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Introduction
3
The Birth of The Foundations of FHT
3
The Goal & Overview
6
Defining “Pain-Free” Training
7
The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
8
Importance of Functional Core Strength
9
Building Total Body Training Days
10
Prioritizing Big Compound Movements
12
Effective Cardio & Conditioning
13
Reading Each Exercise For Detail
14
How To Ramp Up Your Lifts
15
Intelligently Progressing Your Weights
16
How To Modify Movements
17
How & Why Use Bands In Training
18
The Goal For Each 3-Week Phase
19
Implementing “Optional” Training Days
20
Setting Your Training Schedule
21
Nutrition to Build Muscle & Burn Fat
23
The Dynamic Warm Up
25
The Recovery & Prehabilitation Day
31
Phase 1 (3 weeks)
37
Day 1 – Total Body Squat Emphasis
39
Day 2 – Interval Conditioning (Optional)
43
Day 3 – Total Body Press Emphasis
45
Day 4 – Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (Optional)
48
Day 5 – Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
49
Day 6 – Recovery Day
52
Day 7 – OFF
52
Phase 2 (3 weeks)
53
Day 1 – Total Body Squat Emphasis
55
Day 2 – Interval Conditioning (Optional)
58
Day 3 – Total Body Press Emphasis
60
Day 4 – Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (Optional)
64
Day 5 – Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
66
Day 6 – Recovery Day
69
Day 7 – OFF
69
Phase 3 (3 weeks)
70
2
Day 1 – Total Body Squat Emphasis
71
Day 2 – Interval Conditioning (Optional)
75
Day 3 – Total Body Press Emphasis
76
Day 4 – High Intensity Interval Training (Optional)
80
Day 5 – Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
81
Day 6 – Recovery Day
84
Day 7 – OFF
84
Introduction
The Birth of The Foundations of FHT
What is the most effective way to train and how to not sabotage your progress by getting
injured? For the better part of the last decade, I’ve been actively working on solving this
mystery for my professional athletes, my clients and myself.
This journey has taken me around the world, consulting and coaching some of the world’s
best athletes, and learning from the best and brightest minds in the history of sports
performance, strength and conditioning and physical therapy. Throughout the process I’ve
proudly succeeded at training thousands of clients that have achieved extraordinary,
life-changing results along the way.
After spending the last 10 years perfecting my approach to training, I felt the need to release
a program that would, without false modesty, become one of the most innovative 12 week
programs ever written. You probably heard of it, this program is called Functional
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Hypertrophy Training (FHT for short), and it has changed the way people intelligently train
forever.
The main goal was this: create the most efficient way to build muscle, burn fat and create
massive, functional strength and athleticism.
From training my first athlete a decade ago to now working with professional athletes,
Olympians and people who just want more out of their bodies, every method, technique
and programming scheme I have battle tested over the years has been solidified and unified
in this one ultimate source: FHT.
However, while there are areas where FHT excels beautifully, such as making you faster,
stronger, bigger (or leaner, if that’s your goal) than ever before, there was one area where
FHT fell short– that’s being beginner friendly.
Simply put, FHT is a bit more of an advanced program than a beginner would be ready for.
It expects you to have some previous experience and a fairly strong foundation of
movement execution and overall training experience under your belt.
The thousands of unique people I have coached through FHT have taught me how powerful
a single program can be, but it also taught me that building a strong foundation for
movement, strength, conditioning and nutrition needs to first be mastered in order to create
dynamic long term results.
But what happens when you don’t have that necessary foundation? Do you wait a few years
until you’ve tried various other training programs and just aimlessly go at it on your own?
Or, even worse, wait until you get injured or at the very least, demotivated from pursuing
your lifelong fitness goals.
What I’d actually like to do is to teach you the Foundations, show you how simple it is to
make a difference and guide your fitness “career” properly, from the very beginning.
Hopefully, it also will prevent you from making some of the expensive mistakes that I,
myself, (and almost everybody else) made in the process.
After realizing the large number of people who wanted to make a change in their training
and start prioritizing intelligent movement and strength training into their routines, but
weren’t quite ready for FHT, I knew that writing a specific program to properly teach the big
lifts, create sound movement patterns and keep people injury free in that pivotal beginners
stage, was what needed to be done. We needed a program to solidify the foundations of
strength and conditioning.
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But whatever you do, don’t underestimate it.
In the phase you are right now, this program (just on its own) will yield amazing results for
your body, movement and strength over the next 9 weeks. It will also qualify you to take
your fitness goals a bit more seriously and start crushing the FHT program once you have
graduated through the Foundations.
I want to remove the “beginner” label from your profile and this is how we’ll do it.
That said, I welcome you to the Foundations of FHT, and I can’t wait for you to
revolutionize the way you train, feel and function in the next 9 weeks.
I want to know everything about your progress, issues and efforts. So, always feel free to
reach me on Facebook, Twitter or even email.
Put the focused time and energy into this program now and set yourself up for success
forever. Yes, this is possible, and I’m here to prove it to you throughout this program and all
the work we will do together in the future.
So let’s get started!
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The Goal & Overview
So without further ado, welcome to the most comprehensive beginners strength program in
the industry, The Foundations of FHT! The goal over the course of this 9-week program is
quite simple. I am going to teach you how to safely and effectively start mastering the
foundations of strength and conditioning.
Think of this program as “base building”, setting yourself up for success for the rest of your
training career. You will not only be proficient at the big foundational movement patterns
that every single human being on the face of the earth should be able to execute, but you’ll
also be ready to confidently progress to a more advanced training program without
physical or experiential restrictions. My goal for you is to master the basics and build a
solid foundation of movement, strength, conditioning and function over the next 9 weeks.
And yes, in case you were wondering, we’ll start making dents in both fat-loss and muscle
building over this time period as well.
Before we move forward, I want
to make it clear that we are
placing an emphasis on
building strength for a specific
purpose: mainly resiliency
against injury and sustainable
long term function and results.
Many of you have been active
throughout your life in a variety
of endeavors. But after working
with literally thousands of
athletes and clients throughout
my career, I’ve seen one physical trait trump all others… strength.
Strength is relative, but the way we not only develop strength, but improve and maintain it,
is by using resistance through large movement patterns and challenging your body to create
force, tension and stability that will transfer into any physical activity inside the gym or
out.
Getting strong is just part of the entire functional outlook. But as we move through this
program, challenging your movement, increasing your fitness and cleaning up some
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chronic aches and pains in the process, will get you stronger. And that’s the ultimate goal
when creating long term pain-free results that will last a lifetime.
Defining “Pain-Free” Training
Before we close this chapter, I do want to touch upon the difference between ​training​ pain
and ​pathological​ pain. Training pain is the type of feeling you get when your muscles are
being challenged and working at a high level. This type of “good” pain can also lead to
delayed onset muscle soreness, which is also not always a bad thing. But the pain you want
to be avoiding is sharp, intense, grinding joint or nerve pain. That’s never a good thing.
What good is getting fit, losing fat or building muscle, if your body is left broken down and
injured in the process? It’s easy to achieve fitness goals when placing your orthopedic and
systemic health at risk. But you know what? Those so-called results are short lived. We
aren’t here for the quick fix, but rather building a foundation of sound movement, strength
and resilience. That’s what creates sustainable results.
Simply put, this Foundations program will place you in the most advantageous positions to
train hard, get results, but also stay healthy as we progress through the 9 weeks. We have
hand chosen specific lifts and exercises that are protective in nature, and position you for
success, even when executing some of these movements for the first time. Teaching
someone to move properly, and on top of that, be strong and stable in these positions takes
time. But we can streamline the process with smarter training. And that’s what pain-free
training is all about.
The myth of “no pain, no gain” needs to die off. Because with that type of mentality, it’s no
wonder why even the fittest people are in constant pain. Here’s a simple rule to live by for
the rest of your life… never train into pain!
This can get confusing for people, especially when a specific movement “hurts” while
you’re doing it. But many times, it’s not the movement that causes the pain, but rather how
you are executing it. So if something is painful, the first step is to make sure you have your
form and technique on lockdown. This program provides a myriad of coaching notes,
videos and resources for you to improve your movements, so don’t forget about those. But
after that, we’ll use strategic modifications to ensure you are not training into pain.
Know the difference between these two types of pain, and work your hardest to create a
“good” painful sensation, which means you are getting the most out of your training. And
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again, live by the golden rule… if there’s pain, figure out WHY. Then fix it or modify
intelligently.
The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
Sometimes people get caught up in the “strength” aspect of a program and lose sight of the
functional carryover that each movement and training day has been developed to enhance.
This is why I like to look at the exercises in this program as “movements” that are
challenged in many different positions, using different tools, and of course for specific
goals.
There are six foundational movement patterns that every single person should be able to
not only display, but actually load up and train to some extent. I am going to go through
these individually as these foundational movement patterns are the backbone of this
program, and are of the utmost importance.
I have developed the lower body exercises in this program around the squat, hip hinge and
single leg movement patterns. Most people are familiar with the squat, but remember, the
“squat” doesn’t automatically mean we will be throwing a bar on your back in the rack.
There are many different ways to challenge this movement pattern as you’ll see moving
through the 3 phases of this program.
The hip hinge is one of the most neglected movement patterns in the human movement
library, which is a shame as it’s arguably the most important in developing resilient lower
backs and hips! The hinge, which is also known as the deadlift pattern will be trained from
multiple angles, and re-learned as many of us have forgotten how to truly use our hips. This
will be a game changer for your injury prevention and also strength development.
The last lower body movement pattern is the single leg stance, which are lunges and many
other variations using the split stance. These will help to achieve better stability, balance
and strength.
Moving into the upper body, we are splitting up your big movements into pushing and
pulling. Think of the traditional pull up as a pulling movement, and the always polarizing
bench press as a pushing movement. We will be training both overhead in the “vertical”
plane, and also in the horizontal plane of motion, to add some diversity.
Finally, no well-rounded movement program is complete without direct core training and
locomotion (aka moving your body through space). You’ll be completing cardio and
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conditioning to work on the locomotion, and doing some progressive core movements to
challenge the “pillar”, which consists of the abs, hips and shoulders functioning together.
Importance of Functional Core Strength
Everyone wants a set of rock hard abs, but the most direct way to get there isn’t necessarily
what you’d think. Endless amounts of crunches, side bends and machine rotations will not
get your midsection ripped, and may leave your lower back and hips injured in the process.
There’s a smarter way to train the core, and that’s exactly what we will be prioritizing in the
Foundations of FHT program.
Before we get into the strategies that we will be implementing in the program, it’s important
to first appreciate the function of the spinal column. The spine was designed to be a strong
and stable functional unit. This means
that the muscles attaching to it, such as
the abdominals and the back muscles for
instance, are designed to make the spine
as strong and stable as possible in order to
resist movement and transfer force and
energy out of the legs and arms.
People end up getting into trouble when
they
defy
the
anatomical
and
biomechanical principles of the spine and
core with their training, trying to make the
core respond to movement instead of it’s
primary purpose of stabilization and
resisting movement.
Unwanted movement through the lower
and mid back can cause irritation and
injuries over time, and that’s the quickest
way to derailing your training and fitness goals. Again, this is the reason why we will work
hard over the course of this 9-week training program to develop and display stability
through the core from a bunch of challenging positions.
The first step in this process is learning how to create tension and link up the hips, core and
shoulders together to work as a functional unit. This is the single most important skill you
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can develop to progress with a pain-free training style for life. The first movement we will
work on is a plank, and from there we will progress with “anti” core training exercises that
will attempt to push you out of a neutral and stable core position to create resiliency in
multiple planes of motion.
Finally, the reason we are focusing on the core is not to get your abs ripped, but rather to
enhance the way you are able to train, to condition and to perform in order to receive the
aesthetics and fitness benefits that will yield the type of “core” results you are aspiring to. A
well functioning core opens up the door for progression and real results. Keep that in mind
as you are shaking through some of these direct core training progressions!
Building Total Body Training Days
While the primary goal of the Foundations of FHT program is to develop strength, skill and
confidence in strength training and beyond, the single most effective way to get you there is
by practicing the six foundational movement patterns as much as possible throughout the
training week. This is exactly why I prioritized three total body training days above other
methods like upper and lower body splits or split body part training.
Total body training isn’t just a novice technique, but rather a method for beginner and
advanced lifters to get world class results with their fat-loss, strength, and muscle building
goals. By hitting both upper and lower body movements in the same session, we are going
to be causing one hell of a hormonal response to not only building muscle and getting
strong, but also sparking fat-loss as well.
This method is simple, we will be programming big movements in all of the foundational
movements patterns every single training session. They say start with first things first, and
that’s exactly what we’ll be doing.
Not only will we be able to get in a ton of challenging work using total body training, but
we’ll also enhance the quality of the work being done, as we know not all efforts yield
optimal results. For us, this tactic will set us up for long term success being able to tolerate
other training schemes in the future, such as the lower body, push and pull emphasis that
the FHT program has been programming according to.
Finally, total body training allows us to train the same pattern and same muscle groups
multiple times a week, which is not only advantageous for getting strong and lean, but also
mastering movement patterns from the total amount of loaded practice you’ll be
completing.
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Master the ability to dominate your total body training days, and you’ll quickly see the
power of building foundations that open up training options for years and decades to come.
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Prioritizing Big Compound Movements
Sure, there’s a time and place for single joint isolation movements such as biceps curls, calf
raises and shoulder raises, but the Foundations of FHT program will focus on the major
multi-joint compound movements for a few key reasons.
First, we are creating sound movement patterns, and those consist of more complex
multi-joint movements. Forging sound movement is a process, and we need as much block
based practice as possible in order to lay down a confident base level of function to layer
upon in the programs to come.
Second, compound movement patterns have
been shown to build more resilient strength
and muscle as compared to isolation work.
With the ability to use multiple body parts
and regions together to create force to move
the weights in every exercise of the
Foundations of FHT program, you’ll be able to
train with heavier weights over time, and thus
yield a greater training response that leads to
better gains. Getting strong is the first step,
and once that is achieved we’ll be able to do
amazing things in terms of more isolated
training in conjunction with heavy lifts that
will synergize together perfectly!
And in case you were wondering about the
mythical “after burn” of prioritizing strength
training above cardiovascular exercise, it’s for
real. But what it really comes down to is heavy compound movement patterns not only
burn more calories in the real time during training, but also spark a powerful hormonal
state which will continue to fire up your metabolic engine while regenerating your muscles
and body to heal up from training.
This is for real, and one of the most powerful mechanisms of long term fitness and function
that there is. Throughout my career training athletes and clients, I have found time and time
again that setting a foundation with compound movements truly gives us the best
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advantage to create a sound understanding and movement capacity that you will literally
use on a daily basis for the rest of your life.
Of course it’s inherently easier to do a few curls and push downs and call it weight training,
but that’s not why we are here training on the Foundations program. We are here for real
results, sustainable results and results that are not quick fixes, but hard earned and will pay
off forever. That’s what compound movements will do for you.
Effective Cardio & Conditioning
I know you may be thinking that you are here training on the Foundations of FHT program
to get strong, do the big lifts and create a base for your strength training, but guess what?
Cardiovascular fitness is also a big deal when we are looking at building functional bodies
that are well rounded and injury free. Many times with cardio, people get the green light
and they overdo it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the so-called “cardio addict” in
my office broken down with preventable injuries and pain, and the one thing that fixes
them is improving their movement and implementing strength. Lets just make sure that we
don’t let that happen.
I know that many of you on this program have a background in fitness that involved a ton of
cardio with little to no resistance training. And let’s be honest, this is very common in the
current outlook of the fitness industry. But I want to change the way you look at “cardio”
and of course improve the effects that you get from it by prioritizing just what you need,
nothing more, nothing less.
We will be implementing “optional” training days into the Foundations of FHT program that
consist of one interval style day, where you will be completing a cardio routine in an
on-and-off style to spike the heart rate up and bring it back down repeatedly. We will also
be using a strategic low intensity steady state cardio day to create a cardiovascular
baseline for our training, and to improve recovery between strength training bouts.
You’ll be able to view the schedule and different options down below in a few sections, but
I want to make one thing clear. If you want to be lean, strong, pain-free and athletic for a
lifetime, the emphasis and energy needs to be put into the strength training days, and
secondarily the cardio and conditioning.
Now that we have our mindset on the right track, let’s talk a little about “pain-free” cardio
and conditioning. We will be using lower joint stress variations of cardio like walking,
biking, and other exercise machines to yield the best response for your system, while
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minimizing the stress to your joints and soft tissues. Don’t ever underestimate the power of
walking, and you’ll really learn that to be true over the course of the next 9 weeks.
Reading Each Exercise For Detail
I have put a ton of detail into every aspect of this program, so I want to make sure you know
exactly how to use the tools at your fingertips to get the very best results and experience
possible through these 9 weeks.
This program has been broken down into three individual 3-week training phases, each
piggybacking off of one another. Each phase has an overview and description of what to
expect through that 3-week training block with some mindset and coaching tips to get you
started.
You’ll see that under each phase, we will have individual training days for both strength
training and your optional cardio and conditioning. Each day will have another more
detailed overview of what to expect and prepare for in that specific day. I highly
recommend that you review the plan for each training day before the workout, as this will
only take a minute or two and it will get your mind right before you start training! Finally,
once you are in a specific training day, each exercise is listed and detailed for programming
and details of execution. The programming reads as follows:
SETS x REPS @ REST
You will have these for both “ramp up” sets and working sets. And I’ll go into a little more
detail on how to correctly use ramp up sets in the next section.
Understanding how these sets, reps and rest periods are written is imperative to the
success of this program, so make sure you double check what you are doing.
After you determine your sets, reps and rest periods, it’s time for the big ticket item… how to
properly execute the exercise just the way I want it done for a pain-free training effect. I’ve
added a ton of hand written coaching notes in here, detailing the exact way you should be
executing each movement, so be sure to read these for comprehension.
Finally, go through and click on the hyperlink of each movement below the coaching notes
to see a set of that movement on video. These video demonstrations are the exact way I
want you executing the movement, so review them a few times. I recommend reviewing the
notes and video before every single movement. This is how we master new movements and
ingrain them in our patterns!
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How To Ramp Up Your Lifts
The use of “ramp up” sets are one of the most original and innovative methods you will use
to build pain-free muscle and skyrocket your overall workload during the Foundations of
FHT program. Simply put, we are going to extend the warm up for each and every lift that
we’ve programmed to give you more sets and reps in order to master that particular
movement pattern. These “warm up sets” allow us to get more work in, with less load, to
lighten up the stress on the joints, while also preparing your body for maximal performance
during the heavier “working sets” to come.
So here’s how they are going to work. First, determine the amount of ramp up sets you have
programmed for each movement. This will be detailed in the coaching notes right about the
working sets. These are written as SETSxREPS@REST to be clear.
You will start your first ramp up set light, and execute all the reps with perfect form and
rhythm according to the coaching notes and video. The next ramp up set, you will increase
the weight slightly and execute your reps once again. This will be done over the course of a
few ramp ups until you reach a weight that is challenging to keep your form pristine
through all the prescribed reps. At that point, you have reached your “working set” weight
and will stay there for all working sets.
Let’s give you an example and break it down from the first phase of training: Goblet Box
Squat - predicting that you can do 8 reps with 100 pounds for your working sets. The
program will say: ​Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x8@45 and ​Working Sets:​ 3x8@45. This will look like:
● Ramp Up Set 1​ - 8 reps with 50 pounds
● Ramp up Set 2​ - 8 reps with 75 pounds
● Working Set 1​ - 8 reps with 100 pounds
● Working Set 2​ - 8 reps with 100 pounds
● Working Set 3​ - 8 reps with 100 pounds
This will result in five total sets between the ramp up sets and working sets. Complete all
ramps, followed by all working sets, then move onto the next exercise in the same manner.
This is very straight forward once you get accustomed to the programming, so learn it now
and have success with it for all 9 weeks in the Foundations and beyond!
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Intelligently Progressing Your Weights
One of the biggest questions I get from my athletes and clients is how do you know what
weights to start with on your big movements, and on top of that, how do you know when to
increase the weights? This is a great question, as optimal loading is the key to creating
pain-free training performances,
while also getting strong and
receiving maximal benefit from
the time and energy that you’re
putting towards this Foundations
of FHT program.
First thing, realize that you’d
rather be going too light than too
heavy. So that being said, use your
ramp up sets wisely. Working the
weights up gradually during those
ramp up sets will give you a pretty good idea of where you stand on your working weights.
This is another great advantage of using ramp up sets in foundational programs, as it gives
you practice feeling each load and working through sets with it.
When you get to a weight that you can 110% knock out every single rep of each working set,
you are left with a question. Do you stay at that weight or progress heavier the next week?
In the next section, I’ll go through the mindset you should be hitting each week with during
training, but here’s another loading rule to live by: Never miss a rep. If you have to break
form or tempo of a movement, then the weights are too heavy and you’ll be more likely to
compensate. This is also how injuries can occur. So make sure you have full mental and
physical effort going towards each set, but when in doubt on your form and/or tempo,
reduce the weights slightly to ensure proper execution.
If you go through and easily get all your reps, it’s time to progress the weight slowly. Make
small jumps, as you are in this for 3-week blocks of training at a time. We want constant
progression; think about taking one step up the flight of stairs at a time, not jumping all the
way up. You’ll quickly gain an appreciation for where you need to be when adding load to
movements, and this comes with experience. Use the ramp up sets wisely, feel out the
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working sets, and have in the back of your mind that over time you’ll add weight to all your
movements and you’ll be constantly progressing.
How To Modify Movements
While I have really prioritized the programming of pain-free foundational movement
patterns in all training days of this program, there will always be certain movements for
specific people that just aren’t well tolerated. And if this happens to be you, don’t sweat it!
This is to be expected. And yes, we have you covered!
Unlike many training programs on the market, my staff and I are here for you every single
step of the way throughout these 9 weeks and beyond. That means if you are having trouble
with any movements in the program, you can contact us for tips, send us videos to review,
and interact with other FHT members in our private Facebook group (FHT Family).
We want to make modifying this base program a simple and easy process, so when you are
experiencing problems with any of the lifts after attempting them, here’s the most effective
way to go about getting great results and educating yourself in the process:
Step 1 - Use the interactive Facebook group “FHT Family” and post your question and
preferably video of your movement that is causing pain or discomfort. We will review this
movement in depth.
Step 2 - Try the new technique fixes or tips from the post in the group the next week in
training. If you are still having problems, we will develop a modified movement pattern that
you can have instantaneous success with!
I’ll mention this again… getting your painful or awkward sets on video is the single best tool
I have to diagnose a problem and give you an effective modification. Without seeing you
move, it’s very difficult to determine the problem. So I highly recommend you do this.
Without video or pictures, we are left with a trivial guessing game, and that’s usually not
fun for anyone.
And if all else fails, you’ll notice that we go through progressions of movements throughout
the three phases of training. You can always revert back to the previous phase’s movements
if you had success with them! That’s just called smart training.
But here’s the deal. We will get you a movement that fits your body, skill and goal for that
given time. That’s what makes this program so special. We are here to make this the best 9
weeks of your training career, so utilize the resources that come with this program!
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How & Why Use Bands In Training
As you’ll see in the Foundations of FHT program, we incorporate simple tools in order for us
to place an emphasis on the movements first, and the specific loading implements second.
But in addition to bodyweight movements and free weights, such as the dumbbells and
barbells, we will be incorporating the use of bands strategically. Why? They are a simple
tool but possibly one of the ​most effective pain-free strength builders​ out there.
The exact bands that you will routinely use throughout this 9-week program, and then into
FHT and far beyond for the rest of your training career, can be found for a great price ​HERE​.
There are a few different types of bands, but for this program I prefer the circular bands that
come in different resistances.
Since some of these circular
bands get pretty heavy, we
will be using the extra-light
and light bands often.
While bands get a fluffy
reputation for being a
“therapy” tool for resistance
training, however, the proper
implementation of these tools
into training can create
dynamic training effects that
will get you strong while building pain-free muscle in the process.
Bands offer something quite unique for pain-free training, something called
accommodating resistance. Simply put, the elasticity of the band holds tons of energy to
challenge our movement patterns. And as the band gets stretched out further and further, it
creates more and more resistance. Bands also offer the freedom to train some movement
patterns that are otherwise harder to execute without machines, cable setups and other
equipment that would be found in a commercial gym setting.
By all means if you have cables at your disposal, please feel free to use them, but if not, we
have added in banded variations of some of these movements so equipment never has to be
a limiting factor for your training.
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I recommend that once you purchase a set of bands or two, throw them in your gym bag or
keep them in your workout area, as they will become staple equipment for nearly every
dynamic warm up and training session.
This will literally be the best money you’ve ever invested in exercise equipment, as I
guarantee you’ll fall in love with the brutal, but awesome, pain-free training effect bands
offer.
The Goal For Each 3-Week Phase
I realize that this is a lot of information right off the bat before you’ve even seen the
program, but I truly believe that preparation and focus is the key to mastery. And yes, we
are here to not only get accustomed to world-class strength training, but also to create
habits and master movements that will work for us for life.
I have split each phase of training up into 3-week blocks. You will have 3-weeks on each
phase where the training days will be the same, giving you time to master each movement
and go through and progress your loads and feel for the exercises, before moving forward
into the next phase of the program.
The first week of training in each phase is all about exploration and experimentation. I
realize that most of these movements will be brand new for you...good! I want you to use
your ramp up sets conservatively, go a bit lighter and really focus on feeling the form and
technique of each rep of every exercise during the training week. Mark down in your notes
how challenging your weights were, and if you feel like they were not challenging enough,
simply make a note to bump it up next week!
Going into the second week of each phase, I want you to add weight to all of your
movements, as the previous week you were strategically going a bit lighter to feel your way
through the movements. You’ll notice right away that you’ll get a stronger training effect
and that’s what we are shooting for. Keep the form tight, stay focused and execute the reps
with precision.
The third week is all about going hard, but staying smart. If you can bump your weights up
again, great! If not, no worries. Work hard with the same weights as the second week. But
remember, when building your weights up into that final week three, keep in mind the
golden rule of never missing a rep.
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After the third week of each phase you’ll be booted right back to the start with the beginning
of each new phase! This system has been tried and true for many great lifters who have had
amazing success, so use it and gain the benefits.
Never try to jump too fast. Earn your right to add weight, and always focus on the goal at
hand, which for us, is learning the movements and training pain-free!
Implementing “Optional” Training Days
As you’ll notice in the Foundations of FHT programming, a large emphasis is placed on the
three weight training days throughout the week, which are designed to be full body
workouts that will challenge your strength and movement. But as many of you are working
not only on getting strong, but also losing fat and moving and feeling better, we have added
in “optional” training days, which you can execute if your schedule or goals permit!
The goal of the optional days are to increase your overall work throughout the week, but
also to complete that work in an intelligent manner that spares the joints while burning
more calories and recovering optimally between your big total body weight training days.
These optional days will consist of two available cardio and conditioning days which will
incorporate both interval training and low intensity steady state cardio, along with a
specific prehabilitation day.
Part of creating resiliency with training and movement is building out a cardiovascular
base, and that’s exactly what the optional days will do for you. For some of you who only
have three days to devote to training, I highly recommend that you work walking into your
daily schedule for a bare minimum of 10 minutes a day. This can be done after workouts to
spark recovery and get some base conditioning in.
Finally, on your “off” days I’d like to see you completing your dynamic warm up, then going
through the prehabilitation day. This will increase your daily activity for that day and give
you more focused time to practice some of these movements that may be brand new, while
also taking care of the maintenance of your body so that you stay fresh and ready to train in
the weeks ahead. The more time and emphasis you place on your nutrition and recovery,
the better results you will see in this program, and the quicker you’ll be able to progress!
If you go in with the mindset that these optional training days will actually enhance the big
weight training days, you’ll be golden. Lets solidify the big ticket items like squats, presses,
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hinges and pulls first, and your ability to increase the intensity and challenges of training
over time will follow a close second!
Setting Your Training Schedule
During the 9 weeks of Foundations, we will be placing an absolute priority on scheduling
your three strength training days above all else. Since these training days are designed to be
total body in nature, I recommend that you place at least a day in between each of these
strength training sessions.
Depending on the amount of days you have available to train during the week, you’ll be
able to custom build your weekly training schedule accordingly. For those of you who have
set aside 60 minutes a day for the Foundations of FHT program and plan on completing all
strength training days, plus the optional conditioning days, your schedule will look like the
schedule below. Keep in mind that your recovery day can be completed at home:
1. Monday​ - Total Body Squat Emphasis
2. Tuesday ​- Interval Conditioning
3. Wednesday​ - Total Body Press Emphasis
4. Thursday​ - Low Intensity Steady State Cardio
5. Friday​ - Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
6. Saturday​ - Recovery & Prehabilitation
7. Sunday​ - “OFF”
If your schedule permits you to complete four of the training days, I want you to place a
priority on the three strength training days plus the interval conditioning day. This schedule
will look something like this:
1. Monday - ​Total Body Squat Emphasis
2. Tuesday​ - Interval Conditioning or “OFF”
3. Wednesday​ - Total Body Press Emphasis
4. Thursday ​- “OFF” or Interval Conditioning
5. Friday​ - Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
6. Saturday​ - Recovery & Prehabilitation
7. Sunday​ - “OFF”
And finally, if you are only able to train through the three base strength days on this
Foundations of FHT program, we need to ensure that you have a day between training days,
but also place an emphasis on your daily activities on your off days. This means that
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doubling up on your “recovery” day would be the best way to improve results over the
course of these 9 weeks.
Remember, this portion of the program can be done from home:
1. Monday​ - Total Body Squat Emphasis
2. Tuesday​ - Recovery & Prehabilitation or “OFF”
3. Wednesday​ - Total Body Press Emphasis
4. Thursday​ - “OFF” or Recovery & Prehabilitation
5. Friday​ - Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
6. Saturday​ - Recovery & Prehabilitation
7. Sunday​ - “OFF”
As I realize that people’s schedules
change on a week to week basis, I
want to challenge you all to stay strict
to your schedule each and every
phase.
The lifting days are non-negotiable
parts of the program, but hey, if you
have some extra time during the week,
get as many optional days and
recovery days in as possible.
The more the better, as long as you are
following the guide to cardio, conditioning and recovery that we will outline for you!
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Nutrition to Build Muscle & Burn Fat
No results based program is complete without talking about the vital importance of sound
nutritional strategies that match up with your training goals. As the saying goes, there’s no
out training a bad diet.
Since this is a beginners strength program that will teach you how to be safe and effective at
the big lifts, while also laying down a foundation for conditioning and daily maintenance,
I’m going to keep the nutritional sides of things very simple. However, never mistake simple
for ineffective. These strategies will provide the foundation for your nutrition, and more so,
the habits that you will create in conjunction with training.
Here are five golden rules that you should be living by when it comes to creating nutritional
habits that will enhance your training goals, while also creating sustainability for the long
term.
Rule #1: Know what you are eating! This one is simple, but it’s the single most effective tip I
could ever give my clients. Objectively tracking what energy goes into your body in the form
of food and drink is a huge step forward in knowing how to manipulate your diet and
identify any red flags. I recommend using a calorie and food tracker on the phone like
MyFitnessPal.com to ensure that you know exactly what you are eating, and the contents of
everything. Just as a side note, I view green vegetables as “free” food, so go nuts on these as
much as you can. Your health will thank you!
Rule #2: Prioritize protein intake above all else. Many times when breaking down
nutritional intakes of even my highest level clients, the protein intakes are lacking. Proteins
are the building blocks of muscle, and since we are training to improve body composition,
building muscle and burning fat, protein is important. Without getting too complicated, you
should be consuming one gram of protein for each pound of bodyweight for your desired
weight. For example, if I currently weigh 200 pounds, and have goals of fat-loss and an
ideal weight of 180 pounds, I will be eating 180 grams of protein per day. Don’t make this
more complicated than it is! Make sure you have a protein source in each meal, and hey,
don’t shy away from a great protein shake after your workout as well!
Rule #3: Fuel your training. These strength training days will challenge your body, so we
want to be fueling up before training, but also after training to get the most out of recovery.
Ensure that you have at least one balanced meal consisting of protein, carbohydrates and
vegetables before training, and prioritize getting another well rounded meal in within an
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hour or two after training (again consisting of protein, carbohydrates and good fat sources)!
However, if you’re someone who trains early in the morning, don’t feel like you have to
force down a big meal before training. Have something easily digestible, like a protein
shake or bar, that will give you enough energy to fuel your training session.
Rule #4: Create sound daily habits around the meals you eat routinely. Every single day,
you will fall into the same type of habits whether you know it or not. For example, for me,
breakfast, snacks and lunch are usually the same. Define which meals you can normalize,
and key in on those meals being as clean and healthy as possible. I am a big believer in
making your nutrition and training work for your lifestyle, and not forcing harsh nutrition or
over training to yield results. That’s how we burn out. But take care of things you have
100% control over. This will really make a difference over the long term and take the
pressure off of restrictive nutritional programs.
Rule #5: ​Don’t drink your calories. This may seem minor, but let me tell you, calories add up
quickly when you are drinking beverages that contain high amounts of calories, especially
sugar and fat. I’ve had clients in the past that have lost 30 pounds in a 3-month period by
just switching from a sugary calorie bomb at the coffee shop every morning to black coffee
in combination with a base strength training program. You may not realize it, but this is
huge! Juices are another calorie load that most people should be avoiding. But the simple
rule goes like this… stick to water, non-caloric teas, black coffee or diet soda if you are a
soda drinker. Prioritize your calories for whole food that will offer your body energy and
nutrition, which it is in need of during this training program!
As you move through these 9 weeks, I want you to solidify these five habits. Later on, as you
become more advanced, one of our goals will be to implement a more detailed nutritional
program that will determine ideal calories for your specific training goals, and even break
down how many grams of protein, carbohydrates and fats you’ll consume on a daily basis.
However, in the current phase, I feel it’s hard enough to stick to the training schedule and
discipline, without adding another layer of complexity on top of it.
As training goes, we must first lay down a foundation of solid daily practices in order to
progress and get the most out of more advanced programming.
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The Dynamic Warm Up
An effective and efficient warm up program needs to include more than just flopping
around on the foam roller and doing some stretches for 30 minutes before you train, but
rather, it needs a structured plan and purpose that creates results.
What’s the advantage of warming up properly instead of just going through the motions, or
not even warming up at all? For one, an intelligently sequenced dynamic warm up routine
will bulletproof you against training injuries. Secondly, by preparing your body for training
with strategic exercises, we can increase the blood flow to muscles, lubricate the joints, and
even heighten the response of your central nervous system to be firing on all cylinders
before you ever pick up a weight.
Sure, staying resilient against injuries is the primary reason for placing your focus on a
proper dynamic warm up, but I’d be lying to you if I didn’t also mention the added benefit of
performance enhancement. Simply put, your dynamic warm up will clean up those
functional loose ends that have caused chronic aches and pains in the past, while
strengthening and solidifying your movement so that you can move better, feel better and
even train a bit heavier as well.
When working with clients for the first time, I place all our energy into learning and
executing the dynamic warm up perfectly. Many times we forget that the dynamic warm up
is an essential part of a strength and conditioning program, and not just a fluffy add on to
the beginning. My recommendation to you is this; concentrate on perfecting these dynamic
warm up movements each and every training day with the same focused intensity as the
big loaded movements like the squat and press.
After 9 weeks of mastering your dynamic warm up sequence, you’ll have put in work that
will yield serious results later on. The warm up is our first stepping stone in the process, and
it’s only one of the pillars supporting your fitness efforts. One step at a time will get you to
where you want to be physically. Every aspect of the program is important, and the
dynamic warm up is just the first step!
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Schedule
1. Elliptical ​(Or Any Other Piece of Cardio Equipment)
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 5 minutes
Coaching Notes: Go nice and easy on this, as it is just a warm up. Keep the heart rate low,
and just get the blood flowing. We are using this as a general warm up to get your body
ready for the dynamic warm up and training session. Think about breaking a sweat, but not
going hard enough to fatigue yourself.
Video: ​Quick Movement Reference: Elliptical
2. Full Body Foam Roll
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x30 seconds (per side and per area)
Coaching Notes: We are going to go through a quick and easy “full body” foam roll sequence
to work on your soft-tissue before we get moving. Roll for 30 seconds on each setup, taking
into account rolling both sides on the areas that requires it. Move seamlessly through this
rolling sequence with minimal time between the different set ups.
Go through the following in order:
1. Quads (Front of Thighs)
2. IT-Band (Side of Thighs)
3. Hamstrings (Backs of Thighs)
4. Adductors (Groin Area)
5. Thoracic Spine (Mid Back)
6. Lats (Back of Shoulders)
7. Pecs (Front of Chest)
*For more exact notes on foam rolling technique & guide/video for ​each individual
movement​, see the detailed descriptions in the “Recovery Day” portion of this program.
Video​: ​Going Through the Full Foam Rolling Sequence
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3. World’s Greatest Stretch
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets​: 1x6 reps (per side)
Coaching Notes: From a standing position, you will step forward with the right leg into a
lunge position, letting your back knee come down to the ground. Placing both hands to the
inside of your front foot, sink deep into your hips getting a nice stretch through your groin
and glutes.
From that position, take the hand closest to the front foot and open it up, reaching towards
the ceiling and rotating up with a deep breath. Replace the hand to the outside of the front
foot and stretch your hamstring on the front leg before stepping back up to the starting
position.
You will do this in walking alternating fashion with 6 reps per side.
Video:​ ​The World’s Greatest Stretch Guide
4. Deep Squat to Hamstring Stretch
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x10 reps
Coaching Notes: Place your feet shoulder width apart with the toes slightly turned out. Bend
over by hinging back at the hips and place your hands under your toes and grab hold. It’s ok
to bend your knees to place your hands in this position. When your hands are secure under
the feet, pull your body into a deep squat position nice and slow, driving your knees out and
trying to sit back on your heels as you bring your chest into a more vertical position. From
this deep squat, you will be reversing the movement by straightening the legs while still
holding onto the toes, and stretching the hamstrings. If you can’t get your legs all the way
straight, get them as straight as you can while still keeping hold of your toes. Be sure to
move slowly through these two positions holding 2-3 seconds in each position.
Video:​ ​Movement Reference: Deep Squat to Hamstring Stretch
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5. Quadruped Bird Dog
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 2x5 reps (per side)
Coaching Notes: You will be down on your hands and knees in the quadruped position to
start. Make sure you are in a strong position, squeezing your shoulders, butt and core to
stabilize. With a slow and deliberate movement, you will be reaching one arm and your
opposite leg out and extending them away from each other, squeezing your glutes, shoulder
and maintaining a rigid core. Hold this extended position for two full seconds then bring the
arm and leg back in and return to the quadruped position. Do these sets in non-alternating
fashion, so five reps on one side, followed by 5 reps on the opposite side. Note that there are
two sets here for each side, so after the first set, take minimal rest before completing the last
set.
Video:​ ​Movement Reference: Quad Bird Dog
6. Slow Bodyweight Squat
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 2x6 reps
Coaching Notes: Get your feet a little wider than hip-width apart, and your toes pointed
slightly out (just so they are not facing directly forward, but not directly to the side either).
Keep your hands together in around your chest to start the movement, then slow and
controlled, squat down while pressing your hands straight out in front of you. One of the
biggest things to remember on this movement is to make sure that your weight is on your
heels, not falling forward on your toes. Drive the butt back and sit into your hips upon a
slow descent. When you are at the bottom of the squat position, you should be in a stable
position, pause down there for a split second for stability. Drive up from the heels, and
squeeze your butt at the top in a smooth and coordinated fashion. Do six reps, take a bit of a
break and reset, then complete another six reps for the second set.
Video:​ ​Movement Reference: Bodyweight Squat
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7. Seal Jacks
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x15 reps
Coaching Notes: These are similar to jumping jacks and have the same rhythm, but instead
of your arms coming up overhead, they’re going to be coming out in front of you and
meeting (in almost a clap) in the middle. Start the movement with your feet out and your
arms straight out to each side at shoulder height. Also, turn your palms out so that your
pinkie finger is pointing towards the ground. I want these to be a little more “twitchy”, so
accentuate the change of direction from the arms on the front and back side and the feet
from an in and out position.
Video:​ ​Movement Reference: Seal Jacks
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The Recovery & Prehabilitation Day
* Complete the “Dynamic Warm Up” before moving into the Recovery Day activities.
While the focus of the Foundations of FHT program is to teach and master the big lifts so
you are proficient and confident in your movement and loading patterns with barbells,
dumbbells and bands, we need to also account for recovery and general “prehabilitation” to
keep you fresh and progressing over this 9-week training block in preparation for FHT.
The strategy that we are using to recover between workouts, but to also get some extra
practice in moving through important movement patterns and working on improving
functional weak links, is a specific recovery day. This day can be completed at home in
addition to your dynamic warm up and will incorporate more detailed foam rolling
techniques, stretching, corrective exercises and even a little low intensity cardiovascular
activity like walking to spark recovery. Also, we are working to prevent injuries before they
happen.
Many times when jumping feet first into a new program that places an emphasis on big
loaded movements, your body will respond with muscular soreness a day or so after the
training bout. We call this “delayed onset muscle soreness” or simply “DOMS”. We can
reduce soreness while also improving recovery ability by completing these strategies, not
only on off days away from weight training, but also each night before you go to bed in
order to ensure proper recovery.
I’ve implemented these techniques with high performance athletes, as well as the general
fitness population, and they were equally as well for everyone. The goal is to keep things
simple, yet effective.
Get into a habit of implementing this recovery program into your daily routine as much as
possible. They say that there is no such thing as overtraining, but rather just
under-recovering. So before that happens, let’s take the simple measures that will ensure
that you head into each training day of this 9-week ramp up program with high energy
levels, fresh muscles and an excitement to get better each and every day.
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1. Foam Roll Thoracic Spine Extensions
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x10 reps (breaths)
Coaching Notes: With the foam roller placed in a stationary position on the ground at the
mid-back level between your shoulder blades, place your feet and butt on the ground. Make
sure that you have a little bit of tension through your glutes and core during this setup and
throughout the motion. Slowly extend your arms overhead while also bringing your head
and neck into extension by looking back behind you. Exhale deeply as you get to an end
range stretch, allowing your mid back to extend over the foam roller. Slowly come back to
the starting position and complete 10 total reps coordinating your breath with the stretch
over the foam roller.
Video:​ ​Foam Roll Thoracic Spine Extensions Guide
2. Foam Roll Pecs
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x30 seconds (per side)
Coaching Notes: With the foam roller placed under one side of your chest at an angle while
laying on your stomach, you will slowly roll back and forth only 1-2 inches at a time to target
the pec muscles of the chest. Be sure that you are in a comfortable position throughout the
rest of your body, placing an emphasis on the roller on your chest. Roll one side at a time.
Video​: ​Foam Roll Pecs Guide
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3. Foam Roll Lats
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x30 seconds (per side)
Coaching Notes: While lying on your side, place the foam roller right under your armpit
where it is in contact with the major back muscle called the lat. From this position, reach
your arm up to place the muscles under stretch before you begin to roll. Pick out a few spots
and roll only 1-2 inches at a time over the muscle while keeping the rest of your body in a
comfortable and neutral position to emphasize the back. Roll both sides.
Video: ​Foam Roller Lats Guide
4. Foam Roll Quads
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets: ​1x30 seconds (per side)
Coaching Notes: ​While on your stomach, place the foam roller under the front side of one of
your thighs. You can keep your elbows and forearms on the ground to stabilize this
position, and bring the opposite leg out to the side to place more emphasis on the muscles
under the foam roller. Roll 1-2 inches at a time right down the midline of your thigh where
your quad muscles are located. Be sure to roll both sides.
Video​: ​Foam Roller Quad Guide
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5. Foam Roll Glutes
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x30 seconds (per side)
Coaching Notes: Start this foam rolling drill in a seated position on the roller, or if you want
to go a bit deeper into those hip rotator muscles, cross one leg over the other and roll more
acutely right in the mid-belly of the gluteus maximus (right in the middle of your butt). We
are placing the roller right over this area, targeting one side at a time. Rotate your body
towards the side you want to concentrate on and roll back and forth only 1-2 inches and
spend a little more time here on the concentrated spots that may be a little more painful
than the others. Remember to roll both sides.
Video​: ​Foam Roller Glute Guide
6. Dynamic Hip Hinge Lat Stretch
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 1x10 reps
Coaching Notes: With your feet placed hip width apart and your toes pointed directly
forward, we will be using a hip hinge in combination with a lat stretch. For the hand
placement, you can either use a pole, side of a rack, or my preferred method is a suspension
trainer like the TRX. Grab your hands onto your chosen tool and shoot your hips back
slowly, letting your arms stretch overhead while placing a stretch in your lats and your
hamstrings simultaneously. Sit in this stretched position for a full two seconds, then slowly
move out of this position back up to neutral (starting position), where you will squeeze your
butt in and stabilize yourself before moving onto your next rep.
Video: ​Movement Reference: Dynamic Hip Hinge Lat Stretch
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7. Dynamic Half Kneeling Pec Stretch
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets: ​1x10 reps (per side)
Coaching Notes: In a half kneeling position (one knee on the ground and your other leg out
in front of you with a 90-90 degree position at your hip and knee), you will place your arm
up on an elevated surface to stretch the pecs. Make sure that the knee on the ground is the
one closest to the side pec that you are stretching. Place your elbow so that it is slightly
above parallel to the ground, and start rocking back and forth at your hips to move in and
out of an end range stretch at the pecs. Make sure the mobilization of this stretch is done
slowly. Complete 10 reps on one side before moving onto the opposite side.
Video​: ​Dynamic Half Kneeling Pec Stretch Guide
8. Active 90-90 Hamstring Mobilization
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets: ​1x15 reps (per side)
Coaching Notes: ​Lying on your back, grab the back of one of your legs and bring your hip up
to a 90 degree position. Make sure your head and neck remain in a neutral position on the
ground. While holding your leg, you will extend and bend your knee slowly back and forth.
When extending the leg, hold it as straight as possible for a full second, then actively
contract your hamstrings and bend the knee for a full second as well. Make sure to
complete all 15 reps on both sides.
Video: ​Movement Reference: Active 90-90 Hamstring Mobilization
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9. Rear Foot Elevated Hip Flexor Dynamic Stretch
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets: ​1x30 seconds (per side)
Coaching Notes: Using an elevated surface such as a stair or a weight bench, you are going
to get into a kneeling position. Elevate the foot on the side that you are kneeling on so that it
rests on the bench. Cue your spine, pelvis and shoulders to be in a neutral position, and
make sure to squeeze your butt on the back side leg. Place both hands on the front side knee
and start to slowly rock back and forth to get a stretch in the hip flexors and quads. There
should be very little range of motion here, so only an inch or so at a time. Stay in this perfect
position for 30 seconds and make sure to stretch both sides.
Video​: ​Rear Foot Elevated Hip Flexor Dynamic Stretch Guide
10. Brisk Walking
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets: ​10-45 minutes
Coaching Notes: ​After you have completed your dynamic warm up, foam rolling techniques
and mobility drills for your recovery day, one of the best things you can do is go for a walk.
If you are in a gym setting, jump on a treadmill. If this recovery day is taking place at home,
go outside for your walk! I want you to concentrate on a brisk walk with a steady cadence,
but still staying under control and keeping the heart rate down to about 100-120 beats per
minute. Extend this walk as long as you’d like, as this is a great way to increase your overall
daily activity.
Video: ​Quick Movement Reference: Brisk Walking
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Phase 1 (3 weeks)
The first phase of the Foundations of FHT training will consist of implementing strategic
variations of each foundational movement pattern to get the very most out of your training,
while also teaching you proper technique, form and mechanics for each lift. As mentioned
in the Introduction, you will have the same training days for all 3 weeks of this phase,
allowing you to master the movements, before progressing and moving on to Phase 2.
I’m a big believer that we must earn the right to train heavy with a barbell, and not jump
right into the training fire, but rather layer in smart training that will have you progressing
just as long as you put in the focused work. When building lifestyle habits and mastering a
new skill, you never want to leave it up to chance. Random half efforts lead to half results.
Put your focus into this program and you’ll be healthier, stronger and fitter than ever. It’s
that easy.
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Many of the lifts that you will be completing in the first phase of this program will be more
joint-friendly, but will also be set up in a way that will help to naturally improve your
movement to prepare you for the next level.
I have split the weight training up into three “total body” days, each with a big movement
emphasis. This will help us increase our total work done during each session while
challenging every aspect of your body to work as a functional unit.
Yes, I realize that for some of you, these lifts will be brand new and there will be a learning
curve involved. That’s great, and exactly what I want and expect. The way we ensure
success is by reading through the coaching notes before you execute each movement, and
hell, even watch the clip of the video if you are more of a visual learner. The key here is
executing the movements properly, and getting better each and every session throughout
this 3-week training block. Practice and experience makes perfect.
If you put in the work to start light and increase your weights slowly over this first phase of
training, you’ll be setting yourself up for huge amounts of success leading into the second
phase of training (weeks 4-6). As previously mentioned, training is not an all or none
process, but just a strategic sequence of stepping stones to get you where you want to be.
You also want to train in a manner that is sustainable, promotes orthopedic and systemic
health and creates lifelong habits that will fuel your physicality forever.
Now it’s time to get started! Lets focus on taking those first steps towards intelligently
building your movement library with proper training. Training is an investment of your
time, energy and focus, and you couldn’t be investing it any better than in the Foundations
of FHT.
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Day 1 – Total Body Squat Emphasis
Welcome to your first training day on the Foundations of FHT! We will start this day off
with a focused dynamic warm up that, over the course of this program, will become second
nature with mastery! From there, it’s time to train!
The first movement of the day, the ​Banded Glute Bridge​,will work the glutes and
hamstrings while placing an emphasis on continuing the “warm up” process to ensure you
are ready for the big movement ahead, the squat.
The squat is the emphasis of this total body day, and the foundational variation we will
start this program off with is the ​Goblet Box Squat​. Using a dumbbell held in front of your
chest in the “goblet” position will keep your chest up, allow you to really hold your core
tight and stable while going down and completing a full range of motion squat. Also, the box
will start to teach you a proper squat depth and technique while helping to stabilize the
bottom portion of the movement.
From there, we are going to move through two upper body emphasized movements, the
Neutral Grip Banded Pull Up and the ​Incline Dumbbell Bench Press​. I have strategically
chosen these movements to start us off as they are joint and positionally friendly and will
aid you in getting a feel for the strength work in the upper body.
No session on the Foundations of FHT program is complete without a little direct core
training, which is a common pain-point for many people moving into a strength training
program. My favorite movement to teach full body tension while working hard to contract
the core, glutes and shoulders together as a functional unit is the ​RKC Plank​. Be sure to
maximally squeeze your entire body on these and get the very most out of your short
duration bursts on each and every set. These are about creating internal tension, not about
holding for minutes on end.
There we have it. Make sure to read the detailed coaching notes, watch the videos and
really practice sound movement patterns and techniques throughout!
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Schedule
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Banded Glute Bridge
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x6@30
Working Sets:​ 3x12@30
Coaching Notes: ​Sit on the ground and hook a circular band around your heel, pull it across
your waist, and then hook the other end to the opposite heel (the video will help you see the
set up). Then lie down, with your arms out about 45 degrees from your sides. Press your
hands firmly into the floor as you drive your hips up, squeezing your glutes as hard as you
can for 1 second at the top of the movement. Slowly lower back down to the starting
position. Keep your core engaged throughout the entire movement, and make sure your
neck and spine are in neutral.
Movement Reference:​ ​Banded Glute Bridge Video
2. Goblet Box Squat
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x8@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: Get a dumbbell into the chest position and your feet out into the squat
position, just like the video. Squat down to the bench in a slow and controlled motion (do
not let your butt plop onto the bench). Rock slightly back onto the bench before standing
back up dynamically to the start position. Keep your core engaged throughout the
movement, and squeeze your butt at the top. Also make sure to keep driving your knees out,
so that they don’t buckle inwards.
Movement Reference:​ ​Goblet Box Squat Video
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3. Band-Assisted Neutral Grip Pull Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x3@45
Working Sets:​ 3x6@45
Coaching Notes: For this movement, the band assists you by deloading your weight, making
it easier to complete the pull up movement. To get set up, grab a band (the thicker the band,
the easier the pull up will be) and wrap it around the bar that you’ll be pulling up on. You’ll
need a step or a box to stand up on to make sure that you can reach the bar. Once it’s around
the bar, pull the band down, bend your knee (you can use whichever leg you want), and
place your knee onto the bottom of the band (keep your other leg on the step/box). Grab the
bar with your hands facing each other, giving you the neutral grip position. Take your back
leg off of the step/box and lower yourself all the way down until your arms are straight,
before pulling right back up so that your face is in line with the bar. Make sure to keep your
head straight and your spine in neutral- don’t let your chin point up or down at any point.
Keep your core engaged and a hollow body position to decrease extension stress on the low
back as well.
Movement Reference:​ ​Band-Assisted Neutral Grip Pull Up Video
4. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x12@45
Working Sets: ​3x12@45 Coaching
Notes: ​Set the bench up at a 45-degree incline. With a dumbbell in each hand, sit on the
bench with the dumbbells placed on your legs (right above your knees). Getting the
dumbbells into position here is extremely important, so watch the set-up from the video a
few times. One leg at a time, kick the dumbbells up as you lie back on the bench, and get the
dumbbells into the starting position at your shoulders. Make sure your feet are out wide
enough, brace your core, tighten your glutes and make sure everything is stable. Then press
the dumbbells directly up towards the ceiling, bringing them towards each other at the top
(just slightly), before slowly lowering them back down to the starting position.
Movement Reference:​ Incline Dumbbell Bench Press Video
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5. RKC Plank
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets:​ 4x20sec@30
Coaching Notes: This is similar to a standard plank on your elbows, but the big difference is
going to be your effort. Once you are in position (exactly like the video), squeeze your arms,
core, butt and legs as hard as you can, building a maximal amount of tension. Make sure to
keep a neutral spine and your shoulders pressed down throughout.
Movement Reference:​ ​RKC Plank Video
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Day 2 – Interval Conditioning
(Optional)
While these conditioning days are optional, this is a great way to increase the total
workload during the week of training. Simply put, you’ll burn more calories, lose more fat,
and recover quicker to put your all into the big strength training days.
If you can fit this conditioning day into your training schedule between the first and second
lifting days, you will be implementing ​Intervals​. This will consist of 30 seconds of hard
work followed by 60 seconds of rest, and repeating this scheme multiple times to get a
training effect. Intervals are a great way to train heart rate variability, which is spiking the
heart rate up and trying to recover as quickly as possible in the rest periods. The exercise
bike is one of my favorite tools for pain-free interval conditioning training, but feel free to
use any cardio machine such as an elliptical or rower.
Keep in mind that the goal for this conditioning day is to work your cardiovascular system
while minimizing the stress on your joints. So for now, no running!
Schedule
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Exercise Bike Intervals
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets:​ 15x30sec@60
Coaching Notes: Jump on an upright exercise bike, or any other piece of low impact cardio
equipment such as an elliptical if you do not have a bike at your disposal. Start off by riding
at a moderate pace for a minute to get the groove, then from there it’s time for “intervals”
which will consist of 30 seconds of hard pedaling, followed by 60 seconds of relative rest
where you are pedaling very slowly. You will complete 15 rounds of 30 seconds of work and
60 seconds of rest, trying to recover as quickly as possible between rounds. Work on
keeping great posture and incorporating deep breathing to bring down your heart rate in an
efficient way. Work hard on these, and really push your limits on the work times!
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Movement Reference:​ ​Bike Intervals Video
Day 3 – Total Body Press Emphasis
While the Foundations of FHT is built around three full body training days, each day will
have an emphasized movement and focus for the day. In the second lifting day, our big
movement is the horizontal pressing pattern.
Many people struggle with pressing movements such as the bench press due to a lack of
shoulder mobility and stability, and generally less than optimal posture. The way we make
sure that you are pressing pain-free is by implementing something called a “primer”
movement before your big presses, and in this day that movement is the face pull.
The ​Face Pull will help to activate the muscles of the shoulders including the rotator cuff to
ensure great positioning of the shoulder and warming that region up further for optimal
pain-free performance.
After you are primed off the face pull, we are using a more well tolerated press movement
this month in the ​Dumbbell Bench Press​. Dumbbells allow for more free range of motion
and don’t lock you into place like two hands on a barbell does. This is great for learning the
press as you’ll need to move slowly and deliberately to stabilize the weights through a full
range of motion.
Next, we are going to get back into the lower body and concentrate on our single leg pattern
with the ​Dumbbell Split Squat​. Think of the split squat like the simplified version of the
lunge, where both feet stay on the ground throughout the set and you are in a better position
to use your hips and core to stabilize.
To finish off this training day, we are going back to a spine friendly row with the ​Chest
Supported Dumbbell Row​. This is done on an incline bench, which deloads the lower back
and hips, so all the energy and emphasis is placed on the muscles moving the weight.
Finally, we are going to end this workout with the ​Side Plank to work the core from a strong
and stable position. The side plank is a highly effective functional core builder for
integrating the hips with the core and learning how to activate and contract these regions
together.
Time to get after this training day!
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Schedule
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Cable/Band Face Pull
Ramp Up Sets: ​2x6@30
Working Sets: ​3x12@30
Coaching Notes: ​Do this from a standing position. Make sure you have the rope extension
(just like the one in the video), hooked onto the cable hook. Set the cable at highest or
second highest notch on machine (should be at about your head height). Squeeze and hold
for a second on the back part of the movement. Make sure not to shrug your shoulders, so
concentrate on keeping them pressed down. If you have a band, place the band around a
rack or stable pole at about head height, grab the band with an overhand grip with about six
inches between the hands, and pull back into the face pull movement.
Movement Reference:
Cable Face Pull Video
Banded Face Pull Video
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x8@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: This is going to be the same movement as the Incline Dumbbell Bench
Press from Day 1, but this time you’re going to be setting up on a flat bench (no incline).
Grab a dumbbell in each hand, sit on the bench with the dumbbells placed on your legs
(right above your knees). Getting the dumbbells into position here is extremely important,
so watch the set-up from the video a few times. One leg at a time, kick the dumbbells up as
you lie back flat on the bench, and get the dumbbells into the starting position at your
shoulders. Make sure your feet are out wide enough, brace your core, tighten your glutes
and make sure everything is stable. Then press the dumbbells directly up towards the
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ceiling, bringing them towards each other at the top (just slightly), before slowly lowering
them back down to the starting position.
Movement Reference: ​Dumbbell Bench Press Video
3. Dumbbell Split Squat
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x10@45
Working Sets:​ 3x10@45
Coaching Notes: Get on level ground and put one foot out in front, and the other one behind
you, holding dumbbells in each hand. Bend both legs down, keeping your front knee
slightly over your front foot, but don’t let it go too far over your toes. One leg at a time for all
10 reps, and then immediately switch to the other side and do another 10 reps. Dumbbell in
each hand, keeping the core tight, and again coming down to where your knee is grazing the
floor. Watching the video of these a few times will be very helpful to see the movement
pattern as well as the tempo.
Movement Reference: ​Dumbbell Split Squat Video
4. Chest Supported Dumbbell Row
Ramp Up Sets​: 2x15@45
Working Sets:​ 3x15@45
Coaching Notes: We want to be setting up the incline bench between 30-45 degrees here,
making sure that when lying face down on the bench we have clearance between the
dumbbells and the ground when the elbows are fully extended and the shoulder blades are
slightly protracted. The setup is also key for the success of this movement, integrating a
strong and stable hip, pelvic and spinal position. Squeezing the butt hard and keeping a
rigid torso and spinal position is a requisite. The dumbbells will be placed in a neutral grip
in both hands and the row will go through a full range of motion, really accentuating the top
squeeze portion of the movement. Throughout this movement, it’s important to be able to
maintain uncompensated control of each and every repetition, to keep tension in the back
and get the most out of the strength and muscle benefits of this movement.
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Movement Reference: ​Chest Supported Dumbbell Row Video
5. Side Plank
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets:​ 4x20sec@30 (per side)
Coaching Notes: ​While lying on your side, position your elbow and forearm on the ground
just below your shoulder, while your feet are stacked on top of one another. Be sure that
your entire body is in a straight line, so your hips and trunk are in a neutral position.
Squeeze your butt, core and shoulders as hard as you can to create stability through your
body for 20 seconds. Go directly to the opposite side before taking the 30 second rest period
between sets.
Movement Reference:​ Side Plank Video
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Day 4 – Low Intensity Steady State
Cardio (Optional)
Lets be honest, low intensity steady state cardio is not sexy, but it is one hell of a tool for
increasing cardiovascular condition, while also burning calories and increasing daily
activity level without being too hard on your joints.
You should be focused on ​Walking for this workout, whether it is on a slight incline on the
treadmill or outside. Walking is one of the single most undervalued physical activities, but
we are going to place an emphasis on it in this program both for cardio and recovery.
Make sure you are walking with arm swing and your “natural” gait. This is not a game of
speed, but we also don’t want you strolling around like you are window shopping at the
mall. Moderate speed will do the trick.
Progress over the course of this phase by either walking at a slightly faster speed, a higher
incline (if you are on the treadmill) or just go for a few minutes longer on every walk. Simple
mastery of the basics will go a long way! Remember, this is a great way to spark fat loss and
increase your total weekly activity, while avoiding any stress on your joints.
Schedule
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Slight Incline Treadmill Walk
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets: ​10-45 minutes
Coaching Notes: Get on the treadmill and bring the incline up to 2.0 and get to a speed of
2.5-3.0MPH. You want to keep your heart rate below 125 beats per minute, so adjust your
incline and speed accordingly. Biggest thing here is, DO NOT hold onto the treadmill! Keep
good walking form the entire time. Try and increase the incline by 1 degree each week (e.g.
week 2 you should be at an incline of 3.0).
Movement Reference:​ ​Slight Incline Treadmill Walk
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Day 5 – Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
In the final day of the training week, we will be focusing in on the hip hinge movement
pattern as our marquee movement. You may also know this pattern as the “deadlift” but
before we start yanking barbells off the floor, we will earn our way up the functional chain
to ensure success.
This training day will start with a primer movement to get us ready for the hip hinge. The
3-Point Single Arm Dumbbell is a staple movement for strength, muscle and shoulder health
so really focus in here. We are using this to work the back directly and activate big muscles
like the lats to work for us later on in the training day.
After the row, we will start up with the ​Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)​. This movement
is one hell of a variation of the hip hinge that teaches you to use your hips and load the
glutes and hamstrings instead of folding over your spine and getting into a poor position.
The reason we are starting with this movement is that it allows the hands to be free with
dumbbells, keeping the weights more over your center of mass, which is more spine
friendly. Also, the RDL involves both a raising and lowering portion of the lift, which is great
for learning how to move under load through full ranges of motion.
This day is full of staple foundational movements, so we’ll move forward with the ​Hands
Elevated Push Up​. Many times people have trouble executing a sound push up that displays
great core stability and the use of full body tension. This is the reason that we are using the
hands elevated position, which will decrease the relative “load” of the movement, making
your push ups feel lighter and easier so we can key in on the hip, pelvic and core positions
as well as the pushes.
Finally, no program is complete without an overhead pressing variation. Today we’ll be
doing the ​Single Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press​. This movement is great for not only getting
strong and building muscle, but maintaining optimal posture and alignment of the spine
and shoulder.
Finish off the day with a ​Dumbbell Loaded Carry​, which is essentially walking under
control with dumbbells in your hands. This is a great full body movement that will create
stability through the shoulders and core, while teaching you how to brace your core
effectively!
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Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. 3-Point Single Arm Dumbbell Row
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x12@30
Working Sets:​ 3x12@30
Coaching Notes: Set up on the bench, with one knee up so that foot is just off of the back of
the bench and have the other leg off to the side with a straight knee. Use the opposite hand
on the bench to get into a stable position. Drive the dumbbell back towards your hip,
keeping the shoulder pressed down. Then nice and slow on the way down into a slight
stretch. Then repeat the movement. Rest for 60 seconds after each set.
Movement Reference:​ ​3-Point Single Arm Dumbbell Row Video
2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
Ramp Up Sets: ​2x8@45
Working Sets: ​3x8@45
Coaching Notes: ​When picking up the dumbbells, if they’re starting on the ground, make
sure you pick them up with as neutral of a spine position as possible. This may require
pulling them from a box or going down into a partial lunge. Once you have the dumbbells in
your hands, place them on the outside of your body with palms facing one another. Before
you start the movement, you want to take a breath in, brace your core, and squeeze the
handles of the dumbbells to create tension in your arms and upper back. Then send your
hips backward, drop your chest, and lower the dumbbells down your legs, keeping only a
soft bend in the knee. Go down until you feel tension in your hamstrings, and make sure you
don’t compensate with your spinal position. Once you are at the bottom of the lift,
immediately come back to the top in a dynamic movement, and squeeze your glutes. Brace
your core and start the descent of the movement again.
Movement Reference: ​Dumbbell RDL Video
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3. Hands Elevated Push Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x3@45
Working Sets:​ 2x8@45
Coaching Notes: ​Place your hands on a flat bench shoulder-width apart. Step your legs back
onto the floor, one at a time, so that you’re in a push up position. Squeeze your glutes,
tighten your core, and rotate your shoulders down and back before lowering your chest
down to the bench. Make sure that as you go down, your elbows are tucked into your sides
and they don’t flare out. Once you get to where your chest slightly touches the bench, push
back up to the starting position. It’s very important that throughout this movement, your
body remains in a straight line. Your spine and neck should remain in a neutral position, so
be careful not to tuck your head down or lift it up.
Movement Reference: ​Hands Elevated Push Up Video
4. Single Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press
Ramp Up Sets: ​2x12@30
Working Sets: ​3x12@30
Coaching Notes: ​Grab a dumbbell in one hand and get into a split stance. The leg on the
same side as the hand that’s holding the dumbbell should be behind you, and the other leg
in front of you. The arm that’s not holding the dumbbell should be out at a 45-degree angle
from your front leg. Position the dumbbell on top of your shoulder so that your pinkie finger
is the furthest away from your head. Brace your glutes, tighten your core, and press the
dumbbell directly up so that your bicep is almost touching your ear, and then lower it back
down to your shoulder. This should just be an isolated movement with that arm, so the
lower body should be completely stable the entire time.
Movement Reference:​ ​Single Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press
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5. Dumbbell Loaded Carry
Ramp Up Sets: ​1x30sec@30
Working Sets: ​4x30sec@30
Coaching Notes: ​To make it easier on the lower back, place the dumbbells on an elevated
surface both at the start and at the end of this exercise so you don't have to flex your spine
forward to pick them up off the ground or put them down. Get a dumbbell in each hand as
heavy as you can control and walk with them for 30 seconds. Squeeze the handles of the
dumbbells as hard as possible, and make sure that you use a shorter step length and keep
your core and shoulders firing and steady throughout the walk. Get a weight that challenges
you big time to keep them in hand for a full 30 seconds. If it doesn't scare you just a little
that you are going to drop them, it's not heavy enough!!
Movement Reference: ​Dumbbell Loaded Carry Video
Day 6 – Recovery
Day 7 – OFF
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Phase 2 (3 weeks)
After the last 3-weeks of foundational training, you should be feeling empowered and ready
to kick it up a notch in Phase 2 of the Foundations of FHT. And yes, we will be progressing
some of the big movements centered around the squat, press and deadlift patterns to keep
you moving forward and breaking limits.
You’ll quickly see that the exercise variations in the second phase have been bumped up a
notch on the functional pyramid, and that means getting the barbell into your hands and
starting to move your weights up over time.
I have placed a huge emphasis on choosing movements that will continue on the teaching
process, and are also more joint and learning friendly for lifters just beginning with the iron.
This will ensure that we continue to have a steep learning curve and get you the experience
that is necessary to start yielding results that you can not only notice with your proficiency
of movement, but also in how your body looks and feels. You’ll see a change in this phase.
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The goal for this phase is again to master these movements and key in on perfecting
technique, form and increasing load each week while maintaining optimal execution. I
highly recommend that you study the coaching notes before each and every programmed
movement in the training days while also watching the videos to double check you are
using perfect form and technique. As movements get more challenging, you need to focus.
So here’s the deal! If you work diligently through this phase and piggy back off the first
phase of the Foundations of FHT, you’ll be ready to start implementing the holy grail of
strength training, the barbell in traditional lifts like the bench press, deadlift and squat.
Again, this is something that is earned, and not just handed over.
Aside from the strength training days, focus on increasing the intensity of your cardio and
conditioning on your off days if you have the time to use those optional workouts. If not, be
sure to work the recovery days into your routine. You’ll start feeling the need to enhance
recovery this phase as the lifts progress and become more challenging on your system.
Let’s get after it, the second 3-week phase of strategic and intelligent training. The ball is in
your court, so it’s time to capitalize on your gains and create a strong foundation moving
forward before moving on to the final phase - Phase 3.
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Day 1 – Total Body Squat Emphasis
As you’ll quickly see, the “blueprint” of the Foundations of FHT has been setup to ensure
that you are stepping up your movements, loads and intensities of movement little by little
over the 9-week training program. And this phase is a great example of progression from
both a movement standpoint, but also the amount of total work done.
We are increasing the work sets you’ll be completing in this phase to continue on your
progress. You earned it. Work can be defined by the total amount of reps you are doing in a
movement, a training day or overall in a training week. Over time, we want to increase this
to create an environment for improving strength, muscle mass and fat-loss.
The squat is the focus of the first training day again, but we have progressed this to a free
standing squat without the box this phase, the ​Goblet Squat​. I want you to focus on trying to
translate the squat from the box to free standing where the pattern and motion itself looks
very much the same. This will come naturally.
To prepare for squats, we have the ​Barbell Glute Bridge as our primer movement. It’s pivotal
that you use a barbell with 45 pound plates on it to ensure that you can roll the bar up on
your hips and not have to pick it up, place it on your hips then bridge. If you have access to
bumper plates, which are the same size as the traditional 45-lb plate, but they are lighter in
weight, you can use these as you progressively get heavier week-to-week. If you don’t have
access to bumper plates, and the 45-lb ones are too heavy, then modify by doing less reps
with that weight. Also, ensure that you are using a pad or a mat between you and the bar.
We have changed your hand position for the vertical pull this phase to a traditional
“pronated” grip, where your palms will face away from you during the ​Band-Assisted Pull
Up​. Keep the same range of motion and mechanics as last phase, the only difference is the
hand position on the bar.
And speaking of the neutral grip hand position, we have programmed this into your presses
on this training day with the ​Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press​, in order to alter the
movement pattern from last month.
I’m also excited to progress your core work into more “dynamic stability” work, meaning we
are taking you from isometrics from last phase, and starting to used controlled movement to
challenge you with the ​Dead Bug​. Work hard and move slowly through these with great
stability.
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Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Barbell Glute Bridge
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x10@45
Working Sets: ​3x10@45
Coaching Notes: ​Breaking down the range of motion here a bit, we are going to go with
barbell glute bridges where you will be lying flat on the ground with your knees bent in a
bridge position and having the barbell on your hips just like the hip thrust. Drive up and
squeeze for a full second at the peak contraction and control the barbell all the way back
down to the ground. Essentially, I want these dead stop style, where you are literally resting
for a second between every rep. These will really cause a novel pump in your backside to
get the day started!
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Glute Bridge Video
2. Goblet Squat
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x8@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: Just like the Goblet Box Squat, but we’re not going to be squatting down on
a box/bench for this one. Get a dumbbell into the chest position and your feet out into the
squat position. Squat down just as you do with the bodyweight squats, and make sure to hit
a depth of at least parallel or below. Then drive back up dynamically to the start position
and squeeze your glutes at the top. Keep your core engaged and your weight on your heels
throughout the movement. Also make sure to keep driving your knees out, so that they don’t
buckle inwards.
Movement Reference:​ ​Goblet Squat Video
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3. Band-Assisted Pull Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x3@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: This is going to be the same as you did in Phase 1, but just with a different
hand position. For this movement, the band assists you by deloading your weight, making it
easier to complete the pull up movement. To get set up, grab a band (the thicker the band,
the easier the pull up will be) and wrap it around the bar that you’ll be pulling up on. You’ll
need a step or a box to stand up on to make sure that you can reach the bar. Once it’s around
the bar, pull the band down, bend your knee (you can use whichever leg you want), and
place your knee onto the bottom of the band (keep your other leg on the step/box). Grab the
bar in an overhand grip about shoulder-width apart. Take your back leg off of the step/box
and lower yourself all the way down until your arms are straight, before pulling right back
up so that your face is in line with the bar. Make sure to keep your head straight and your
spine in neutral- don’t let your chin point up at any point. Keep your core engaged and a
hollow body position to decrease extension stress on the low back as well.
Movement Reference:​ ​Band-Assisted Pull Up Video
4. Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x12@45
Working Sets:​ 3x12@45
Coaching Notes: This is going to be the same movement as the Dumbbell Bench Press on the
flat bench, but using a different hand position. Grab a dumbbell in each hand, sit on the
bench with the dumbbells placed on your legs (right above your knees). Getting the
dumbbells into position here is extremely important, so watch the set-up from the video a
few times. One leg at a time, kick the dumbbells up as you lie back flat on the bench, and
get the dumbbells into the starting position at your shoulders. For this variation, your hands
will be turned so that your palms are facing one another (neutral grip hand position). Make
sure your feet are out wide enough, brace your core, tighten your glutes and make sure
everything is stable. Then press the dumbbells directly up towards the ceiling, keeping the
palms facing one another, before slowly lowering them back down to the starting position.
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Movement Reference:​ ​Neutral Grip Dumbbell Bench Press Video
5. Dead Bug
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets: ​4x6@30 (per side)
Coaching Notes: ​Lying on your back, you will have your arms out straight in a vertical
position to the floor while your hips and knees are bent to a 90-90 position. This is the
starting position. From here, you are going to very slowly extend the right leg and left arm,
reaching them down towards the ground in a controlled way then bringing them slowly
back up to the starting position. Reciprocate between the arms and legs for a total of 6 reps
per side in each set. Be sure to brace the abs and glutes and really move slowly through
these ranges of motion.
Movement Reference: ​Dead Bug Video
Day 2 – Interval Conditioning
(Optional)
The power of the interval cardiovascular conditioning is most likely apparent after last
phase, so we are going to continue on with this method again in Phase 2. Instead of having
you in a passive position on the exercise bike, we are progressing and getting you up by
starting a controlled ​“Jog”​ this month.
The ability to run like an athlete is a commonly overlooked aspect of general health and
function. I realize many of you haven’t run in a while, hence the reason why we are starting
you off with intervals, as well as with a slower and more deliberate speed. By doing these
shorter burst intervals, and keeping them at only a moderate speed, this will help to not
stress your joints (which I’ve said previously that running, especially for long periods of
time) is notorious to do.
Intensity is not our focus here, but rather the quality of your gait and training your body to
endure some repeated loading through the joints and muscles. Over the course of the next
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three weeks, try to progress slowly with increasing speed. And by all means, if you want to
head outside to get your work in, go for it! In this case, walk slowly for the rest periods.
Alright guys, this is the progression that we need in order to move forward with your base
cardio! Work hard and stay smart with these. The goal here is not to get you ready to run
marathons, but rather progress the intensity (aka the speed) of the runs over time so we can
start incorporating controlled tempo runs and sprints into your movement library that will
be another huge tool to spark fat-loss, increase muscle mass and stay athletic for the long
run.
Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Treadmill Jog Intervals
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets: ​15x30sec@60
Coaching Notes: ​These are just like they sound, lower level running intervals. You will be
moving into a moderate speed jog for 30 seconds, then jumping off the treadmill by keeping
your feet on the rails to rest for 60 seconds. Over the course of the next few weeks on this
phase, you can get a little faster each time to continue to challenge yourself. But again, we
want this only to be moderate intensity and shorter bursts of effort to keep the joint stress to
a minimum and reintroduce running back into your routine.
Movement Reference: ​Treadmill Jog Intervals Video
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Day 3 – Total Body Press Emphasis
This second weight training day of phase 2 excites me because we are opening up one of
your big foundational movement patterns and placing a barbell in your hands for loading!
The barbell bench press is the staple movement of this day, and again, we are going to work
diligently to prepare you for optimal pain-free performance on this lift.
This training day starts off with ​Band Pull Aparts​, which are possibly the single most
effective primer movement for shoulder health and function. Even though these are
executed with banded resistance, focus in on driving your hands apart, really squeezing
your shoulders hard, and staying under control throughout the entire range of motion. We
want to elicit a “pump” effect from these sets, so you should be feeling the burn and feel
your shoulders fill up with blood. This is exactly the response we want before bench
pressing.
The ​Barbell Bench Press has been earned during this phase, but we must ensure that you
have proper form, tempo and choose loads that allow you to perform this staple lift with
perfect technique. Study these coaching notes and watch the videos.
After dominating the bench press, we are headed back into the lower body and progressing
our single leg pattern with ​Dumbbell Reverse Lunges​. The reverse lunge is a little more hip
dominant, meaning less wear and tear on the knees, and it incorporates the glutes and
hamstrings to a greater degree, which is exactly what most people need.
To end the day, we are going to get some more higher volume back work in to emphasize
postural restoration and create a training effect that will build muscle in the right places to
help achieve higher levels of pain free function. For the ​Low Row​, we’re going to use either a
cable setup if you have that at your disposal, or bands if not.
And since we had great success with both the RKC and side plank last phase, why not add
them together in the form of the ​3-Way Plank​? That’s exactly what we will do, so work
diligently to squeeze hard and maximize those seconds in each position of this exercise.
You will most likely need some extra recovery by this day in the program, especially after,
so make sure you place an emphasis on getting in a few recovery days to expedite that
process and ensure that you are fresh and ready to go for the last training day of the week.
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Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Band Pull Aparts
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x6@30
Working Sets: ​3x12@30
Coaching Notes: Standing, grab a band with an overhand grip about shoulder width apart.
Your legs should be about hip width apart, with just a slight knee bend. Tension through
your core and drive your hands apart from one another, making sure to keep the shoulders
pressed down and not letting them shrug up. Then slowly bring them back out in front of
you to where you started. Try to keep tension in the band throughout all reps. Also make
sure to keep your spine in neutral by not dropping your head down or looking too far up
during the movement.
Movement Reference: ​Banded Pull Apart Video
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2. Barbell Bench Press
Ramp Up Sets: ​3x8@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: ​This is the traditional barbell bench press. Lie down on a flat bench with
the barbell racked above you. Place your hands about shoulder width apart and grab the
bar. Once you take the bar off the rack, press your shoulders into the bench, squeeze your
glutes, and tighten your core. Then bring the bar slowly down to your chest under control,
pausing it there for a split second and then exploding it up to a 1-second lock out at the top
where you are actively trying to squeeze your pecs and shoulders to maximize tension. I
want you to go heavy enough where you lose speed, but not too heavy where you
jeopardize your form and technique.
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Bench Press Video
3. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x8@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: Stand with a dumbbell in each hand and your feet side-by-side. Step back
with one foot (keeping the other foot firmly planted) and lunge down so that your back knee
almost touches the ground. Then drive your back leg up to the starting position by
tensioning the glute in your front leg, and bring the back leg up to the starting position.
Squeeze your glute at the top of the movement, and then step back with the same leg. Get
the chest angled down a bit to target the glutes and hamstrings and stay smooth with your
movement.
Movement Reference:​ ​Dumbbell Reverse Lunge Video
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4. Neutral Grip Low Cable/Band Row
Ramp Up Sets: ​3x15@45
Working Sets: ​3x15@45
Coaching Notes: ​Setup on the low cable row machine and use a slow tempo pulling back
and pausing for a second on the back side of the movement. Really work this movement
and “feel” the back muscles working. You want to maintain great form throughout all 10
reps. If you don’t have access to a low cable row machine, then you can do the banded low
row variation. For this, take a band and wrap it around the bottom of pole or squat rack,
and get a weight bench or box to sit on. You want the bench/box positioned far enough back
that when you grab the band there’s no slack in it and you have tension in it when your
arms are fully extended. From here the movement and execution cues are the same as the
low cable row.
Movement Reference:
Neutral Grip Low Cable Row Video
Neutral Grip Banded Low Row Video
5. 3-Way Plank
Ramp Up Sets: ​None
Working Sets:​ 4x20sec@30 (per side)
Coaching Notes: This is a great movement for progression since we have mastered the RKC
Plank and the Side Plank in the phases before! The 3-Way plank will consist of doing both
sides of the side plank for 20 seconds, then finishing off the round with the RKC plank for 20
seconds. So this will be 60 total seconds of planking in three different positions per set, with
a 30 second rest period between the sets.
Movement Reference: ​3-Way Plank Video
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Day 4 – Low Intensity Steady State
Cardio (Optional)
Since we turned up the intensity and challenge in the first few workouts of this phase while
incorporating jogging intervals, we are going to simplify the steady state cardio with a more
joint-friendly variation, the ​Exercise Bike​.
If you don’t have access to an exercise bike, feel free to hop on the elliptical or any other
cardio machine here with the focus of having your heart rate around 125 beats per minute. If
you don’t have a device that gives you your heart rate, then take your pulse (either on your
neck or wrist) for 6 seconds, and multiply the number of beats by 10 to get your BPM (beats
per minutes). Avoid the natural tendency to work harder, as this is not what we want.
Again, this is some extra work during the week if you can fit it into your schedule, simple as
that. These seemingly “small” optional cardio and conditioning days will add up to create a
compound effect. Looking at fat-loss and body recomposition as a long term goal, these
days will not only pay off for the short term by increasing your daily activity, but it’ll create
habits that will fuel sustainable fat-loss and activity for a lifetime.
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Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Exercise Bike (Outdoor Bike or Elliptical)
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 10-45 minutes
Coaching Notes: Get on the exercise bike and go for 10-45 minutes. Keep the heart rate
below 125 beats per minute so that we don’t turn this recovery based cardio day into
something that will overtax the body. If you want to jump on your outdoor bike and go for a
cruise, perfect! You can walk outside, or use any other piece of cardio equipment to sub in
here, but the only rule is that you keep your heart rate down and keep this a lower level
activity.
Movement Reference:​ ​Exercise Bike Video
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Day 5 – Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
This training day is again full of progressions on the movements that you have earned! The
big movement of the day will be a barbell rack pull, which is essentially a deadlift with a
barbell with the height of the bar raised up off the floor to make it more learning and joint
friendly.
We will prepare for this rack pull by using the ​Split Stance Single Arm Dumbbell Row​. Last
phase we stabilized your hips and core with the 3-point stance, but we are going to progress
this movement by getting you up on two feet and splitting your stance which will challenge
your core to a greater extent.
After creating a pump and training effect through the back and lats, it’s time to move into
the ​Barbell Rack Pull​. Tension is a big key here, so ensure that before every rep, you are
getting your spine into a great position, bracing your abs and glutes hard while squeezing
the bar as hard as you can, and lifting the weight with ultimate control.
Over the course of this three week training block, progress the weights up slowly on the
rack pull. We don’t have to go crazy here, and I don’t want you grinding out reps.
Remember, we are building movements from the ground up, so look at this as blocked
practice that you’ll also get a training effect from. Form, form, form!
Since the rack pull is the biggest movement pattern that we have incorporated into
programming to this point, we are going to keep the ​Hands Elevated Push Up the same as
last phase, and place an emphasis on trying to lower the hands closer to the ground and get
all the reps with ease!
Also, we’ll be using the first shoulder isolation exercise in the ​Prone Rear Deltoid Raise​,
which is a game changer for shoulder health and posture. Work slowly through a full range
of motion on these and get ready for a nasty burn! Fight through this feeling, as this is
expected and needed to get a training effect.
Progressing from the loaded carries that we did last month, we are using a more challenging
variation on this training day in the form of the ​Dumbbell Suitcase Carry​. Simply put, we
are using a dumbbell in one hand and walking with it, which will attempt to side bend you.
Fight to keep perfect alignment at the core and shoulders and walk under control!
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Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Split Stance Single Arm Dumbbell Row
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x10@30
Working Sets:​ 3x10@30
Coaching Notes: ​Set up in a split stance on the dumbbell rack (or something similar in
height), holding a dumbbell in the same hand as the leg that’s back, and put your other
hand on the rack. Brace your core, and drive the dumbbell up and back towards your
armpit. Think of moving the dumbbell like a pump, really getting a stretch through the lats
at the bottom of the range. Make sure not to lose your spinal position, and keep it in neutral
throughout the movement.
Movement Reference:​ Split Stance Single Arm Dumbbell Row Video
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2. Barbell Rack Pull
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x6@45
Working Sets:​ 3x6@45
Coaching Notes: ​The easiest way to set this up is inside the power rack. You’ll need to set up
so that the barbell is elevated to a height a few inches below the knee cap. If you don’t have
access to a power rack, the bar can also be set up by using either pulling blocks or stacks of
plates to elevate the bar. The bar should never be so low as to lose the ability to lift with a
neutral spine. Once the bar height is set, approach the bar so that it begins in contact with
your body. Place your hands on the bar so that your arms are outside your legs. Put your
spine into neutral, take a breath in, brace your core, tighten your lats, and stand up while
keeping the back neutral the entire lift. Reset your breathing and brace at the top before
lowering the bar back down for the next lift. You should be pulling the bar aggressively
upward in this exercise, so no going slow. This is a big and powerful lift.
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Rack Pull Video
3. Hands Elevated Push Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x4@45
Working Sets:​ 3x8@45
Coaching Notes: Place your hands on a flat bench shoulder-width apart. Step your legs back
onto the floor, one at a time, so that you’re in a push up position. Squeeze your glutes,
tighten your core, and rotate your shoulders down and back before lowering your chest
down to the bench. Make sure that as you go down, your elbows are tucked into your sides
and don’t flare out. Once you get to where your chest slightly touches the bench, push back
up to the starting position. It’s very important that throughout this movement, your body
remains in a straight line. Your spine and neck should remain in a neutral position, so be
careful not to tuck your head down or lift it up.
Movement Reference:​ Hands Elevated Push Up Video
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4. Prone Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise
Ramp Up Sets:​ 3x15@45
Working Sets:​ 3x15@45
Coaching Notes: Get a bench that’s inclined to a 45-degree angle. Take a dumbbell in each
hand, and set up with your chest on the bench and your head just off the back of the bench.
Your arms should be straight down from your shoulders, with your palms turned in
towards one another. Dynamically drive your hands out and up, so that your arms are out
to each side in line with your shoulders, before lowering back down to the starting position.
Squeeze the glutes throughout this movement, and make sure to have your feet on the floor
on either side of the bench to ensure your body is stable.
Movement Reference:​ ​Prone Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise Video
5. Dumbbell Suitcase Carry
Ramp Up Sets:​ 1x30sec@30 (per side)
Working Sets:​ 4x30sec@30 (per side)
Coaching Notes: This is as straight-forward as it gets! Grab a heavy dumbbell and hold it to
your side. You will be walking for 30 seconds slow and controlled. Keep the spine,
shoulders and pelvis in neutral, and resist the urge to drop the dumbbell. Switch hands and
carry the dumbbell back to the starting point for another 30 seconds. Then rest 30 seconds
between bouts of carries.
Movement Reference: ​Dumbbell Suitcase Carry Video
Day 6 – Recovery Day
Day 7 – OFF
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Phase 3 (3 weeks)
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the last phase of the Foundations of FHT. And hey, you
earned this and it’s something to be damn proud of. You have 6-weeks of foundational
training under your belt. You’ve worked hard to learn, perfect and master your big
movement patterns while also challenging yourself with weights and intensity. It’s time to
make the jump into the final phase of Foundations before jump starting your 12-week FHT
experience. You ready?!
The last step of the Foundations of FHT consists of getting a barbell in your hands and
executing some staple strength movements with confidence and prowess. Yes, we’ll be
barbell box squatting like the powerlifters, bench pressing like the NFL guys and deadlifting
with smooth and solid movements that will create resiliency throughout your body.
The goal here is to use this 3-week training block and move up in weights slowly,
challenging your system and your movements each and every training day. I’ve also
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boosted up the intensity of your cardio and conditioning which should help expedite your
fitness goals as well.
In case you were wondering, many of the strategically chosen movements from this phase
of training will mirror some of the movements in the FHT program, and that’s been done by
design. I want you all to not only get a taste of the FHT program and the exercises which
make it so effective, but also mentally prepare yourself for the challenge coming up and
gaining confidence in each and every rep you execute in this last foundational phase.
Yes, this phase will be a challenge, but that’s what you’re here for; to revolutionize the way
you feel, function and look. This block will take you to the promised land, and it’s up to you
to execute these training days to the best of your mental and physical abilities to earn the
right to step through the doors to Functional Hypertrophy Training.
Place an emphasis on your movement quality, on your recovery, and of course your
nutrition. You’ve come this far, and you are so close to earning the right to train on one of
the most exciting programs in the industry. And guess what? By crushing this last phase of
training, you will no longer be a “new” lifter. You’ll have been battle tested and challenged
to the point of forging ahead with a solid foundation laid. Go all in and you will succeed.
Enough talk, let’s get after it!
Day 1 – Total Body Squat Emphasis
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the last phase of the Foundations of FHT program! You
have put in the work over the course of the last two phases of squat emphasized training
days, so yes, you’ve earned the right to get that barbell on your back and squat! This will be
the focus of this training day.
Before we get into the barbell box squat, we will be loading up another one of my favorite
glute and hamstring builders, the ​Barbell Hip Thrust​. Essentially, we are using the same
barbell and movement pattern as last month, but just increasing the available range of
motion by elevating your back and arms onto a bench. This will train the glutes harder and
open up your function as well.
Now, we are going to get back to the box that you used in the first phase of training, and
instead of holding a dumbbell in the “goblet” position in front of your chest, we are going to
trade that in for a barbell on your back for a ​Barbell Box Squat​. Ensure that you grip the bar
hard and keep your core tight, and from there, it’s the same movement pattern so you
should be more than ready!
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After a big movement like the barbell box squat, which puts compression through the spine
and hips, the best way to “decompress” those regions is by doing a free hanging movement
like the ​Band-Assisted Chin Up​! Again, it’s the same pull up movement pattern, but your
hands will be turned so that your palms facing back towards you (this is called a
“supinated” grip). This will stimulate the biceps a bit more.
And to finish off this day we are going back to some staples that you will see in the FHT
program, which are the ​Push Up and the ​3-Way Plank​. By now, you should have worked
your way down close to the floor for push ups, so if you’re ready, go off the ground for these.
If you aren’t quite ready, no worries! Do the hands elevated variation and knock these out
with perfect form.
The progression of the 3-way plank is not to add more time to the movement, but rather
squeeze harder and turn on the core, hips and shoulders with greater amounts of tension
than the month before. Also, feel free to add a few additional sets of this if you want to
hammer home these planks, which are highly advantageous for everything involving
strength and function.
Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Barbell Hip Thrust
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x8@45
Working Sets:​ 4x8@45
Coaching Notes: The hip thrust setup can be a little tedious, but let me tell you, it’s worth
the extra time getting everything locked in. Use a standard weight bench and get it
stabilized on a rack or with dumbbells or plates on the opposite side to ensure that the
bench does not slip out from under you. Once the bench is stabilized, place standard
diameter 45 pound plates or lighter bumper plates onto a barbell. You need the bigger
plates so that you can easily slip under the bar to get the movement set up without having
to pick the bar up from the ground and place it on your lap. The next step is to place a pad
between you and the bar to avoid any irritation at the front side of the hips. Once we have
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these setup variables accounted for, it’s time to get into the movement itself. You will be
positioning your back up against the bench at approximately the level of the bottom of your
shoulder blades. The bar will be resting on your lap, and your knees and hips will be bent
with approximately a vertical shin angle. Once the barbell is positioned, drive your hips up
and squeeze your glutes for a full second at the top of the movement, before lowering back
down to where the plates contact the floor again. Make sure to lower everything down in a
slow and controlled manner.
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Hip Thrust Video
2. Barbell Box Squat
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x6@45
Working Sets:​ 4x6@45
Coaching Notes: Stay tight through the core, and use a bit of a wider stance on this one.
Control the descent and come to a complete seated position at the bottom of the movement.
With a slight rocking mechanism, come up explosively and squeeze the gluteal group at the
top of every rep for a full second before moving onto the next rep. This will ensure tension
throughout the movement.
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Box Squat Video
3. Band-Assisted Chin Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x5@45
Working Sets:​ 4x10@45
Coaching Notes: For this movement, the band assists you by deloading your weight, making
it easier to complete the chin up movement. To get set up, grab a band (the thicker the band,
the easier the chin up will be) and wrap it around the bar that you’ll be pulling up on. You’ll
need a step or a box to stand up on to make sure that you can reach the bar. Once it’s around
the bar, pull the band down, bend your knee (you can use whichever leg you want), and
place your knee onto the bottom of the band (keep your other leg on the step/box). Grab the
bar in an underhand position so that your fingers are facing towards you. Take your back
leg off of the step/box and lower yourself all the way down until your arms are straight,
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before pulling right back up so that your face is in line with the bar. Make sure to keep your
head straight and your spine in neutral- don’t let your chin point up or down at any point.
Keep your core engaged and a hollow body position to decrease extension stress on the low
back as well.
Movement Reference:​ ​Band-Assisted Chin Up Video
4.Push Up or Hands Elevated Push Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x5@45
Working Sets:​ 4x10@45
Coaching Notes: If you’ve been able to progress to a push up from the ground, great! If not,
just keep with the hands elevated version. Place your hands on a flat bench shoulder-width
apart. Step your legs back onto the floor, one at a time, so that you’re in a push up position.
Squeeze your glutes, tighten your core, and rotate your shoulders down and back before
lowering your chest down to the bench. Make sure that as you go down, your elbows are
tucked into your sides and they don’t flare out. Once you get to where your chest slightly
touches the bench, push back up to the starting position. It’s very important that throughout
this movement, your body remains in a straight line. Your spine and neck should remain in
a neutral position, so be careful not to tuck your head down or lift it up.
Movement Reference:
Push Up Video
Hands Elevated Push Up Video
5. 3-Way Plank
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 5x20sec@30 (per side)
Coaching Notes: This is the same plank progression that you did in Phase 2. The 3-Way
plank will consist of doing both sides of the side plank for 20 seconds, then finishing off the
round with the RKC plank for 20 seconds. So this will be 60 total seconds of planking in
three different positions per set, with a 30 second rest period between the sets.
Movement Reference:​ ​3-Way Plank Video
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Day 2 – Interval Conditioning
(Optional)
We’ve now built up your cardio and conditioning base, so now it’s time to start being an
athlete again and reaping the benefits of moving well. What does that mean? It’s time for us
to run, and yes, more than just a jog.
This phase we will be increasing the speed of the running intervals and getting into
something I like to call the slow sprint. A sprint is a full effort explosive movement, and
that’s not what we are doing here. We are simply running a little faster in the work phases
of these intervals to the point where you start going decently fast.
So before we move forward, let me caution you all, especially those of you who are
choosing to do your interval work outside. We are not in the business of pulling hamstrings
and getting injured, so be smart about your speed. Work up slowly and reap the benefits of
the foundations that you are laying down with this program.
For reference, if you are on the treadmill, the speed usually only goes up to 12.5 miles per
hour. That is the top speed I want you at on the treadmill or outside, but most of you will be
working between 7-10 miles per hour and getting a great training effect.
Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Treadmill Sprint Intervals
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 20x20sec@40
Coaching Notes: You’re going to increase the speed and intensity this month, moving from
Jog Intervals to full Sprint Intervals. Run fast at a full sprint for 20 seconds, then jump off the
treadmill by keeping your feet on the rails to rest for 40 seconds. Over the course of the next
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few weeks on this phase, you can get a little faster each time to continue to challenge
yourself.
Movement Reference:​ ​Treadmill Sprints Video
Day 3 – Total Body Press Emphasis
I love to program these last phases as this is where the real magic happens not only in your
performance, but also how you start to transform your body and kick it into overdrive,
ready for more challenges, years to come!
We are starting this training day off again with the staple ​Band Pull Apart movement. As
you continue to get stronger, either grab the band closer to add more resistance to the
movement or use a thicker band which will do it for you. Always progressing!
Keeping the barbell in your hands, we are moving onto the ​Incline Barbell Bench Press to
change the angle of pressing and work a different angle from the same foundational
movement pattern. Remember, you will not be as strong on an incline press as the flat
bench press, so ramp up your weights accordingly and ensure that you get all the reps with
great form and technique!
Next we are going back to the single leg variations and challenging you with a relatively
simple movement that will create one hell of a pain-free training effect. The ​Dumbbell Step
Up ​movement allows you to move your body through space, and also to defy gravity. Move
slowly and under control, and these will smoke you in a smart way. I want your heart rate
up on these and you huffing and puffing after work sets. Work hard to breathe deep
between sets and get your heart rate down.
We are going to finish off the back with the ​Low Row ​movement again that should be a
challenge for your back and cause a huge pump through the active muscles. Get stronger
over time on these and challenge yourself with weight as this is a safe position to work
from.
To progress your core work, we are going to work in a great movement called the ​Pallof
Press​, which is an anti-rotation movement. Simply put, as you press the band out in front of
you, it will make your core want to rotate, and your job is to stay solid and stable. This looks
simple, but you’ll quickly realize that this movement is a challenge and will require you to
mentally and physically focus on each and every rep in order to execute it the way I want it
to be done.
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Let’s get a serious training effect today and keep moving forward!
Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Band Pull Aparts
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x8@30
Working Sets:​ 4x15@30
Coaching Notes: Grab the band shoulder width apart in front of your chest and contract the
backs of your shoulders to activate the rhomboids (muscles between your shoulder blades)
and posterior deltoid (muscles on the backs of your shoulders). Really drive the shoulder
blades down and together on this one. These are great for posture and shoulder prehab.
Movement Reference: ​Band Pull Apart Video
2. Barbell Incline Bench Press
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x8@45
Working Sets:​ 4x8@45
Coaching Notes: We will first be placing a bench at a 30-45 degree inclined angle. This can
be done by using an adjustable bench and positioning it up 2-3 notches, or using 3-4 plates
under the head of a standard flat bench. This is going to be very similar to the flat bench
bench press that we did in Phase 2, but because of the incline of the bench here, the bar
path and range of motion will differ slightly. Place your hands about shoulder width apart
and grab the bar. Once you take the bar off the rack, press your shoulders into the bench,
squeeze your glutes, and tighten your core. Then bring the bar slowly down, but only to
where you get to 2-3 inches over your chest (don’t go all the way down and touch the bar to
your chest), pause it there for a split second and then explode it up to a 1-second lock out at
the top where you are actively trying to squeeze your pecs and shoulders to maximize
tension. Also take note that the bar will come down directly over your upper chest in a
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slightly higher position than the bar path of the flat bench press. I want you to go heavy
enough where you lose speed, but not too heavy where you lose proper form.
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Incline Bench Press Video
3. Dumbbell Step Up
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x10@45
Working Sets:​ 4x10@45
Coaching Notes: Get a box or weight bench and dumbbells in each hand. Hold the
dumbbells straight down at your sides, step up onto the box/bench, and then lower your
back leg down to the floor while keeping the front foot up on the box/bench. Make sure that
you are lowering back down in a controlled manner, and not plopping the back foot down
on the ground. This movement is notorious for cheating so be sure that you do not push off
your bottom foot when you step up, but try to isolate the foot that is elevated up on the box
throughout the entire set. A little weight here goes a long way, so start off light.
Movement Reference:​ Dumbbell Step-Up Video
4. Neutral Grip Low Cable/Band Row
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x10@45
Working Sets:​ 4x20@45
Coaching Notes: Setup on the low cable row machine and use a slow tempo, pulling back
and pausing for a second on the back side of the movement. Really work this movement
and “feel” the back muscles working. You want to maintain great form throughout all 10
reps. If you don’t have access to a low cable row machine, you can do the banded low row
variation. To set this up, wrap the band around the bottom part of the squat rack or pole,
and sit on a bench or box that’s bench-height. Execute the movement the same way as I
explained the low cable row.
Movement Reference:
Neutral Grip Low Cable Row Video
Neutral Grip Banded Low Row Video
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5. Banded Half Kneeling Pallof Press
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets:​ 5x10@30 (per side)
Coaching Notes: You will be hooking a band around a stable surface such as a squat rack or
pole for this one. It should be at chest height when you are kneeling on the ground. Kneel on
the knee that is closest to the side the band is on in perfect posture with glutes squeezing
and the core strong. Take the band in front of you, making sure there is tension through it,
and grab it with both hands interlocked at the fingers. To start, position the band right in
front of your chest, then slowly press it directly out in front of your chest, pause for a full
second, and then slowly bring it back into the chest. Take another slight pause at your chest
before bringing it out again. This should be slow and controlled at all times. Do 10 reps on
each side then take your 30 second rest period.
Movement Reference:​ ​Banded Half Kneeling Pallof Press Video
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Day 4 – High Intensity Interval Training
(Optional)
Simple stuff here from an execution standpoint, but I want you to be pushing yourself from
an intensity standpoint. Your base conditioning should be improving by the week in
preparation for FHT, so this is the last step that will challenge you and see what you are
made of.
The ​Bike Sprints can sky rocket your heart rate quickly, but the game is to get the heart rate
and respiratory rate down as quickly as possible so you can head into each interval round
with full effort.
Again, I want you to get out of your comfort zone on this training day. This isn’t supposed to
be a breeze, but rather a test of your willpower. Work hard now and continue your
progression, as that metabolic engine will pay off big moving into 12-weeks of FHT.
Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. Bike Sprints Ramp Up Sets: None
Working Sets:​ 20x30sec@30
Coaching Notes: Now that we have some experience with the exercise bike intervals from
the previous phases of training, we are going to turn up the intensity. The goal here is to
work as hard as you can for 30 seconds (aka a sprint), then take your feet totally off the
pedals (if the bike allows without turning off) and resting for only 30 seconds. If you need to
keep the pedals moving to make sure the bike doesn’t turn off, go as slow as possible. This
will create a cumulative effect after the 20 rounds, something we call a heart rate ramp.
Each round, you will not have enough time to fully recover, so your heart rate will continue
to elevate each and every round. Push it as hard as you can here and again concentrate on
deep breathing in the rest periods.
Movement Reference:​ ​Bike Sprints Video
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Day 5 – Total Body Hip Hinge Emphasis
This is your last training day in the Foundations of FHT program, so make it count! We are
focusing on the king of all movements today, the deadlift! We will also work some other big
movements around the deadlift to create a great training effect that you’ve been working for
over the course of the last two phases of training.
Starting the day off focusing on back development and activation with the ​3-Point Single
Arm Dumbbell Row will act as an extended warm up after the dynamic warm up routine.
Work hard on these sets and push the weights up little by little keeping great form
throughout.
After the rows, you’ll be ready to pull from the floor. Take the form and technique that you
have perfected from the RDL in the first phase and the rack pull in the second phase and
transfer that into the ​Barbell Deadlift​. Stay tight, keep great tension and position with a
neutral spine and drive the barbell up under control.
Again, we are focusing on movement quality here, so before you increase your loads, have
100% confidence in your movement patterns that they look and feel good.
For our upper body emphasized movements of this training day, we will be pressing with a
new hand position and also finishing off the training day with the face pull to train the
shoulders directly.
The ​45-degree Dumbbell Bench Press places your hands in a position that is not quite a
traditional grip, and not quite neutral, but in between the two. This will challenge the
stability of the shoulder, and is more joint friendly for most people. It’s all about becoming
resilient in multiple positions and setups.
I want you to work hard on these ​Face Pulls and really fight through some tough sets that
will leave your back and shoulders burning and pumped up like no other. When you feel
this happen, work hard to keep your form and rhythm in the movement.
We will end this training day with a novel loaded carry variation, the ​Cross Body Dumbbell
Carry​. This involves a dumbbell down at one side, similar to the suitcase carry, but with the
opposite hand up overhead to change the stability pattern of the shoulders. This will really
test your limits, but again, you’ve earned it! ;)
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Schedule:
*Dynamic Warm Up
And then:
1. 3-Point Single Arm Dumbbell Row
Ramp Up Sets:​ 2x12@30
Working Sets:​ 4x12@30
Coaching Notes: Set up on the bench, with one knee up so that foot is just off of the back of
the bench and have the other leg off to the side with a straight knee. Use the opposite hand
on the bench to get into a stable position. Drive the dumbbell back towards your hip,
keeping the shoulder pressed down, and then nice and slow bring it back down into a slight
stretch. Then repeat the movement. No rest in between sides, and 30 seconds of rest in
between sets.
Movement Reference: ​3-Point Single Arm Dumbbell Row Video
2. Barbell Deadlift
Ramp Up Sets: ​2x6@45
Working Sets:​ 4x6@45
Coaching Notes: To set up on the barbell deadlift, approach the barbell with your feet
around shoulder width apart (similar to a squat stance). Step your feet under the barbell.
Your feet should be placed under the barbell far enough so that the bar covers your shoe
laces. If the bar is over your toes, you’re at a disadvantageous position and the bar will be
too far away from your body. Once your feet are set, bend forward and place your hands on
the barbell just outside the knees. Take a deep breath in, tighten your core, and lift the
barbell up off the floor. Make sure to keep your spine in neutral (don’t lean forward or
backwards), squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement, before lowering the barbell
back down to the floor. Make sure to lower it down in a controlled manner, and don’t just let
it drop to the floor. Brace that core again and lift the barbell up for the next rep.
Movement Reference:​ ​Barbell Deadlift Video
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3. 45-Degree Dumbbell Bench Press
Ramp Up Sets: ​2x12@45
Working Sets:​ 4x12@45
Coaching Notes: This is yet another hand variation of the Dumbbell Bench Press. Set up on a
flat bench, grab a dumbbell in each hand, and sit on the bench with the dumbbells placed
on your legs (right above your knees). Getting the dumbbells into position here is extremely
important, so watch the set-up from the video a few times. One leg at a time, kick the
dumbbells up as you lie back flat on the bench, and get the dumbbells into the starting
position at your shoulders. The key with this variation, is you’re going to rotate your hands
45 degrees so that you’re halfway between the traditional grip and a neutral grip. Make sure
your feet are out wide enough, brace your core, tighten your glutes and make sure
everything is stable. Then press the dumbbells directly up towards the ceiling, bringing
them towards each other at the top (just slightly), before slowly lowering them back down
to the starting position. Your hands should remain in that 45-degree position throughout the
movement.
Movement Reference:​ ​45-Degree Dumbbell Bench Press Video
4. Cable/Band Face Pull
Ramp Up Sets: ​2x10@30
Working Sets: ​4x20@30
Coaching Notes: If you’re doing a cable face pull, get a rope attachment (just like the one in
the video), and hook it onto the cable hook. Set the cable at the highest or second highest
notch on the machine (should be over your head). If you don’t have a cable machine at your
disposal, then do the banded version. Hook a theraband with the handles around
something sturdy like a machine or rack at about shoulder height, with both handles
available for you to grab in an overhand position. After the set-up, the cable and the banded
face pull variations are the same in movement and execution. Drive your elbows back, and
bring your hands to about nose-height. Try and pinch your shoulder blades together,
squeeze and hold for a second on the back part of the movement, before letting your arms
back out in a controlled manner. Make sure not to shrug your shoulders, so concentrate on
keeping them pressed down. Also make sure that there is no movement whatsoever in your
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lower body, as this should be an isolated movement from your arms and shoulders. Also
make sure to maintain a neutral spine, so keep your head looking straight ahead.
Movement Reference:
Cable Face Pull Video
Banded Face Pull Video
5. Cross Body Dumbbell Carry
Ramp Up Sets:​ None
Working Sets: ​6x30sec@30
Coaching Notes: ​I absolutely love the cross body loaded carry for so many different reasons.
Before we get into the specifics, remember that each set consists of one round of 30 seconds
with the left arm in the up position, and an additional 30 seconds with the right arm in the
up position. You will complete both sides first then rest the 30 seconds. I want you to get a
heavy dumbbell in your down hand, and a somewhat lighter dumbbell in the up hand. Just
with any other loaded carry, we are using short steps and perfect posture. Keep strong and
stable at the core and shoulders, squeezing everything you have.
Movement Reference:​ ​Dumbbell Cross Body Carry Video
Day 6 – Recovery
Day 7 – OFF
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