How to use your program
This guide turns the workout tables into simple decisions: how hard to train, when to progress, what supports a leaner waist, and when to recover.
📅 Your week, at a glance
Two workouts, and each one trains your whole body — that is the point. A week with only Workout A still trains your legs; a week with only Workout B still trains your shoulders and back. Leave 2-3 days between them. Workout C is spare-time work and carries nothing important.
🔥 Before every workout
5-10 minutes of treadmill walking, cycling or elliptical.
Use a comfortable range of motion for the areas you will train.
Do 1-2 easy preparation sets before your first major lift.
Approach your working weight instead of jumping straight to it.
⚙ The training engine
Use “reps in reserve” (RIR): the number of clean repetitions you still could have done at the end of a set.
Leave 1-3 clean reps in reserve. Form stays sharp, recovery stays manageable, and you can progress week after week.
| When | Target | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | 3 reps in reserve | Practice technique and finish each set feeling you could do about 3 more clean reps. |
| Weeks 3-6 | 2 reps in reserve | Work a little harder, while keeping every rep controlled. |
| Weeks 7-8 | 1-2 reps in reserve | Challenging work, but do not regularly take heavy compound lifts to failure. |
| Week 9 | Recovery week | Reduce weight or total sets by about 30-40%. |
| Weeks 10-12 | Resume progress | Return to normal training and keep adding reps or load. |
📈 Double progression
Start at the lower end of the rep range. Add reps first, then add weight.
Choose a weight you can lift with good technique at the bottom of the rep range.
Keep the same weight and build repetitions gradually.
When every set reaches the top of the range, use the next smallest weight.
Return to the lower end of the range and build up again.
Example: Incline Dumbbell Press
💡 Main-page notes
Both train your quadriceps and glutes. While your left knee is settling this is the leg press only — it lets you control depth precisely, which the hack squat does not.
← Back to Workout BPush the hips backward and keep a neutral spine. Stop when your hips can no longer travel back without your lower back rounding. The shins stay vertical — if your knees drift forward, it has stopped being a hinge.
← Back to Workout AChoose a pace and incline that elevate breathing while you can still speak in short sentences.
← Back to Workout CProgress by using less machine assistance while keeping a controlled movement. Less assistance means you are stronger.
← Back to Workout B🦵 Working around your left knee
Sharp, burning pain just below the kneecap under load — on a knee you injured years ago, that still complains going downstairs. You stopped the set straight away, which was exactly right. Four moves carry a 🦵 on the main page; here is what changed and why.
A hinge is a hip movement: shins vertical, knees fixed and softly bent, load on the hamstrings. That is the safest way to keep deadlifting. Restart light and build back slowly.
Feet slightly higher on the platform, and stop well above the depth where you feel it. Three seconds down, higher reps, less weight. The hack squat is out for now because it dictates the depth for you.
Below knee height, bodyweight at first. Lowering yourself is the part that mirrors stairs, so do it slowly and deliberately — controlled load is what tendons want, not rest alone.
The deepest knee bend in the plan, in the exact position your knee is objecting to. It waits until the knee has been quiet for a few weeks, then comes back at half depth.
Muscle burn, or a mild ache that fades within a day. Your daily hill walks belong here — they are clearly fine, so keep them.
A dull ache that lingers into the next day, or the knee feeling worse on stairs after a session. Cut the depth and the load, do not cut the movement entirely.
Sharp or burning pain during a lift, swelling, the knee giving way or locking, or six weeks of this without steady improvement.
Worth saying plainly: this is training advice, not a diagnosis. A sharp, burning pain below the kneecap on an old injury that already changes how stairs feel is worth one visit to a physiotherapist or your doctor — they can tell you in twenty minutes what guesswork cannot, and the answer usually makes training easier rather than more restricted.
🎯 The leaner-waist strategy
From where you are starting, the V-shape you want is roughly 70% waist and 30% added shoulder and back. The training builds the frame; what you eat and how much you walk decides whether it shows. Core work builds strength — it cannot selectively remove fat from one body area.
Two sessions a week. That is the whole job.
Numbers, not vibes — they are below.
protein per kg of bodyweight, daily — about 0.7-0.9 g per pound
steps a day, every day — the lever that works on the days you do not train
a week is the fastest sensible rate of loss — roughly half a pound to a pound
Hitting the protein number
Put a palm-sized portion of meat, fish, eggs, dairy or legumes on the plate first, then build the rest of the meal around it. Three meals like that gets you most of the way.
Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, a tin of tuna or a scoop of whey covers whatever is left at the end of the day. No tracking app required if the meals are consistent.
A modest 300-500 calorie deficit is enough. The two things that quietly undo it are liquid calories and alcohol — not the occasional dessert.
Be patient with the timeline: twelve weeks gets you visibly closer, and the full picture is closer to nine to eighteen months at your current training frequency. That is progress, not failure. This is general guidance rather than medical or dietary advice — if you have not had a physical or a blood-pressure check recently, it is worth doing one before pushing loads or cutting calories.
💤 Recovery is part of the plan
Energy is reasonable, soreness is normal, and your technique remains controlled.
Performance declines for several workouts, or soreness changes your normal movement.
Sharp, radiating or joint pain is not normal training effort. Stop the exercise.
📸 Your 4-week check-in
Progress is easier to see when you compare a month, not a moment.
Exercise, weight, reps, sets, energy and any pain or discomfort.
Body weight. Use the weekly average, not a single number.
Waist measurement and front, side and back progress photos.
Strength, photos, clothing fit, energy and recovery tell the full story.
Technique, coordination and workout tolerance
Strength progression, posture and early waist changes
More visible development, conditioning and clothing-fit changes