Lean Lifting for Life

In my work as a consultant I've helped organizations become more lean. IT organizations are constantly seeking new ways to improve customer satisfaction, service quality and value for the business. Lean IT is applied to transform these organizations to a customer-focused, efficient and transparent IT organization that can deliver sustainable results to the business.

Lean's essence is the maximization of value to customers, the minimization of waste and last, but certainly not least, the continuous improvement of the processes that do both.

Essentially, lean is centered on preserving value with less work.

Lean manufacturing is a management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS) (hence the term Toyotism is also prevalent) and identified as "lean" only in the 1990s.
The Toyota Production System is renowned for its focus on reduction of the original Toyota seven wastes to improve overall customer value, but there are varying perspectives on how this is best achieved.

For many, lean is the set of "tools" that assist in the identification and steady elimination of waste (muda). As waste is eliminated quality improves while production time and cost are reduced.

There is a second approach to lean Manufacturing, which is promoted by Toyota, called The Toyota Way, in which the focus is upon improving the "flow" or smoothness of work, thereby steadily eliminating mura ("unevenness") through the system and not upon 'waste reduction' per se.

Lean implementation is therefore focused on getting the right things to the right place at the right time in the right quantity to achieve perfect work flow, while minimizing waste and being flexible and able to change.

Lean lifting is my philosophy that extends from my work as a consultant and views lifting weights in a lean way.

The philosophy of lean leads me to center my training on the following principles

• emphasize big, multi-joint movements, 
• start light, 
• progress slow and set personal records.  

Using multi-joint movements such as the squat, bench press, deadlift and press is nothing revolutionary in the quest for strength. It has been done since the barbell came into existence.