Once you have reached the impressive yet realistic “Timeless Simple” standard, you have choices to make. Stay on a monastic diet of swings and get-ups, slowly chipping away at “Sinister.” Or try something “same but different”: the snatch plus the clean and military press, the classic Rite of Passage.

Either you never touched the barbell, or you dabbled in the past. Now you choose to be strong and to do it right.

Accept no compromises.

Between power and conditioning.

Between strength and flexibility.

Between being an athlete and looking like one.

Developing lasting strength is about the practice of becoming more impervious to life’s stresses and increasing our ability to withstand them—whether they are things to move or tough jobs to tackle. Growing stronger builds our capability reserves so that what was previously hard…is less so. And because life takes less of a toll, you’ve got energy to spare to enjoy it. The alternative is not a future we wish on anyone