
strong, as they train the same movement pattern over and over and don’t stray away from the big 3 lifts
(generally). I am not saying that this program is about being a powerlifter, I am just giving an example of
what pure devotion can do for specific movements!
When creating a training program, yes, it is ideal to spend a large bulk of the work on those specific areas
you are most wanting to improve on. Makes sense! Though, not ALL of your training has to be 100% in that
precise spot. Too much of one pathway can lead to burnout and beating your body up. This is why, in the
12 week program, not all training phases are in that 1-5 rep range - some weeks are around higher rep work.
The key here is that when we are training outside of the specific goal, the other training stimulus we use
should very much compliment that specific goal we have.
WHAT ABOUT CARDIO?
All training is on a scale where strength training would be on one side of the spectrum and
endurance training is on the other.
Following on from Specificity, I want to note that you will not be doing ANY cardio or endurance-type
training in this program. This is because cardio and endurance training impacts your strength potentials
due to fatigue.
Yes, fatigue is a natural reaction of training, and I am not saying that you won’t be fatigued from your weight
sessions - you will be! The thing about this type of fatigue is specific to your goals for this program. Too
much fatigue is not a good thing, especially when it is coming from a stimulus which is not at all beneficial
to your lifting. This type of fatigue is going to negatively impact your ability to lift heavier in the gym.
There is only so much fatigue you can recover from, then improve from.
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04 12-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM
Accumulation 1 4 x 8,6,6,4 Base Building
Intensification 1 6 x 6,4,2,6,4,2 Introduction to Lower Reps and Relative

Strength
Accumulation 2 5x5 Volume for Heavy Load
Intensification 1 5 x 5,3,3,2,2 Volume of Relative Strength
Let’s get into the really important stuff… your 12-week training program! Each phase in this program will be
3 weeks in length. The training program is designed to be an introduction for you into a low rep, 12-week
strength training phase. We are using this 12-week block to build serious strength as a primer for future
growth.
Within this program, I have also included a ‘13th week’ as a little bonus! This extra week will be focused on
your one rep max test. I’ll get into this a bit later.
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To summarise the 12-week program:
First 3 weeks are designed as base building of high-end strength reps with
functional hypertrophy rep ranges. This is where we begin the descent
into lower reps and work on technique to build some more confidence
under the bar.
From there, we will do our first true neurological training phase through
the use of the famous waveload system (don’t worry I will explain this
in detail a bit later). This will be a fun phase where you learn the real
importance of load selection to get the most out of your program.
We will then come back to focusing on a phase centred around lifting

solid weight for a lot of repeated efforts. We are going to be building real
strength volume bases in these 3 weeks.
Then finally, we come back down to 3 weeks of very low reps. Lots of
sets of pure strength rep ranges as we again, aim to improve confidence
under the bar and also lift heavy sh*t!
PHASE BREAKDOWNS
Before I get into this, I want to note that I am going to be referring to the A) series (the first exercise) in the
phase headings. When programming, I periodise the A) series primarily as this is what we are focusing on.
The later exercises/series on each day will complement the earlier work of that session.
Phase 1: Accumulation 1 - 4 x 8,6,6,4

Our first 3-week training phase is what we call a ‘descending reps’ system. The first set begins at 8 reps,
then we progress to lower reps with the second set being 6 reps, then another set of 6 reps, and our final
set is 4 reps. As reps descend, naturally this will allow for the load the weight to ascend.
Reps go down, loads go up!

This first phase is really about transitioning from higher reps, to lower reps. Not a complete transition to
very low strength reps but what I would say is a nice introduction. Training 4-8 reps with long rest periods
should allow for a good amount of load to be lifted.
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I like to begin strength phases here as reps are not too low too quickly. Use this first phase as practice to
really drill in your technique - good reps are key here. When the load is so heavy, you must have technique
spot on or there will be form breakdown which leads to missed lifts. That’s why this first phase is so crucial.
Let’s drill in great technique whilst adding weight to the bar each week.
Phase 2: Intensification 1 - 6 x 6,4,2,6,4,2
Our second 3-week training phase moved to an intensity focused block. Naturally, reps will be lowered to
allow for greater load to be used. This intensification cycle I will introduce you to a very famous strength
system called ‘waveloading’.
Waveloading is a training system designed to manipulate reps throughout the sets to excite your nervous
system. By ramping the weight up and then dropping it back down, it creates a wave-like system of
increases and then decreases in load and reps. The idea is for the small wave to build into larger and larger
waves.
By utilising low rep work, we can excite the nervous system through a principle called ‘post-tetanic
facilitation’ which will help to prime your CNS (central nervous system). This then can result in a greater
ability to lift heavier!
You will see that there are 6 sets, where the reps look like 6,4,2,6,4,2. You can clearly see the ‘waves’ being
the two 6,4,2 groupings. The first 3 sets (6,4,2) would be considered the first wave and then the reps
increase back up for the 4th set to 6 reps - this is where the second wave would begin.
The idea is to use the first wave, to prime the nervous system which in turn, should then allow for the
second wave to be done with more load being used! Whilst I do cover loading the bar and the way I want
you to increase your weights later in the guidebook, I want to cover waveloads separately here with the
following example:
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If my client has a max estimate of 100kg x 1 reps on their squat, I would want their Week 1
waveload loading to look like the following;
Set 1 6 reps @ 70kg
Set 2 4 reps @ 80kg
Set 3 2 reps @ 90kg

Set 4 6 reps @ 72.5kg
Notice how in set 4 the reps go back up to 6 but the load from the first set of 6 has been
increased by 2.5kg. The same goes for the 5th and the 6th set as increases from the 2nd and
3rd.
Following on into Week 2, we want to begin our first set with the second wave’s load from
the previous week. This is what it should look like;

Set 4 6 reps @ 75kg
Set 5 4 reps @ 85kg
Set 6 2 reps @ 95kg
I think you get the point of the waveload. Finally, for the following week, you guessed it, we
repeat the same process!
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Phase 3: Accumulation 2 - 5 x 5
After 3 weeks of waveloading and lifting some serious heavy weight, naturally, I want to back off the load. I
do this by undulating back up into 5-rep sets. The idea is that after 3 intense weeks of programming, you’re
probably feeling pretty fatigued. This is where I find it really effective to back off such low rep neurological
training and bring our focus to functional hypertrophy work. This is somewhat of a form of a deload.
We change the reps to slightly higher reps but lower weight and train with reps still left in the tank in week
1. I like to think of this 5 x 5 phase as volume work - 25 reps of repeated efforts. The intensity is not as high
but we want lots of sets of that one weight.
When it comes to loading the bar for this phase, you will NOT be adding weight after each set. Instead,
you’ll just be adding weight each week if you are able to complete your lifts from the previous week all
on the same weight. This is why you need to initially choose a weight that you are giving about 70% on,
meaning you could still add a few more reps to it after you’re done. You’re going to be doing 5 sets of 5
reps of this weight and want to keep good form, so pick accordingly. Then, for the following week, I only
want you to add 2.5kg-5kg onto the bar.
By doing this on a weekly increase basis instead of after each set, you’re allowing your body to naturally
deload and recover a bit more. Which is perfect for the final phase of STRONG.
Phase 4: Intensification 2 - 5 x 5,3,3,2,2
Our final 3-week training phase to conclude STRONG is a ‘staged system’. This is basically a descending rep
system which allows us to ascend the load in each working set. Kind of like we did in phase 1 but more load
as the reps are lower. The goal of this training phase is to end the 12 weeks on a 2 rep max.
The reason I have not programmed 1 rep maxes here is because as much as this program is about getting
strong on low reps, it’s not necessarily to be a powerlifter and have a massive 1 rep max on the 3 big lifts.
The goal is to use this strength phase to then allow you to go back to traditional higher rep hypertrophy
training and be able to lift much more weight for more reps. Lifting such low reps frequently can really
affect progression in the gym and also can lead to potential injury issues if form breakdown occurs.
The idea with the reps and sets this phase is to once again, reintroduce you to very low rep work. There
is a big difference between 5 reps and 2-3 reps, even if it may seem like only a couple of reps. Although,
when we get down to very low reps, it’s a different world of pain. You begin to use weights you have never
touched before, never had on your back before, which can be mentally intimidating to begin with.
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This is why I really like 5 sets in this phase as it allows you to still start on a heavy weight that you can
mentally prepare for, before increasing the weight as the reps go down. This is a ramping type method of
loading the bar, like phase 1, which I have detailed in depth later in the book. Essentially, you are adding
weight to each set.
The intensity is greater for the final intensification phase as we have more repeated efforts of low rep sets.
We do this because I want this last phase to be as specific as we can to purely focus on those very low reps.
This is again, where that specificity really comes in for that final intensification phase. Eventually, we need
to really dial things in on those low reps and each week I want you to feel more and more comfortable
under that bar.
WEEK 13 - ONE REP MAX TESTING
Now that the initial 12 weeks have been completed, it is time to test your 1 rep max for your squat and
deadlift! This is a bonus addition for you!
The 1 rep max (1RM) is something that should only be done sparingly and something I personally only
program in for clients every 13-24 weeks. The reason I do this is to see how much strength you have gained
over these past 12 weeks and I want to reveal that work!
Firstly, what I suggest is performing a 1RM test for your squat and deadlifts on different days in the week.
After you finish your 5th and final workout on Saturday, I recommend 2 full days off (complete rest) and
then beginning your squat test on the following Tuesday. You’ll then be able to leave Wednesday night for
an upper body workout (there is no 1RM test for upper body). Have another rest day on Thursday to leave
you fresh and ready to test your deadlift 1RM on Friday.
All in all, it’s a very low volume training week with the pure intent to perform to the best of your ability on
those two movements.
How to get to 1RM working set:
Firstly, you’re going to perform the usual lower body warm up routine and start thinking about the goal
weight that you are trying to hit. Then you’re going to load up the bar following this guide:
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Warm Up 1 The Bar x 10 reps, 60 seconds rest.
Warm Up 2 50% of goal weight x 5 reps, 60 seconds rest.
Warm Up 5 85% x of goal weight x 2 reps, 150 seconds rest.
Warm Up 6 95% x of goal weight x 1 rep, 180 seconds rest.
After performing these warm up sets, we are going to get into the real 1RM test! We are going to be doing
3 x 1 rep sets here where the first set is a weight you know you can crush. The second set is a number you
are confident you can do but still a good PB. Finally, the third and final 1 rep set is a touch higher in weight
and something that is very challenging.
Now, when you are resting in between these final 1RM sets, I need you to be resting for 5-7 minutes. I am
dead serious about this! You’re going to need this large amount of rest if you want to hit some f*cking big
lifts!
Good luck with this bonus week! Remember to not sacrifice technique! Yes, I want you to lift heavy and
smash PBs but I also need you to do this with great technique!
SQUAT PROGRAMMING
When it comes to improving a client’s squat, a strategy I have always loved to use is having my clients squat
twice a week. Squats, more than any other exercise, are a movement you can attack with a lot of frequency
when striving for rapid strength increases.
Over many years, I have learnt from many of the world’s best strength coaches such as Charles Poliquin
and Wolfgang Unsoeld. Their clients always had amazing squat strength. A big part of what I learnt from
them was having clients squat multiple times a week. The squat, more so than the deadlift, seems to thrive
off frequency.
The squat is very much a skill. Often when I have had clients such as Lauren Simpson, at her absolute
strongest, it was when she was squatting up to 3 times a week. This was only for short periods but when
she did, these fast bouts of higher frequency lead to rapid strength gains. For our 12-week program, the
focus is on squatting twice a week. The reason being, is we are also devoting one day a week to deadlifts
(as there are only 3 lower body days).
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In our accumulation phases, one squat day will be
low bar focused and the other will be high bar
focused. This is a strategy I have recently been doing
with clients and have seen tremendous success. The
goal of this 12-week program is to improve the low
bar, but the high bar very much compliments the low
bar squat.
In the intensification phases, we low bar squat on
both squat days. The reason being is because it’s our
main focus.
DEADLIFT PROGRAMMING
The deadlift program will consist of just 1 pure deadlift focused day per week. This is very common in my
programs as the deadlift is a very physically taxing movement on the body, particularly the spine and lower
back. Very heavy loading of the lower back can lead to a slower rate of recovery over the week due to
greater fatigue. The lower back in general seems to take longer to recover than that of other areas in the
body.
I have found multiple deadlift days in the week for the majority of clients doesn’t always lead to great
strength increases, especially in phases of greater focus on the squat. Programming the deadlift and the
squat in the one week needs to work in synergy to allow for optimal strength progressions in both lifts.
In our deadlift accumulation phases, we will use deficit deadlifts, where you stand on top of a 10kg plate.
This will lead to you slightly increasing the range of motion of the deadlift. Basically, it makes it harder. Why
would I want to do this? Because it allows us to focus really hard on our weakest position in the deadlift
which is the lifting from the floor.
I also find the deficit deadlift helps really reinforce the ever important leg drive. We do not want to be just
pulling the bar up and hoping for the best. We also want to be pushing the ground away as if you were
trying to leg press the floor away. The deficit will require your hips to sit slightly lower in order to lift the
bar off the floor from the added range of motion. This lower hip position will help to increase the need for
that leg drive.
Then in our intensification phases, just like with the squats, the focus here is on specificity. Our goal is to
improve the conventional deadlift or sumo deadlift from the floor - your choice of which one. The big
focus is great reps! It should feel even smoother now coming off the floor with less range of motion. That
leg drive should be further improved to allow for some really quality weeks of traditional deadlift range of
motion.
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05 RPE
While studying recently for a course I am working on, looking over RPE traditional ratings, I came across
this by Mike Tuchscherer - a successful powerlifting coach who has updated to a more lifter specific
understanding of rating of perceived exertion. It was by far the best scale for explaining RPE I have ever
seen so I wanted to share it with you guys. Mike has done a fabulous job of really simplifying the scale any
true lifter would understand.
In our training phases, as they are all 3-week blocks, we need to think of the weeks like this:
Week 1 aim of the game is not to miss reps
Week 2 progression and keeping quality reps
Week 3 we need to take things up another level!
final week of the phase
Using the updated RPE scale by Mike Tuchscherer, the way I would have you look at each
week would be like this:
Week 1 scale 7.0 - 8 for top end sets
Week 2 scale 8.0 - 8.5 for top end sets
Week 3 scale 8.5 - 9.5 for top end sets
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06 TRAINING STIMULUS
Use this as a guideline for your load selection. With this, you should be able to progress well each week.
RPE Scale Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale
10 Could not do more repetition or weight
9.5 Could not do more repetitions, could do slightly more weight
9 Could do 1 more repetition
8.5 Could do 1 more repetitions, possible 2 more repetitions
8 Could do 2 more repetitions
7.5 Could do 2 more, possibly 3 more repetitions
7 Could do 3 more repetitions
5-6 Could do 4 to 6 more repetitions
1-4 Very light effort
Mike Tuchscherer’s Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale
Whether we’re training for strength or aesthetics, we all lift weights. Powerlifters tend to use very low reps,
bodybuilders tend to focus on higher reps and then endurance athletes focus on even higher reps. Why?
Specificity - as I was talking about before!
Whilst there are 3 training stimuli, we are going going to be looking at two:
Neurological
Hypertrophy
Before we begin, just know that this stuff can be broken down A LOT and could result in me writing pages
and pages on this topic but for right now, I just want you guys to be aware of the difference - that’s it. Don’t
get worried or feel like it’s going over your head.
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06 TRAINING STIMULUS
NEUROLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS
This is when the reps are typically very low (think 1-5 reps) or when the time under tension is 20 seconds
and under. Time under tension, being the time it takes to perform all your reps. For example, a 4010 tempo
for 4 reps has 5 seconds per rep (4+0+1+0 = 5) multiplied by 4, equals 20 seconds total time under tension.
Neurological adaptations from training are going to primarily result in strength gains over muscle building.
How we get stronger does not necessarily correlate with getting bigger muscles. We can get stronger
without increasing muscle size and we can build muscle without improving strength. Strength gains
primarily come from your nervous system’s ability to become more efficient at a movement. You get
stronger because your nervous system gets an enhanced ability to contract muscle fibres both quickly and
also in synergy.
It’s like learning a new skill. The more you practice, the more your ability to execute improves.
This is why you may often see a powerlifter stay the same size, but add 20kg to their deadlift - they have
not necessarily gotten more muscular, but their nervous system has become more efficient & superior and
works in synergy.
HYPERTROPHY ADAPTATIONS
Hypertrophy and metabolic adaptations (the third stimuli that I’m not going into here) are similar in that it’s
not about the nervous system, rather it’s about the muscles response to the load being lifted.
Hypertrophy is achieved in quite a broad rep range; 3 - 5 reps, all the way up to your 30 rep max. For the
hypertrophy category, I like to look at it as a time under tension greater than neurological - 20 seconds
and below a time under tension of 70 seconds, when it begins to become a more metabolic response.
Therefore 20 seconds all the way up to 70 seconds is the hypertrophy range from a time under tension
perspective.
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KEYS TO STRENGTH -
07 BEGINNER TO ADVANCED
Over the years, I have worked with very elite clients who were remarkably strong. I have worked with
people doing their very first resistance training session ever and have seen them progress more and more
over years of training.
My App designer, Jenna (different Jenna, lol. Yes, I have two employees named Jenna - it’s confusing for us
all) has been coached by me for just under 3 years now. When we first started together, she was literally
just squatting the bar and struggling. As of writing this, tonight she hit a personal best on the squat of 110kg
in just under 3 years of working together at 53kg body weight. Three years of progression from squatting
20kg and struggling to 110kg is a huge and rapid increase, plus incredibly impressive. Amazing. I am telling
you this to explain what I did with Jenna as a beginner, versus what I do with advanced clients, is very
different but still has the same foundation principles:
Repetition
Technique
Structured Training Program
IF YOU GET THESE 3 PRINCIPLES CORRECT, GOOD THINGS HAPPEN!
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KEYS TO STRENGTH -
07 BEGINNER TO ADVANCED
REPETITION
As I have said now numerous times, strength is a skill. It’s like learning a language or a new skill. Naturally,
the more we can practice something, the better we become at it. With strength, the best way to dial in on
improving certain lifts is to be smart with your programming.
If you want to improve your squat, then you should squat. Consistently. If you want to get stronger at a
certain lift, you need to place It early in your workout, when you are your strongest. Repetition is key for
improving your strength which is why in these 12 weeks, we don’t chop and change a lot. We train specific
movement patterns in your A) series and smash it!
TECHNIQUE
Technique is one of those things where you can get away with it being sub-par for only so long. Eventually,
bad form will be exposed and you’re going to have to start all over again. The stronger you get and the
more load you are lifting, the more technique matters.
Firstly, just from an injury perspective, when technique is not perfect, the muscles we need to be doing
the work can’t operate optimally as something else is taking over. This can be nothing serious initially, but
repetition of this can lead to injury. Likewise, on very heavy lifts, form breakdown can lead to your legs not
doing their job optimally. This means the weight is forced into your lower back in a compromised position
which then, in turn, leads to injuries.
Secondly, technique is closely followed by performance. If you want to be your strongest possible self, bad
technique can only take you so far. Optimal technique will ensure optimal strength improvements.
STRUCTURED TRAINING PROGRAM
Obviously, a structured program is what you will be following with me which is amazing. This is often what
really lets down the passionate gym enthusiast. They train hard, they turn up every week but they lack
structure and a plan. Just getting to the gym will lead to progress, yes, but making exceptional progress
continually comes from having a clear cut, thought out plan. Knowing your goals, knowing your time frame,
and then working your way backwards to create a periodise approach to have you peak at the right time!
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08 OPTIMISING YOUR TRAINING
WARMING UP
When it comes to warming up for your lifting, we want to find a nice common sense, middle ground in
between not warming up and at all and spending an hour warming up before lifting. The idea of a warm
up is to best prepare ourselves for lifting as heavy as possible and also in a manner which hopefully leads
to injury free training.
You do not need to over do this process.
What I want you to achieve for a warm up is simple:
Increase body temperature
Increase focus for the workout
Repeated reps of the movement pattern we will be training. Be specific
Bracing work for heavy lifting
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Lower Body Warm Up
1. Core
Side Plank - 30 seconds each side
Bird Dog - 6 reps each side with 2 second pause at top
2. Glutes and Lower Body Movements

Floor Glute Bridge - 8 reps with 5 second pause at the top
Low Box Step Ups - 8 reps each leg with 3 second eccentrics
3. Squat or Deadlift Preparation (depends on the day in your program)

Squat Day: DB Goblet Squat - 10 reps with 3 second pause at bottom x 2
Deadlift Day: DB Romanian Deadlifts - 10 reps with 1 second pause at bottom x 2
4. Upper Body Mobility

Banded Pull Aparts - 15 reps x 2
Upper Body Warm Up
1. Bird Dog
6 reps each side with 2 second pause at top
2. Banded Pull Aparts

15 reps x 2
3. Banded Over and Backs

10 reps x 2
4. Banded Single Arm Kneeling Pulldown

12 reps each arm
5. Push Ups on Knees

10 reps
After doing these warm ups, you’ll move onto warming up and loading the bar which you will learn about
now!
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LOADING THE BAR
I do go into loading the bar for each phase when talking about the program itself (above) but generally
speaking, the method I like for my clients to use when warming up and loading the bar is a ramping
method. Simply, this means that in each working set, we add weight. In saying this, we will be ramping our
weights in a sustainable way in regards to what week of each phase you are in.
Think of it as if in set 1, we are doing 5 reps from failure and then each working set we work closer to the
lower end within failure. The goal week 1 is not to hit true failure where zero more reps are possible. The
way I would think of choosing weight selection for the A) series is to add weight each set but in week 1,
you finish on a weight which you have 2 reps left in the tank before your true, total failure.
Following on, in the second week, you finish on a weight that you have 1 rep left in the tank. In the final
week of the phase, week 3, you are aiming to hit a personal best and leave no reps in the tank for the final
working set. To do this effectively you have to be smart with numbers. When you are new to an exercise
or tempo particularly, make sure you do a good amount of warm up sets that are not anywhere near failure
but just enough to learn the movement pattern and follow the correct tempo. Do this for 3-4 warm up sets
for the A) series then get into your first working set.
A big thing with load selection, especially in week 1 of a program, is to be conservative. You can always
work your way up in a program. We do not want to be going to failure immediately as this then gives you
zero room to progress week to week and also leads to a larger accumulation of fatigue immediately during
the first week.
The first exercise you do for the day is the one you have the best potential to lift heaviest on. The additional
exercises all lead to hypertrophy as well, just not as great potential on strength adaptations as they are
being done in a more fatigued state.
Now, I know a lot of you will be thinking about how much weight should be added in between sets for your
A) series exercises as we are using the ramping method. Generally, I would say between 2.5kg and 5kg is
ideal. This will change for each exercise and day in your program so don’t stress if there isn’t much or any
weight increase - it’s all part of the learning process.
REST PERIODS
Sufficient rest periods are integral for resistance training. This is a concept I see many women struggle
to adhere to. I even see it with my own friends and clients. They finish a set where the rest calls for 120
seconds, but then I turn around and 45 seconds later they have already begun their next set. This is not
what we want. You are resting, not to be lazy but to recover and allow consistent performance!
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When it comes to strength training, rest is even MORE imperative than hypertrophy training as it takes
longer for the nervous system to recover than it does your muscles in between sets. Very low reps will
require very long rests comparatively to your other rep range rest periods.
I am a huge believer that a lack of using rest periods optimally is why so many people struggle to improve
in the gym long term. What I am getting at is PLEASE use your rest periods that I have written for you! It
will make a world of difference in your week to week progressions! Don’t rush it. Use those rest periods to
recover, then be ready to optimise your next set.
Yes, these sessions can be quite long but we are going after specific goals. Neurological training needs to
be optimally done, not just by training low reps but also by utilising sufficient rest periods.
In this program, there will be some exercises with minutes of rest and others with significantly less. This is
a way to improve both strength and time efficiency. This also comes into play when we are training with
supersets which also have rest in between the exercises!
In summary, use your rest periods! Some phases will have longer rest periods than others so soak that up.
Sit and relax, listen to your music, go on Instagram - whatever! Get the rest in and smash your session!
TEMPO
Tempo refers to the time under tension you lift each repetition with. Each number on the tempo layout
also refers to a different component of the lift. A good example would be 4010 tempo on a low bar barbell
squat.
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Now in terms of how you would interpret that, let me simplify:
4- the first number always refers to the eccentric (lowering) component of the movement.
So, for example if you were doing a squat, you would take 4 seconds to lower the weight
for each repetition.
0– the second number refers to the bottom position of the movement, which in most cases is
the part of the movement where the exercise is the hardest. So, for example if you were
doing a squat, the 0 would be at the bottom of the movement.
1– the third number refers to the concentric part of the moment (rising) which is generally
when you are lifting the weight. For example, in a squat this would be on your way up from
the bottom of the movement.
0– the fourth and final number refers to the top position of the movement, which in most
cases is the beginning or easiest part of the lift. In the squat example this would be when
you are standing in a dead stop position.
MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS
When we are performing a rep, there will be an eccentric, concentric and an isometric part of the lift. Each
of these play an integral part of strength growth which is why I want to cover these for you:
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Eccentrics
The eccentric component of the rep is an integral player in getting stronger. Eccentric movement is when a
muscle is lengthened. For example, in a squat the eccentric movement will be when you descend into the
squat. Your quads and your glutes stretch under the load and are therefore lengthening. Think of it as the
Eccentric component being the Easy part because you’re going down in the squat or coming back down
in your chest press.
When it comes to strength, we are actually stronger eccentrically than we are concentrically. We know this
because this is where people fail lifts like squats, when they are able to lower the weight in a controlled
manner but cannot get the weight back up.
Utilising the eccentric can be a fantastic tool to getting stronger. Improving eccentric strength transfers
over well to improving concentric strength. When training, it’s ideal in most situations to control a weight
in the eccentric for different periods of time which you can see I utilise in my tempo changes. The main
takeaway from this is to follow the tempo, but especially the eccentric!
Concentrics
An integral component of getting stronger and building muscle is lifting with optimal intent. A big part of
that is lifting with a faster and more explosive concentric. The concentric is the muscle shortening or the
‘lifting’ portion of the movement. With the squat as your example again, the concentric is when you push up
from the bottom of the squat all the way back up to a standing position. That is your muscles shortening to
be able to allow you to stand back up. Think of the Concentric component as the “Crap, this is hard!” part.
This portion of the rep in strength training should always be on the more explosive side of things. This is
why you will generally see a lot of 1 second concentrics in this program, as I want you to PUSH and really
explode into this part of the lift.
It’s also important to note that on a heavy lift, as you fatigue on the final reps of a set or attempting a one
rep max, it’s natural for the bar speed to slow down in the concentric despite a max effort. This is where
the weight is involuntarily slowing down. You are not choosing to voluntarily slow the weight down. It is
happening due to fatigue and this is fine.
You will often see, for instance in a 1 rep max deadlift or the final rep of a 5 set squat, the rep may take 3-4
or even 5 seconds to complete in the concentric portion. This is when you are reaching failure.
Ideally though, these reps are few and far between but on a final rep of a top end set or 1 rep max testing
it is very normal for the bar speed to slow down
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Isometrics
An isometric contraction is when a muscle is neither lengthening or shortening under load. This can happen
in any part of a rep and is what we will see as the ‘pauses’ in the rep. Isometrics can be performed at the
bottom of a movement, at the top of the movement or in the middle of the eccentrics or concentrics. when
the muscle is fully stretched.
An example of this in a squat would be when you begin lowering, then half way into the squat you pause
for 3 full seconds, then continue lowering all the way down before exploding back up. This is an isometric
in the eccentric. For an isometric in the concentric component of the rep, think of a deadlift when the client
pulls the bar from the ground, then pauses for 2-3 seconds below their knee, then explodes through and
finishes the rep.
We are strong isometrically as we are not being forced to move the weight, rather we are simply holding
our muscles in one place. Pauses can be a great tool for instance, in the bottom of a rep such as a squat
to decrease the elasticity of a muscle and take out the natural slingshot effect which muscles have when
moving from an eccentric to a concentric. By utilising a pause at the bottom of the squat, this can make the
movement harder as we decrease the momentum. This will then translate to more strength when we go
back to the same exercise with no pauses or stronger positioning.
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09 EXERCISE BREAKDOWNS
LOW BAR VS. HIGH BAR
A low bar or high bar squat refers to the bar placement on your back when you squat. High bar squat will
have the bar placement higher up the back across your traps, whilst a low bar squat will have a slightly
lower placement on the back, across your rear deltoid shelf.
A high bar squat placement will generally allow for a more upright torso when you squat. It will also be a
squat that will require better mobility in order to hit a full range of motion. It will require a larger degree of
knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion, which leads to greater knees over toes.
Whereas, the low bar squat will be more hip dominant due to the placement of the bar being lower down
the back. It will lead to a less upright torso with a slight hinge to the squat. In the low bar squat, in order to
break parallel, you will not require as much knee flexion. The low bar squat is also a movement that utilises
slightly less range of motion.
Well, which squat is better?

It depends!
The difference between a high bar and a low bar squat, all begins with where the barbell is placed when
squatting.
A bar in a high bar squat will rest across your upper traps, once we engage our upper back muscles, the
traps will create a nice cushion for the bar to rest on. With the low bar squat, as the name suggests, the bar
is placed slightly lower on the back as it sits across the rear delt shelf.
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The difference in bar positioning seems small initially

however, it can greatly alter the mechanics of each squat.
The higher bar positioning will allow you to squat with a

more upright torso, while the low bar squat positioning will
force your body into a more forward leaning squat, which
leads to less quad dominance and increased recruitment of
the his musculature.
High Bar Squat PROS:

Larger range of motion.
Better hypertrophy potential due to larger range of motion.
Better athletic performance transfer due to fuller range of motion.
A more natural movement pattern.
High Bar Squat CONS:

Cannot use as much load.
Requires greater mobility to hit an ‘ass to grass’ squat.
More technical lift.
Will often need to elevate heels to hit sufficient depth in the squat.
Low Bar Squat PROS:

More load can be used.
More posterior chain dominant.
Does not require a lifter to hit ‘ass to grass’.
Low Bar Squat CONS:

Due to less range of motion, less hypertrophy potential.
Does not train the quads in as much of a lengthened position.
Does not take the knees through a full range of motion.
Can be painful on wrists to achieve such a low bar squat position.
Upper mobility can be an issue for placing the bar in the low bar position.
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Now what does the above tell us? Well, they both have their advantages and disadvantages.
If our goal is to lift as much weight as possible, the low bar squat will best allow us to achieve this goal! This
is why in powerlifting the focus is primarily on a low bar squat.
If the goal is purely hypertrophy adaptations, the focus should more be geared towards a high bar squat.
If the focus is to get strong and also achieve hypertrophy focused work, both squats can be excellent in a
program which is what we are doing in this program.
LOW BAR SQUAT TECHNIQUE
The correct low bar squat technique will require focusing on everything from the feet, all the way to our
head position. So, let’s cover some of the basics for each part of the body:
Feet
We want even contact between our full foot and the surface of the floor.
Think of your foot as having 3 key components. The big toe, little toe and base of the heel
-what we need in this area to have even contact throughout the movement with the floor.
Generally when doing a more hip dominant low bar squat, we will want our feet a tiny bit
wider and our toes turned out a little more than a traditional quads focused high bar squat.
Therefore turn your toes out roughly 5-10 degrees, depending on what’s comfortable.
Ensure knees stay in line with the toes. If your toes turn out 5-10 degrees then the knees
match that angle.
Knees
When squatting we want to ensure our knees stay in line with our toes. We don’t want our
knees to cave inside the foot (knee valgus) but we also don’t want to drive our knees so far
out that the knees are outside the toes and look bow legged when we squat.
Our knees should also push forward, usually will require your knees travelling past your
toes which is perfectly healthy. How much should they travel over the toes? It depends on
the person’s structure as well as the type of squat. A low bar squat will most likely require
a lesser degree of knees over toes to that of a high bar.
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Spine
What we want to do is ensure the spine from our lumbar (lower back) to our thoracic spine
(upper back) stays in a more neutral position. We do not want excessive lumbar flexion at
the bottom of the squat (leading to a butt wink). We also do not want excessive thoracic
extension in the squat on the way up.
Hips
When squatting to initiate the descent of the squat, we want to begin with a little hip
extension. As we go to initiate the descent, push your hips back slightly THEN push the
knees forward. This will tend to help feel like you are “opening” up the hips.
We want a hole to squat into, so it’s important to again focus on those knees staying out and
tracking over the toes.
Focus on that ‘corkscrew’ of the feet to ensure we have external rotation which will allow
you to keep the knees out.
At the top of the squat, do NOT hip thrust the bar to complete the rep.
Bracing
A key part of ensuring a more neutral spine is “bracing”. This is the act of increasing intra
abdominal pressure which will be like using a belt to support your spine. I will speak about
this more a bit later!
Upper Back
A key part of maintaining tightness in the squat comes from maintaining upper back
tightness - this comes from our scapula. When squatting we want to maintain our scapula
in a depressed and retracted position as this will help to engage the lats and also maintain
tightness in the upper back so the bar does not roll forward when we squat.
Elbow Position
We want our elbows up and back as this will ensure the upper back is staying tight.
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Head Position
I like to focus on just a neutral head position - not looking down excessively and not looking
up excessively. The chin will be slightly tucked to match your body’s position with an eye
gaze most likely at the floor a few metres in front of you… NOT eye gaze at your feet.
Rack Position
Rack height is often an overlooked

and integral part of a successful squat.
Having a barbell in the rack too low can
load to using way too much energy
when un-racking as it adds a half rep
to your set.
Having the barbell too high in the rack
can lead to loss of tightness which
increases the risk of injury as you need
to calf raise the bar out.
Your high bar and low bar squat setup

should be different. In your high bar
squat, your bar will generally be one
level higher than your low bar squat.
The rack height for your barbell when high bar squatting should be the same height as your
arms when they are fully extended. This will align with your mid-upper chest.
The rack height for your barbell when low bar squatting should be one setting under the
high bar.
Wow, that’s a lot of things to cover there! Most of these things will be just mental cues which take 1/10th of
a second to implement after a few weeks of squatting like this. The squat is a technical lift as it involves so
many parts of the body which all need to be in a position to do their job effectively. A weak link in the chain
impacts the entire squat potentially.
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HIGH BAR SQUAT TECHNIQUE
The high bar squat technique will be almost identical to the low bar, outside of the higher bar positioning.
The high bar placement will naturally allow for a greater upright torso which, in turn, allows for a requirement
of more knees over toes.
Also, with the high bar squat being a little more knee joint focused, our goal is to push our knees further
forward and over the toes. The toes will most likely have a small degree angled out but usually less than a
low bar squat. Therefore, the knees will not push out as much as they will push forward to match the angle
the toes are facing.
This is why the above low bar technique tips transfer

over very well to a high bar squat. The real difference
is just the bar position. The key concepts of each joint
will be almost the same outside of a bigger focus
on knees driving forward for a high bar squat. We
need knees over toes to a greater degree in order to
achieve full knee flexion.
If you struggle with this, elevate your heels! A small

heel elevation can artificially increase your ankle
dorsiflexion which is usually the limiting factor for
people driving their knees over their toes in a squat.
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KNEE VALGUS
Knee valgus is in reference to the knees caving inwards when

you are performing a squat. This usually happens towards the
bottom of a squat. The knee begins to travel inwards then
when you drive up in the squat before it eventually drives
back out. There has been a lot of talk on what could cause
knee valgus and the best concept is geared towards weaker
glutes for advanced lifters and also neurological inefficiency
for more beginner lifters.
Neurological Inefficiency
This is in reference to someone’s understanding of how
to execute a movement. We all begin somewhere. As a
beginner, it’s natural to struggle connecting what your brain
wants to do with what the body actually does. It takes time to
have that communication between the brain and the muscles
be more in synergy. Beginners often have trouble recruiting
the muscles we want to be recruiting whilst also having poor
stability or control of a joint through the movement.
Take the squat, for example. You have a beginner do a squat for you and a lot of the time their knees cave
in, their lower back rounds, they have poor posture etc. but they don’t know any better. Over time with
practice, this improves and improves!
With the knees caving in, this a lot of the time initially is just a lack of awareness of optimal knee positioning.
A tool that can be useful for a beginner in a warm up is the use of a band around the knees, PURELY to teach
the body where we want the knees to stay - out!. The band is not being used for “more glute activation”.
It’s simply being used as a tool for the client to learn to abduct out into the band slightly enough for the
knees to not cave in.
Weakness in Glutes
The most likely reason that knee valgus occurs in advanced lifters is due to weakness in the glutes where
sufficient load is being misplaced. This happens because the adductors, which run on the inside of our
thighs, are hip extensors. When we squat we are performing knee extension and hip extension. The glute
max are hip extenders but also the adductors assist as well.
The reason the knee caves inwards is due to the adductors line of pull in hip extension. The line of pull
means their ability to assist in hip extension will be by pulling the knee inwards. This is not ideal in a heavy
squat as we want the knee tracking over the toe. Ideally, if the glutes are doing their job, the adductors will
have less of a need to take over the movement and therefore better control of the knee.
The way to solve this is to obviously train the glutes! I would recommend doing this with unilateral exercises
like step ups, single leg hip thrusts etc.
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BUTTWINK
Buttwink is the common name associated with posterior pelvic tilt - when our pelvis tucks under our body
when we are performing a squat instead of the lumbar spine staying in a neutral spine positioning. Due to
the posterior pelvic tilt, the lumbar spine is forced into a position of flexion.
The problem with this when we are squatting is that it can lead to a
few negative things:
Decreased glutes forced production meaning we now utilise less glutes

out of the bottom of the squat where we most want our glutes to be
highly engaged.
Places more of the load we are lifting into our spine. When we buttwink,
we lose tension in the glutes and that tension has to go somewhere. The
flexion of the lower back now leads to greater load being placed on our
lower back, disks, spine etc.
We have an increased chance of injury.
We lose tightness which means our ability to lift as heavy as possible has
been compromised.
Obviously, these are a few factors which will

not exactly be ideal when trying to lift as heavy
as possible and with a technique which will
best leave us injury free. Here’s some tips to
help with buttwink:
Squat in squat shoes

Squat shoes have a small heel elevation that
can very often be a huge difference in a client’s
ability to squat deep and not go into posterior
pelvic tilt. Increased heel elevation allows for
better ability to push knees forward in a squat
which gives a person more ability to feel they
have room to squat into the hole. This allows
for better control of the spine as the squat
moves more freely.
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Have a slightly wider stance when you squat
Women due to child bearing, have slightly wider hip structure than men. This is why women will tend to
need a slightly wider squat stance to make room for their anatomy. A slightly wider squat stance, I find, will
often instantly impact a client’s ability to get a little more range in their squat while maintaining control of
their hips.
Focus on your bracing

We will cover bracing in more detail further in the guidebook.
Stay in a range of motion you can squat without buttwinking initialy
Film yourself side on so you can visually understand where your squat is breaking down. For the time being,
I suggest stopping at the point you begin to butt wink. Each week, be mindful of this range of motion and
aim to very slightly improve your depth and control of your hips.
Use exercises like bird dog and side planks in warm ups to improve overall stability and drive
in bracing mechanics pre-squat initialy
More to come on these in the guide.
DEADLIFTS - CONVENTIONAL OR SUMO?
To deadlift conventional stance or sumo stance? That is the question!
As always it depends.
My personal opinion? I like conventional for my clients predominantly as I think it transfers over best to a
variety of goals. I find that it is a more optimal position to load the glutes and allows for easier performance
improvements.
In saying that, why do some people prefer the sumo stance? Primarily, because they feel more comfortable
in that position. A sumo deadlift is a shorter range of motion for the bar to travel which is why taller lifters
often prefer a sumo deadlift. Then, having a smaller range of motion can mean obviously potentially easier
to lift heavier loads as they have to travel less of a distance. But interestingly, the world’s strongest dead
lifters still deadlift from a conventional stance.
Are the muscles worked differently? Slightly yes! Conventional will be more glutes and hamstrings biased
and the sumo stance will be more quads and adductors.
So, which lift do I generally use? For hypertrophy goals, I will always use a conventional over sumo. For
strength goals, simply having a client lift as much as possible comes down to the client’s personal preference.
What do you feel strongest in for low reps and most comfortable? Whatever that is, I want you to then use
it for the program’s deadlift workout!
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CONVENTIONAL TECHNIQUE
Just like the squat, we will focus on technique from the feet up.
Feet
In conventional deadlifts, the stance width is all about being in our power position.
The best way to imagine this is if I asked you to stand and jump as high as you can for 2 reps.
You will find before you jump, you will naturally gravitate to a stance width which will give
you your most potential power to jump as high as possible. It’s normally actually not that
high and around shoulder width to just inside shoulder width for most people.
The stance width for you to jump as high as possible is also going to be your optimal stance
to conventional deadlift.
Shins
The next component is how close the bar should be towards your shins. What we want is to
have the bar roughly an inch or 2 away from our shins.
We don’t want the bar touching the shin while we are standing up as when we do bend
down to grab the bar, it is natural to have the shins push slightly forward.
We don’t want to then have the bar push away from us. Then, we also don’t want to have the
bar too far away from us so that the deadlift turns into a squat and we are behind the bar.
Having the bar that 1-2 inches away will allow you to come down and pick up the bar but
not have the shins push the bar away from you.
Knees
The knees will have a slight bend in them. The deadlift is a push and a pull. In order to push
the ground away, we need that slight bend.
Remember a conventional deadlift is not a romanian or a stiff legged deadlift.
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Hips
When it comes to hip height we don’t want the hips too low or too high. Ideally, you want
your hips somewhere around a 45* angle position from the floor as this will be optimal for
most depending on your limb length.
Back Position
When we lift, we want to create a neutral spine from our lower back all the way up to our
neck. Often we see backs round when we lift the bar off the ground. A big key to this is leg
drive but also engaging the lats.
Scapula
In terms of engaging the lats, what helps this is to aim to depress your scapula (shoulder
blades) which means we want to pull our shoulder blades down towards our hips. This is
very important for upper body tightness.
Arms
Likewise for upper body tightness, we want to ensure arms are locked and we are pulling
the bar into our body. Imagine someone is facing you and trying to pull the bar away from
you. Your job is to imagine with your straight arms, pulling the bar back into you which
further engages your lats.
Head Position
What I suggest is a neutral head position. Have your gaze about 1-2 meters in front of your
feet and maintain this head position throughout the lift.
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Now that we have covered what we want at each part of the body for
the lift, let’s simplify the movement and lift:
Step 1 Walk to the bar and stand in a foot width which is your power
position with the bar close, but not too close to your shins.
Step 2 Reach for the bar and get into your position, then pull shoulder
blades down to engage lats.
Step 3 Big breath in and fill your belly with air to increase intra
abdominal pressure to create that spinal stiffness.
Step 4 Push and pull the bar off the ground. We focus on pulling the
bar off the ground but also pushing the floor away with our
leg drive.
Step 5 Stand up and complete the rep.
Step 6 Initiate the lowering of the bar in an RDL manner which will
have the hips back to allow the bar to move past the knees.
Then, when the bar travels past the knees, lower hips and
return to the starting position.
Step 7 Dead stop the bar on the ground and repeat the process of
engaging lats and bracing.
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SUMO TECHNIQUE
The sumo deadlift will involve a substantially wider stance to

that of the convention deadlift. This wide stance decreases
the range of motion the bar will need to travel. This position
will also potentially have the ability to decrease some of the
load on the lower back due to a more upright torso position.
Feet
The feet should take a wide width and have the toes turning out. We do not want a wide
stance but then the toes facing straight ahead. The toes need to be angling out almost
towards the front of each plate on the barbell. Unlike the conventional deadlift where we
are focusing on driving straight down into the ground to lift the bar, with the sumo we focus
on shoving your feet out.
Shins
The bar, once more, should be an inch or so away from our shins but not too close you push
the bar away with the shins.
Knees
It’s integral that the knees follow the line of your feet. We don’t want feet turned out while
your knees are turned in. The knees need to be tracking with the same angle as the feet.
Hips
Hips will tend to be a touch lower on a sumo deadlift compared to a conventional deadlift
due to the wider stance. However, all too often people tend to sit down too low into a squat
position. It’s not a squat! Hips still need to be up above knee height.
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Back
Once again we want a neutral spine with our lats engaged. Depress scapula to ensure
shoulder blades are pulled down and the bar is pulled into our body.
Head
Neutral head position with eye gaze 1-2 metres in front of your body.
When it comes time to lift the bar off the ground, once more, ensure we take a big breath and fill our belly
up with air and hold that breath for the rep to ensure intra abdominal pressure. Bracing is an absolute must.
In each rep, please make sure you dead stop and reset the bar. Repeat the exact same process as if each
rep was a single.
CORE STABILITY
Core stability is an integral component of strength and what many refer to as functional strength. Think of
core stability as the foundation of your strength potential. We can use the analogy of a house needing a
strong foundation such as being built by bricks over that of sticks. That strong foundation will be able to
hold up in adverse conditions.
Traditionally, we think of strong cores as being people with 6 pack abs, which is your rectus abdominis.
However, a strong core is actually in reference to not just your visible 6 pack abs, but also muscles such as
your TVA - transverse abdominal muscles. These are your deeper muscles which act almost like a weight
belt for you. Our core also comprises your abdominal muscles on your sides such as the obliques as well
as your erector spine.
Then, muscles like the glutes and the lats will also assist in your core stability. Those are the muscles which
comprise the core and create stiffness when they are contracted. That stiffness is what helps to give us
spinal support. What we want when lifting is to have all of these muscles working together to create that
stiffness to support the spine when lifting.
Yes, deadlifts are great for your back and will work your core. Yes, squats are a great exercise and will
work your core, but to truly target core stability we want to look deeper than those exercises and train the
muscles in a slightly different manner.
Dr Stuart McGill is a world renowned back specialist many of my mentors over the years have strongly
recommended for his methods in improving core stability. You might have heard of his famous ‘McGill Big
3’. These exercises will help to train your core in a manner more specific to improving stability over just
the traditional heavy lifting and abs training. Improved core stability can lead to a stronger foundation to
lift heavier. I first came across the big 3 through Layne Norton and Sebastian Oreb, both world renowned
strength coaches. I found it interesting that both great coaches and athletes highly recommend these
movements. Good enough for them, then good enough for the rest of us!
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McGill Big 3
Our goal is to train those more specific muscles with the big 3 through an isometric manner to improve
that stiffness. The McGill big 3 targets this from 3 different angles. For my clients, I tend to focus on 2 of the
movements being the side plank and bird dog. I have given you guys a lot of warm up options and don’t
want to have you there for 30 minutes pre-lifting, so here are my go two movements of the big 3 for clients:
1. Side Plank:
This will train our core in a more lateral manner, particularly targeting our QL and our obliques.
2. Bird Dog:
The bird dog involves maintaining core stability while your limbs are moving. The big goal is to
keep the lower back stable and not hyperextending throughout the movement.
Each rep we will use opposing sides of the body. You will go on all 4s and with your left arm,
reach out straight ahead and your opposing side leg, the right leg, will kick straight back. Hold
this position for a count of 2 then swap sides for each movement.
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BRACING
The more stable our lower back is, the more power we can use through the rest of our body when lifting.
Core stability is a key to being able to best express your strength. The issue with the low back is it’s also the
most susceptible to injuries of your spine which makes spinal stability even more crucial.
We create stability for our lower back by using the muscles surrounding the spine to create that spinal
stiffness we need to best allow for as much power output as possible. The best way to do this when lifting
is through the use of “bracing” which involves creating that tightness we need around our entire core to
give us that spinal stiffness.
We want to begin with taking a breath in and filling our belly with air. Fill your stomach! You should be able
to feel it expand. Then, you want to hold that breath, whilst your belly is filled with air and this is when you
would perform a rep of an exercise. What we don’t want to do is breathe out in the concentric portion of
the lift. This actually has us LOSE that stiffness through the spine and is more dangerous!
Another factor that helps make bracing easing to understand is through the use of a lifting belt. The belt
actually gives you something to push into when your belly fills with air, further creating an added layer of
spinal stiffness. This is why a lifting belt can be your friend in exercises like a squat, deadlift or overhead
press.
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10 RECOVERY
Hard training programs will very often be associated at some periods with feeling quite fatigued. The more
advanced you become, usually the more training volume you will do. That added training volume can lead
to greater strength and hypertrophy adaptations but it can also mean greater potential for fatigue.
A good mindset when training is, “The harder you train, the harder you need to recover.”.
Calories are always going to be one of your best friends for recovery.
But other options outside nutrition I like for clients include:
Massages weekly.
Stress management - Things like meditating, breathing techniques etc.

can go a long way to really helping control your stress throughout the
week.
Sleep for 7-8 hours a night - Great sleep will always be your best friend
for anyone trying to change their body composition. When it comes to
your sleep, try to set up a good bedtime routine. Go to bed at the same
time each night, spend time off your phone and aim to wake up the same
time each morning. Better sleep, better recovery, better performance!
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11 SUPPLEMENTATION
CREATINE
Creatine is one of the most well-known
supplements in the world of hypertrophy.
Unlike BCAA’s, there is actually strong
research in support of creatine having
positive influence on strength adaptations
and hypertrophy. Supplementing creatine
monohydrate (the recommended
choice of creatine) increases levels of
phosphocreatine, primarily in our muscles.
An increase in phosphocreatine leads to
an increased ability to produce energy.
Creatine has been heavily researched and has proven benefits in a

variety of training modalities:
Improvements in strength (lifting heavier)
Improvements in strength endurance (lifting heavier for longer)
Improvements in athletic performance (in terms of explosive sprint

performance)
Interestingly, creatine is commonly seen as a ‘bad’ supplement to have when cutting, particularly in final
days before a comp due to water retention. In fact, it can actually have very positive effects on carbing up
due to improved glycogen storage. This will help the carbs get into the muscles to be stored as glycogen
which also is a positive for endurance athletes.
For all of you women, creatine is a positive due to strong research showing improved muscle mass in
females both young and old. The other factor I have been studying more recently, which I find potentially
very positive, is creatine’s ability to improve cognition.
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11 SUPPLEMENTATION
How much do I recommend?
Commonly with creatine, we have 2 loading options - a fast load or a longer load.
A fast load will mean that we have a greater intake of creatine in the first week of consumption, then we
lower the consumption to an ongoing maintenance intake. The point of a fast load is to speed up muscle
saturation of creatine.
“Why wouldn’t everyone just do a fast loading phase then?”. Some people can experience gut distress in
creatine loading phases. You can divide the servings throughout the day to lower symptoms or simply use
the longer load option. Also, the faster you saturate muscles, the faster potential scale weight gain can
occur which can also be a mental battle for certain people. A longer load, on the other hand, will take place
over 4 weeks.
I really like Martin MacDonald’s dosage recommendations for creatine loads, as he is a world-leading sports
nutritionist who I have learnt alot from!
I personally use these with my clients, which are:
Fast Load: 0.3g per kilogram of body weight each day for 7 days.
Long load: 0.05g per kilogram of body weight each day for 4 weeks.
Once we move past those initial phases, we go into a maintenance phase.
It’s important to note here that creatine supplementation can and should be taken daily, not only on training
days. This is also a supplement you can take consistently long term with no adverse effects.
When taking creatine, due to insulin helping increase creatine storage, it’s ideal to take creatine with a
carbohydrate or protein meal. Evidence shows potentially a tiny bit more optimal to have post workout,
most likely due to increased insulin sensitivity post training.
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11 SUPPLEMENTATION
CAFFEINE
I think the majority of you will know and love caffeine. Whether it’s a coffee in the morning or pre-workout
before the gym, caffeine is a fan favourite. Just like creatine, caffeine is one of the most heavily studied
natural supplements, ever! Caffeine, just like creatine, has been proven to actually have significant benefits
on performance in the gym hence why I like it.
These days there are a million and one fancy pre-workouts which majority of the time are basically caffeine
based with a whole lot of fillers. Sure, there are some better options but for the most part, caffeine is what
we want. This is why I don’t think you need to stress too heavily on the brand or a fancy pre-workout. You
can get your caffeine from coffee, caffeine tablets or a pre-workout… They all work!
Dosage for Performance
Now, dosage is where a lot of supplements can vary. Many pre-workouts or energy drinks will typically
range from 100-150mg of caffeine all the way up to 300mg. This is why you should always read the label to
fully understand how much you are having.
Research shows that optimal intake ranges from 3-6 mg per kg of bodyweight to enhance performance as
a pre-workout which should be consumed, ideally, 30-60 minutes before you exercise.
For example, a person who weighs 90kg would be recommended to consume between 270 mg-540 mg
of caffeine as a pre-workout. I believe that the lower end of this scale should be sufficient enough for an
everyday-gym-goer, and the higher range potentially be more useful for an athlete about to perform in a
sport.
The half-life of caffeine is 6-8 hours which means, for those having caffeine later in the day, be aware that
it lasts in your body for a fair few hours. If sleep is becoming an issue, try to minimise your caffeine intake
from the afternoon onwards.
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12 LIFTING ACCESSORIES
I want to cover some equipment that can be used with this program but are by no means essentials. They
are helpful items for sure and the most commonly used accessories by lifters in strength phases.
SQUAT SHOES
Squat shoes are shoes which firstly have an inbuilt small heel elevation. This heel elevation improves your
ability to get deeper in the squat through increased ankle dorsiflexion. This means you are able to more
easily push knees further forward whilst keeping a more upright torso.
Yes, you can elevate your heels which definitely helps but the benefit of the squat shoes is that it gives you
tension throughout the entire foot. Whereas, say an elevation under some small plates for your heels means
a good portion of your foot has no contact with the ground which impacts stability on very low rep work.
If we do heel elevated squats, I still have clients wear their squat shoes and add the plates or wedges
underneath their feet. Squat shoes are only a very minimal elevation, but it is an elevation that can really
do enough to make a squat that tiny bit better. If you’re not going to invest into squat shoes, that’s okay,
however you do not want to be squatting and or deadlifting in traditional, cushioned running shoes. Running
shoes are designed for running, they have a soft soul which allows you to really cushion the impact of each
step, which is fantastic if you’re running but not ideal when trying to be as strong as possible.
When we are squatting and deadlifting, we want a surface that we can push hard into to allow us to drive
up explosively. A running shoe is not designed to do this as it absorbs the force into its cushioned platform.
My suggestion is to ditch the running shoes for these two exercises.
As I’ve said, when you are squatting you should be wearing squatting shoes, or at least hard and flat shoes
like Converse or Vans.
When you are deadlifting, you should be wearing hard, flat shoes or even be barefoot!
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12 LIFTING ACCESSORIES
LIFTING BELT
A lifting belt is probably as close to an essential as you get for accessories for strength athletes. A lifting
belt will help promote optimal biomechanics when we are lifting in exercises like squats, deadlifts and also
a standing barbell overhead press. It aids to help reduce things like hyperextension when you are lifting
under heavy loads and decreases stress on the lower back. The belt will also help teach you how to brace,
as covered before.
In saying this, it’s also important to train without a belt. I personally like to do training phases beltless for
clients as well as training phases with a belt. You want to have a good base strength minus a belt, then the
belt can be a tool for heavy days. Many lifters all believe the belt aids strength improvements so if the goal
is lift as heavy as possible on low rep work. The belt is your friend!
I recommend for this program to use a belt for your WORKING SETS on your squats and deadlifts, but do
the majority of your warm up sets WITHOUT the belt.
WRIST WRAPS
One of the most common questions I get on social media is about wrist pain when low bar squatting.
Unfortunately, this can be really normal amongst lifters. To have the bar in the position of sitting on the rear
delts can obviously mean you require a lot of mobility to get your hands back in a position to hold the bar.
This can place a lot of stress on the wrists which is why wearing wrist wraps can help tremendously. These
offer a lot of support for your wrists when squatting and for most people can alleviate wrist pain almost
immediately.
I also suggest wearing wrist wraps for your pressing movements such as barbell bench press or overhead
presses as it will further add support to your wrists during pressing.
KNEE SLEEVES
Knee sleeves can offer a lifter more support around the knee joint when lifting as well as confidence in their
squats. Many of my clients use knee sleeves and feel they are both stronger and safer in their knees and on
their squats when wearing knee sleeves.
Knee sleeves also have a second benefit and that’s wearing them as shin guards when deadlifting.
Deadlifting routinely can lead to the bar scraping and cutting the shins which isn’t much fun. Bleeding shins
in the gym sucks as that area seems to bleed and bleed from the smallest cut. The knee sleeves can simply
be pulled down over the calves and worn during your deadlifts. This offers great protection for your shins
when pulling the bar up off the floor and aiming to keep the bar as close to shins as possible.
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13 STEPS
Steps are always a fantastic tool I use for clients, not just for fat loss benefits of increased calorie expenditure
but also by using steps for stress management and overall health.
Movement is a good thing! Steps are low impact and not very taxing which means they work very well in
synergy with our strength 12-week program. We can get calorie expenditure without it being too taxing
where it impacts the strength training performance.
BUILDING
7,000-8,000 daily steps should be more than sufficient for those of you building, especially for those with
a more sedentary job.
CUTTING
8,000-10,000 steps a day would be a great starting point with the back end of the 12 weeks potentially
bumping up to 10,000-12,000 steps a day, depending on how fat loss is progressing.
We definitely don’t want 20,000 plus steps a day for this strength program. The goal is daily movement, but
in a controlled manner for our daily steps!
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14 CAN I TRAIN 4 DAYS A WEEK?
The training program is obviously set out as a 5 day a week program but I understand some of you will not
find 5 workouts a week achievable. So, how do we make changes?
The easiest option is to cut a training day off the current program. For a balanced approach to your training
I suggest cutting the 3rd lower body training day. This will therefore give you 4 days training with a nice
balance of 2 upper body days and 2 lower body days.
Another option, for the women who prefer to really attack their legs and will mean a decrease in training
volume for the upper body, is to perform the 3 lower body days whilst removing one of the upper body
workouts (preferably the second upper day).
I personally would probably go with the 2 upper and 2 lower body day split as I like balance, but I also
understand some of you really want to focus on the lower body which is more than fine. The 3 lower and
cutting one of the upper body days will work well!. The main thing is to just get those 4 sessions done as
is, and do them well! I know you will crush your goals if you follow the plan precisely!
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15 TRAINING PROGRAM
ACCUMULATION 1 PROGRAM - 4 x 8,6,6,4
PHASE 1
CLICK THE WORKOUT NAMES TRACK YOUR WEIGHTS AND

STATS WITH GOOGLE SHEET!
BELOW TO ACCESS THE
VIDEO EXERCISE LIBRARY! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS
DAY WORKOUT
MONDAY Lower 1
TUESDAY Upper 1
WEDNESDAY REST
THURSDAY Lower 2
FRIDAY Upper 2
SATURDAY Lower 3
SUNDAY REST
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15 TRAINING PROGRAM
TO ACCESS THE VIDEO PROGRAM: 4 x 8,6,6,4

LOWER 1 EXERCISE LIBRARY FOR
MONDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 Low Bar Squats

WEEK SETS REPS REST TEMPO SET 1 SET 2 SET 3 SET 4
1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
A2 Lying Leg Curl

1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
B1 DB Front Foot Elevated Split Squats

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
B2 45° Back Extensions - DB on Chest

1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012
C Hip Thrust - Constant Tension

1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012
A1 450 Incline DB Press - Semi-Pronated

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 5 9
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

UPPER 1 EXERCISE LIBRARY FOR
TUESDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 DB Bench Press - Neutral

1 4 7-9 100 3010
2 4 7-9 100 3010
3 4 7-9 100 3010
A2 Pull Ups - Neutral - Slow Eccentrics

1 4 6-8 100 5010
2 4 6-8 100 5010
3 4 6-8 100 5010
B1 65° DB Arnold Press

1 3 8-10 75 3010
2 3 8-10 75 3010
3 3 8-10 75 3010
B2 30° Prone DB Rows - Neutral

1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012
C1 65° Incline DB Hammer Curls

1 3 10-12 45 3010
2 3 10-12 45 3010
3 3 10-12 45 3010
C2 Lying DB Triceps Extensions

1 3 10-12 45 3010
2 3 10-12 45 3010
3 3 10-12 45 3010
PAG E 6 0
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

TUESDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
D Side Planks
1 3 60 Seconds Each Side 60 2012
A2 Lying Leg Curl

1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010

1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012
C1 Hip Thrust - Constant Tension

1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012
C2 450 Incline DB Press - Semi-Pronated

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 6 1
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

THURSDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 BB Deficit Deadlift
1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
A2 DB Back Foot Elevated Split Squats

1 4 8,6,6,4 Each Leg 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 Each Leg 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 Each Leg 100 3010
B Hack Squats
1 3 8-10 75 3010
2 3 8-10 75 3010
3 3 8-10 75 3010
C1 BB Kas Glute Bridge

1 3 8-10 75 2011
2 3 8-10 75 2011
3 3 8-10 75 2011
C2 Leg Press - Feet Low

1 3 12 75 2010
2 3 12 75 2010
3 3 12 75 2010

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 6 2
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

FRIDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 Seated BB Overhead Press

1 4 7-9 100 3010
2 4 7-9 100 3010
3 4 7-9 100 3010
A2 Pull Ups - Neutral (Banded If Needed)

1 4 MAX 100 2010
2 4 MAX 100 2010
3 4 MAX 100 2010
B1 BB Bench Press - Close Grip

1 3 8-10 75 3010
2 3 8-10 75 3010
3 3 8-10 75 3010
B2 Seated Row - Mid-Pronated

1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012
C1 Cable Flyes

1 3 10-12 45 3010
2 3 10-12 45 3010
3 3 10-12 45 3010
C2 Face Pulls - Rope

1 3 10-12 45 3010
2 3 10-12 45 3010
3 3 10-12 45 3010
PAG E 6 3
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

FRIDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
D Cable Crunches
1 3 10-12 45 3010
2 3 10-12 45 3010
3 3 10-12 45 3010
A2 Lying Leg Curl

1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010

1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012

1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 6 4
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

SATURDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 High Bar Squats - Small Heel Elevation

1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
A2 Single Lying Leg Curl

1 4 8,6,6,4 Each Leg 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 Each Leg 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 Each Leg 100 3010
B BB Romanian Deadlifts
1 3 8-10 75 3010
2 3 8-10 75 3010
3 3 8-10 75 3010
C1 High Box Step Ups

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 60 4010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 60 4010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 60 4010
C2 One Leg DB Hip Thrust - 1 & 1/4 Reps

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 60 2010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 60 2010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 60 2010
D Reverse Crunches - Slow Eccentrics

1 3 8-10 60 4010
2 3 8-10 60 4010
3 3 8-10 60 4010
PAG E 6 5
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM
INTENSIFICATION 1 PROGRAM - 6 X 6,4,2,6,4,2
PHASE 2

BELOW TO ACCESS THE
DAY WORKOUT
MONDAY Lower 1
TUESDAY Upper 1
WEDNESDAY REST
THURSDAY Lower 2
FRIDAY Upper 2
SATURDAY Lower 3
SUNDAY REST
PAG E 6 6
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM
TO ACCESS THE VIDEO PROGRAM: 6 X 6,4,2,6,4,2

MONDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A Low Bar Squats

WEEK SETS REPS REST TEMPO SET 1 SET 2 SET 3 SET 4 SET 5 SET 6
1 6 6,4,2,6,4,2 240 2210
2 6 6,4,2,6,4,2 240 2210
3 6 6,4,2,6,4,2 240 2210
B1 Single Lying Leg Curl - 1 & 1/4 Reps at Top
1 3 5-7 Each Leg 100 3010
2 3 5-7 Each Leg 100 3010
3 3 5-7 Each Leg 100 3010

1 3 5-7 Each Leg 100 3010
2 3 5-7 Each Leg 100 3010
3 3 5-7 Each Leg 100 3010
C Kas Glute Bridge
1 3 10 120 2011
2 3 10 120 2011
3 3 10 120 2011
1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 6 7
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

TUESDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 BB Bench Press
1 6 8,6,4,8,6,4 120 2210
2 6 8,6,4,8,6,4 120 2210
3 6 8,6,4,8,6,4 120 2210
A2 Pull Ups - Supinated (Weighted if Possible)
1 6 3 120 3010
2 6 3 120 3010
3 6 3 120 3010
B1 Kneeling One Arm Overhead Shoulder Press - Neutral

1 3 6-8 Each Arm 90 3110
2 3 6-8 Each Arm 90 3110
3 3 6-8 Each Arm 90 3110
B2 Seated Row - Neutral
1 3 8 90 2010
2 3 8 90 2010
3 3 8 90 2010
C Seated Rope Pull to Neck
1 3 8 90 2012
2 3 8 90 2012
3 3 8 90 2012
D Hanging Knee Raises

1 3 12 60 2010
2 3 12 60 2010
3 3 12 60 2010
PAG E 6 8
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

THURSDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A BB Conventional Deadlift
1 6 6,4,2,6,4,2 240 2210
2 6 6,4,2,6,4,2 240 2210
3 6 6,4,2,6,4,2 240 2210
B Hack Squat
1 3 6-8 120 4010
2 3 6-8 120 4010
3 3 6-8 120 4010
C BB Hip Thrust - Dead Stops

1 3 8 120 2210
2 3 8 120 2210
3 3 8 120 2210
D 45° Standing Straight Leg Abductions - Cable
1 3 12 Each Leg 75 2010
2 3 12 Each Leg 75 2010
3 3 12 Each Leg 75 2010
1 3 12 75 2010
2 3 12 75 2010
3 3 12 75 2010

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 6 9
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

FRIDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 BB Standing Overhead Press

1 6 8,6,4,8,6,4 120 2010
2 6 8,6,4,8,6,4 120 2010
3 6 8,6,4,8,6,4 120 2010
A2 Pull Ups - Neutral (Weighted if Possible)
1 6 3 120 3010
2 6 3 120 3010
3 6 3 120 3010
B1 DB Bench Press - Semi-Pronated

1 3 6-8 90 3110
2 3 6-8 90 3110
3 3 6-8 90 3110
B2 One Arm DB Rows
1 3 8 Each Arm 90 2010
2 3 8 Each Arm 90 2010
3 3 8 Each Arm 90 2010
C1 45° Incline DB Curls
1 3 7 90 4010
2 3 7 90 4010
3 3 7 90 4010
C2 BB Skull Crushers
1 3 7 90 4010
2 3 7 90 4010
3 3 7 90 4010
PAG E 7 0
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

SATURDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A Low Bar Squats

1 4 4 240 4010
2 4 4 240 4010
3 4 4 240 4010
B1 Lying Leg Curl
1 4 7 120 4010
2 4 7 120 4010
3 4 7 120 4010
B2 DB Bulgarian Split Squats

1 4 7 Each Leg 120 2110
2 4 7 Each Leg 120 2110
3 4 7 Each Leg 120 2110
C BB Romanian Deadlifts
1 3 8 100 3010
2 3 8 100 3010
3 3 8 100 3010
D1 Moving Plank
1 2 30 Seconds 45 XXXX
D2 Crunches
1 2 20 45 2010
2 2 20 45 2010
3 2 20 45 2010
PAG E 7 1
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM
ACCUMULATION 2 PROGRAM - 5 X 5
PHASE 3

BELOW TO ACCESS THE
DAY WORKOUT
MONDAY Lower 1
TUESDAY Upper 1
WEDNESDAY REST
THURSDAY Lower 2
FRIDAY Upper 2
SATURDAY Lower 3
SUNDAY REST
PAG E 7 2
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM
TO ACCESS THE VIDEO PROGRAM: 5 X 5

MONDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 Low Bar Squats

WEEK SETS REPS REST TEMPO SET 1 SET 2 SET 3 SET 4 SET 5
1 5 5 120 3010
2 5 5 120 3010
3 5 5 120 3010
A2 Lying Leg Curl - 1 & 1/4 Reps at Bottom
1 5 5 120 3010
2 5 5 120 3010
3 5 5 120 3010
B1 High Box Step Up - Controlled Eccentrics

1 3 8 Each Leg 90 3010
2 3 8 Each Leg 90 3010
3 3 8 Each Leg 90 3010
B2 45° Back Extensions - Hold DB Behind Head
1 3 8 90 2012
2 3 8 90 2012
3 3 8 90 2012
C Leg Press - Feet High & Wide
1 3 12 120 2010
2 3 12 120 2010
3 3 12 120 2010
D Plank
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0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

TUESDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 45° Incline BB Bench Press

1 5 5 120 3010
2 5 5 120 3010
3 5 5 120 3010
A2 Pull Ups - Neutral - 1 & 1/4 Reps at Top
1 5 3-5 120 2010
2 5 3-5 120 2010
3 5 3-5 120 2010
B1 Push Ups
1 3 8-10 90 3010
2 3 8-10 90 3010
3 3 8-10 90 3010
B2 One Arm Seated Row - Neutral
1 3 8-10 Each Arm 90 2011
2 3 8-10 Each Arm 90 2011
3 3 8-10 Each Arm 90 2011
C 30° Prone DB Rows
1 3 12 120 2010
2 3 12 120 2010
3 3 12 120 2010
D1 45° Prone DB Spider Curls

1 3 12 60 2010
2 3 12 60 2010
3 3 12 60 2010
PAG E 74
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

TUESDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
D2 Lying DB Triceps Extensions - 1 & 1/4 Reps

1 3 10 60 2010
2 3 10 60 2010
3 3 10 60 2010
A2 Lying Leg Curl
1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012
1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 7 5
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

THURSDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 BB Deficit Deadlift
1 5 5 120 3110
2 5 5 120 3110
3 5 5 120 3110
A2 DB Front Foot Elevated Split Squats - 1 & 1/4 Reps
1 5 5 Each Leg 120 3010
2 5 5 Each Leg 120 3010
3 5 5 Each Leg 120 3010
B BB Hip Thrusts - Constant Tension

1 3 12,10,8 120 2011
2 3 12,10,8 120 2011
3 3 12,10,8 120 2011
C Leg Press - Feet Low
1 3 12 90 2010
2 3 12 90 2010
3 3 12 90 2010
D Standing Straight Leg Kickbacks - Cable
1 3 12 90 2010
2 3 12 90 2010
3 3 12 90 2010
E Hanging Single Leg Raises - Alternate Each Rep

1 3 10 Each Leg 90 2010
2 3 10 Each Leg 90 2010
3 3 10 Each Leg 90 2010
PAG E 7 6
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

FRIDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 Seated DB Shoulder Press - Neutral - 1 & 1/4 Reps

1 5 5 90 3010
2 5 5 90 3010
3 5 5 90 3010
A2 Pull Ups - Mid-Pronated
1 5 8 90 2010
2 5 8 90 2010
3 5 8 90 2010
B1 15° Incline DB Bench Press - Neutral

1 3 8-10 90 3010
2 3 8-10 90 3010
3 3 8-10 90 3010
1 3 10-12 90 2010
2 3 10-12 90 2010
3 3 10-12 90 2010
C Seated Pull to Neck - Rope - 1 & 1/4 Reps
1 3 12 90 2010
2 3 12 90 2010
3 3 12 90 2010
D1 45° Incline Zottman Curls

1 3 10 60 2010
2 3 10 60 2010
3 3 10 60 2010
PAG E 7 7
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

FRIDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
D2 Rope Triceps Pushdowns

1 3 15 60 2010
2 3 15 60 2010
3 3 15 60 2010
A2 Lying Leg Curl
1 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
2 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010
3 4 8,6,6,4 100 3010

1 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
2 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
3 3 8-10 Each Leg 75 3010
1 3 8-10 75 2012
2 3 8-10 75 2012
3 3 8-10 75 2012
1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 7 8
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

SATURDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 High Bar Squats

1 5 5 120 3010
2 5 5 120 3010
3 5 5 120 3010
A2 Single Lying Leg Curl - Pause at Top
1 5 5 Each Leg 120 2012
2 5 5 Each Leg 120 2012
3 5 5 Each Leg 120 2012
B DB Reverse Lunges
1 3 8 Each Leg 90 2010
2 3 8 Each Leg 90 2010
3 3 8 Each Leg 90 2010
C1 Kas Glute Bridge - Pause at Top
1 3 15 60 1112
2 3 15 60 1112
3 3 15 60 1112
C2 DB Romanian Deadlift
1 3 10 60 3010
2 3 10 60 3010
3 3 10 60 3010
D Decline Crunches
1 3 10-12 90 3010
2 3 10-12 90 3010
3 3 10-12 90 3010
PAG E 7 9
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM
INTENSIFICATION 2 PROGRAM - 5 X 5,3,3,2,2
PHASE 4

BELOW TO ACCESS THE
DAY WORKOUT
MONDAY Lower 1
TUESDAY Upper 1
WEDNESDAY REST
THURSDAY Lower 2
FRIDAY Upper 2
SATURDAY Lower 3
SUNDAY REST
PAG E 8 0
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM
TO ACCESS THE VIDEO PROGRAM: 5 X 5,3,3,2,2

MONDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A Low Bar Squats

1 5 5,3,3,2,2 300 2010
2 5 5,3,3,2,2 300 2010
3 5 5,3,3,2,2 300 2010
1 4 8 120 3010
2 4 8 120 3010
3 4 8 120 3010
B2 DB Back Foot Elevated Split Squat

1 4 5-7 Each Leg 120 2110
2 4 5-7 Each Leg 120 2110
3 4 5-7 Each Leg 120 2110
C Cable Crunches
1 3 10-12 60 2010
2 3 10-12 60 2010
3 3 10-12 60 2010
1 3 8-10 120 2012
2 3 8-10 120 2012
3 3 8-10 120 2012

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 8 1
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

TUESDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 BB Bench Press
1 5 6,5,4,4,4 140 2010
2 5 6,5,4,4,4 140 2010
3 5 6,5,4,4,4 140 2010
A2 Pull Ups - Neutral
1 5 3,3,2,2,1 140 3010
2 5 3,3,2,2,1 140 3010
3 5 3,3,2,2,1 140 3010
B1 65° DB Arnold Press

1 3 5-7 120 3010
2 3 5-7 120 3010
3 3 5-7 120 3010
B2 One Arm DB Rows - Dead Stops
1 3 5-7 Each Arm 120 2210
2 3 5-7 Each Arm 120 2210
3 3 5-7 Each Arm 120 2210
C Seated Rope Pull to Neck
1 3 12,10,8 90 2011
2 3 12,10,8 90 2011
3 3 12,10,8 90 2011
D Hanging Knee Raises

1 3 12 60 2010
2 3 12 60 2010
3 3 12 60 2010
PAG E 8 2
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

THURSDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A BB Conventional Deadlift
1 5 5,3,3,2,2 300 21X0
2 5 5,3,3,2,2 300 21X0
3 5 5,3,3,2,2 300 21X0
B1 DB Walking Lunges
1 4 6-8 Each Leg 120 2010
2 4 6-8 Each Leg 120 2010
3 4 6-8 Each Leg 120 2010
B2 Single Lying Leg Curl

1 4 6-8 Each Leg 120 2010
2 4 6-8 Each Leg 120 2010
3 4 6-8 Each Leg 120 2010
D Reverse Crunches
1 3 15 60 2021
2 3 15 60 2021
3 3 15 60 2021
1 3 12 75 2010
2 3 12 75 2010
3 3 12 75 2010

1 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
2 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
3 4 15,12,12,10 90 2010
PAG E 8 3
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

FRIDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A1 BB Standing Overhead Press

1 5 6,5,4,4,4 140 2010
2 5 6,5,4,4,4 140 2010
3 5 6,5,4,4,4 140 2010
A2 Pull Ups - Supinated
1 5 3,3,2,2,1 140 3010
2 5 3,3,2,2,1 140 3010
3 5 3,3,2,2,1 140 3010
B1 DB Bench Press - 1 & 1/4 Reps

1 3 5-7 120 3010
2 3 5-7 120 3010
3 3 5-7 120 3010
1 3 8 120 2210
2 3 8 120 2210
3 3 8 120 2210
C1 BB Curls
1 3 10,8,6 90 2010
2 3 10,8,6 90 2010
3 3 10,8,6 90 2010
C2 BB Skull Crushers
1 3 10,8,6 90 2010
2 3 10,8,6 90 2010
3 3 10,8,6 90 2010
PAG E 8 4
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
15 TRAINING PROGRAM

SATURDAY
THIS WORKOUT!
A Low Bar Squats NOTE: Maintain Weight All 4 Sets, Add Weight Weekly
1 4 3 300 50X0
2 4 3 300 50X0
3 4 3 300 50X0
B1 High Box Step Up
1 4 8-10 Each Leg 100 3010
2 4 8-10 Each Leg 100 3010
3 4 8-10 Each Leg 100 3010
B2 BB Hip Thrusts - Dead Stops

1 4 6-8 100 2110
2 4 6-8 100 2110
3 4 6-8 100 2110
C Moving Plank
D1 Moving Plank
D2 Crunches
1 2 20 45 2010
2 2 20 45 2010
3 2 20 45 2010
PAG E 8 5
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
17 NUTRITION
Whilst I covered that I would prefer for this program to be done at maintenance or in a surplus to promote
greater strength progression, you are able to cut too! You can still build muscle in a deficit, it just won’t be
as fast as when you are in a surplus. Let’s break these two options down:
BUILDING
If your focus is on building muscle on STRONG, a calorie surplus is the most optimal environment for you
to be achieving that goal, combined with the weights program. Now, we can go into a number of surplus
options.
For those of you who have been dieting for a long period of time and are worried about fat gain, we can
choose a more conservative approach initially by spending the program on maintaining calories, at least for
the initial few weeks and then build calories up as we go. Or, if you are ready to get straight into a surplus
and make the most of the 12 weeks, we can immediately enter a small surplus and build up from there.
PAG E 8 6
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
17 NUTRITION
You will need to distinguish which building ‘tier’ you want to follow,
based on how much of a surplus you want to be in. The build tier
breakdowns are:
Tier 1 - Maintenance
You will begin your build at maintenance calories and then increase them by
5% every 4 weeks.
Tier 2 - Conservative
You will begin your build at a 5% surplus and then increase the surplus by 5%
every 4 weeks.
Tier 3 - Moderate:
This is for people who are generally labelled ‘hard gainers’ and need to put
on size! You will begin your at a 20% surplus and then increase your surplus
by 5% every 4 weeks.
Through the Coach Mark Carroll App and my macro calculator, I have done all the maths and thinking for
you. All you have to do is click on the Nutrition tab in the App, fill out your details and follow the prompts
for your calorie and macronutrient breakdowns.
CUTTING
As I just said, my recommendation is to avoid an aggressive fat loss phase whilst doing this program
as our focus is getting strong! I’m obviously not able to stop you if you do want to but again, not my
recommendation.
If you will go ahead with a deficit, you will need to distinguish which
cutting ‘tier’ you want to follow. The cut tier breakdowns are:
Tier 1 - Conservative
If you are going to cut, this is the tier I would recommend most on this
program as it will only bring you into a 20% deficit initially.
Tier 2 - Moderate
A moderate deficit will start you at 30% initially.
Tier 3 - Aggressive
This is an intense deficit and I do not recommend doing this on STRONG.
PAG E 8 7
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
17 NUTRITION
Through the Coach Mark Carroll App and my macro calculator, I have done all the maths and thinking for
you. All you have to do is click on the Nutrition tab in the App, fill out your details and follow the prompts
for your calorie and macronutrient breakdowns.
MACRONUTRIENTS SPLITS
Once you have done the App calculator and selected your tier, you’ll be prompted to choose your macro
splits. The macro splits are how you want to distribute your carbs and fats over your diet and is broken
down into 3 options:
01 Low Fat & High Carb
02 Moderate Fat & Moderate Carb
03 High Fat & Low Carb
In saying this, for a program like STRONG where we are focusing on building strength first and foremost, I
strongly recommend that you choose the higher carb intake.
Carbohydrates are your best friend when it comes to lifting weights, obviously combined
with protein.
With our training being very taxing and intense in this program, we want to be supporting our nervous
system as much as we can. That is where carbs are a massive help as they are a fantastic source of fuel for
your body and nervous system.
Our protein stays the same in all 3 options and is based on your goal and weight - the App calculates this
for you! Protein intake is key here but so are your calories, and they are our main focuses!
The macro breakdowns are more about your personal preference and your diet as I want you to choose
something that aligns with the foods you ACTUALLY enjoy.
PAG E 8 8
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
18 SUMMARY
I truly hope that all of you using this program really dive into it head first. We have covered a lot of topics
in the guide to allow you to understand the program and why we have been more specifically focusing on
low rep work, over a more traditional approach of large rep spreads.
Here are the key takeaways for STRONG:
01 Follow the plan!
02 Be really smart with your load selections each week.
03 Use these 12 weeks as laying the foundations of being stronger not just
on low reps, but allow it to transfer over to being stronger after this
phase on all reps.
04 Lift heavy but most of all lift smart with great technique. The clients who
progress the best are the ones who stay healthy. Heavy weights can be
very safe to lift but they can also expose poor technique far more than
higher rep work. I strongly suggest filming your lifts each week as it gives
you so much valuable feedback and really helps you identify technique
strengths and weaknesses.
Essentially, all I want you to do is train hard, train smart and crush some new PBs!
Mark Carroll
PAG E 8 9
0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021
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Disclaimer
The content of this e-book is to serve as a general overview of matters of interest and is not
intended to be comprehensive, nor does it constitute medical (or other) advice in any way. This e-book is a
compilation of one person’s ideas, concepts, ideologies, philosophies and opinions. You should carry out your
own research and/or seek your own professional advice before acting or relying on any of the information
displayed in this e-resource. The author, and its related entities will not be liable for any
injuries, loss or damage that may arise out of your improper use of, or reliance on, the content of this
e-resource. You accept sole responsibility for the outcomes if you choose to adopt and/or use the
systems, methods, ideas, concepts and opinions within the content of this e-book.
info@coachmarkcarroll.com www.coachmarkcarroll.com

0411111821 ID: 255836 on October 15, 2021

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STRONG

Purchased by Nicole Karamanlis of Nicole Karamanlis Enfield. Email nicolerk@optusnet.com.au | Phone:

When I coached Lauren Simpson to the WBFF

Lauren still lifts heavy and recently squatted

Another client of mine (and also my General

These are insane numbers for any woman, let alone

What I am trying to say here is just because

Not following a structured or periodised program.

Making up your training program on the day depending on what

Not resting long enough to allow your nervous system to recover

Using the wrong or bad technique/movement pattern.

Forever dieting on low calories.

STRENGTH TRAINING VS. BODYBUILDING

Strength Training Bodybuilding (Hypertrophy)

Strength training, generally, Hypertrophy training will be higher

The goal of strength training is General strength focus.

Specific strength focus.

There are two different types of strength improvements, which I’ve

NEUROLOGICAL VS. HYPERTROPHY ADAPTATIONS

RELATIVE STRENGTH - 1-5 REPS

FUNCTIONAL HYPERTROPHY - 6-8 REPS

HYPERTROPHY - 9-14 REPS

STRENGTH ENDURANCE - 15+ REPS

Weeks 1-4 - Strength Endurance

Weeks 5-8 - Hypertrophy

Weeks 9-12 - Functional Hypertrophy

Our focus for the 12 weeks will be:

01 Relative strength which should lead to neurological adaptations (I go into

02 We will also use functional hypertrophy and a little hypertrophy strength

WHAT ABOUT CARDIO?

Accumulation 1 4 x 8,6,6,4 Base Building

Intensification 1 6 x 6,4,2,6,4,2 Introduction to Lower Reps and Relative

Accumulation 2 5x5 Volume for Heavy Load

Intensification 1 5 x 5,3,3,2,2 Volume of Relative Strength

We will then come back to focusing on a phase centred around lifting

Phase 1: Accumulation 1 - 4 x 8,6,6,4

Reps go down, loads go up!

Phase 2: Intensification 1 - 6 x 6,4,2,6,4,2

Set 1 6 reps @ 70kg

Set 2 4 reps @ 80kg

Set 3 2 reps @ 90kg

Set 1 6 reps @ 72.5kg

Set 2 4 reps @ 82.5kg

Phase 4: Intensification 2 - 5 x 5,3,3,2,2

WEEK 13 - ONE REP MAX TESTING

How to get to 1RM working set:

Warm Up 1 The Bar x 10 reps, 60 seconds rest.

Warm Up 2 50% of goal weight x 5 reps, 60 seconds rest.

Warm Up 3 65% of goal weight x 4 reps, 90 seconds rest.

Warm Up 4 75% of goal weight x 3 reps, 120 seconds rest.

Warm Up 5 85% x of goal weight x 2 reps, 150 seconds rest.

Warm Up 6 95% x of goal weight x 1 rep, 180 seconds rest.

Week 1 aim of the game is not to miss reps

Week 2 progression and keeping quality reps

Week 3 we need to take things up another level!

final week of the phase

Week 1 scale 7.0 - 8 for top end sets

Week 2 scale 8.0 - 8.5 for top end sets

Week 3 scale 8.5 - 9.5 for top end sets

RPE Scale Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale

10 Could not do more repetition or weight

9.5 Could not do more repetitions, could do slightly more weight

9 Could do 1 more repetition

8.5 Could do 1 more repetitions, possible 2 more repetitions