Training Guides
Structured programmes built on 30 years of practical experience and exercise science. Find your level and follow the programme. Adjust nothing until you have given it at least 8 weeks.
These programmes are for everyone — men and women, any age, any starting point. Women in particular benefit enormously from resistance training: it preserves bone density, supports joint health, improves metabolism and significantly reduces the physical effects of ageing. The weights will differ between individuals. The results will not.
The Five Components of Physical Fitness
Understanding what fitness actually means across five distinct and measurable areas — the science, the reality and thirty years of honest observations.
Read More →Beginner Programmes
If you are new to structured exercise, or returning after a long break, start here. These programmes are designed to build a foundation safely over 8–12 weeks.
The Fundamental Five
Five exercises. Three days a week. Forty-five minutes. If time has always been your excuse, this programme removes it. The five compound lifts that matter most — done properly, done consistently.
Bodyweight Foundation — 8 Weeks
No equipment required. Builds movement confidence, basic strength, and consistency. The correct starting point for most people who have not trained regularly before.
40+ Starting Programme
Eight weeks. Two fully structured tracks — gym and outdoor, equally detailed. Three days a week, full body, progressive. Built from thirty years of working with people who started later than they planned.
Return to Training — 4 Weeks
For anyone returning after injury, rest or when life gets in the way. Full body gym programme, 3 days per week. Basic exercises, CV and resistance. Written from personal experience.
Beginner Resistance Training
Eight weeks in the weights room. Three days per week. Barbell squat, deadlift, bench press and more — oldschool compound movements that have worked for decades.
Walk to Run — 12 Weeks
A progressive walking and running programme for complete beginners. Builds aerobic capacity without excessive impact on the joints.
Park & Outdoor Training Guide
No gym. No equipment. Three sessions at 20, 30 and 45 minutes — bodyweight circuits, sprints and agility work using a park bench and a coat on the ground. Works anywhere, any time.
Office Worker Training Guide
For people who sit for a living. Four options from five minutes at your desk to a full sixty-minute lunchtime session. No gym, no equipment, no excuses. The session fits the day — not the other way around.
Intermediate Programmes
For those with 3–6 months of consistent training and a solid grasp of the fundamental movements. Volume and complexity increase; technique remains the priority.
Two-Day Split — 1999 Archive
Written in 1996, refined through 1999 and still in use today. Two workouts alternated across the week — chest and back, then shoulders and arms. Old school, gym-based, genuinely enjoyable.
Intermediate Body Part Split — 12 Weeks
A classic four day split — legs, chest and triceps, back and biceps, shoulders. Compound movements, progressive overload, real results. Twelve weeks then test your one rep max.
Three-Day Full Body Strength
Three sessions a week, 8–10 reps, every major muscle group every session. Compound-led with optional supersets. Run this after the Volume Programme for maximum effect.
Three-Day Volume Programme
Three sessions, six exercises, 12 reps throughout. Higher volume, moderate weight, strong leg emphasis. The preparation phase — run this before the Strength Programme and the body arrives ready.
5K to 10K Running Plan — 10 Weeks
Takes a comfortable 5K runner to a solid 10K. Three runs per week, cross training included. No shortcuts — written from personal experience including a charity 10K run with zero preparation.
Four-Day Upper/Lower Split
Two upper body sessions, two lower body sessions. Strength focus Monday and Tuesday, hypertrophy focus Thursday and Friday. Every major muscle group trained twice per week. Four days, done properly.
General Athletic Development
Four days covering lower body strength, speed and agility, upper body and conditioning. A 4-week mesocycle that builds strength, speed, mobility and aerobic capacity simultaneously.
Advanced Programmes
Requires at least 12–18 months of consistent, structured training and proficiency in all major lifts. High volume and intensity demand equally high recovery discipline.
Eight-Week Summer Conditioning — 1997
A complete eight-week conditioning programme designed in 1997 and used for nearly thirty years. Six named phases, percentage-based intensity loading, and real weights. Not for the faint-hearted.
Push / Pull / Legs — 6 Days
A high-frequency split for experienced lifters who can recover from six structured sessions per week. Each muscle group trained twice weekly using compound lifts, accessory work and progressive overload.
Periodised Strength Cycle — 16 Weeks
A structured periodisation approach to building maximal strength. Accumulation, intensification, and peaking phases.
Sports Performance — Field Sports
Conditioning for football, rugby, and similar field sports. Aerobic base work, speed development, and strength for athletic performance.
Old School Archive
Fourteen handwritten and hand-typed documents from the original Yorkshire archive. Training programmes, nutrition plans and exercise records written before the internet, before social media, before anyone had to film it to believe it worked.
Two-Day Split — 1999
Written in 1996, refined through 1999. Chest and back one session, shoulders and arms the next. Alternated across the week. Still in use today after nearly thirty years.
Summer Conditioning 1997
Eight weeks. Six phases. Designed in 1997, typed in 1999. The original document presented exactly as written — percentage-based intensity, full daily structure.
Nutrition Archive — From the Archive
Seven meals a day. Hand-calculated macros. Written from library research before nutrition apps existed. The original 1990s nutrition plan alongside modern science commentary.
The Forgotten Exercise — Dumbbell Pullover
Arnold called it a forgotten gem. Nobody does it anymore. The cross-bench pullover, the serratus connection, and why it built physiques that modern training cannot replicate.
The Forgotten Exercise — Good Morning
Thirty years. Two ACL reconstructions. Not one serious back injury. The exercise people avoid to protect their back is precisely the exercise that builds it.
30 Day Challenges
These are not programmes. They are challenges — demanding, uncompromising, and not suitable for everyone. Each one has been attempted personally. Each one is documented honestly. If you are ready to push beyond a standard training routine, start here.
30-Day Running & Press Up Challenge
5km run and 100 press-ups. Every single day. No rest days. For thirty days. 150km of running. 3,000 press-ups. Attempted at 45 years old, post-Covid. This summer it happens again — on camera.
Press Up Challenge
30 days. No equipment. No excuses. Starting at 10 press-ups a day and building to 100 — a progressive bodyweight challenge attempted personally and documented honestly.
30-Day Pull-Up Challenge
50 overhand pull-ups. Every day. For 30 days. One session. No rest days. 1,500 total pull-ups. The back development afterwards is real — but so is the pain getting there.
Recovery
Often the most neglected part of training. These resources cover what you do between sessions — the stretching, mobility work and recovery habits that determine how well you progress and how injury-free you stay.
Stretching & Mobility
A complete 15-minute post-workout stretching routine. Six key muscle groups, animated diagrams, and the personal story of two ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstructions that made stretching non-negotiable.
Hip Mobility and Strength
Three levels of hip work — daily mobility for stiffness, strength and control for returners, and athletic preparation for runners. The hips are at the centre of almost every movement. Start here if range is limited.
Sleep & Recovery
Sleep is when the training actually produces results. Growth hormone, muscle repair, cortisol, protein synthesis — all of it happens here. Why most people underestimate it and what to do about it.
