Accessible Strength Programme

ACCESSIBLE 

There are times in your life when you can train often but not hard. This is the programme for that. It's particularly useful for people with home gyms and limited equipment, those doing physical work, and who (for whatever reason) have less than ideal food and rest. 

This is the only programme which can be combined with simultaneously doing any of the endurance programmes (other than the daily 30' walk) we prescribe, or any sports at a competitive level. Likewise, it is a good programme to combine with weight loss or weight gain efforts, provided those be moderate in pace.

This is a programme for the person lifting for health. It will not produced world records, though it has frequently produced personal records. 

Choose 

• One of (optionally, a variation like wide stance, paused, etc)                
  • Front squat (paused/rack)           
  • Back squat (wide stance)                     
  • Deadlift (narrow stance, sumo, deficit)           
  • Rack pulls      
• And one of      
  • Press (push or jerk, paused/rack)           
  • Bench press (narrow, wide grip, paused)           
  • Rows (narrow grip, pronated/supinated)           
  • Chinups, etc      
• Lastly, one of,               
  • Snatch           
  • clean           
  • famer's walks           
  • suitcase carry           
• Afterwards, do a brisk walk for 30'

The ACCESSIBLE programme is a little different to others we use. Intensity for our purposes may be defined as steadily adding weight to the bar (if it's not intense today, it will eventually become intense), and frequency how often you train. Intensity works, frequency works, but you cannot do both at once without anabolic steroids. Most of our other programmes are about intensity, this is about frequency; expect to do it 3-5 times weekly. 

This is at once the simplest and the most complicated of the programmes, because you now have choices. You choose 3 exercises, and if you wish a variation such as paused squat, close-grip bench, etc. The first day is Establishing Day, where you test an ordinary maximum – this is not a competition-style grind, but simply the most the person is comfortable with doing on the day. 

Calculate 60 and 80% of this. The 60% is your floor, you never lift less than this however awful you feel; the 80% is your ceiling, you never lift more than this however good you feel.

It's sensible to do not more than one of the lifts at 80% each day. If you try to do all three at 80%, you will be able to do it, but you will struggle to do that 4 days in a row, whereas even 6 days at 60% is fine. Think of one at 80, one at 70 and one at 60% normally, and all three at 60% on a bad day. 

You will do a total of 12 reps in each of the three movements, and it does not matter how you get them out; you can probably do all 12 in one go at 60%, but 80% will take a few sets to get them out. We recommend singles. Make each one beautiful. 

For example, Jen decides to do clean, front squat and press. She has some experience with the quick lifts. She begins with the empty 15kg bar, doing this easily. She adds a 5kg bumper plate to each side, cleaning 25kg. She goes on like this and finds her max today is 50kg. 60% of 50kg is 30, and 80% is 40kg. Her cleans will be 30-40kg, for a total of 12 reps.

She front squats out of the rack and her max is 60kg, so her front squats will be 36-48kg, also for a total of 12 reps.

She presses from the rack and her max is 40kg, so her presses will be 24-32kg, likewise for 12 reps.

As for session length, the workout should not take long. If you can, set an interval timer, and do a single rep on a minute – it will then take 36 minutes in all, or 45' if you have chosen equipment-intensive work. After 10-12 workouts you will feel good and want to max out. Do not.

After 18 workouts or 6 weeks, whichever comes last, you have a Testing Day where you see which improved. Now repeat the process. Swap out at least one of the three movements. As noted above, do not try to do a squat variation in combination with a deadlift. Both will fail. 

As for workout frequency, 2 days a week seems to maintain a person's strength in each movement, except in entirely new lifts which do improve. 3 improves at least one of the three movements. 4 improves two or (rarely) all three. 5 days does not seem to provide additional benefits. We know of no cases of people doing 6 or 7 days. 

You may combine movements, for example if you have chosen front squat, press and clean, you might do a clean & 2 presses for 6 sets, then change the weights and do a clean & 2 front squats likewise for 6 sets, thus getting 12 reps in all 3 movements. Bear in mind that in this case, the person's maxes will be different in each lift, so the percentage done each day will end up being a narrower range. 

For example, if Jen combined her clean (30-40kg), press (24-32kg) and front squat (36-48), her press would limit the combination. So over the 6 weeks she'd find her press is challenged a lot, but her clean only somewhat challenged (24-32kg vs 30-40, small overlap) and her front squat not at all (36-48, no overlap). That's alright, but it'd be something for her to be aware of. On the plus side, her workouts would be very quick.  

You can also split your workout. If you do cleans in the morning, front squats at lunchtime, and presses after dinner, it will have exactly the same training effect as doing all three movements together. 

Only chinups as a bodyweight movement are listed, however you may choose others, but stay at 12 total reps. If those are too easy (you can do all 12 in one go), try a variation like paused pushups, hanging crunches, pistol squats, etc. This is a good programme in which to try movements or variations you have not tried before, and these being new will improve a lot.