What changes
Three things you get back when you train this way
Reach, turn and twist without bracing for it
Your day moves in three directions: forward and back, side to side, and turning. Most programs train the first one and barely touch the other two. The 3-4-5 System trains all three, so a golf swing or a look over your shoulder feels ordinary again.
Catch a stumble before it becomes a fall
Most falls happen because you can't produce enough force fast enough to save yourself. That's not balance. That's strength plus speed. Single-leg work and shifting your center of gravity train exactly that.
Stop guessing what's safe to do
When your knees or back hurt, it's hard to tell which exercises will help. The 3-4-5 System starts with the movements you can do comfortably today, and you add load as tolerated. You train with a plan instead of a guess.
Ever since I've started with Stephen's personal training system, I haven't been suffering with the constant neck and back pain I'd had for years. I believe it's absolutely due to the fact that Stephen understands my problems and modifies my workout to strengthen the areas I need to keep strong to avoid pain.
Liz Keehner Training with Stephen for 18 years
Questions
What women ask me about the 3-4-5 System
What does 3-4-5 stand for?
Three planes of motion, four muscle sling systems and five movement patterns.
The four slings are the Anterior Oblique, Posterior Oblique, Deep Longitudinal and Lateral. Most personal trainers don't know them by name. The five patterns are push, pull, rotation, shifting center of gravity and single-leg.
Can I do this if my joints already hurt?
Check with your doctor first, especially if the pain is new or a joint is swollen. After that, yes.
Earlier in my career I trained as a Post-Rehab Specialist. The 3-4-5 System starts with the movements you can do comfortably today, and you add load as tolerated.
Will I have to lift “heavy” weights?
You'll lift weights that are “appropriately challenging” for you, and you'll add to them as tolerated.
Light weights aren't safer, either. The LIFTMOR study found no greater injury risk from “heavy” compound lifts in women after menopause when the lifts were supervised.
Is the 3-4-5 System new?
No. I've used it with my clients since 1997, and I published it in Fitness Management in 2001. The Baltimore Sun called it “a more logical way to achieve fitness.”
Start the 3-4-5 Total Body Strength System.
Written by Stephen Holt, CSCS, 2026 IDEA® Personal Trainer of the Year.