Absolute Strength

A Three Phase Strength Building System designed for

the Intermediate to Advanced Athlete.

By: Kyle Hunt

2 ABSOLUTE STRENGTH
Before you embark on any physical fitness program, please consult a
doctor.

This book may not be reproduced or recorded in any form without

permission from the author.

Copyright 2016 by Kyle Hunt. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Why This Program
Chapter 1: The Absolute Strength System
Chapter 2: Periodization and Programming Variables
Chapter 3: How to Use Percentages and RPE Scale
Chapter 4: The Templates
Chapter 5: How to Squat, Bench and Deadlift
Chapter 6: The Warm Up
Chapter 7: Nutrition: What’s Really Important
Chapter 8: Eating to Get Strong
Chapter 9: Tips For Your First Powerlifting Meet
Chapter 10: How to Run the Program
Chapter 11: The Program
Chapter 12: Common Questions: Q and A

Appendix 1: Other Resources (further reading/book list)

Appendix 2: What to do next?
About the Author

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Introduction: Why This Program
This program has been in my head for the last three or four years. Not
this exact program, obviously, but the general concept has been
materializing in my head for that long.

During that time, I have read at least 50 training books and boiled down
all the best information into this one concise program.

I must admit this program was developed for selfish reasons. The truth
is it took me having a defined goal to really bring this program to
fruition.

My goal when coming up with Absolute Strength was simple. I wanted

to develop a program in which I could get as strong as possible.
Nothing less than that was going to cut it.

I needed a plan that was balanced. A plan I could follow for multiple
training cycles and continue progressing. I also wanted a program that
allowed me to build some muscle to go along with the strength. I mean,
what good is being strong if you look like you don’t even lift?

Don’t get me wrong this is a powerlifting program. Maximum strength is

the goal. But powerlifting and bodybuilding do have some carryover. A
well-designed strength program will absolutely help you build muscle.
Those adaptations are not mutually exclusive.
If this is starting to sound like a “perfect program”, I like to think it’s
close.

Now before you get too excited, there is no such thing as a “perfect
program” for everyone. The search for the perfect set up will be an
endless one accompanied by lots of heartbreak and program hopping.
With that being said, I do believe in the endless pursuit of excellence.
Never settle for anything that is less than the best.

I have spent the better part of the last 10 years devoting myself to
developing high quality training programs. This is the best I have right
now.

As I write this in 2016, this is the best program I have put on paper for
developing maximum strength. But like I said, I believe in the endless
pursuit of excellence. In five or ten years from now my thoughts are
likely to change, however, the principles of this program will last you a
lifetime.

Whenever I feel myself swaying towards any new fad, I remember the
main points of this program.

The Truth
Before we go any further I have to get something off my chest. I feel like
it’s my responsibility to let you know the “secret” of this program up
front in the beginning.

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Are you ready?

This program is hard, I mean really hard. That is the secret formula.
Hard training combined with ample volume.

The fact is, everyone “thinks” they train hard but in reality very few
people actually do.

It’s a sad reality in the gym world.

In our defense, it’s not our fault. We are taught from an early training
age to avoid “overtraining” and focus on “training smarter, not harder”.
How many times have we read an article that said, “Less is more”? Well
less is NOT more. In most cases, only more is more. It’s not enough to
just train smart. If you want to make real gains you have to train smart
and hard.

In a perfect world we could all get bigger and stronger by doing less,
however, that is just not the case. To make progress you need
progressive overload – heavier weights, higher frequency, and more
volume.
This program is a lot of things…but it’s not easy. If you are looking for
“one cool trick” to get strong this is not the program.
This type of training will kick your ass. However, if you are willing to
put in the work (I know you are) it takes to get brutally strong, this is
what you need.

Let’s go!

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Author’s note: Before we get started I just want to mention one thing.

I highly recommend reading through this entire book before starting the
actual training program. There is a reason I put the programs at the end.

Trust me, I know the temptation is to just flip to the back, print out the
programs and get started without reading the information provided. I
respect the enthusiasm but unless you know the “why” behind the
programming, it’s going to be hard for you to see why this is the best
way to train.

With the knowledge behind the programming you are also more likely
to fully “buy in” to the concepts of the program. And that is what we
ultimately need – a full buy in. You must be 100% committed to the
program and follow it to the end.

Plus, I want this book to be more than just a training program. I want to
actually teach you a system of training that you can use for a lifetime of
progress.

I tried to streamline this book as much as possible. I didn’t have a page

requirement so if it’s in the book I feel it’s important.

- Kyle Hunt
Chapter 1: The Absolute Strength System
The Absolute Strength system came together without really planning to
come up with it.

Over the years I found myself gravitating toward certain training

principles that worked best for me. Even after trying out the newest and
greatest programs I always circled back around to the same basic
philosophy.

Absolute Strength is defined as the amount of force a muscle can produce

in a single voluntary effort, regardless of the size. In other words, absolute
strength refers to the maximum amount of weight a person can lift for one
repetition.

The sport of powerlifting is all about absolute strength. One repetition

maxes for the squat, bench and deadlift are the only numbers that
matter. This is referred to as a powerlifting total.

Powerlifting programs are designed with this in mind. The ultimate goal
of a powerlifting program is to increase the lifter’s powerlifting total.
Muscle size, speed, and athleticism will be developed along the way, but
absolute strength is the priority.

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Relationship Between Building Muscle and Strength
When I first got into training it was bodybuilding that had my attention.
I used to read all of the popular bodybuilding magazines – Flex, Muscle
and Fitness, Muscular Development, MuscleMag, etc. I even read
Arnold’s massive Encyclopedia to Modern Bodybuilding cover to cover
multiple times. In fact, it still sits on my bookshelf to this day.

No matter how far down the strength path I get, building muscle will
always be important to me.

The fact is building muscle should be important to any powerlifter or

strength athlete in general. A bigger muscle has a greater potential to be
a stronger muscle.

Many people over the years have come out with “powerbuilding” style
programs. However, those programs try to build muscle and strength at
the same exact time, literally the same training session or training cycle.

Those programs are great at building average strength and average

muscle, but that’s not what we are trying to do.

Remember what I said in the beginning. My ultimate goal when

designing this program was to develop a system in which I could get as
strong as possible. The muscle building will be a nice side effect but not
the primary focus.
Hypertrophy training does have a specific purpose in a powerlifting
routine. Like I previously mentioned, “a bigger muscle has the potential
to be a stronger muscle”. Notice I said potential. Size does not
automatically equate to strength. It is not uncommon for a huge
bodybuilder to get “out lifted” by a smaller powerlifter. There is more to
strength than just size.

With that being said, muscle size is very important to strength. In fact,
when it comes to strength, muscle size is the most important factor. If
muscle development were irrelevant there would be no need to have
weight classes in powerlifting.

In a basic linear periodization model, hypertrophy and strength work

are not ran at the same time. You would have a hypertrophy block
(higher reps) followed by a strength block (lower reps). But the
problem is, during your muscle building block you lose strength gains
and during your strength block you lose muscular gains.

The Absolute Strength program uses a unique blend of Daily Undulating

Periodization (DUP) and Linear Progression. This allows for multiple
training adaptations in each training cycle.

The Absolute Strength program is very versatile. It can be set up in an

unlimited amount of ways. Because of the versatility, you will have the
freedom to mold this system to fit your needs within the framework of
the overall program.

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The 5 Key Points of the Absolute Strength Program

1 – Specificity: To get better at an exercise or skill, you must perform

that exercise or skill. It’s the classic practice as you are going to play
idea. In our case this is going to mean a couple things.

Since our goal is to increase our Absolute Strength, more specifically our
powerlifting total, we will be doing the powerlifts (squat, bench, and
deadlift) a lot. On top of that, we will be using heavy weight when we do
the main powerlifting movements.

This is not to say variety is not important, it is, just not at the expense of
specificity.

In addition to the big three, other multi-joint movements make up the

rest of this program.

2- High Frequency: Building on the last point, the Absolute Strength

program is a high frequency program. By high frequency, I mean you
will be hitting each muscle group (and movement) multiple times per
training week/cycle. Strength is a skill, and like any skill you get better
at it with practice. The more “practice” you can get in, the better you are
going to be.

3- Autoregulation: Auto-regulation refers to the ability to change a

program based on your responses to different stressors in your life and
how you are feeling week to week and day to day. Training is a stressor,
but so are family problems, lack of sleep, increased workload in school,
etc. We will be going into more detail on autoregulation later on in the
book.

4 – Progress Slowly: Everyone wants results fast. You have to be in this

for the long haul. Your ultimate success is not determined by one
training session or even one week of training – it’s determined by long-
term consistency. Follow this program to completion.

There is nothing special about any of the workouts in this program

individually. The program is special when looked at as a whole. Think
long term.

Anyone can train hard for a day or even a week. Champions are
consistently putting in work month after month. On this program the
2.5 and 5 pound plates are going to be your best friends.

5- Outside Preparation: Last but not least, preparation. Outside

preparation refers to everything you do outside of the actual X’s and O’s
of the program. Dialing in your nutrition, following the warm-up, doing
mobility work, etc.

In order to see maximal results you need to take things to the next level.

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Chapter 2: Periodization and Programming
Variables

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of this training plan, we must go
over basic training principles.

What is Periodization?
The definition straight out of the text titled “Periodization” by Tudor
Bompa is: “the logical and systematic sequencing of training factors in
an integrative fashion in order to optimize specific training outcomes at
pre-determined time points.”

That’s a mouthful.

My definition for periodization is much simpler:

Periodization is having a training plan that goes beyond one week. It’s
how you organize your training.

Theory of Planning
Training programs are broken down into three main phases –
microcycle, mesocycle and macrocycle.

Microcycle: A microcycle refers to a single training cycle or training

week. Typically between 4-10 days.
Mesocycle: A mesocycle is a group of training weeks combined to equal
one training phase. This cycle is usually 3-6 weeks in duration.

Macrocycle: A macrocycle is the overall training plan. A training

program usually lasts between 9 – 16 weeks.

Now let’s look at the most common forms of periodization. There are
three main elements to define how programs are periodized.

It’s important to note that most training programs will utilize all three
forms of periodization. It’s rare to have a program designed exclusively
with one form of periodization. There is a lot of overlap between
periodization models.

Linear Periodization: Linear periodization is the simplest form of

periodization. It’s basically just progressive overload. But, just because
its basic does not mean it lacks effectiveness. Some of the best lifters in
history got that way by following basic linear periodization programs.

Linear periodization is a tried and true method of adding more weight

to the bar. Every good program will utilize some form of linear
periodization.

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In traditional linear periodization models, you start out with high
volume/low intensity and over a period of time lower the volume and
increase the intensity.

Linear periodization is also called block periodization. The “block”

refers to a period of time focusing on one training variable –
hypertrophy, strength, muscular endurance, etc.

Like previously mentioned, the downside to traditional linear

periodization is detraining outside of the specific training blocks. During
the hypertrophy block you build muscle but lose absolute strength and
vise versa. Utilizing undulating periodization is a way to counteract this
issue.

Conjugate Periodization: The next form of periodization I want to talk

about is conjugate periodization. Louie Simmons and Westside Barbell
popularized the conjugate method. According to Louie, “the conjugate
method is a complex method of rotating special exercises that are close
in nature, in our case, to the power lifts.”

Conjugate periodization refers to constantly changing training stressors

in order to train multiple characteristics at once. I’m not going to spend
much time on this model because we don’t use a lot of it in this program.

However, you will notice a lot of carryover ideas between conjugate and
daily undulating periodization.
Daily Undulating Periodization (DUP): This is the periodization
model I am going to spend the most time on.

Daily Undulating Periodization, known in the lifting game simply as

DUP, has made a resurgence in the lifting community in recent years.

Although I’m not sure where or when the concepts of DUP surfaced,
non-linear periodization has been well supported at least scientifically
for quite awhile.

Daily Undulating Periodization sounds very technical and confusing, but

in reality DUP is actually a pretty simple concept.

Daily Undulating Periodization is exactly what it sounds like.

Let’s break it down:

Daily: literally we are talking about days of the week.

Undulating: Undulation simply means a flowing motion, up and down in

a wave like pattern. In reference to training it means sets and reps
progressing in a nonlinear fashion. Just picture a wavy line, not a
straight line.

Periodization: Having an organized training plan.

Daily Undulating Periodization plays a big role in the Absolute Strength

program. You will see it referenced multiple times throughout the rest
of the book.

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Programming Variables

Training is based off the process of adding stress, recovering from the
stress and then adapting to the stress. This is how progress is made.

It can be argued applying stress is the single most important component

of any training program. Stress is caused by anything and everything the
human body encounters, not just in the gym but also in everyday life.

Stress is sometimes thought of as a bad or negative thing but in reality,

stress is just a signal that something needs to change. If a stressor
(training program) is strong enough, it will trigger that change in the
form of adaptation.

This discussion on stress leads into the idea of the General Adaptation
Syndrome (GAS), developed by Dr. Hans Selye.

General Adaptation Syndrome

The General Adaptation Syndrome details how stress is handled in the

body as it builds up over time. This provides us with a framework for
understanding how training makes us stronger.

Stage 1 – Alarm or Shock

The alarm phase is the immediate response to the application of stress.

In our case, the application of stress is training. This stage can be
thought of as the acute response to a training session. The training bout
disrupted the body’s homeostasis and now it has to react by adaptation.

Training = stress

Stage 2 – Adaptation or Resistance

Stage 2 is all about recovery. This stage begins after the training bout.
Adaptation is the body’s response to stress. Remember, stress is just a
signal that something has to change. The training bout provided a new
stimulus (stress) that disrupted homeostasis. To avoid this happening
again, the body is adapting by growing and getting stronger.

Stage 3 – Exhaustion

This is what happens if the stress becomes to great for the body to adapt
to it. We want to apply as much stress (training response) as we can
without hitting the exhaustion phase. This is what quality training
programming is all about.

We will get into overtraining, overreaching and super-compensation at

the end of the chapter.

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Progressive overload

In simple terms, progressive overload is the gradual increase in stress

placed on the body during exercise.

As training experience increases, the body gets progressively better at

recovering from the workouts. The stress that once produced a big
training effect no longer does so. Anyone who has exercised before has
experienced this. Progressive tension overload is very important for
continued progression week-to-week, month-to-month and year-to-
year. If you want to get better you’re going to have to continually work
harder in your training over time.

Lack of progressive overload in training is one reason why you see

people in the gym who look the same and lift the same weights year
after year. No progressive overload = no progress.

Intensity, Volume and Frequency

Intensity – Despite what you may think, intensity does not refer to
extent of effort. Intensity is in relation to a percent max. Basically
intensity is how heavy the weight on the bar is.

Volume – volume is an important measure of training stimulus. Volume

breaks down into the following formula.

Volume = Sets x Reps x Weight

A common misconception when it comes to training volume is
forgetting the “weight” aspect of it. As weight on the bar increases so
does volume.

Frequency – Frequency can be defined a number of different ways. For

our purpose we are going to define frequency as how many times we
are training the big three (squat, bench, deadlift) in each training
cycle/week.

Overtraining/Overreaching

Lastly, before we end this chapter I want to touch on the topic of

overtraining/overreaching.

I want to point out that there is a difference; it’s not just a matter of
semantics.

Before we get into that, first we must define overtraining.

Overtraining is the cumulative result of excessive high volume and/or high

intensity training without adequate recovery, which leads to a decrease in
performance that takes more than 2-3 weeks to return back to normal.

The key difference between “overtraining” and “overreaching” is the

time it takes to get back to normal after stopping the hard training.

Overreaching is pretty much the same thing as overtraining. The only

difference is, overreaching only takes about a week or two to recover
from. The idea is, train really hard (overreach) and then take a de-load

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week to recover and reap the rewords of the training cycle. This is the
basis for the idea of super-compensation.

This program will cause you to overreach if you follow it to the end. The
fact is an athlete must “overreach” to cause the necessary adaptations to
make progress. Every quality-training program should include periods
of overreaching.

Most people left to their own devises will never overreach let alone
overtrain. Overtraining is not something that happens overnight or by
accident. The symptoms creep up slowly and most people just back off
their training as soon as the symptoms show their face.

Unless you are an elite athlete who has built up the capacity to really
push yourself, overtraining is not a real concern. If you happen to be an
elite athlete, proper programing such as the Absolute Strength is
designed to protect you from yourself.
Chapter 3: Weight Selection - How to Use
Percentages and RPE Scale

Weight selection is one of the most fundamental aspects of training.

How much weight you use on a given exercise seems pretty simple. I
mean, pick a weight and get after it, right? Wrong. There is a little more
to it than that.

Loading parameters that determine how much weight to put on the

bar might be the most important part of a well constructed training
program.

Weight is all relative.

For instance, take the words "heavy" and "light".

Alone they mean next to nothing but in context they can mean
everything.

6 sets of 3

3 sets of 15

The difference between those two number sets is the difference

between heavy and light. “6 sets of 3” would represent a “heavy” weight
whereas “3 sets of 15” would represent a "light" weight.

Taking it a step further, there are two main ways to determine how
heavy or light weights actually are – percentages and RPE scale.

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It's this idea that forms the basis for specific loading parameters, or in
other words, how you choose what weight to use.

Percentage Based Training

What is percentage based training? Percentages are just reference

numbers. Percentages represent how much weight you should use on a
given exercise. The "percent" is typically based off from an
established 1 Rep Max.

The best way to explain this is through an example.

Let's say your squat max is 400lbs and the program calls for 5 sets of 5
reps at 75%.

First, you need to find out what 75% of your max is.

==> 75% of 400lbs = 300lbs

300lbs therefore would become your training weight for that exercise.

So in this example you would use 300lbs (75%) for the programmed 5
sets of 5.

Seems simple enough...what are the benefits?

Built in Progression

A quality training program is going to have a built in method to cause

progress. Basically what I am talking about is periodization.

Periodization in basic terms is just having a plan that goes beyond one
week of training.

The driving force behind periodization is progressive overload. In order

to make progress, you need to cause the body to adapt. One way this
happens is by applying more stress over time. An easy way to do this is
by increasing volume and or training intensity as the program
progresses.

Volume = Sets x Reps x Weight

Intensity = weight on the bar

You need to do more work over time to make progress. That much we
know. But it's not as simple as just saying lift heavier each week or add a
set here or there.

The progression needs to be calculated or the progress won't last long.

You don't have to use percentages to create overload, but percentages
make building in progression very easy.

The benefit is in the numbers.

You know that if you follow the numbers from week 1 to week 8 you
will have done more work over time.

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More work = progress

Specific and Measurable Numbers

Another benefit to percentage based training is that it provides specific

and measureable numbers to follow. Percentages take the guesswork
out of training. When you walk into the gym you know exactly what you
have to do.

It doesn't matter so much how you "feel", you do what you're supposed
to do. You just follow the program as its written.

Don't get me wrong. There is a ton of benefit to incorporating

autoregulation into programs to account for good and bad days. But
unfortunately for most lifters (especially novices) sometimes how you
feel is actually a lie. Being tired, unmotivated and lazy can be an
excuse NOT a reason to take it easy.

This also leads me to the downside of percentages. Sometimes you

really do have a bad day. Some days 75% actually feels more like 85%.
On those days you just need to dig deep and figure out a way to get it
done.

Autoregulation / RPE Scale

If not percentages, then what?

Go as heavy as possible as frequently as possible?

Doing 3 sets of 10 with a random weight?

Just adding tons of drop sets, supersets and other "intensity”

principles to make training harder?

That is how a lot of people train...with no rhyme, reason

or structure. That is not optimal.

If an entire training program can be written in the notes section of an

iPhone, chances are, it's not a training program...it's just a list of
exercises.

The difference between well structured programs and randomly going

about your business is HUGE. It can make all the difference in the world
to your training and progress.

Like I previously mentioned, there are other ways to determine load

besides using percentages.

Another great option is to use an autoregulation method like the RPE

scale.

Auto-regulation refers to the ability to change a program based on your

responses to different stressors in your life. Training is a stressor, but so
are family problems, lack of sleep, increased workload in school, etc.

It’s important that a program takes these into consideration, and one
way of doing that is through RPE.
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RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion, and it is a scale from 1 – 10
that you can use to rate how hard each set was for you to complete. An
RPE is a subjective measure of how hard you feel you are working
during an exercise, set, etc.

The scale translates as follows:

*As strength athletes we don’t typically use RPE’s under 7 except for de-
load training. “Light work” such as speed/power training is better suited
for percentage based loading.

• RPE 7: Speed was fairly quick, very easy set

• RPE 7.5: You could maybe have done 3 more reps
• RPE 8: You could definitely have done 2 more reps
• RPE 8.5: You could maybe have done 2 more reps
• RPE 9: You could definitely have done 1 more rep
• RPE 9.5: You could maybe have done 1 more rep
• RPE 10: Absolute maximal effort. No more weight or reps
are possible.

This concept allows you to easily adjust work for less than optimal days,
in addition to adjusting for volume and intensity blocks, among other
neat ways of changing programming.
You are always going to have good and bad days. While it’s true
sometimes you need to push through the “bad” days, other times it’s just
not possible.

Depending on a number of factors the external load on the bar can feel a
lot heavier or lighter than it actually is. Some of these factors are:

• Fatigue from previous training sessions.

• Cumulative fatigue from entire training cycle.
• Lack of sleep the night before.
• Lack of calories the day before or day of.
• Work stress.
• Different training time.

In my opinion using RPE’s are a great addition to percentage based

work. That way you can get the best of both worlds.

It doesn’t matter if you use percentages, RPE scale or a combination of

both. The main point is that you need to have a means for determining
how much weight to use.

It’s unacceptable to just “wing it”. That may work for a short time but
long term it’s not a feasible way to continue making progress.

As you will see, the Absolute Strength program incorporates both

percentages and the RPE scale.

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Chapter 4: The Templates
Although the Absolute Strength system allows for a lot of variability,
every workout should follow the same basic template. You can mix and
match exercises but the template and order should remain constant.
Failure to do so is not following the program.

Before we get into the templates we need to go over the 10 base

categories of movement in the program.

1. Squat
Since this is a powerlifting program, we will be using a traditional
barbell back squat.

However, this can be any form of squat or squat like movement. If you
are not getting ready for a powerlifting meet you can use other squat
variations including– front squat, box squat, safety bar squat, paused
squat, overhead squat, goblet squat, hack squat, or anything else that
resembles a squatting motion.

2. Deadlift
When the deadlift is programmed, it is referring to your competition
stance – conventional or sumo. If you are not a competitive powerlifter,
use your stronger stance or the one you are most comfortable with.
3. Deadlift Variation
We will be using deadlift variations in this program. The deadlift
variation is any movement that closely resembles a competition
deadlift.

Here are some examples of deadlift variations: conventional deadlift or

sumo deadlift (depending on which is competition stance the opposite is
considered a variation), Romanian/stiff leg deadlift, deficit deadlift, block
pull, rack pull, snatch grip, paused deadlift, banded deadlift, reverse
banded deadlift, good morning, trap bar, etc.

4. Single Leg Movements

Single leg movements are any lower body exercise that is unilateral.

Some examples of single leg movements are: lunges of all variations,

Bulgarian split squats, prowler pushes, sled drags, step ups, pistol squats,
etc.

5. Posterior Chain Movements

Posterior chain movements are exercises that target the low back, glutes
and/or hamstrings. Since we are already focusing on deadlifts we are
leaving them out of this category.

Some examples include: reverse hyperextension, back extension, glute

ham raise, leg curl variations, barbell hip thrust, kettlebell swings, etc.

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6. Bench Press
The bench press category is self-explanatory. The barbell bench press.

7. Bench Press Variations

The bench press variation can be any horizontal push other than the
barbell bench press.

Some examples include: incline, decline, close grip, board press, floor
press, spoto press, banded bench, Dumbbells - flat, incline, decline, parallel
bar dips, machine chest press, landmine press, loaded push-ups, etc.

8. Horizontal Pull
Horizontal Pulls include: barbell row, pendlay row, dumbbell rows, chest
supported row, seal row, t-bar row, machine row, cable row, any other
type of row you can think of, cable face pull, etc.

9. Vertical Push
Exercise examples include: overhead barbell press, seated military press
–dumbbell or barbell, standing dumbbell overhead press, kneeling
landmine press, handstand pushups, overhead isometric hold, etc.

*Note- triceps exercises such as: skull crushers, JM Press, press downs
could be grouped in this category.

10. Vertical Pull

Exercise examples include: pull-ups of all variations, pull-downs of all
variations, rope climb, etc.
*Note – biceps exercises can be grouped in with either vertical or
horizontal pulls. Same thing goes for “shrug” movements.

Optional “Extra Work”

Obviously there are some exercises that don’t fit nicely in any od the ten
categories.

Grip work such as farmer carries really don’t fit in a group but can play a
part in this program. There is a spot in the template to add in any
“extra” work you want. This is a great spot to add grip work, direct arm
training and/or abdominal work. (Anterior core)

Quick note on Anterior Core Training

This is what you may typically call abdominal training.

If you choose to do anterior core work, here are my favorite exercises:

sit-ups –weighted or non weighted, leg raises, planks, barbell rollouts/Ab
wheel, banded or cable palof press, and side bends. The options are
literally endless here.

Lower Body Template

Step 1: Complete Warm up (more on that later)

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Exercise #1: Squat

Exercise #2: Deadlift / Deadlift Variation

This is the order it goes in a powerlifting meet. Get used to pulling
fatigued.

Exercise #3: Single Leg Movement

Exercise #4: Non-Deadlift Posterior Chain Movement

Optional Extra Work

Anterior core, grip, quads, hamstrings, lower back, conditioning

Upper Body Template

Step 1: Warm up

Exercise #1: Bench Press

Exercise #2: Bench Press Variation

Exercise #3: Horizontal Pull

Exercise #4: Vertical Push and/or Vertical Pull

Optional Extra Work
Biceps, triceps, posterior delt, extra vertical or horizontal pulls, etc.

When in doubt, if you have the time/energy do extra “back work” –

horizontal or vertical pulls. You can never do too much back work.

More on the Assistance Work

For some reason I have a feeling if there are any questions about this
program after reading the book, it will be about the assistance work.

If you can take one thing away from this program and apply it to your
training the rest of your life it’s this – put the most amount of time and
effort into what you want to get better at. If you want to be a better
powerlifter, spend the most amounts of time and effort on the three
main powerlifts.

A big mistake a lot of people make is doing what I call “majoring in their
minor”. Basically what I mean is spending as much or more time on
assistance work as you do the main movements.

Not all exercises are created equal. A quality-training program will put
an emphasis on the best exercises.

If a training program spends as much time on leg extensions as squats,

there is a problem.

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How to pick exercises
Follow the upper and lower body templates. Work on what you suck at.
If you suck at pull-ups you better be doing pull-ups every upper body
day.

When doing assistance work think like a bodybuilder. Feel free to

change your assistance movements every training cycle.
Chapter 5: How to Squat, Bench and Deadlift
In this chapter we are going to go over the three powerlifts - the squat,
bench and deadlift.

Dialing in your form is very important. This chapter of the book can
make or break you.

Even if you feel like you have your form pretty much dialed in, pay close
attention to this chapter and see if you can pick up something to make
your form a little better!

Form is something that can always improve.

How to Squat
The squat is king. There really is nothing else in the gym that produces
better results than the squat. You have probably heard this all before
but the squat really is the most useful exercise in the weight room.
There is no excuse not to squat or do a squat variation.

Since the squat is one of the three powerlifts, we are going to spend a lot
of time performing the movement.

In my opinion the squat is the hardest of the three powerlifts to master.

When executing the perfect squat you have to think about proper bar
placement, feet position and hip movement. There is a lot going on.
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To make it easier to master, I have broken it down into three steps.

Step #1: The Set Up

A well-executed squat starts before you even get under the bar. The set
up is very important.

You want to set up and take the bar out of the rack the same way every
time.

First, grab the bar with the narrowest grip you can manage without
hurting your shoulders or wrists. This will ensure that you remain tight
throughout the lift. As the grip widens, it becomes harder to create
upper back tightness. A grip slightly wider than shoulder width is going
to be best for most people. You want to grip the bar at a distance that
will allow you to keep your wrists straight and elbows underneath your
shoulders. Upper back and shoulder mobility will be a limiting factor
here. In the end, do what’s comfortable.

Make sure when you pull yourself under the bar it is centered on your
back. As soon as you get under the bar get tight. Squeeze the bar and
create tension across your upper back. Always remember to get tight
before loading your spine, even with warm-up weight. A great quote I
once heard was “treat every weight like it’s heavy” is a great motto to
stand by.
Once you are under the bar, have yourself centered and “tight” its time
to un-rack the bar. This is essentially a six inch squat.

Step #2: The Walk Out

The second step of the squat is often times the least thought about.

This should go without saying but always step backwards out of the
rack. Never walk the bar out going forward. This would require you to
re-rack the bar by stepping backwards, which is a bad idea.

Just like the set up, it’s important to walk the bar out the same way
every time. Repetition builds perfection.

Take short deliberate steps. Do not walk ten feet away from the rack,
anything more than 3 steps is a waste of energy. Take a couple steps and
try to step your feet in the position you want to squat in. Remember to
stay tight the entire time.

Foot placement is going to be highly individual. However, most people

are going to find a stance that is slightly wider than shoulder width is
going to work best. This will depend on your individual biomechanics
and bar placement. If you have longer femurs you will likely need a
wider stance.

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Most people will benefit from pointing their toes out to a small degree.
This allows for better knee tracking. The knees should “track” directly in
line with the feet, so the femurs and the feet are in line. Toes pointed out
15-20 degrees will be optimal for most people. A wider stance squatter
may want their toes pointed out slightly more, around 30 degrees.

Once you get your feet set, you want to create tension in your hips. This
can be done with a couple different “cues”. My personal favorite is to
think “screw your feet into the floor”.

Step #3: The Squat

Your eyes should be directed straight ahead or slightly down. Do NOT
look up at the celling like your high school football coach told you to do.

Pick a spot in front of you and don’t take your eyes off that point. The
most important thing here is to stay focused on the spot you choose.
Even if there is movement around you, you should not lose focus while
you are squatting.

Before starting the downward motion, take a huge breath. Inhale as

much air into your stomach as possible and then hold it.

This is called the Valsalva Maneuver. This creates intra abdominal

pressure, which protects the spine under heavy loads and creates better
force transfer during the movement.
Your descent should be as fast as you can maintain control and
tightness. Do not “dive bomb” in an effort to try and get more of a
stretch reflex at the bottom. This will cause you to lose tightness and
miss lifts once the weight gets heavy.

As you are descending, focus on pushing your knees out and keeping
your chest up by forcing your elbows down.

Always use a full range of motion, never squat high. Once your hips go
below parallel reverse the movement and stand back up. Stand up as
explosively as you can while maintaining in control. Drive your elbows
forward. Every rep should be lifted as explosively as possible. Keep your
air in until you are about ¾ the way up then you can let it out.

Most people’s sticking point (the spot where they miss the lift) is going
to be a little above parallel. Stay tight, maintain a good position, and
drive your hips forward to finish the lift.

Low Bar vs. High Bar

Bar placement is going to depend a lot on individual biomechanics.
Everyone is built differently.
The low bar squat is most often associated with powerlifting whereas
the high bar squat is more known as an Olympic weightlifting squat.

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Generally speaking, the low bar squat is going to allow most people to
lift the greatest amount of weight. That is why at a powerlifting meet
you will see the majority of the lifters squatting low bar.

If you are a powerlifter, I would recommend at least learning the low

bar squat. Once you learn it, devote some time training it. This does not
mean you have to ditch the high bar squat.

However, with that being said, there have been a lot of big squats out of
the Olympic lifting community. I personally squat high bar even in
competition. I am built for the high bar squat.

Overall I don’t think it really makes a difference. If you are not a

competitive powerlifter I suggest squatting with the bar placement that
is most comfortable. From a “training” standpoint, both variations are
equally effective.

The high bar requires a more upright stance and tends to work well
with people who have short femurs like myself. The low bar squat
requires more forward lean and is best suited for lifters with longer
femurs. Obviously this is an over simplification and there is more to it
that.

Squatting Equipment
Shoes: hard sole, heel elevation optional.

Belt: helps create more intra abdominal pressure.

Knee Wraps / Knee Sleeves: I recommend knee sleeves to provide
warmth and compression.

Wrist Wraps: More so for low bar squatters.

How To Bench Press

The barbell bench press is one of, if not the most popular barbell
exercises in existence.

I’m sure you know how to bench press to some extent. The bench is one
of the first fundamental lifts you learn after stepping foot inside a gym.
However, very few athletes outside of elite powerlifters will understand
all the variables involved in a proper bench press.

With a program like this (increased frequency) it is of utmost

importance to have your bench press form dialed in. Any form
breakdown will quickly show up as excessive soreness, poor
performance, or even an injury. The fact is the bench can be a very safe
lift if done correctly. But like anything else if done incorrectly the bench
press can be problematic. Incorrect form on the bench press has
probably caused more shoulder injuries than any other exercise.

Step # 1: The Set Up

If the first thing you think about when starting a bench press is grabbing
the bar, you have already started down the wrong path. Despite what

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the bodybuilding magazines will tell you, the bench press is a full body
lift. The pectorals are the main muscle group engaged in the movement
(that is why they tend to get the most sore) however, if you want to
maximize power you need to get the lower body involved.

When setting up on the bench, the first thing you need to do is get your
feet set. Your feet can either be flat on the floor or tucked underneath
you. The key is finding what is most comfortable and allows you to
create the most tension. Note – some powerlifting federations require a
flat foot.

In my opinion, your foot placement should resemble a squat stance –a

little wider than shoulder width and toes pointing slightly out.

The second point to consider during the set up process is scapular

retraction (pinching your shoulder blades together). To accomplish
scapular retraction, you will need to arch your back while squeezing
your shoulder blades together. This puts the shoulder joint in a more
favorable and healthy position as well as shortens the range of motion.
Get your shoulders retracted and KEEP them in that position
throughout the entre movement. Your shoulder location on the bench
should place the bar directly over your eyes while in the rack.

Next, we need to look at grip position. Where you grip the bar is going to
largely depend on personal preference and limb length. Longer arms
will require a wider grip. The key is to find a grip position that allows
your forearms to remain vertical throughout the entire lift. You want to
have a tight grip on the bar. Never use a thumbless or “suicide” grip. It’s
too dangerous and does not allow you to effectively create tension on
the bar. Always wrap your thumb around the bar when bench pressing.

Step # 2: The Lift Off

This is the part of the bench press most people pay no attention to. That
is a big mistake. The lift off can make or break the entire lift.

Most people tend to lose the shoulder retraction during the lift off,
before the actual exercise even takes place! The key is to get into
position and then have a partner give you a good lift off so you do not
need to reach at all. You want to pull the bar off the rack not lift the bar
off the rack. A good lift off requires the bar to be pushed straight off the
rack into your starting bench position. There is an art to giving a good
lift. I recommend actually practicing self-lift offs and saving using a
partner’s assistance for maximal attempts.

Once you get the bar off the rack you want to bring it into position to
where the bar is directly above the forearm bone. The arm should be
completely straight in the starting position.

Step # 3: The Bench Press

Once the bar is in the starting position you are ready to bench.

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The first thing you should do is put tension on the bar. This can be
achieved by trying to “break the bar” or “pull the bar apart” with your
grip.

Before you start the downward motion it is important to take in a huge

breath of air. Just like when squatting, the Valsalva Maneuver is used to
create intra abdominal pressure.

Elbow position is another aspect of the bench press where people often
need some work. A “bodybuilding bench press” involves flaring the
elbows throughout the range of motion. Keeping your elbows out wide
provides the most stimulus to the chest but it’s not the best or safest
way to bench the most amount of weight.

On the negative (eccentric) you want to tuck your elbows in and then
about half way up (concentric) flare the elbows out to finish the lift. If
this seems like a strange concept go on YouTube and watch the elbow
position of strong benchers. This way of benching is also a lot safer for
the shoulders.

Where the bar touches the chest will largely be determined by grip
width, the degree of elbow tuck and arch. For most people this will be
somewhere just underneath the nipple line.
Just like the squat, lower the bar as fast as you can control. This will be a
different speed for everyone. The key is to maintain control of the bar at
all times.
To pause or not to pause
There is a debate in the powerlifting community weather or not
powerlifters should pause their bench press reps in training.

If you are not aware, the competition bench press requires a deliberate
pause on the chest before reversing back to the starting position.

I have recently changed my stance on this matter. I used to think it

wasn’t necessary to pause in training. My line of thinking was as long as
you practice staying tight all the time, the pause was not really needed.

However, staying tight at the bottom during a pause is a skill in itself.

The touch and go bench press takes advantage of the stretch reflex,
whereas the paused bench press does not, at least not to the same
degree.

I recently came to the conclusion that there really is no benefit for

competitive powerlifters to use touch and go more than paused in
training.

So, if you are a competitive powerlifter I recommend pausing all your

reps in training. Make sure you base your numbers off from a paused
max not a touch and go max.

With the being said if you are not a competitive powerlifter feel free to
just touch and go your reps.

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 A few extra points to consider
- Do not look at the bar as it moves. Always keep your head pressed
into the bench.
- Always keep your butt on the bench.
- The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Try to
avoid any unnecessary horizontal bar movement.

The 5 Points of Contact

With this program, using compromised form will lead to injury. With
that being said, I understand when someone pushes themselves in the
latter phases of the set and proper form often becomes negligible.
However, the cheating methodology is often overused. Check your ego
at the door.

The benching position in which most are familiar with involves a 5 point
stance. These 5 points are areas of the body that are in contact with
either the bench or floor to provide stability to the lift.

These 5 points include:

1. The head
2. Upper back
3. Glutes
4. Right foot
5. Left foot

As we use this 5 point stance, notice the lower back or lumbar spine is
not included. During a bench press the lower back should leave the
bench and proceed to “arch”.

Despite what you might have read or been told, there is nothing wrong
with having a back arch when benching. The benefit of the arch is to
limit the range of motion in the movement.

In fact, you should have an arch in your lower back when benching. If
your lower back were touching the bench it would mean you have lost
tightness in your lower back and lost scapular retraction and tightness
across your upper back. This would result in a loss of power and a
compromised shoulder position.

It’s arguable the most effective stance for moving weight is the
aforementioned 5 point stance. The 5 point stance results in increased
stability given there are 5 points of contact. Theoretically this would
improve the safety of the exercise as well.

When benching you should address the following:

• The head:
- Should be driven into the bench
- The head should not move (Do not do the “pecking” motion
during a rep)

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• Upper back/Traps:

- Should be in contact with bench.

- To feel the amount of tightness needed, you can put your feet
on the bench and drive your upper back into the pad.

• Scapula (shoulder blades)

- Should be squeezed together (retracted).

• Glutes:

- Should be in contact with bench at all times.

- Do NOT lift your glutes off the bench.
- The glutes should be contracted or squeezed together
- The abdominals should also be tight.

• Right foot

- Should be in contact with ground: evenly distributed in

comparison to other foot
- Can be flat footed or on the tips of your toes.

• Left foot (same as right)

Equipment for the bench press

Wrist Wraps: helps keep wrists in a good position.

Belt: helps create more intra abdominal pressure.

How to Deadlift
In powerlifting the deadlift is performed last, after the squat and bench
press. It has been said, “the meet doesn’t start until the bar hits the
floor”. I tend to disagree although I fully understand the argument. The
deadlift is the exercise you should be able to lift the most weight with.
It’s the ultimate test of raw strength.

But the truth is…I hate the deadlift.

I’m just not built for it. My short, t-rex arms that make the bench press
come easy are the same dimensions that make pulling a nightmare. On
the other hand, for those of you who struggle with the bench press, the
deadlift might be your calling.

The deadlift is the most basic of the three powerlifts but also the most
likely to be performed with sloppy form. Even though I hate the word,
the deadlift is a very “functional” movement pattern. Every time you
bend over to pick something up, you are essentially performing a
deadlift.

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Like the squat, there are two distinct ways to perform a deadlift –
conventional or sumo.

Determining which stance is right for you can get tricky and
complicated. Things such as height, weight, hip structure and limb
lengths all play a role.

The easiest way to figure this out is to train them both for a few months
and stick with the stance that you are strongest and most comfortable
with. Don’t make it any more difficult than that.

Step #1: The Stance

To figure out a good conventional stance, think about where your feet
would be if you were to perform a vertical jump. For most people that
will be a pretty good starting position, maybe slightly narrower but not
much. Taller people with wider hips will need a wider conventional
stance.

The conventional deadlift should be a narrower stance than the squat.

For sumo, feet placement is going to be much wider. There is also a
wider range of possibilities. You will probably have to play with it a little
bit to determine how wide is optimal. Some will find an ultra wide sumo
stance to be most confortable while others will end up using a
conventional/sumo hybrid stance.
Toes pointed slightly outward; roughly 15 degrees will probably be best
for most people.

Position the bar over the middle part of your foot. The bar should be just
in front of your shins but not touching them. To create tension, “screw”
your feet into the ground. You should feel your hamstring and glutes get
tighter.

Before reaching out and grabbing the bar, create more tension by
loading the hips and hamstrings. The more tension you can create, the
more force you can apply to the movement.

Hinge at the waist, kick your butt back and maintain a straight back.
If you don’t have the mobility to reach the bar with just a hinge, you can
bend your knees a little in order to maintain a neutral spine.

Step # 2: The Grip / Set Up

Grip strength is crucial to the deadlift. There are three ways to grip the
bar.

1: Double over hand: palms are facing you.

2: Mixed grip: one palm facing out and one facing you.

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3: Hook grip: like double over hand but the thumb is “hooked” by the
fingers. This is a grip that Olympic weightlifters use.

Try to use double over hand as much as you can. There will come a point
where your grip will fail before your legs/lower back does. At this point
you will have to switch to either a mixed or hook grip. I recommend
using a double over hand grip for all warm-up sets. This will be an
indirect way to get extra grip work in. Mixed and hook grip will be used
for working sets.

On conventional deadlifts your hands should be placed just outside of

your legs. About a thumbs length will allow room to press knees out.

For sumo deadlifts your hand will be placed in between your legs. Do
not grip the bar too narrow. Your arms should hang straight down and
be locked out.

Arms should always be straight. Lock out your elbows. Think of your
arms like ropes with your hands being the “hooks”. Deadlifting with
bent arms not only leaks power, it also can cause elbow or bicep
injuries.
Your shoulder blades should be positioned directly over the bar.

Once you grab the bar you need to reclaim tension. Do this by raising
your hips and pulling your knees back, this creates tension on the hips,
hamstrings and back.
Hip position will be dependent on each individual’s limb lengths. You
want to avoid “squatting the bar” or turning your deadlift into a stiff leg
deadlift.

Step # 3: The Pull

Engage your lats before lifting the bar. The coaching cue “take the slack
out of the bar” is typically used to help lifters engage their lats prior to
yanking on the bar. Engaging the lats/taking the slack out, preloads the
bar.

Your upper back should be pulled together, retracted and down.

Keep head in an anatomically neutral position. I like to look at a spot on

the floor about 12-15 feet in front of me.

Before pulling up on the bar, remember the valsalva maneuver. Take a

big belly breath and push your abs out. Create as much intra abdominal
pressure as you can.

Keep the natural arch in your lower back. If you deadlift with a rounded
lower back there is a good chance you will get injured. It might not be
the first time, or even the hundredth time, but eventually it will catch up
to you.

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The legs should initiate the first movement. I like to tell my clients to
imagine you are doing a leg press – lift the bar off the ground by pushing
with your feet not pulling with your back. Drag the bar up your legs. The
bar should never lose contact with your body.

A correct pull will show no change in back angle for at least the first
couple inches off the floor.

During the movement I like to think, “butt down, chest up”. This little
cue helps me stay in a good position throughout the movement.

Lock knees out at the top of the movement and hold the bar for a full
second before returning the bar back to the ground. Don’t exhale your
air at the top. Return the bar back to the ground fast but controlled.

A few things to avoid

Do not bounce reps. Always reset in between reps during a set.

Do not over-extend at the top of the rep. Just come to an anatomically

neutral position.

Do not shrug your shoulder at the top of the rep.

Equipment for the deadlift
Deadlift slippers/flat soled shoes: you want to be as close to the ground
as possible.
Deadlift Socks: allows the bar to slide up your shins easier.

5 ABSOLUTE STRENGTH
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Chapter 6 – The Warm Up
The warm-up process is not sexy but it is a very important part of the
workout program. It has the ability to either enhance or diminish your
ability to optimally perform the workouts.

The warm up is broken down into two categories, general and specific.
The entire warm up process should not take longer than 15 minutes.

The General Warm-Up

The purpose of the general warm up is to increase core temperature,
increase mobility and improve joint fluidity.

Cardiovascular
One of the most important benefits of the general warm up is to literally
“warm up”. Come into the gym and get moving, raise core temperature
and get a little sweat going.

Do some jump rope, push a prowler, use a concept 2 rower, walk on a

treadmill or get on an air dyne for about 5 minutes.

Don’t skip this part!

Muscles contract more rapidly and forcefully at higher temperatures

(within a safe range). Consequently, being “cold” can cause a loss in
strength output.
Dynamic Stretching / Mobility Drills

Upper Body

- Thoracic Bridge: 1×5 (each side)

- Internal/External Rotation with Bands: 2 x 10 (each side)

- Band Pull A Part: 1×10

- Band Facepull: 1×10

- Banded Rows / Shoulder Retraction: 1×10

- Shoulder swings both directions (forward and backward): 1×10

- Lat Pulldown: 1 x 10-15

- Pushups: 1×10-15

Lower Body

- Thoracic Bridge: 1 x 5 (each side)

- Leg Swings Front and Back: 2 x 10 (each side)

- Bodyweight Squats: 2 x 10

- KB Swings: 1 x 10

Self Myofasical Release

Foam Rolling

- IT Band
- Glutes
- Upper Back
- Hamstring and quads as needed
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 * Lacrosse ball can also be used

The Specific Warm-Up

An important part of the warm up process is preparing the nervous
system for the specific activity it is going to be asked to perform. This is
where the specific warm up comes into play.

Jumps and Throws

Before we get into the warm-up sets, I like to do something explosive

before touching the bar.

On lower body days we include jumps:

- Box jumps 3 x 3
- Standing long jumps 5 x 1
- Squat Jump 3 x 3
* Pick one

On upper body days we include throws/slams:

- Med ball slam 2 x 5

- Med ball throw 5 x 1
- Plyo pushup 2 x 5
*Pick one
Warm-up Sets

Some people require more warm up sets then others. I have found the
stronger you are the more sets you require before getting into the
working weight.

Always take at least 3 warm up sets minimum to work up to your first

working weight.

Also, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, always start with an empty
45lb bar.

For example purposes I will show you my warm up weights I use for the
bench press. Keep in mind my max is almost 400lbs.

This is how I would warm up for a workout that consists of 3 sets of 5

reps with 315lbs.

Empty Bar Wide Grip x 10 reps

Empty Bar Close Grip x 10 reps

Empty Bar Normal Grip x 10 reps

95lbs x 10 reps (optional depending on how I’m feeling)

135lbs x 10 reps

185lbs x 5-8 reps

225lbs x 5 reps

275 x 3-5 reps

The next set would be 315 for 5, my first working set.

6 ABSOLUTE STRENGTH
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I can’t stress this enough, always start with the bar, even on squats and
deadlifts.
Chapter 7: Nutrition |What’s Really Important
This is not your parent’s nutrition information.

I am not going to force-feed you a list of arbitrary foods labeled “good”

or “bad” because the truth is, food should not be labeled in black and
white terms. There are no “bad” foods, only bad diets.

Any food can be labeled “good” in the right context just as any food can
be considered a poor choice in the wrong context.

For example, are grains bad? It depends on whom you ask.

Is milk/dairy bad? How about sugar? What about fruit? Fat is bad
though, right?

When talking about food in isolation it can be hard to know what quality
nutrition really is. However, we do not eat food in isolation so we don’t
have to analyze individual foods. We eat in combinations of food that
make up our diet. Therefore, we look at diets as a whole, in context of
what the individual’s goals are.

Just as there is not a perfect workout program for everyone, one diet is
not optimal for everyone either.

We need a system to ensure our continued progress and something to

look at to bring us back on track should we stray.

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This system is in context of someone looking to maximize athletic
performance, not live the “healthiest” life possible (although they can be
quite similar).

To illustrate the system I am going to rank the levels of nutritional

importance from 1 to 4 with 1 being most important and 4 being the
least important.

Let’s dig in.

Level 1 (Most Important) – Calories

One of the fundamental facts of nutrition is your success, or lack there
of, will largely come down to energy balance –calories in versus calories
out. Whether your goal is to gain muscle, lose fat or improve
performance, dialing in your caloric intake is key.

If you want to gain weight and build muscle you are going to need to be
in an energy surplus. On the flip side if you want to lose weight you need
to be at a caloric deficit. I hate to make it sound so simplistic but that’s
what it boils down to.

Before worrying about anything else, this needs to be taken care of.
Don’t ask me about what supplements to take or how important free
range beef is if you don’t even know how many calories you’re
consuming in a day!
But what about the people who say, “all calories are not created equal” –
move on to layer two.

Further Reading: How to Calculate Calorie and Macronutrient

Requirements

Level 2 – Macronutrients (Macros)

I call it Flexible Dieting but you can call it whatever you like. It’s just
making your nutrition qualitative. Put a number next to it like you
would your lifting. Somewhere between the countless Instagram Pop
Tart and Ice Cream posts (IG=@huntfitness) people got the impression
Flexible Dieting/IIFYM was all about eating junk food. That is NOT the
case at all.

The makeup of any diet breaks down into Calories and Macronutrients
(protein, carbohydrates, and fat). Flexible Dieting is just tracking your
food and fitting what you eat into specific macronutrient goals.
Nutrition is a numbers game. Everything boils down to a number
weather you track it or not.

Although a “clean eater” does not track their food, it still breaks down
into macros (numbers) –they just wouldn’t be aware of them. So simply
saying “macro diets don’t work” or “Flexible Dieting doesn’t work” is not
appropriate. Eating junk food all day doesn’t work but that is not
Flexible Dieting.
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Similarly to calories, macronutrient totals and ratios are dependent on
what the individual’s goals are. One generic macronutrient ratio will not
be optimal for everyone.

Macronutrients are important because diets that are matched calorically

can have vastly different effects on ones look and performance. Calories
determine what your body does on a large scale and macronutrients
determine the details within that.

Further Reading: How to Start Flexible Dieting

Level 3 – Micronutrients, Fiber and Water

I can hear it now – “This guy is an idiot! He listed vitamins, minerals and
water third on the list. Doesn’t he know they are essential to life?”

Yes I do. However, if the first two levels are followed you should be
hitting your macros with foods that will satisfy hitting micronutrient
and fiber goals. Go ahead; try hitting reasonable macros with all junk
food…it won’t work. It’s a self-governing system.

As for water, our thirst mechanism pretty much takes care of how much
water we should be drinking in a day without requiring too much effort
towards dialing it in. As long as you are not thirsty your water intake is
probably sufficient. This is NOT to say micronutrients, fiber and water
are not important (quite the contrary), just acknowledging why they are
third on the list.

A quick note on fiber. Just because it’s “good” doesn’t necessarily mean
more is better. When fiber gets up into the 80-100g+ ranges you may
start to run into gastrointestinal track issues and malabsorption of
certain micronutrients.

My general fiber recommendations are as follows:

10-20% of total carb intake with a minimum of 20g and a maximum

around 80g.

If you are on a low carb diet shoot for higher on that range whereas if
you are on a high carb diet shoot for lower on the range.

For example:

100g of carb per day = (20%) 20g of fiber

500g of carbs per day = (10%) 50g of fiber

I know I didn’t say much about micronutrients. Just make it a point to

eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day.

Shoot for at least 1 serving of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables.

Preferably more (within your calories/macros) but that is a good
starting point.

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Further Reading: Micronutrient Madness: Minerals

Level 4 – Everything Else

Before I say anything here let me first mention, if you don’t have the
first three levels of your diet taken care of nothing else matters. Master
levels 1-3 before dipping down here into level 4.

Be careful because level 4 is a lot sexier than the basics up in levels 1-3.
Many people have fell victim to the content in level 4 and forget what
matters most.

If I had to put a percentage on it I would say levels 1-3 would account

for 90-95% of your overall success. That leaves a mere 5-10% to all of
the things in level 4. Keep that in mind.

Nutrient Timing (Peri Workout Nutrition): It will not matter how

great your post workout shake is if you don’t know how many calories
or protein you are eating on a daily basis. Don’t be that guy who makes
sure to always get his 40g of whey isolate in immediately post workout
but then eats 20g of protein the rest of the day.
With that being said, when looking to maximize performance it would
be negligent not to look at optimizing your nutrition around your
workouts.

For pre workout I like to think functionally. What provides you with
enough energy to train but not too much substance to slow you down.
This will vary from person to person. Timing will be an important factor
here as well. I typically recommend eating 1-3 hour’s pre workout,
consuming a mixed meal of protein, carbohydrate and fat. However, I
realize shit happens and the perfect pre workout meal is not always
feasible and that’s alright.

Most people will not need anything outside of water during their
workouts. For those of you who have the extra calories to use I
recommend some carbs during training if nothing more than to provide
a small burst of substance (energy) to finish strong during hard
workouts. Go with something that will sit well in your stomach. I
like Gatorade for this purpose.

For post workout, if you are an endurance athlete or a hard training

CrossFitter, Powerlifter, Bodybuilder, or team sport athlete with
multiple training sessions in a day the age-old protein and fast acting
carbohydrate post workout meal may have some importance. Outside of
that, just eat another balanced meal of protein, carbohydrates and fat. I
personally treat post workout as just another meal.

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If you are on a low carb diet there will be more benefit to partitioning
carbs around your workout time. However, if you are like me and are
already eating 60g+ carbs per meal I see no point in making sure I get a
certain percentage of my overall carb intake peri workout.

There is nothing wrong with nutrient timing – it won’t hurt your

progress but I don’t like people feeling like they HAVE to do it. It
becomes another thing people have to worry about, and quite frankly
most of the time it is not worth it.

Further Reading: Eating Around Your Workout: Peri Workout Nutrition

Meal Frequency: How many times do you eat in a day? Whatever your
answer was, that number is perfectly acceptable.

There is a wide range of successful answers here – Anywhere from 3 to

5 seems to be a sweet spot as long as you are taking into account the
first three levels on this list. However, with that being said you can get
results eating once per day or eight times per day. It really doesn’t
matter.

You do not need to eat more or less frequently to improve performance

or to increase fat burning or any of that bullshit – it’s just not true.
Whatever meal frequency pattern allows you to be consistent is going to
be the answer here. If eating three times a day fits your lifestyle then eat
3 times a day.

As far as meal frequency goes I recommend reading my article Are You

Consuming Too Much Protein – Optimal Intake for Athletes . You will
see why when you get there.

Food Quality: Food quality still matters, it just doesn’t matter nearly as
much as people give it credit for as long as your calories and
macronutrients are in check.

I have people ask me how important it is they go out and buy grass fed
beef but then can’t tell me how many calories they are eating, or how
much protein they are getting in on average daily. You must master the
basics before moving on to intricate details.

I feel there is enough written about “quality food” choices that you
already know what they are. Just eat like an adult.

As long as you are hitting quality macro targets, food quality will take
care of itself.

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Supplements: They are called “supplements” for a reason – to
supplement your diet. There are however some supplements that can
definitely help you out.

Creatine works.

Whey Protein makes it a lot easier to hit your daily protein intake
goals.

Caffeine speaks for itself.

Fish oil is great for anyone who doesn’t eat a lot of fish.

Vitamin D is great if you don’t live in a warm sunny climate.

Outside of that, save your money.

Chapter 8: Eating to Get Strong
Let’s face it; most of the quality nutrition information comes out of the
bodybuilding community aimed at bodybuilders.

And it makes sense. Nutrition plays a huge role in improving body

composition. But as a strength athlete you don’t need to eat for
aesthetics.

That’s not to say strength athletes can’t learn a thing or two from their
jacked and tan counterparts because they certainly can. However, at the
end of the day it’s important to remember the ultimate goal at hand. As
a strength athlete you are trying to get as strong as possible while the
bodybuilder is trying to look as strong as possible.

The bottom line is this, it doesn’t matter how effective your training
program is, or even how good your genetics are, nutrition is important.
If you want to be as strong as possible you need to get your nutrition
dialed in. There is no room for error in your quest to be the best!

How Much Should You Eat

So, how much should you eat? The answer to that question will come
down to what your goals are. When it comes to nutrition, daily caloric
intake and macronutrient distribution is of the utmost importance.

Nutrition is a game of numbers. The key is getting the numbers to work

in your favor.

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There are three ways you can take your nutrition and they all directly
relate to body composition goals.

1. Fat Loss

2. Muscle Building

3. Bodyweight Maintenance

This should go without saying but in order to get as strong as possible

you need to eat big!

Can you get stronger while dieting? Yes, of course, but it’s not optimal,
and unless you need to make weight (more on this later) there is no
reason to be dieting while trying to maximize strength.

The absolute worst thing to do as a strength athlete is what I call the

“Chronic Dieter”.

Chronic Dieter: Someone who always seems to be on a diet every time

you talk to them. They ultimately spend 75% of the year in a
caloric deficit, often times jumping from one fad diet to the next in
an attempt to get shredded.

Don’t be that guy.

We all know at least one chronic dieter. They crop up in every gym
across America. They are extremely concerned with being lean while
simultaneously wanting to get huge. See the problem?

The typical chronic dieter complains about being a “hardgainer” and

deems it nearly impossible for them to gain size or strength. From an
outsiders perspective it is easy to see what the issue is.

It’s impossible for anyone, regardless of genetics to gain muscle and

strength while trying to cut for the majority of the year.

I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to lose fat. Actually quite the contrary,
sometimes it is very beneficial as a strength athlete to lose fat. However,
as a strength athlete you want to spend the majority of time in a caloric
surplus because this is when you will be making the most gains.

When it’s time to lose fat you need to be focused and diligent. Lose the
fat and then get back to a maintenance or gaining phase.

Let’s take a look at how to set your nutrition up for the following goals:

Fat Loss

First things first, you do not have to lose strength during a fat loss
phase. That’s a common misconception. As long as your training and
nutrition are dialed in, you can at least maintain if not gain a little
strength while cutting.

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Why would it be a good idea for a strength athlete to lose fat? Two
words - relative strength.

Relative strength is the relationship between how strong you are and
how much you weigh. In powerlifting relative strength is determined by
what is called a Wilks Coefficient. So in theory, you could lose weight,
maintain absolute strength but actually increase your relative strength.

There is an added benefit to being reasonably lean in weight class

sports. The leaner you are in a weight class, the more lean body mass
you can carry. A greater lean body mass equates to a greater potential to
be stronger.

Fat loss boils down to one thing and one thing only - caloric deficit.
There is no way around that. The “quality nutrition” crowd will try to
tell you calories don’t matter but what they are really saying is as long
as you eat “quality food” the calorie issue will take care of itself. Well,
that is not entirely true. You can overeat and gain fat regardless of what
type of foods you eat.

Muscle Building

Similarly to losing fat, building muscle comes down to calorie intake as

well. In order to build muscle you need to be in a caloric surplus. The
exact amount of calories in excess you are able consume is going to
depend largely on your own specific metabolic capacity.

It’s very easy to underestimate how many calories you need. In order to
get this right we need to quantify exactly how much food we need to be
eating. Simply saying, “eat more” is not good enough, eating more means
different things to different people.

Consuming a diet consisting of only meat and veggies is NOT eating big
and is not optimal for building muscle. On the flip side eating fast food
all day is not going to be optimal for strength either. We need to find a
balance.

In my experience, there is nothing that provides balance like following

a Flexible Dieting (IIFYM) approach. I am going to make this as simple to
follow as possible. Since we are not looking to optimize aesthetics we
don’t need to be quite as intricate.

Bodyweight Maintenance

As you would expect, bodyweight maintenance requires having a caloric

intake that allows you to not gain or lose weight. For those of you in a
good spot body composition wise, this might be the avenue you want to
go in.

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Eating at a caloric maintenance will provide the ability to increase both
absolute and relative strength.

Putting It Into Practice

In order to keep things simple I am going to provide an easy way to set

up your calories and macronutrient distribution for all three goals.

Step 1 – Set Calories

Before we do anything we need to determine caloric intake.

Fat Loss: 12 calories per pound of body weight will create a caloric
deficit for most people.

Muscle Building: 16+ calories per pound of body weight will create a
caloric surplus for most people. Start with 16 and increase calories from
there depending on your progress.

Weight Maintenance: 13-15 calories per pound of bodyweight will be

maintenance caloric intake for most people. You might have to play with
this a little bit.

Protein and Carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram

Fat is 9 calories per gram

Step 2 – Set Protein

After we figure out how many calories you need, next is to determine
protein intake.

The tried and true 1g per pound of body weight works well for most
people. An argument could be made for slightly more or less depending
on the circumstances but 1g per pound of bodyweight is simple and
effective.

However, if you are above 25% body fat 0.6-.08g per pound of
bodyweight would be a more accurate intake.

Protein: 1g per pound of body weight or (0.6-0.8g)

Step 3 – Set Carbs and Fat

This is where the lines get blurred a little. Honestly, as a strength athlete
it is not going to make much of a difference how you split up your carbs
and fat. They are energy nutrients and are going to be responsible for
fueling your workouts. As long as you get a good balance of both (don’t
go extremely low carb or low fat) you can eat as you see fit.
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Some people feel better with more carbs in their diet and some feel
better with more fats. The key is being honest and not trying to “force”
yourself into one or the other because of some bullshit you read online.
Most people respond best with a nice balance. At the end of the day, eat
more of what you enjoy.

Fat: At least 20% of total calories from fat. Obviously you can have more
but 20% is the lowest to drop fat.

Carbs: Fill in the rest of your calories in with carbs.

Example:

Here is an example of how this all plays out. Lets take a hypothetical
man named John who weighs 180lbs. John wants to try and add a little
bit of muscle.

John figures out in part 1 that he needs at least 2880 calories a day to
be in a caloric surplus.

Since he weighs 180lbs, he is going to shoot for 180g of protein a day.

180g protein x 4cal/g = 720 calories from protein

2880 total calories – 720 protein calories = 2160 calories left for carbs
and fat.
John decides he wants an equal distribution of carbs and fat (doesn’t
need to be equal, just an example) so this is what it breaks down to.

2160 left over / 2 = 1080 calories

1080 cals worth of carbs = 270g (1080/4 cals per gram of carb)

1080 cals worth of fat = 120g (1080/9 cals per gram of fat)

John’s Macros: 2880 Calories – Protein: 180g Carbs: 270g Fat: 120g

The beauty of this type of approach is you only really have to hit 2
numbers, overall calories and protein intake.

Carb and fat intake can fluctuate from day to day depending on how you
feel (your workout for the day) and how your day unfolds as long as
protein and calorie intake remains the same.

If you have never tracked your food intake before, trust me it is easier
than it sounds. Don’t let the numbers scare you.

The first week or two weigh and measure everything. This will allow
you to figure out what portion sizes look like and then you can start
estimating. Always track everything with My Fitness Pal or a similar
website.

After two weeks of consistent tracking you should have a pretty good
idea what portion sizes look like. At this point you can become a little

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less strict on weighing and measuring everything. I do highly
recommend always measuring fat sources because they are so
calorically dense.

Sample Meal Plan

I’m not a big fan of meal plans. I prefer everyone just track their calories
and macros and eat what they want. However, I know seeing food on
paper laid out in a meal plan helps it set in for some of you.

*This is just an example, not something you need to follow.

Macros: 2880 Calories – Protein: 180g Carbs: 270g Fat: 120g

Meal 1: 6 whole eggs, 1 cup oats, 1 apple

Meal 2: 6oz chicken breast, 1 cup rice, 1 serving green vegetables, 1.5
servings almonds.

Meal 3: 1 scoop of whey protein, 1 banana, 2 tbs peanut butter

Meal 4: 6oz steak, 8oz russet potato, large green salad, 2 tbs salad
dressing, 1.5 servings of ice cream

Adjust the portion sizes and foods to fit your macros and preferences.
Remember, nutrition is just a game of numbers. If you are not getting
the desired result from your diet all you need to do is make an
adjustment.

If your goal is to gain muscle (weight) and your macros are causing you
to maintain or even lose weight, all you have to do is add calories.

Making Weight

Being a former wrestler, I know all about weight cutting. In my

experience as an athlete and working with athletes, cutting more than
.05% of overall bodyweight in a short time (around a week) is about the
max without losing a bunch of strength.

Dehydration, lack of energy, new leverages, etc. is all part of the reason
why strength could go down. If it has worked for you in the past and you
feel it gives you an edge, by all means go for it. However, if you are just
starting out and wondering if you should cut a bunch of weight for an
upcoming meet I would recommend you just compete at what you
weigh.

The bottom line with weight cutting is this – if you stay relatively lean
and in shape all year there is no reason to cut a lot of weight.

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Chapter 9: Tips For Your First Powerlifting
Meet

Powerlifting is going mainstream…well, not mainstream but

mainstream within the fitness industry.

Over the past few years powerlifting, more specifically raw powerlifting,
has seen a huge influx of people getting involved in the sport.

If lifting big weights is something you enjoy (you are reading this book
so I would bet it is), I’m sure you have at least thought about entering a
meet. You may have even talked about it amongst your training buddies.

Well, it’s time to stop talking about it and start being about it.

Here are some tips to help you along the way towards your first
powerlifting meet. Even if you have competed before some of these tips
are still nice as a review!

Are You Strong Enough?

This is the big question that I assume holds people back the most. If you
wait until you are “strong enough” most likely you will never compete.
Nobody ever feels they are strong enough.
It’s easy to say, “I want to wait until I hit a 300lb bench and a 400lb
squat” But then it is a 315lbs bench and 425lbs squat. See what I mean?
Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you are more competitive.

It doesn’t really make a difference how much weight you lift at a meet.
No one is going to judge you or laugh at you. Quite frankly, no one is
even going to care how much weight you lift. Everyone will be too
concerned with his or her own lifts to worry about you.

No matter how strong you currently are, it’s strong enough.

The Perfect Time

Like waiting until you are strong enough, if you wait until the perfect
time chances are you will never compete.

This is what always held me back. I always had an excuse as to why it

wasn’t the right time to do a meet…and they all were bullshit.

All you have to do is pick a meet and sign up.

We all live busy lives. With all the things you have going on it’s easy to
push something like a powerlifting meet until a later date when things
“calm down”.

It’s all about priorities. It doesn’t matter how busy you are, if you really
want to do a powerlifting meet you will find the time to get ready.
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But how much extra time will you really need? Aside from the actual day
of the meet (plan for all day), not much else should require additional
time. You are already training hard enough if you are following this
program.

Set Realistic Expectations

This all comes down to being honest with yourself.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people post their “maxes” on
Facebook and/or Instagram that would not even be close to passing
with a legitimate federation.

That’s fine if you want to test yourself from time to time but just realize
that sloppy gym PR’s mean nothing when it comes to a powerlifting
meet.

You must squat at or below parallel.

When benching the bar has to touch your chest and you need to hold it
there until you hear the press command while keeping your ass on the
bench. Full range of motion is obviously required as well – full lockout
to start and finish the lift.

You also can’t “hitch” when deadlifting. Hitching is when the bar gets
stuck on your thighs and you re-bend the knee while nudging the bar up
along the thigh.
If your best squat is 500lbs, but it’s a mile high prepare to be humbled.
Same goes for bench, if you have hit 315lbs but you bounced it off your
chest or only came down half way…again, prepare to be humbled.

This is a big issue with your average gym goer. People (who don’t
compete) try to compare their shitty gym lifts with competitor’s
competition lifts. There just is no comparison.

Don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Set your goals for the meet
based on lifts that you have done that would meet the specific
requirements. Also don’t expect to hit 50lbs more than you have ever
done before. Shoot to hit PR’s but make sure they are within the reach.

Some Things You Should Know

The Federation Rules

Every powerlifting federation will have slightly different rules.

For example, some will allow knee sleeves in the squat, some will allow
knee wraps, some will allow both and some will allow none.

It’s important to know the rules of your federation. Go to the federations

website and actually read through the rules. This way you will have a
basic idea of what is expected.

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There will also be a rules meeting for all competitors before the meet
starts where you will get a rundown of the rules as well.

Make sure you pay attention! You may find out you read the rules
wrong…I did my first time lol!

When I was going through the rulebook for the IPA I thought it said you
can ONLY wear knee wraps when squatting – no knee sleeves. This was
a big deal for me because I had never worn knee wraps before and have
always worn knee sleeves.

As it turns out I read the rules wrong and you can wear either
wraps or sleeves in the IPA.

Weight Class

Powerlifting is a weight class sport. It’s important to not only know

what the weight classes are but know how much you weigh and what
weight class you plan to enter.

I do not recommend cutting a bunch of weight for your first powerlifting

meet, especially if you have never cut weight before.

Weight cutting can be pretty easy for the experienced but if you don’t
know what you are doing it can be a nightmare.
However, with that being said if you are within a couple pounds of a
weight class it would make a lot of sense to drop the couple pounds. You
don’t want to be that guy (or girl) who is a pound or two over the weight
class and has to bump up 15+ pounds to compete in the next one higher.

Be Conservative With Your Opener

There should be no chance you miss your opener. You should be able to
hit your opener, on your worst day, sick, tired and half dead. Don’t take
that too literal but, for real, your opener should be easy.

A good recommendation is to pick a weight you can do for a triple. My

first meet I even went a little more conservative than that.

Just remember you have two more attempts to go heavier. Get one lift
on the books and go from there!

Meet Checklist

Here are some things you will need to bring with you the day of the
meet.

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Large bag: You will need something big enough to fit all of the stuff on
this list. You may even need two large bags - one for lifting equipment
and one for everything else.

Singlet: Can’t forget this! It might even be a good idea to have 2 just in
case.

Belt: If you have a lever belt if possible bring a back up. Those levers
have been known to break on occasion. I would rather be safe than
sorry.

Knee Sleeves/Wraps: Essential to hitting raw squat PR’s!

Chalk: The meet will probably have chalk but it’s a good idea to have
your own for warming up or if by chance the meet runs out.

Squat Shoes: Self explanatory

Deadlift Shoes/Slippers: Self explanatory

Deadlift Socks: These are actually required in some federations. Either

way you will want these for deadlifting.

Foam Roller / Lacrosse Ball: If you use it during training use it at the
meet.

Water / Gatorade: Stay hydrated!

Pre Workout: Get hyped up!

Food: You will be at the meet all day, bring snacks.

Extra T-Shirts, Socks, Underwear: You can never be too prepared in

this area.

Shorts: You will want something to slip over your singlet in between
lifts.

Sweatshirt: Wear this while warming up and in between lifts to stay

warm.

Baby Powder: Have someone put baby powder on your thighs before
deadlifting. This will help the bar slide up your legs easier. Don’t get it
on your hands or shoes.

Towels: You might want to dry your hands/body off.

Ibuprofen / Aspirin: It might come in handy.

Deodorant: Don’t be the smelliest one there.

Music / Head Phones: Chances are something heavy will be playing

during the meet. Bring something to listen to in between lifts to help
you relax. I don’t recommend being pumped up all day. You will never
make it to deadlifts if that is the case.

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Camera: Video or it didn’t happen brah!

Last but not least, Federation Card: If you wanna play, ya gotta pay!

Bottom Line

If you have been thinking about doing a powerlifting meet, I recommend

finding one in your area and signing up. There is no better time than
now!
Chapter 10: How to Run the Program
There are some general terminologies of the program you need to
understand. Many of the concepts you will most likely be familiar with,
it will just be a matter of being on the same page.

Plus sets / AMRAP – As Many Reps As Possible

In the program where you see a (+) next to the amount of reps, that
means you take the last set for as many reps as possible.

We use this in the last couple days of the last week of each cycle. It’s a
way of “rep testing” and shooting to hit a new rep personal record (PR).

Take these plus sets seriously. Push yourself to the limit. However, it’s
not necessary to go to failure. Try to do as many complete reps as you
can. If you happen to hit failure it’s ok but it’s not the goal. I personally
like to leave a rep in the tank on my AMRAP sets. This way I walk out of
the gym knowing I had more in me. Avoiding failure is less taxing on the
Central Nervous System as well.

Trouble Shooting
Weekly Progress – It would be great if you had access to .5 and 1lb
plates but not many gyms don’t. You want to be as accurate with the
percentages as possible. I can’t stress it enough, be accurate with the

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percentages. If you are supposed to use 310lbs use 310lbs, don’t round
up to 315lbs just because it’s easier to put 3 wheels on.

If you miss a rep during the program it’s most likely going to be from
rounding up weights or using unrealistic training maxes.

On the other hand, if you are used to going to failure all the time, the
first couple weeks of this program may seem “light” or “easy”. This is
how it’s supposed to feel. Stick to the percentages and trust the
program. Each cycle builds upon itself and gets harder as the weeks go
on.

Training Max
To run the program you will need to know what your 1 rep maxes are
for the Squat, Bench and Deadlift. You need to know your current
maxes, not your all time maxes.

If you don’t know your numbers off hand, I recommend taking the time
to actually find them out.

Do a mock meet at your gym this weekend. Have one of your buddies
watch you and call you out on depth, form, etc. This way there are no
discrepancies when you start the program.

If you would rather not do that, you can use the following formula.
Weight x Reps x .0333 + Weight = Estimated 1 Rep Max

So if you did a set of 315lbs for 5 reps you could calculate your max by
plugging those numbers into the formula.

315(weight) x 5 (reps) x .0333 + 315(weight) = 367lbs (estimated max)

Weekly Progression
The Absolute Strength program is a Daily Undulating Periodization
program model with linear progression built in.

Each week we are going to increase how much weight is on the bar with
the main lifts.

Lower body exercises (squat and deadlift) get increases of 10lbs per
week and upper body exercises (bench press) get an increase of 5lbs
per week.

In the program it is written like this:

lw+5 (or) lw+10

lw= last week

So you take the weight you used the following week and add 5 or 10lbs
to it. It’s that simple.

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For the assistance work where RPE’s are used, try to add weight to
those exercises each week as well. But remember, the option is always
there to adjust the weight up or down depending on how you feel on
that particular day. That is the benefit of using RPE’s.

Recommended Equipment List

Lifting Belt – I’m convinced carrying your gym belt into the gym with
you is the ultimate sign you are a real lifter. Some people worry about
your abs getting weaker because of wearing a belt. These people have
never felt 500lbs on their backs before. They also don’t understand the
concept of what a belt provides.

Don’t buy a cheap belt from Walmart. Those things are junk. A quality
belt will last a lifetime. I personally use an Inzer 13mm Lever Belt.

Training Shoes – Running shoes are not a good option to lift heavy in.
When lifting heavy weights you want a shoe that had a hard sole. You
may even squat, bench and deadlift all in a different shoe.

I personally recommend squatting in an Olympic Weightlifting Shoe.

These have elevated heels which can help people reach depth. These are
more important for close stance, high bar squatters in my opinion. A low
bar wide stance squat would probably be best suited for a flat sole shoe
like a Chuck Taylor.

For benching you just need something that is comfortable and allows
you to drive through your heels.

When deadlifting you want to be as close to the ground as possible.

Wrestling shoes work great for deadlifting.

Knee Sleeves
Knee sleeves provide warmth and compression. Nice accessory to have
for squatting.

Wrist Wraps
Wrist wraps keep your wrists in a good position when doing any type of
press.

How Many Days Should You Lift Per Week

You will notice two different program options, a 6-day and a 4-day. This
is in reference to training days per cycle/week. Each cycle lasts about a
week.

One of the questions I get asked the most is how many days per week is
optimal to train? To answer this, I always ask a follow up question I
borrowed from Jim Wendler.

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How many days of the week are you willing to emotionally, socially and
physically commit to training?

Let's look into this a little more.

Motivation
Everyone starts out with great intentions but eventually reality sets in
and people realize motivation is not an endless entity.

Not everyone has the motivation to train every day…and that's ok! You
don't have to.

Physical Ability
This is a tough one for older lifters. Even if you have all the mental drive
in the world, if your body doesn't want to cooperate that's all she wrote.

You may have physical limitations due to past injuries that only allow
you to hit the gym a couple times per week. Again, this is ok!

Time
This is the big one. You have to be honest with yourself here. How much
time do you really have to devote to your training?
Everyone has time to workout. I don't care how busy you are, you have
time to train. It's just a matter of how much. In a perfect world we would
all live the lives of professional athletes. But unfortunately that will
never be a reality for most of us.

If you have a ton of responsibilities - kids, long work hours, travel, etc. it
might not be feasible to workout 6 days a week. But that doesn't mean
you can't make time for 4 quality sessions per week.

For the Big Dawgs

Since I knew there would be a certain group of people who have the
motivation, physical capacity and time to train like a maniac, I included
a 6 day template. This is the template I personally used for most of my
training in 2015.

Don’t feel obligated to use the 6-day template. It is not necessarily

“better” than the 4-day. The best template is going to be the one you can
follow long term.

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Chapter 11: The Program

If you skipped to this part of the book, please go back and read the first
few chapters. Trust me I’m not a believer in fluff. If I put something in
this book it is in here for a reason. I don’t want you to miss something
important and end up screwing up your progress.

Now that we are all caught up, let’s dig in.

*Please note all the training templates are available for separate
download as well.
 Absolute Strength: 4-Day Cycle

Phase 1: (weeks/cycles 1-3)

Hunt Fitness Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Cycle 3

Workout 1 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 4 65% 9 lw+10 9 lw+10 9
2. Romanian Deadlift 3 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9
3. DB Lunge 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Lying Leg Curl 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 2 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 4 65% 9 lw+5 9 lw+5 9
2. Incline DB Press 3 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9
3. DB Row 3 9 rpe 10 9 rpe 10 9 rpe 10
4. Seated DB Press 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
5. Lat Pulldown 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 3 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 4 72% 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5+
2. Deadlift 3 72% 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5+
3. DB Step Up 4 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Glute Ham Raise 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 4 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 4 72% 5 lw+5 5 lw+5 5+
2. Close Grip Bench 3 8 rpe 5 8 rpe 5 8 rpe 5
3. Chest Supported
4 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Row
4. DB Bench Press 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
5. Rope Face Pull 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

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Phase 2: (cycles/weeks 4-6)

Hunt Fitness Cycle 4 Cycle 5 Cycle 6

Workout 1 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 5 73% 6 lw+10 6 lw+10 6
2. Romanian
4 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6
Deadlift
3. DB Lunge 3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
4. Lying Leg Curl 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 2 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 5 73% 6 lw+5 6 lw+5 6
2. Incline DB Press 3 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6
3. DB Row 3 9 rpe 8 9 rpe 8 9 rpe 8
4. Seated DB Press 3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
5. Lat Pulldown 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 3 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 5 82% 2 lw+10 2 lw+10 2+
2. Deadlift 3 82% 2 lw+10 2 lw+10 2+
3. DB Step Up 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Glute Ham Raise 3 x 10 x 10 X 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 4 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 5 82% 2 lw+10 2 lw+10 2+
2. Close Grip Bench 3 8 rpe 2 8 rpe 2 8 rpe 2
3. Chest Supported
3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Row
4. DB Bench Press 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
5. Rope Face Pull 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"
Phase 3: (cycles/weeks 7-9)

Hunt Fitness Cycle 7 Cycle 8 Cycle 9

Workout 1 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 6 79 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5
2. Deadlift 4 79 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5
3. Good Morning 4 x 6 x 6 x 6
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 2 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 6 79 5 lw+5 5 lw+5 5
2. Close Grip Bench 4 9 rpe 5 9 rpe 5 9 rpe 5
3. Seal Row 4 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6
4. Pullups 3 x 8 x 8 x 8
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 3 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 6 90 1 lw+10 1 lw+10 1+
2. Deadlift 4 90 1 lw+10 1 lw+10 1+
3. Reverse Hypers 4 x 8 x 8 x 8
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 4 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 6 90 1 lw+5 1 lw+5 1+
2. Spoto Press 4 9 rpe 1 9 rpe 1 9 rpe 1
3. DB Row 4 x 6 x 6 x 6
4. Band Pullaparts 3 x 15 x 15 x 15
Optional "Extra Work"

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 Absolute Strength: 6-Day Cycle

Phase 1: (cycle/weeks 1-3)

Hunt Fitness Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Cycle 3

Workout 1 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 3 65% 9 lw+10 9 lw+10 9
2. Romanian Deadlift 3 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9
3. DB Lunge 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4.Lying Leg Curl 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 2 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 3 65% 9 lw+5 9 lw+5 9
2. Incline DB Press 3 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9 8 rpe 9
3. DB Row 3 9 rpe 10 9 rpe 10 9 rpe 10
4. Seated DB Press 2 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
5. Lat Pulldown 2 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 3 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 3 68% 7 lw+10 7 lw+10 7
2. Deadlift 3 68% 7 lw+10 7 lw+10 7
3. DB Step Up 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Glute Ham Raise 2 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 4 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 3 68% 7 lw+5 7 lw+5 7
2. Close Grip Bench 3 9 rpe 7 9 rpe 7 9 rpe 7
3. Chest Supported
3 9 rpe 10 9 rpe 10 9 rpe 10
Row
4. DB Bench Press 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 5 and 6 on the next page…

 Workout 5 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 3 72% 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5+
2. Deadlift 3 72% 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5+
3. Bulgarian Split Squat 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Reverse Hyper 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 6 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 3 72% 5 lw+5 5 lw+5 5+
2. Overhead Barbell
3 8 rpe 5 8 rpe 5 8 rpe 5
Press
3. Barbell Row 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Dips 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
5. Rope Face Pull 3 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12 8 rpe 12
Optional "Extra Work"

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Phase 2: (cycles/weeks 4-6)

Hunt Fitness Cycle 4 Cycle 5 Cycle 6

Workout 1 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 4 73% 6 lw+10 6 lw+10 6
2. Romanian Deadlift 4 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6
3. DB Lunge 3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
4. Lying Leg Curl 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 2 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 4 73% 6 lw+5 6 lw+5 6
2. Incline DB Press 4 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6
3. DB Row 3 9 rpe 8 9 rpe 8 9 rpe 8
4. Seated DB Press 3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
5. Lat Pulldown 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 3 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 4 77.5% 4 lw+10 4 lw+10 4
2. Deadlift 3 77.5% 4 lw+10 4 lw+10 4
3. DB Step Up 3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
4. Glute Ham Raise 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 4 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 4 77.5% 4 lw+5 4 lw+5 4
2. Close Grip Bench 4 9 rpe 4 9 rpe 4 9 rpe 4
3. Chest Supported
3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
Row
4. DB Bench Press 3 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8 8 rpe 8
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 5 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 4 82% 2 lw+10 2 lw+10 2+
2. Deadlift 3 82% 2 lw+10 2 lw+10 2+
3. Split Squat 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Reverse Hyper 3 x 10 X 10 x 10
Optional "Extra Work"
Workout 6 on next page
 Workout 6 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Bench Press 4 82% 2 lw+10 2 lw+10 2+
2. Spoto Press 3 8 rpe 2 8 rpe 2 8 rpe 2
3. Barbell Row 3 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
4. Dips 2 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
5. Rope Facepull 2 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10 8 rpe 10
Optional "Extra Work"

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Phase 3: (cycles/weeks 7-9)

Hunt Fitness Cycle 7 Cycle 8 Cycle 9

Workout 1 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Back Squat 5 79 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5
2. Deadlift 4 79 5 lw+10 5 lw+10 5
3. Good Morning 4 x 6 X 6 X 6
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 2 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 5 79 5 lw+5 5 lw+5 5
2. Flat DB Bench 4 9 rpe 5 9 rpe 5 9 rpe 5
3. DB Row 4 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6 9 rpe 6
4. Pullups 3 x 8 x 8 X 8
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 3 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 5 83 3 lw+10 3 lw+10 3
2. Paused Deadlift 4 8 rpe 3 8 rpe 3 8 rpe 3
3. DB Lunge 3 x 6 x 6 X 6
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 4 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Bench Press 5 83 3 lw+5 3 lw+5 3
2. Close Grip Bench 4 9 rpe 3 9 rpe 3 9 rpe 3
3. Overhead Barbell
3 8 rpe 6 8 rpe 6 8 rpe 6
Press
4. Chest Supported
3 x 8 x 8 X 8
Row
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 5 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps

1. Back Squat 6 90 1 lw+10 1 lw+10 1+
2. Deadlift 5 90 1 lw+10 1 lw+10 1+
3. Back Extensions 3 x 12 X 12 X 12
Optional "Extra Work"

Workout 6 on next page

 Workout 6 Sets Intensity Reps Intensity Reps Intensity Reps
1. Bench Press 6 90 1 lw+5 1 lw+5 1+
2. Spoto Press 5 9 rpe 2 9 rpe 2 9 rpe 2
3. Barbell Row 3 x 6 x 6 X 6
4. Barbell Curls 3 x 8 x 8 X 8
Optional "Extra Work"

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Chapter 12: Common Questions: Q and A
Although I feel like I covered everything, here are some things that fell
through the cracks.

Q – How long should I rest between sets?

Rest periods are not listed on the program. The reason is simple; with
this program the amount of time you take between exercises is not that
important.

Remember we are trying to become as strong as possible. Moving tons

of weight requires more rest. When you are using loads that are as
challenging as this program calls for, I hate putting a number on how
long you get to rest between sets. To me it just doesn’t make sense. Rest
however long it takes for you to perform at your best. That could be 90
seconds or up to 5 minutes.

As a rule of thumb you should rest longer between the main exercises
(squat, bench, deadlift, and variations) than you do on the assistance
work.

Q – How do I keep track of my workouts?

I recommend going to Wal-Mart or the dollar store and getting a cheap
composition notebook. That’s what I personally use and it works great.
Write down every workout of the program. Each training session should
get a separate page. Jot down the time of the workout, the gym you went
to, how you felt, etc.
You can also use an app but I like to keep it old school.

Q – Can I use chains/bands while using this program?

You can, but I don’t necessarily recommend it for the main lifts. If you
want to use bands/chains I recommend using them on assistance
movements.

Accommodating resistance and speed work was designed to help geared

(bench shirt, squat suit, etc.) powerlifters. The strength curve for a
geared lifter is light at the bottom and heavy at the top. This requires
more top end work, which is exactly what bands and chains provide.
Things are a little different for raw lifters. A raw lifter’s strength curve is
the exact opposite – heavy at the bottom and light at the top.

This is not to say chains and bands are not beneficial, they can be, but
not enough to replace regular barbell work.

Q- Do I need to deload during the program?

You definitely don’t “need” to. However, if you know your body well and
are feeling rundown you can take a deload week between each training
phase. This might be a good idea if you are a little on the older side.

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Q- Can I use the trap bar instead of the barbell for deadlifts?
Ideally I would like everyone to stick to the main exercises – barbell
back squat, barbell bench press and barbell deadlift. Anything besides
those three exercises we consider “assistance movements”, including
the trap bar deadlift. However, in the real world I know not everyone
can or even should handle the big three. The trap bar is a great
alternative to the regular barbell deadlift if you are uncomfortable with
the bar. Another option would be to put the bar up on a couple mats or
blocks to shorten the range of motion.

Q- Can I workout 3 times per week on Absolute Strength?

Although there are only 4 and 6 day templates you can certainly train 3
days per week. I would recommend following the 4 day template and
just pushing the 4th day to the following week and going from there. This
is actually a very good option!

Q – I’m missing reps what should I do?

If you are missing reps something went wrong. You should not be
missing reps; if that’s the case most likely you were unrealistic with
what you can do and what your actual maxes are. The other possibility
is you are not recovering properly between training sessions. Are you
getting 8 hours of sleep per night? Are you hitting your macros? Are you
taking care of yourself

Either way, the solution is simple. Reduce your training max by 5% and
base all your percentages off from the new max.
Q – Can I super set the assistance work?
Yes you can! That is actually a good way to get the work done faster. Just
don’t let the super setting get in the way of using adequate weight. It’s
still important to go as heavy as you can.

Q – I don’t have a reverse hyper or glute ham raise machine. What

do I do?
Go to chapter 4 and take a look at the templates. The workout program
is designed so you can mix and match assistance exercises to fit your
individual needs. If you don’t have a particular piece of equipment just
switch it out for another exercise from the same group.

In this example, instead of glute ham raises or reverse hypers, you could
do any leg curl variation, back extension, good morning, RDL, hip
thrusts, kettlebell swing, etc.

Q – I never do the optional “extra” work, is that ok?

Yes, that is perfectly fine! That is why it is labeled optional. The extra
work is there for the over achievers. The truth is, some people need a
little more volume than others. This is what this is here for.

Plus, there is no direct arm work in the Absolute Strength program and I
know about 90% of people will want to do some lol.

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Appendix 1: Other Resources
If you enjoyed Absolute Strength, here are some other books you might
like!

Supertraining by Mel Stiff and Yuri Verkhoshansky

Science and Practice of Strength Training by Valdimir Zatsiorski

Periodization by Tudor Bompa

Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe

Practical Programming by Mark Rippetoe

Triphasic Training by Cal Dietz

Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett

5/3/1, Beyond 5/3/1 and 5/3/1 Powerlifting by Jim Wendler

Juggarnaunt Method by Chad Smith

Cube Method by Brandon Lilly

Westside Barbell Book of Methods by Louie Simmons

Squat Every Day by Matt Perryman

Powerlifting by Dan Austin

Never Let Go by Dan John

Modern Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger

There are more but this will get you started. If you are curious about
further reading beyond this reading list, shoot me an email and I can
hook you up.

If you want to improve your bench press dramatically check out my

other training program/ebook –

The Hunt Fitness Bench Press Specialization Program.

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Appendix 2: What to do next?
So you just finished the Absolute Strength program and now you are
looking for what to do next.

You have a couple options.

The first thing you should do is run a deload week. At this point your
body is in need of some rest and recovery. Trust me it will do your body
good.

After you take a deload week, you could always run the program again.
If the program worked great the first time, most likely it will continue to
work great. Don’t fix what’s not broken right? I designed this program to
be effective for multiple runs. This is not a program you run once and
never revisit. This is a program that should outline the way you train.

Another option would be to get personalized coaching. If you enjoyed

the Absolute Strength program the next step is to get a personalized
program. The truth is everyone is different. This is the best program I
could come up with without knowing anything about you.

There is a reason the best lifters in the world hire coaches to develop
their programs. Nothing beats a personalized touch.
About the Author: Kyle Hunt

Kyle Hunt is the owner of Hunt Fitness, a highly sought after online
strength and conditioning/nutritional consulting business. He
specializes in custom nutrition and workout programs designed around
the individual’s goals. He also offers contest prep coaching for physique
athletes.

He has been personal training/coaching since he was 16 years old and

has been an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer since age 18. In addition to
his certifications, Kyle also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science
from Fredonia State University in Upstate New York.

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Over the last six years since starting Hunt Fitness he has watched it
grow from a small fitness blog to a full on fitness training company with
clients coming to him from all over the world! He has an extreme
passion for health and fitness and loves sharing it with other people!

Enough of this third person crap, let’s get to the good stuff…

Things I Enjoy:

• Being a dad
• Training (obviously)
• Reading
• Writing
• Pop Tarts / Ice Cream / Pizza (flexible dieting essentials lol)
• Steak and Sweet Potatoes (life essentials)
• Documentaries
• Being Active
• Coffee
• Alcohol (occasionally)
• Football
• Wrestling
• Hanging out with my daughter and fiancé.
• Shoes and Socks (strange I know)
• Did I say lifting weights?
Credentials:

Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science

ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer

ISSA Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Gym Cred:
National level USAPL 74kg/163lb Powerlifter

480lbs squat in competition

375lbs bench in competition
540lb deadlift in competition

Follow Kyle on social

YouTube.com/HuntFitnessTV
Facebook.com/HuntFitness
Instagram.com/HuntFitness
Twitter.com/HuntFitness
Snapchat = huntfit

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Visit www.KyleHuntFitness.com for more information.
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