Home plan (garage)

Move fast, lift heavy, breathe hard. About 45 minutes, Monday to Saturday, two hard days.

Equipment

Barbell and plates, hex bar, kettlebells (a light, a medium and a couple of heavy ones), flat bench, pull-up/dip bar, rings, bands, ab wheel, med balls and slam balls, air bike, a low box. Turf or a track for Saturday sprints. No rack needed.

Missing something?

• No hex bar: barbell deadlift from blocks, or a heavy kettlebell deadlift/goblet squat.
• No rings: suspension straps, or bar rows under a sturdy table or low bar.
• No air bike: any bike, a rower, or hill runs for the intervals.
• No med or slam balls: kettlebell swings and broad jumps for the play block.
• No dip bars: two sturdy chairs for bodyweight dips, or loaded push-ups.
• No bench: row with a hand on a box or chair; press standing.

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, throws, skips, anything quick and fun.
2. Upper pump, 10 min, 2–3 rounds at RIR 2: ring push-up, ring row (feet elevated), banded lateral raise, band curl or pushdown.
3. Easy aerobic, 30–45 min: bike, brisk incline walk, or ruck. Talk test: you could speak in sentences but would rather not.

Tue: Lower

1. Play, 2 picks, 15–25 contacts, 8 min max: broad jump, pogos, bounds, single-leg hops, lateral bounds, low drop jump, slam ball throw.
2. Squat pattern, 4 x 4–6, RIR 1–2: hex bar, high handles, sit deep; barbell front squat (clean it up) when ready.
3. Single leg, 3 x 6–10/leg: rear-foot split squat with kettlebells, step-up, lateral lunge.
4. Posterior chain, 2–3 sets: Nordic curl (heels under a loaded bar on a pad; build slowly), single-leg hip thrust, kettlebell RDL.
5. Carry/core: suitcase carry, 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 slam, med ball chest pass, overhead slam, explosive ring push-up, kettlebell clean.
2. Push, 4 x 5–8: kettlebell press (double or single); barbell strict press cleaned from the floor if the rack hold bothers your forearms.
3. Pull, 4 x 5–8: single-arm kettlebell row, braced on the bench.
4. Arms/shoulders, 2 picks, 2–3 x 10–15: banded lateral raise, ring curl, kettlebell overhead extension, band face pull, band pushdown.
5. Core: ab wheel, or hanging leg raise.

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

1. Light play, 5–10 min: pogos, throws.
2. 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.
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 bar dip (build depth and load gradually); loaded ring push-up as the alternative.
3. Pull, 4 x 5–8: weighted pull-up.
4. Arms/shoulders, 2 picks, 2–3 x 10–15: same list as Wednesday.
5. Core: kettlebell side bend 2 x 10/side, start light, or landmine rotation. 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.
   • Winter fallback: hill sprints if dry; otherwise bike sprints, 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. Then suitcase carry 2–3 x 30–40 m/side.
   • Back cranky? Kettlebell swing 3 x 10 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.
• No rack, light gear? Progress with tempo, pauses, deficits and single-leg work before load.
• 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 bike sprints as a winter 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).