Foundations:
Mobility: The usable range of motion you can control and apply under load. Mobility is what gives your joints freedom and your body options—without pain.
Strength: Your ability to manage and move load with control across a variety of movements, ranges, and positions. Strength gives you capacity—and capacity gives you options.
Power: Your ability to move fast, react efficiently, and express speed when it matters most. Power is protective. It keeps you sharp, responsive, and ready for real life.
Athleticism: Movement fluency across multiple planes, positions, and patterns. Rotation, coordination, balance, and reactivity—all combined to help you move with confidence in any direction.
Hypertrophy: Muscle is more than aesthetics. It’s structural, metabolic, and functional tissue that supports everything you do. Looking good is just the bonus.
Conditioning: The ability of your heart and lungs to fuel the work you do—and recover from it. A strong aerobic base is the platform your other qualities are built on.
Movement Patterns
Movement Patterns start with foundational exercises within that pattern, usually wide and stable, focus on motor control and proper technique with minimal load. Then we begin to add progressive variations that increase in complexity, load, and motor control demands. Load may change to offset or contralateral, grip may change, speed of movement, as well as stance or adding a deficit or incline. Adding a second movement pattern will also add complexity. Below are movement patterns with examples of progressions.
Squat: Body weight, goblet squat to box, goblet squat, barbell squat, off set squat. Sumo Squat or narrow stance.
Hinge: Basic body weight hinge, cable pull thru, dumbbell RDL, Trap Bar deadlift, barbell deadlift. Also Bridge Variations.
Lunge: Unilateral Training (single leg) or asymmetrical stance. Bodyweight split squat, deficit split squat, Bulgarian split squat, reverse lunge, forward lunge, single leg balance or supported RDL, skater squat, pistol squat. B-Stance, curtsey and lateral lunges.
Push: Horizontal push and Vertical Push. Push up (assisted, or incline), deficit push up, dumbbell bench press, barbell bench press, incline press variations, landmine press, dumbbell overhead press, pike push up, barbell overhead press. Single arm variations.
Pull: Horizontal and vertical. TRX or inverted row, seated or standing row, bent over row, high angle row, lat pull down, pull up.
Carry: progress from 25% of bodyweight in each hand. Farmers carry, front rack carry at shoulders or Goblet, overhead carry. Bilateral or unilateral.
The Warm Up:
Mobility, movement preparation, refine movement quality, increase blood flow.
Range of Motion, Mind/Body Connection, Identify Imbalances and Compensations, Activation, Prime Nervous System
SAMPLE TRAINING TEMPLATE:
Clare’s Workout Template
Beginner:
2 days Strength
1 day Cardio/HIIT
2 days LSD (Steady state/ Long Slow Distance/ Recovery)
Intermediate:
3-4 Strength
2 Cardio/HIIT
1-2 LSD
Movement Patterns
A. Upper Body
Horizontal Push/Pull (Chest and Back)
Vertical Push/Pull (Shoulders and Lats)
Accessory: Biceps, Triceps, Anterior Delts
B. Lower Body
Bilateral:
Hinge (Glutes, Hamstrings/ Hip dominant)
Squat (Quads/ knee dominant)
Accessory: Calves, Adductors, Abductors
Unilateral:
Lunge Patterns
Step Ups
Kickstand
BSS
Single Leg Balance
Cable Kickbacks/ Donkeys
C. Core
Prone
Supine
Rotation
Anti-Rotation
Carries
Oblique
Progression Variables (How to mix it up!)
Loading:
Goblet, Overhead, Back/ Front Rack
Offset, Balance and Stability Challenges
Grip or Stance:
Close grip/ wide grip
Underhand/ overhand
Elbow in/ elbow flared
Wide stance/ close stance/ staggered stance
Assisted
Incline/ Decline
Equipment:
Bodyweight
Machines
Cables
Bands
DB/ KB/ BB
Timing:
Tempo
TUT Time Under Tension (pause, pulse)
Eccentric focus
Explosive Power
Plyometrics
Jumps
Bounds
Hops
Athletic movements: Create force and power
Rep Schemes:
Accumulator
Pyramid
AMRAP
EMOM
Descending/Ascending
Supersets
Contrast Training
Simple Progressive Overload Example: 2 warm up sets to get to working weight.
Week 1: 3 sets x8 reps at #
Week 2: 3 sets x10 reps at #
Week 3: 3 sets x8 reps at #+
Week 4: 3 sets x10 reps at #+
To gain strength, find 4-6 rep max and use percentages to choose weights and reps based on goals.
Another way to think about it: Aim for 25-30 reps total per movement at working weight. Muscular endurance would mean higher reps and fewer rounds. Strength and/or power, fewer reps with more rounds.
Sample Plan:
Strength Day 1: Upper Horizontal, Lower Hinge, Lower Unilateral, Core Prone/Supine
Strength Day 2: Upper Vertical, Lower Squat, Lower Unilateral, Core Rotation/Anti Rotation
Cardio/HIIT Day
Long Slow Distance Day (Great time to go for a walk!)
Mobility/Flexibility/Recovery Days
OR
Upper/ Lower/ Full body splits
Sample Focus:
Balance
Mobility
Core Strength
Stamina
Power
Speed
Quickness/Agility