The “One Thing a Day” program
What to do when you're in a time-crunched season of life.
Training volume and performance outcomes are highly correlative - the more time you can spend doing a thing, the higher returns you’ll likely receive. That being the case, I’d encourage all of us to try and carve out time within our lifestyles to be able to move our bodies. Not necessarily in the pursuit of performance, but because our biology has been crafted by a history of high-volume physical activity.
There is an issue with modern lifestyles that limits our ability to move our bodies as much as we ought to. How much movement would be ideal? In most instances, many hours a day. Is that practical for most people? Not really. Is it practical for some people during certain seasons of life and not others? Yes. Often this is the case. Where does that leave us?
We should both aspire and conspire to arrange our lives in such a way that we are inclined/obligated to move as much as possible. What that looks like specifically will depend on many things like the age, experience and preferences of a person, as well as the climate, their resources, circumstances and, of course, the time that is available. We’re not contending with this ambition in this article, but it has to be mentioned that this is the goal. I’ll also add that many people are spending time doing bullshit that doesn’t fill up their cup, doesn’t improve their health or fitness, and are claiming to be too time poor for meaningful training - look at your screen time if there’s even an inkling this might be you.
If someone you know is in a season of low time availability then it’s not a lot of help to point out to them that more movement than is achievable is what they should be aiming for. It sets them up for failure. It is somewhat understandable that they might look at a training program that’d work for someone with X amount of time availability and instead of figuring out an option that may work for them, they think fuck it and give up. A little training can go a long way, especially when compared to no training. You can make progress with two 20-minute sessions per week, but if you don’t believe it, you won’t try it and you’ll get nothing. Something is almost always better than nothing.
In order to support the people who are in a time-desperate phase of life I’ll provide something actionable rather than simply saying “make more time” or “you can do a lot with very little time.” You should see the truth in those statements, but they don’t tell you what to do.
There’s a long-standing program from Dan John (check him out), which he calls the “One Lift a Day” program. It is as it sounds, and looks something like this.
Monday: Bench Press or Incline Bench Press
Tuesday: Row or Row Variation
Wednesday: Squat
Thursday: Off
Friday: Military Press
Saturday: Curl, Deadlift, Whatever
The intent of the program is to simplify the process by cutting down on the flimflam. The idea is that if you focus on one thing per day, per week, you will get better at that thing. Compare this to a program that is 10 exercises per session, with no discernible progress. This is the training equivalent of throwing shit against the wall and hoping it sticks.
The One Lift a Day concept is great, but it doesn’t account for people who have broader goals than strength and hypertrophy. Not to mention, if you’ve got 20 minutes of training time available per day you don’t have 15 minutes to drive to the gym each way. What is the solution? Something like this.
“One Thing a Day” program
Monday: Jump Squats
Tuesday: Hill Sprints
Wednesday: Push Ups
Thursday: Kettlebell Swings
Friday: Run for Distance
Saturday: Abwheel Rollouts/Pull Ups
Sunday: Off
In all instances you’d build into the work. You may not have time to warm-up AND train, so you gotta tick both boxes at once. For Hill Sprints you’d start very easy and build each rep. For the Run for Distance you’d start casually and finish fast. With this exact program all you’d need is a kettlebell, abwheel/pull-up bar, and a pair of running shoes. If you can’t get out of the house then substitute the runs with jump rope, or get a second-hand exercise bike, or rowing machine.
Get creative if you have to. There are infinite variations of this program that’ll work. You can change things to suit your goals and resources. You can take more time some days than others if that makes sense for you. The Abwheel can take 10–15 minutes and the Run for Distance 45.
One additional consideration to keep in mind is the physical activity you engage with outside of the training program. Although the program will certainly move the needle, it will be significantly complimented by any additional low intensity activity you can accumulate. What this might look like practically is commuting by bike or foot when possible, or parking further away at the shops, taking the stairs, doing activities with your kids that move your body - anything where you spend a little less time on your ass and a little more time on your feet.
The main thing is a willingness to use what you have. If you’re time poor, lazy and unimaginative, then you need more help than I can provide. You can do so much with very little if you believe in what’s possible. What’s possible? The goal of training is to nudge some form of progress. If you progress at the things you select, you will get better more broadly. If you can do 100 push-ups one week and 101 the following week - that’s progress. There is a limit to how long you can do this program for, but it will work for a season or two and will better prepare you for when life’s schedule is more accommodating.