Behaviors

For problem areas, do a separate small routine on its own day or at a separate time, about 5–7 minutes around 3 times per week. If done on a training day, place smaller focused exercises after bigger training so they do not compromise big lifts and so dominant muscles are pre-fatigued.

Every day, put socks and shoes on while standing on one foot at a time without sitting down; only put the foot down after the shoe is tied. Used as a balance, hip strength, ankle mobility, lumbar paraspinal, and low-back control test/training drill.

Hold a side plank, then raise the top leg about 45 degrees and try to hold even 30 seconds; tests and trains lateral pillar and underside glute medius strength.

For athletes and recreational sport participants, focus most strength and conditioning on overall balanced bilateral strengthening rather than replicating sport motions in the weight room. Stick to core lifts and let skill work be skill work.

Whenever possible, perform movements standing rather than seated to train the body more like an athlete and in more functional positions.

Preferred lunge variation because it takes some stress off the anterior knee. Step back with a slightly wider stance to create a wider base of support, and as you descend, lean/turn the torso slightly toward the forward leg and 'screw down' into the hip for more stability.

Use an intentional hook grip through the stronger index and middle fingers on underhand lat pulldowns to reduce excessive forearm involvement, but skip it if you have a history of elbow issues.

Recommended as one of the biggest things to avoid shoulder issues, especially if doing lots of heavy pressing or delt work.

Maintain mobility of the shoulder and shoulder girdle/scapula to keep shoulders functioning well.

Progressively perform internal/external rotation against resistance with the arm in higher positions as strength improves.

During crunches, lightly touch the back of the head rather than pulling on the neck.

Lie on your back with head off the bench edge, plate on forehead, retract chin first, lower head back, then flex back to neutral; example given of about 12 reps.

Lie prone with weight on back of head, retract chin first, let head sink forward off bench edge, then extend back to neutral or slightly beyond.

Lie on your side on the bench, place weight on the opposite side of the head, and lift slowly against the weight.

Preferred cardio mode; increase pedal resistance and use it for cardiorespiratory health, especially if knees are beat up. One of his two favorite cardio methods, often done in interval fashion.

Preferred format on stationary bike and jump rope; done at higher resistance or intensity in interval fashion.

For fat loss, create deficits primarily by improving nutrition rather than relying on cardio.

Recommended initially to build awareness of intake and educate yourself about calorie content of foods. Logging increases awareness of every calorie and reveals repetitive eating/drinking habits.

Learn to make equivalent swaps on the fly based on protein and calorie content when eating out or traveling.

Do not start a diet that removes foods you know you cannot avoid long term.

If eating calorie-dense healthy fats, cut back a bit on other portions to accommodate them calorically.

Place a towel on the floor, put a bare foot on it, and scrunch the towel with the foot to assess intrinsic foot strength; cramping suggests weakness.

Use towel scrunching drills to strengthen intrinsic foot muscles.

For more isolated hypertrophy-focused exercises, train to objective failure to maximize stimulus in shorter workouts. Safe examples include single-arm cable pulldowns and Bulgarian split squats, where ugly partials or dropping the weights add stimulus with little extra risk.

Do not take compound or technically demanding lifts like rows, big presses, squats, and deadlifts to true failure; stop when form breaks down or get close without reaching true failure.

Suggested per-workout volume for smaller muscle groups like biceps.

Suggested per-workout volume for larger muscle groups like quads and lats.

Instead of always doing 3 sets per exercise, use 2 sets and rotate through more exercises that hit the muscle differently.

Count indirect work from compound lifts toward total stimulus for a muscle group. If you want more indirect biceps stimulus during back work, choose chin-ups, underhand rows, or underhand pulldowns.

If tired or constrained by life, divide a planned workout across two days; for example, do non-compound/high-intensity accessory work one night and strength work the next or a couple days later. On nights when neurologically drained, focus on the non-strength/non-compound portion instead of heavy compound work.