Gym plan

Same week, same templates, gym equipment. About 45 minutes, Monday to Saturday, two hard days.

Equipment

Squat rack with barbell, hex/trap bar, safety-bar (if your gym has one), dumbbells, kettlebells, benches, pull-up and dip station, cables, a few machines, GHD or Nordic bench, reverse hyper (if available), med and slam balls, air bike, curved treadmill, boxes. Turf or a track for Saturday sprints.

Rule for machines and cables: accessory slots only. The fast and heavy slots stay free weight. Swap one thing at a time and keep a pick 3–4 weeks before judging it.

The week

Every session: 3-minute warm-up (90/90 breathing, dead bug, bird dog), then fast, then heavy, then accessory. Slow belly breaths between heavy sets.

Day templates

Default pick in bold. Keep a pick 3–4 weeks; swap only if it stalls or hurts.

Mon: Easy

1. Play, 10 min: pogos, med ball throws against a wall, skips.
2. Upper pump, 10 min, 2–3 rounds at RIR 2: push-up or machine chest press, cable or ring row, cable lateral raise, cable curl or pushdown.
3. Easy aerobic, 30–45 min: bike, incline treadmill walk, rower. Talk test: sentences, but you'd rather not.

Tue: Lower

1. Play, 2 picks, 15–25 contacts, 8 min max: broad jump, pogos, box jump, bounds, single-leg hops, lateral bounds, med ball scoop toss.
2. Squat pattern, 4 x 4–6, RIR 1–2: hex bar, high handles, sit deep; safety-bar squat, front squat or back squat from the rack.
3. Single leg, 3 x 6–10/leg: rear-foot split squat with dumbbells, step-up, walking lunge.
4. Posterior chain, 2–3 sets: Nordic curl on a GHD or Nordic bench (build slowly), GHD back extension, reverse hyper, dumbbell RDL.
5. Carry/core: suitcase carry (dumbbell or kettlebell), hanging leg raise (tuck the pelvis first). No side bends on heavy hinge days.

Wed: Upper (vertical push / horizontal pull)

1. Play, 2 picks, 8 min max: rotational med ball throw (wall or slam), med ball chest pass (wall), overhead slam, explosive push-up, kettlebell clean.
2. Push, 4 x 5–8: standing barbell strict press; seated dumbbell press or landmine press if overhead is cranky.
3. Pull, 4 x 5–8: chest-supported row (dumbbells or machine), single-arm dumbbell row, seated cable row.
4. Arms/shoulders, 2 picks, 2–3 x 10–15: cable or dumbbell lateral raise, cable or dumbbell curl, cable overhead extension, face pull, rope pushdown, rear-delt machine.
5. Core: ab wheel, or hanging leg raise.

Thu: Engine <span class="tag">HARD</span>

1. Light play, 5–10 min: pogos, throws.
2. Air bike 4 x 4 min at RPE 8–9, 3 min easy between. Same watts on all four. When all four feel like RPE 8, add about 5% next week. Rower works too.
3. Short on time or legs fried: 2 x (10 x 30 s on / 30 s off).

Fri: Upper (horizontal push / vertical pull)

1. Play, 2 picks, 8 min max: same list as Wednesday.
2. Push, 4 x 5–8: weighted dip; barbell or dumbbell bench press as the alternative.
3. Pull, 4 x 5–8: weighted pull-up; lat pulldown if you can't get 5 clean reps yet.
4. Arms/shoulders, 2 picks, 2–3 x 10–15: same list as Wednesday.
5. Core: dumbbell side bend 2 x 10/side, start light, landmine rotation, or cable woodchop. Hanging leg raise either day: tuck the pelvis first, lead with the knees, no swinging.

Sat: Sprints + short Lower <span class="tag">HARD</span>

1. Sprints (this is the play block): fly sprints on turf or a track, 4–5 reps, 150 m of fast running max, full rest. Start smooth at 85–90% (about 20 m build + 10 m fly) and build over weeks toward 95%. Add 4–6 deceleration or 5-10-5 shuttle reps on turf.
   • Bad weather or winter: curved treadmill, 4–6 x 6 s all-out, 2–3 min full rest. Or air bike, 10 x 6 s all-out with 54 s easy.
   • Stop when speed drops, form breaks down, or a hamstring feels off.
2. Short lift, ~20 min: alternate weeks between hex bar, low handles, 3 x 3–5 at RIR 2 and heavy rear-foot split squat 3 x 5–6 (or front squat 3 x 3–5). Then suitcase carry 2–3 x 30–40 m/side.
   • Back cranky? Kettlebell swing 3 x 10 or reverse hyper 2 x 12–15 instead of the hex bar.

Weekly targets (hard sets)

Push ~10–12, pull ~10–12 (counting Monday pump), squat/single leg ~10, hinge/posterior ~7–9, side delts ~5–7, arms ~5–7 each, plus carries and core.

Rules

• Effort: working sets at RIR 1–2 (1–2 reps left in the tank).
• Progression: double progression. Hit the top of the rep range on every set, then add load and drop to the bottom of the range.
• Start easy: about 85% of the listed sets for weeks 1–3 (usually one fewer set on the main lifts), then build.
• New hinge or ballistic work: only add more after two weeks with no worse next-morning stiffness or pain.
• If your low back flares: cut swings first, then heavy hinge to 2 sets at RIR 3, and skip Nordics that week.
• Deload: when you see fatigue signs (lingering soreness, slower sprints, poor sleep, aches that stick around), or every 6–8 weeks anyway. Cut sets 40–50%, keep the loads.
• Short on time: cut the arms/shoulders pick first, then core. Never cut the fast block.

Why it looks like this

• About 10+ hard sets per muscle per week drives size (Schoenfeld 2017; Pelland 2024).
• Mixing cardio and lifting costs little size or strength (Schumann 2022).
• 4x4 intervals for VO2max (Helgerud 2007). Short sprints as a bad-weather fallback (Umeå HIT study, 2023).
• Regular near-top-speed sprinting may protect hamstrings (Malone; Edouard).
• Varied, full-intent jumps and throws for athletic carryover (coach opinion).
• For back pain, exercise helps and no single type wins (Hayden 2021, Cochrane).