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Two Lifts.
Returning to Min Max Intensity Training with a stripped-down focus — Deadlift and Bench Press only. The technique that unlocked both, the science of why less is more, and why the "big three" isn't a law.
Why I cut the squat (for now).
Coming back from one to two months of testing what I called Modern Heavy Duty — inspired by Mike Mentzer's Heavy Duty Training, revamped into a four-day programme — I have modified it further. Down to two specialised primary lifts: the Deadlift and the Bench Press.
I have removed the squat from the programme for the time being. Not because the squat is a bad or useless exercise — it absolutely is not — but because of my own specific context. I already have innately strong squat mechanics in daily life: deep full-range squats, pistol squats, dragon squats. For me, adding a third heavy barbell lift wasn't doing much to improve the Deadlift or Bench Press. It was adding fatigue and sliding me toward the stereotypical powerlifting "big three" structure — which is a fine framework, but not the only one, and not necessarily the right one for every person.
Every person has different goals and different strengths. Yours may differ from mine entirely. The squat is not eliminated — it is suspended from the barbell programme because my functional squat strength is already high through calisthenics. If that changes, the lift returns. This is not a blanket recommendation to skip squatting.
The broader principle here is one worth sitting with: we should not include exercises in a programme unless they actively serve the purpose of improving our key lifts, building targeted strength, or supporting recovery. More exercises do not equal more progress if the body is not given adequate time to adapt. That is not an opinion — it is basic exercise physiology. The stimulus-recovery-adaptation cycle requires the recovery window as much as it requires the stimulus itself.
Every training session creates a small amount of tissue damage and nervous system fatigue. The body repairs this during rest — and comes back slightly stronger than before. That repair and adaptation only happens if you give it time. Adding more exercises competes directly with that repair window. Two well-recovered heavy lifts will outperform four half-recovered ones over any meaningful training period.
Relearning the bench from scratch.
I have come to genuinely love relearning the Bench Press. Technique on this lift needs to be dialled into what actually works for your specific build and genetics — and I have learnt a huge amount from a YouTuber named Ben Johnson. The following setup changed the way the lift feels entirely.
Alternatively: a hook grip in the supine position — imagine the deadlift hook grip but you are now facing up and pushing the weight away from you. Thumb tip from the start of the knurling, or on the ring mark depending on arm length.
This is not a powerlifting exaggerated arch. It is a stability bridge — ensuring your upper back stays tight, your chest is in the optimal pressing position, and the bar path travels efficiently. Benching completely flat effectively becomes a close-grip bench press, moving the load away from the chest and onto the triceps.
It is a wordy explanation on paper — but if you can understand the positions described and put them together under the bar, it will fundamentally change the way the Bench Press feels as a lift. The chest activation alone is noticeably different once the setup is correct.
The Jbooey start position.
For the Deadlift, I took inspiration a long time ago from a person named Jbooey on Instagram. He had an insanely aggressive start position for conventional that I have never seen elsewhere and it completely changed how I approach the lift.
The 150kg pull is documented in Reflectionz 05 — The Overcoming — the journal entry written the same day. The technical context lives here. The emotional context lives there.
Less is genuinely more.
The point of all of this is a principle that is consistently ignored in modern fitness culture: less is more — and it is especially more if you give the body adequate time to recover between sessions.
The whole culture of trying to train like a bodybuilder or a powerlifter can genuinely confuse beginners to intermediates who feel stuck on their programmes — because they have been fed misinformation from social media influencers, many of whom are enhanced. People using performance-enhancing drugs have dramatically better recovery windows. Their programming is not applicable to the majority of natural athletes. It is a different sport entirely.
Cutting a lift that does not serve you gives you more room to recover than trying to compensate by getting good at as many things as possible. Two major strength compounds with one to three accessories per session will save you time, improve recovery, and leave room for other modalities: running, martial arts, calisthenics — the things that make a genuinely well-rounded training lifestyle.
This is where the hybrid trainee — someone who doesn't want to be a bodybuilder or powerlifter, but wants to be strong, mobile, capable, and long-term healthy — has been quietly winning for the last decade. The fitness industry is catching up to something that a lot of self-taught lifters already knew: owning a small number of things deeply beats spreading thin across everything.