Client Success Story - Increase Your Lifts By 50lbs While Losing Weight
A.M. is a detective with my former department who approached me for some ways to change up his training routine. He’d been doing a typical body-part split, training most sets to failure. He was definitely not a novice and knows what he’s doing in the gym - he got the class fitness award when he went through the academy several years ago. He was using the major barbell lifts weekly but also had a lot of isolation work in his program. He’d been training this way for a while and had hit a wall, and wanted to push his lifts higher.
I suggested he run through my Tactical Foundations program. Even though he wasn’t a novice, a couple things about this program made me think it would work well for him:
- Higher frequency exposure to squatting and benching would help solidify technique and build strength
- Less overall volume and not training to failure would help him recover from the brutal train-to-failure bodybuilding he’d been doing
Honestly, at first I was worried that it wouldn’t be enough lifting volume for him. We minimally modified the barbell lift training protocol, allowing him to get a couple extra reps per set if he wanted to since he was used to higher volume. We added some additional arm and shoulder work, on the condition that if it started interfering with the main strength work we’d take it out. He also did more (and higher intensity) conditioning.
He’s finishing up this week. Some major progress points:
- He took his front squat from 145x7 in Week 1 to 185x5 in Week 8. He hadn’t been doing much front squatting so a lot of this progress is motor learning and neuromuscular coordination.
- He took his bench press from 195x5 in Week 1 to 245x5 in Week 8. 245 was his previous one rep max, and he’d been benching frequently before starting this program. This is HUGE progress.
- His previous best deadlift was 300lbs. We started working on a technique issue he was having, and at one point he pulled 305 for 3 singles in one workout, none of which were maximal. Once his new technique is solidified I’m excited to see what he hits.
- He lost 5lbs in 8 weeks while increasing his strength.
The best part (to me) is that he commented he now had more free time to hang out with his family because he wasn’t in the gym as much as he was before. In law enforcement or any other high stress career, that’s a huge win.
He was successful because he was consistent and he planned everything out in advance. If he had questions, he asked. He took control of his own training. This program isn’t magic.
Download the Tactical Foundations for free at the bottom of the page, and never hesitate to reach out to me if you need help putting together a plan to fit your life and goals.
If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me