Welcome to the OTP Vault
Resources to help you move and perform better.
Articles
- Dan John's Four Quadrants
- Josh Hillis - How Food Really Works In Fat Loss
- Functional Movement System Principles
- Dan John - The Secrets of the Intervention Toolkit
- FMS Tests, Scoring Criteria, Score Sheet and Verbal Instructions
- Sue Falsone - Thoracic spine
- Dan John's 40 day Program
- Gray Cook - Expanding on the Joint By Joint Approach
- Dan John - Strength Standards, Warmups, Complexes
- FMS vs SFMA
- Dan John - Training the Middle Age Client
Videos
- Stuart McGill - Testing Athletes with Jumps
- Charlie Weingroff - RNT for the Deep Squat
- Gray Cook - Asymmetry in Movement
- Dan John - Basic Human Movements
- Charlie Weingroff - The Core and Diaphragm
- Dan John - The Hinge and the Hinge Assessment Tool
- Gray Cook - Core Firing Sequence
- Dan John - The Turkish Getup
- Charlie Weingroff - Rolling Patterns for Rotary Stability
- Dan John - Setting Goals
- Lorimer Moseley - How to Explain Pain to Patients
- Dan John - The Goblet Squat
- Charlie Weingroff - What is PNF?
Dan John’s 40 Day Program
Click here to download a PDF template of Dan John’s 40 Day Program
Years ago, when I first met Pavel, he challenged me to do a “40 Day Workout.”
So, I did exactly as he said. On the 22nd workout, alone in my garage gym, I broke my lifetime best Incline Bench Press record that was 300 for a single. Without a spotter, in a frozen garage, I benched 315 for a double. All the other lifts went through the roof and I was as amazed then as I am now.
The 40 Day Workout
1. For the next 40 workouts, do the exact same training program every day. (For the record, I find that most of my goals are reached by day 20 or 22, so you can also opt for a shorter period.)
2. Pick five exercises. I suggest you do a squatting movement like the goblet squat or overhead squat as part of the warm-up, as you don’t want to ignore the movement, but it might be fun to focus on other aspects of your body.
3. Focus on these five movements:
- A large posterior chain movement (the deadlift is the right answer)
- Upper body push (bench press, incline bench press, military press)
- Upper body pull (pull-ups, rows, or, if you’ve ignored them like me, heavy bicep curls)
- A simple full-body explosive move (kettlebell swings or snatches)
- And something for what I call an “anterior chain” move (an abdominal exercise). I think the ab wheel is king here, but you can also do some other movements best suited for lower reps.
4. Only do two sets of five reps per workout for the deadlift and push/pull exercises, and one set of 20 to 50 for the explosive move. Do a solid single set of five reps for the abs.
5. Never plan or worry about the weight or the load. Always stay within yourself and go heavy “naturally.”
6. Don’t eat chalk, scream, or pound on walls. Simply do each lift without any emotion or excitement and strive for perfect technique.