I want to get strong with Original Strength but I don’t know where to start?

Categories: Blog, blog, Press RESET Jul 28, 2025

Coming to a new system can be daunting. It’s especially daunting when one of the founders of the system has put up a new video on Youtube every week for over a decade. I recently had a conversation with someone who was looking to get going using the system to strengthen themselves.

I obviously recommended Original Strength Performance: The Next Level because they are coming from a strong fitness background, but I couldn’t think of a resource that would kick them off in the journey of strength that was free and easily accessible.

So…. This is an easy guide to getting started using Original Strength to make you a more powerful, more resilient and more athletic human (if you just want the plan, scroll down, it’s got a big heading). 

Original Strength is an amazing system that serves as the basis for strength for everyone - be they professional sportsperson, or someone in their 80’s who hasn’t exercised in a long time. It is powerful for everyone because it builds the foundation from which all other movements grow. 

Our starting point for this is the Six Purposeful Patterns framework in Original Strength Performance: The Next Level - hinge, squat, pull, push, gait, rotate. There are endless variations that you can apply to this framework, but in this article, we are going to do a single plan with a couple of simple provisos:

1. Any movement you perform, you need to be able to breath diaphragmatically
2. In all the movements that we are doing here, you will initiate the movement with your eyes (look at a target where you’re going to send your focus and your effort)
3. If a movement loses quality, or becomes above an 8 out of 10 effort, take a moment, and bring the movement back to a point where your smile looks less like a grimace!
4. If you experience pain, stop, consider seeing someone who specialises in fixing things, and consider shifting to a variation that doesn’t hurt you.

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Warm Up

Diaphragmatic breathing x 1 min (Supine “short” position)

Head Control x 1 min vertical and lateral (Commando Rocking Position)

Egg rolls x 1 min

Repeat x 3

Block 1 - Hinge + Pull + Rotate

A1: Mark Shropshire’s Lunge Matrix x 1

A2: Elevated Roll x 3/3

10 min

Block 2 - Gait + Push + Squat 

B1: Backwards Walking (looking away from where you’re going) x 20 steps

B2: Rocking Push ups x 5

10 min

Block 3 - Push + Squat + Gait

Leopard crawl - crawl for as long as you can while you’re maintaining your head position, and diaphragmatic breathing. Maintain an effort that is less than 8/10. When you struggle to maintain the head position, breathing, or the effort becomes to great, then rest. Aim to spend as much time as possible of your 10 minutes crawling with your knees up. This might be useful to track so that you can see and appreciate your progression.

Warm Down

Diaphragmatic Breathing (standing superman pose) x 1 min

Commando Rocking x 10

Segmental Roll x 3/3

Cross Crawl x 20

Repeat x 3

 

Remember! As Tim says, you are the chef in your own kitchen. If something doesn’t feel good, then replace it with something else that does feel good. Pay attention to the provisos above, and overall, find the joy in movement.

 

 

RESOURCES

Mark Shropshire’s Lunge Matrix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWcZg1bMRE

 

 

This blog was contributed by OS Master Instructor, Piers Kwan who runs our Australian courses.  

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