A Simple Strength Plan

2 templates built from the laws your body already follows.

On Tuesday, we talked about the first principles of strength — the simple laws your body follows whether you’re 25 or 55.

Quick recap:

1. Your body adapts to patterns, not one-off efforts.

2. Muscle strength comes from five core movement categories: hinge, squat, push, pull, carry.

3. Your body only adapts when it experiences a challenge above its normal level.

4. Muscles grow when they are asked to produce steady effort under control.

5. Your body only uses the strength it feels safe using.

Today is about the “So what?”

How do you take those principles and turn them into a real week of strength training that:

• fits around work, family, and life

• doesn’t wreck your joints

• actually makes you stronger over time

• doesn’t fall apart the moment your schedule gets messy

Let’s build that.

Step 1: Decide on 2 or 3 strength days

We’re not building a bodybuilder split.

We’re building something you can repeat for months.

Choose one:

• Option A: 2 strength days per week

• Option B: 3 strength days per week

Both work. More isn’t automatically better.

If you’re unsure, start with 2 days. If that feels solid for a month, you can add a third.

Step 2: Use the five core categories

Everything you do will come from these:

• Hinge (deadlifts, hip hinges, hip thrusts, Romanian deadlifts (RDL))

• Squat (squats, split squats, step-ups)

• Push (push-ups, bench, overhead presses)

• Pull (rows, pulldowns, pull-ups)

• Carry (farmer carry, suitcase carry, rack carry)

You don’t need fancy exercises.

You need simple options inside each category that your body tolerates.

Pick 1 exercise per category that:

• doesn’t cause joint pain

• you can set up quickly

• you can imagine repeating for months

We’re going to plug those into a template.

Step 3: The 2-day template

If you chose 2 strength days, here’s the simplest first-principles plan.