Two-Lift Programs, a Conversation Starter.
I will start with a couple of assumptions.
Adherence is more important than design. The brilliant program that gets tried but quickly put aside is like the tree that falls in the forest and no one hears - does it make a sound, and did that program actually accomplish anything? A program can't be termed "good" if it doesn't do "good" for a significant portion of the people who attempt it.
Balance is overrated. The idea that a lifting program must touch on all the "basic human movements" is fundamentally flawed. One should move in as many, varied ways as possible, at least from time to time, but that doesn't mean heavily loading every possible movement pattern. A lifting program can do what a lifting program needs to do and only contain two lifts. A lifting program doesn't need to be balanced - a life does. Train flexibility. Walk. Eat well. (We all could, and should, add to that list.)
My favorite two-lift programs:
Deadlift with two hands, standing overhead press with one hand. (PTTP)
Swings, getups. (S&S)
Squat, bench press.
-S-