JC Santana: The Influence Behind The Lift League’s Training Progression

One of the biggest influences behind the way The Lift League structures its training program is JC Santana, a highly respected figure in the world of functional training. His book, Functional Training, had a major impact on how I designed The Lift League’s approach to progression and sequencing.

Who is JC Santana?

JC Santana is a strength and conditioning coach known for his expertise in functional training, athletic performance, and injury prevention. He has worked with professional athletes across multiple sports and has developed training systems that focus on real-world strength and movement efficiency. His methodology emphasizes sequencing training correctly, ensuring that athletes build a foundation before advancing to more complex movements.

How JC Santana’s Training Philosophy Shaped The Lift League

Santana’s philosophy focuses on training progression, ensuring that each phase builds upon the last for optimal performance and adaptation. His recommended sequence is:

1. Hypertrophy – Using higher reps to build muscle endurance and reinforce movement patterns.

2. Strength Training – Developing raw strength on top of the muscle built in the hypertrophy phase.

3. Power Development – Training explosive movements to translate strength into functional power.

4. Sport-Specific Training – Refining movement patterns to match the needs of a specific sport.

Adapting This Methodology for The Lift League

While Santana’s system is built with athletes and sport-specific training in mind, The Lift League adapts this approach for the everyday gym-goer—those training not for competition, but to keep training for life. Instead of sport-specific training, The Lift League focuses on building a sustainable and progressively challenging lifting structure.

The Lift League’s progression follows a similar structure, but tailored for long-term gym sustainability:

• Level 1: Powerbuilding – This combines hypertrophy-focused training with strength-based compound movements, ensuring lifters build muscle while developing foundational strength.

• Level 2: Strength Training – This phase shifts to lower-rep, high-intensity lifts to maximize pure strength gains.

• Level 3: Pushing Limits – At this stage, training complexity increases, incorporating a mix of advanced training techniques to break through plateaus and challenge overall performance.

Why This Works for the Average Lifter

Most traditional bodybuilding programs focus only on hypertrophy, while powerlifting programs focus only on strength. The Lift League blends both, using structured variability and progressive overload to keep training engaging while promoting continuous improvement. This method ensures lifters don’t just chase size or strength alone—but develop a well-rounded, powerful physique that can keep progressing for years to come.

JC Santana’s influence helped shape The Lift League into a logical, progressive, and sustainable training system that keeps lifters improving without unnecessary complexity. By following a structured sequence of hypertrophy, strength, and advanced training techniques, The Lift League ensures its athletes train with purpose, efficiency, and longevity in mind.