This is the best strength training program if you’re an average human with a barbell
Originally written for the Dan John website members
Hyperbolic title aside, this is a pretty solid little program. Easy to implement, controls for the rigors of day to day existence, and just good enough that you will almost certainly stop doing it too soon. On the minute singles are one of the best ways for an average person to get stronger. I really believe this! Low risk, lots of good quality reps, plenty of time practicing the setup. There can't be much grinding, because, well... once you miss one or at least really grind it out, you can't reasonably try any more. Doing sets of one rep every minute of your workout keeps the pace high, but doesn’t smoke you. It also keeps you from getting distracted between sets by the latest tiktok compilation or that 24-movement mobility ‘flow’ that you saw on instagram earlier.
I haven’t really come up with a good name for this. I call it ‘waved singles’ because you wave the load from set to set. But it’s more of a system than a program with rules. (“It’s more what you’d call… guidelines.”) You will be lifting a moderately light to moderately heavy barbell or dumbbell for a bunch of singles. The weight will be adjusted slightly each set, so have small plates ready to change load on the fly.
Start with something that isn’t super super light, whatever you’d use for Easy Strength is a fine place to start. Bang out a quick set of 5 or so if you absolutely have to do a 50% or lighter set. Once you’re loaded with the first working weight, start your timer and do 1 rep. Now, you have the rest of the minute to change plates. Each single is loaded ONLY based on the one before it. To be clear–you have no greater plan, goal or number in mind before you start lifting. The only constant is that you’ll start by doing 1 rep at around 65-75% of a conservatively calculated max, and will continue to do singles each minute thereafter. A good place to stop is 20x1 in 20 minutes but you can also do 10, 15, or way more than 20.
Here’s how you calculate the changing of the load after each set. There are three possibilities for how the single you just did went:
1. Lift was smooth (good technique) and quick (good bar speed). Green light–add weight!
2. Lift was smooth but not quick, or quick but not smooth. Yellow light–keep the same weight.
3. Lift was neither smooth nor quick. Red light, take weight off for your next single.
The adjustments after each set are made in preset increments calculated based on how heavy the bar is to begin with. If you want to use percentages, definitely go with less than 5% of your max. (The daily max your 65-75% is based on.) So if your reasonable best is 300x1, you’d use changes up or down of 10-15lb and no more. It should be a smallish jump, enough to noticeably affect the difficulty but not surprise you.
Three rules of engagement.
1: One single every minute. You can't rest longer to try and add more weight to your next one.
2: Add weight only in one of your chosen jumps every time. No going from 225 to 245 or 275, for example. You would go for 235 (or 240, with 15lb jumps). This is not a ‘big plate’ program. Mild not Wild on the adjustments set to set.
3: If you have to back off, drop back at least two increments. If it was a really tough grinder, 3. If you somehow missed, go back to your starting weight. If you keep hitting grinders, which you really shouldn’t, stop before you planned to.
Thus, if you go from 255 to 270x1 and it slows way down, go back down to 240x1 or even lighter. Don’t increase the rest period. If that grinder tired you out don’t hesitate to drop back even more. Then if 240 (or 225) is both quick and easy on the next set, you can add weight again.
If you need percentages to work with, between 65 and 85% of that regular max is a good place to set the endpoints--i.e. you will not go lighter or heavier than this today. If you're doing the same lift multiple times in a week, the top end can be adjusted up or down accordingly. Heavy/Light or HLM, or perhaps HLMML over two weeks. The days are split up only in terms of what is allowed for the top end, all the singles are still adjusted up and down in the same manner described above. So your heavy day might stop at 90% while the light day would never go higher than 80% no matter how good the reps feel. And yes, this means that you might just end up doing a ton of singles at your top end weight eventually, which is good! Maybe try an easy-ish 1RM. Remember, too, that even if your day is ‘heavy’ and tops out at 90%, if you can’t end up there naturally following the rules… don’t.
The idea is that following these rules (guidelines) prevents you from being an idiot and enforces the concept of easy strength. Call it perfect practice, the zone, eustress training, this setup keeps you in that area. It's autoregulated, but you don't have to be exacting with RPE or RIR numbers. It automatically adapts to how you are doing today, however well or poorly that is.
In terms of lifts, I think that combo lifts, complexes etc. tend to mess with it. You don't want something that takes a long time to set up and perform if you are doing a rep every single minute.
Great options:
Strict press, or push press. Use a specialty bar or do pin presses if your shoulders need it.
Front squat. Use a box or pins to limit depth, if necessary. Maybe take a slightly staggered stance and switch each set.
Deadlift: maybe rotate variants every time--stiffleg, narrow sumo, snatch grip off blocks
Bench (Larsen press off pins a bit above the chest is underrated), low incline, standing incline
Row--of the heavy variety starting on the floor and using some leg drive
Power cleans, jerks or snatches, clean grip power snatch, muscle snatch, hang clean. Just one!
If you wanted to do clean + press maybe use a dumbbell so one minute is R one minute is L.
Pullups and dips can be good if they’re friendly for you and fall into the right difficulty range, with or without added weight.
Fun stuff to maybe try: bottoms up overhead squats, power curls, one handed old school lifts (swing or snatch–switch hands each set), ⅔ back squat, bands or chains for deadlifts or pin press/bench–adjust the bar weight.
What not to do:
Trap bar–I think it’s too easy for this format.
Full classic lifts–again, they just take too long. Even if you just did something like clean and push press I think they’d be better done individually.
KB or odd objects–you can’t quickly adjust them in those nice little bite-sized increments, so they probably won’t work for this. If you have adjustable KB or microplates on a string or some ankle weights and don’t mind rushing like a formula 1 pit crew after each set, have at it!
In general, try to find ways to set up more quickly. Benching off pins is faster than having to set up and unrack. Using a belt can take time. Setting up for power cleans/snatches from the floor can eat up time as well.
In terms of progression, there isn’t any. There’s no looking ahead, either. You go in and perform as well as you can that day without working too hard… that’s it! Some days you’ll feel great and go right up to something pretty heavy and the weight will naturally come back down after that. Some days you’ll end up doing a bunch of singles at the same weight, or maybe alternating between a slightly lighter and a slightly heavier weight. Some days it’ll be all over the place. Some days you’ll never really get going and everything will be light, which is absolutely okay too.
Application: You can do the waved singles approach every day with different lifts, or do 2-3 lifts a day only 1-2 days a week, or do the OLAD setup... when you can just say "do this for 20 min" it frees up a lot of excess time and thought! Heck, you could do 5-10 min and plug it right into ES itself. This could easily be an answer to the prisoner's dilemma, a 'strength routine to be done for all time' or a lot of other things besides....
If you do want a layout, though, try this. Rotate between the following lifts in this order.
Deadlift variant
Bench press variant
Front squat variant
Row, or pullup
Overhead press
Each lift is done in a 20 minute block, 20 singles in 20 minutes. After you’re done, rest 5 min and do some mobility. Do you have another productive 20 min in you? If so, great! Move onto the next lift on the list. If not, go for a walk preferably carrying a light load in one hand/on one shoulder/in a rucksack.
If you do more than one lift, take the next day off from lifting. Pick up with whichever the next lift on the list is. This is how it might go.
Monday deadlift, bench.
Tuesday ruck and mobility, maybe some kb swings
Wednesday front squat. Tired, just walked after.
Thursday row and press.
Friday suitcase carry for a few miles, mobility, light kb play/complexes
Saturday deadlift, walk.
Sunday bench and front squat.
And so on, and so forth.
Happy lifting!
