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‹ All sessions ON YOUR OWN

On your own

Everything here you have already done with me. Nothing new, nothing to work out on the spot. Same order every time so you can walk in and start.

Grab first
Your body
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1Feeling dizzy or shakyIf you go lightheaded, cold or shaky, stop and sit down straight away, then tell me. That is not you being unfit and it is not something to train through. It has a cause and we deal with it.2Your breathBreathe OUT as the weight goes up. Every rep, every exercise. Never hold it in and push against it. This is the one rule from your surgery and it is the most important thing on this page.3Your core and your scarsYour core is genuinely strong and you have asked for more of it, so the rule here is about HOW we load it, not whether. If anything pulls, aches or feels new around a scar, that exercise is finished for the day and you tell me.4Your kneesThey want to fall inwards as you stand up out of a squat. Push them out towards your little toes on the way up. That is the whole fix, and it is worth thinking about on every squat rep.
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5The tops of your shouldersThey want to take over everything you push and pull. That is why a light band Y-raise comes before any upper body work, every single session.6Your lower backIt rounds at the bottom of an RDL as the weight gets heavier. If that happens we shorten the range first, never the weight first.7The sides of your hipsThe muscle that stops your knee falling in. It gets worked every session now, because it is the fix for the knee rather than a nice extra.8Your hamstrings and glutesYour strongest area and the one that carries the RDL. Hips back first, always.
WATCH THESE TODAY

Breathe OUT as the weight goes up, every single rep. Never hold your breath and push against it. This is the one rule from your surgery, and it matters more than any number on this page.

Push your knees out towards your little toes as you stand up. They want to fall inwards, and that is the single thing worth thinking about on every squat rep.

Dizzy, shaky or cold: stop and sit down, then tell me. That is not you being unfit and it is not something to push through.

Pelvic Drop

Stand on a step, let the other hip drop, then lift it back up with the hip you are standing on.

Set up: Stand side-on on a step or low box, one foot on it, the other hanging free off the edge. Rail or wall within reach.

Movement: Let the free hip drop down towards the floor, then lift it back up level using the hip of the leg you are STANDING on. The standing leg stays straight the whole time.

Why this one for youThis is the muscle that stops your knee falling inwards when you stand up out of a squat. It is the single best exercise for it, and it needs no equipment at all.

Band Y-Raise

Light band, arms up into a wide Y. It goes before any pressing or pulling.

Set up: A light band under both feet or held at hip height, arms down in front of you.

Movement: Pull your shoulder blades down, then raise your arms up and out into a wide Y above your head. Lower slowly.

Why this one for youThe lower part of your trapezius, which is what stops the top of your shoulders taking over everything you push and pull. It goes first, before anything for your upper body, so it is awake when you need it.

Goblet Squat

Hold a weight at your chest and squat. The weight helps you balance.

Set up: A dumbbell or kettlebell held at your chest in both hands. Feet shoulder width, toes turned out a little.

Movement: Sit your hips back and down as far as is comfortable, then stand up.

Worth knowing: The weight at your chest is a counterbalance. It genuinely makes squatting easier, not harder, which feels wrong until you try it.

Why this one for youStanding up out of a chair, loaded. It is the everyday movement you do more than any other.

Leg Press

Seated and supported, push the plate away with your legs.

Set up: Sit with your back flat against the pad, feet about hip width on the plate.

Movement: Push the plate away until your legs are almost straight, then lower with control to about halfway.

Worth knowing: The depth is the safety rule here, not the weight. Stop where your back is still flat, every rep.

Why this one for youLegs loaded properly with your back fully supported and nothing to balance. It is the safest way for you to push a genuinely heavy weight.

Loaded Step Up

Step up onto a box, pause at the top, lower slowly.

Set up: A low step or box, a rail within reach, a dumbbell in each hand.

Movement: Step up through your whole foot, pause at the top, then lower slowly and under control.

Why this one for youStairs, kerbs, getting off a bus. One leg at a time, because that is how you actually climb them.

Machine Row

Seated, pull the handles back and squeeze your shoulder blades.

Set up: Sit tall, grip the handles, arms extended in front of you.

Movement: Pull your elbows back, squeeze your shoulder blades together, then return with control.

Why this one for youYour strongest lift. On your own day it is the machine version, so there is no setup to get wrong and you can just push the number.

Machine Chest Press

Seated and supported, push the handles away from your chest.

Set up: Seat set so the handles line up with the middle of your chest.

Movement: Push the handles out until your arms are almost straight, then return with control.

Why this one for youPushing strength, for heavy doors, a loaded trolley, getting up off a low seat. Fully supported, so your stomach is asked for nothing at all.

Lat Pulldown

Pull the bar down to your collarbone. Elbows down, not back.

Set up: Sit down, thighs snug under the pads, hands on the bar a little wider than your shoulders.

Movement: Pull the bar down to your upper chest, elbows driving down and back, then let it rise back up slowly.

Why this one for youPulling from overhead is what shapes your back, and it is the first rung of the ladder that ends at a pull-up. You already have 25 kg for 12 behind you, so today is about matching that with better form.

Seated Shoulder Press

Seated with your back supported, press the handles overhead.

Set up: Seat set so the handles start at about shoulder height. Back flat against the pad.

Movement: Press the handles up until your arms are long, then lower with control.

Worth knowing: Stay at 10 kg until you get 3 sets of 12 clean. The reps matter more than the number right now, and when the reps are there the weight goes up on its own.

Why this one for youYour shoulders on their own, with your back supported, so they get worked properly instead of at the tired end of a squat.

Standing Hip Abduction

Lift one leg out to the side and hold at the top.

Set up: Standing next to something solid, one hand on it for balance.

Movement: Lift one leg out to the side, hold two seconds at the top, then lower slowly.

Why this one for youThe side of your hip again, free and on the spot. Without the two-second hold the leg just swings and nothing happens, so the hold IS the exercise.

Plated Crunch

On your back with a plate on your chest, curl your ribs towards your hips.

Set up: On your back, knees bent, plate held on your chest.

Movement: Curl your ribs towards your pelvis, then lower back down with control.

Worth knowing: Tell me the NEXT day how your stomach felt, not just how it felt in the moment. That answer is what decides the next weight.

Why this one for youYou are genuinely good at this one, so it is a good note to finish on. It is also the only thing here that loads your stomach directly, which is why the breathing rule matters most here.

Have a think about these

Your notes

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