Have you ever been sitting down on a Sunday to write a bunch of new programs and you find yourself flipping madly back and forth through the PPSC manual trying to find all the pages that have the programming guidelines on them?

Don’t worry fam, I got you….

Here, for your ease and enjoyment, all in one place, the rules and programming guidelines that make up the Fundamental 15 Checklist!

The Rules

1. Always do a 6-Phase Dynamic Warm Up
2. Include all the foundational movement patterns in the program.
3. Pick exercises which are safe and move your client towards their goals.

Then:

1. Consider their goals. If they “don’t have any” then give them things to work towards based on their Plan Smarter Strategy Session and where they need to build strength.
2. How many sessions per week? Each pattern needs to be hit minimum 2x. So full body? Split? Split how? The more they train, the more opportunity you have for variety.
3. The 6-Phase Dynamic Warm Up should be focused on the KPI first, then their individual linchpin.
4. Add in isolation (body-part or action specific) work around their goals/needs or to bring up muscles/actions that are important to them. (aka finish with something they like!)

Squat

Assuming the 2x/week minimum:

1. Using individual authentic stance to train max available depth at least 1x/week. (could be phase 5)
2. Cycle other stances and styles of loading to increase available squat options for the client.
3. If client needs to use a hinge dominant pattern, try to ensure that your single leg work is quad dominant, or add in supplemental quad focused work.

Hinge

Assuming the 2x/week minimum:

1. minimum at least 1x/week of training a pure hinge variation from a top down
2. include a deadstop deadlift, from your max depth stance
3. supplement with additional direct glute/hammy work if your deadlift stance is not a pure hinge
4. include a single leg biased hinge

Lunge

Assuming single leg work 2x/week minimum:

1. include one level 1 (split squat) and one level 2 (lunge) at minimum.
2. once standard reverse lunges and split squats are competent, include at least one variation per week developing frontal or transverse planes
3. if hip stability is an issue, build additional volume in supplemental stability exercises at end of workouts in a burn out (6-Phase should already include it)

Push

Assuming the 2x/week minimum:

1. At least one push should have free to rotate hands (not fixed into ground or bar)
2. Once controlling rotation is established, one push per week should include spinal rotation (spiral slings) (i.e. cables/bands/med ball)
3. if vertical push is ok, prioritize endurance and stability versions over heavy for pain free training

Pull

1. Training ALL angles – focus on prioritizing high to low horizontal pulling over vertical
2. 3:1 Pull to Push (total reps) and 2:1 horizontal to vertical pulls

Carry (updated to address the new content from December 2022!)

1. Use all Developmental Positions: supine, prone, quadruped, 1/2 kneel, standing, split stance
2. Loaded Carries – general fitness standard is 100% of BW for 30 seconds
3. Cardio: incorporate appropriate Zone-based training for health & recovery, fitness & performance

And if you’ve ever wondered how we audit a program to check for all of these things, remember that the PPSC Fundamental 15 Checklist (spreadsheet) is in both the Training Methods and Programming Certification resources on Migthy Networks!