The Block
The hard part was never the training.
It was knowing what to do.
Twelve weeks of strength training for a woman in midlife who wants to be stronger and has no interest in a gym. Two sessions a week, at home, every decision already made.
Measured at the start and again at the finish, so you find out whether it worked.
Everything you find
was written for somebody else
You have been meaning to start for a while. Motivation was never the problem.
The advice is the problem. Most of it is built for a twenty-eight-year-old man with a gym membership, and the rest is so gentle that some part of you already knows it cannot be doing anything. Both are a waste of a Tuesday evening.
And underneath that sits the question nobody answers, which is how heavy. Almost every woman starting out picks a weight that feels respectful of her age and her inexperience. It is far too light. Six months later she concludes that lifting does nothing for her, and she is wrong, and nobody ever tells her why.
So this is twelve weeks where somebody who works with women your age has already made every decision. What to do, in what order, how heavy, and exactly when to go up. Your only job is to do it.
Twelve weeks, two sessions,
and something going up
Foundation
Bodyweight only. Nothing to order, nothing to wait for. Two sessions a week, thirty to forty minutes each, two alternating days that cover the six things a body actually does. Squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, and hold itself steady while the arms and legs work.
Three weeks is enough to learn the positions before there is any load on them.
Build
Weight enters. Two to three sessions a week, forty-five to fifty minutes. One pair of dumbbells covers most of it, and a loaded backpack covers the rest if you would rather not buy anything.
Every session tells you what load to use, what the last two repetitions should feel like, and exactly when to go heavier. Almost nobody is told any of that, and it is the single thing that decides whether twelve weeks leaves you stronger.
The same five tests
You run the five strength tests again, under the same conditions as the first time, and fill in the second column.
Then you send me both columns and I write you back.
This is a program rather than coaching. It does not adjust as you go, there are no calls, and I am not watching your form.
Precision 90 is the other thing I do, and it is a different order of thing entirely. That one opens with a full blood panel, a written interpretation of what it says about your metabolic and hormonal picture, and ninety days of training and fueling built around your own markers rather than a template. If that is what you are actually after, buy that one, and I would rather tell you now than take your money for the wrong thing.
Most programs finish and leave you to decide for yourself whether it was worth it.
Before week one you run five strength tests at home. About twenty minutes, no gym, nothing to buy. You write the numbers on a sheet and put it somewhere you will find it again. Those five are called The Baseline, they are free, and if you have already run them you are ahead.
Twelve weeks later you run the same five and fill in the second column.
Then you send me both and I write back: what moved, what held, what I think it means, and what I would do next.
No app is going to do that for you. It takes a person who knows what those numbers mean, and that is most of what you are paying for.
- Twelve weeks of training you actually finished.
- Two columns of your own numbers, twelve weeks apart.
- A written read of what they say.
- A way of choosing weight that works for the rest of your life.
- Proof, instead of an impression.
Stripe checkout. I set you up on the next Monday or Thursday, whichever comes first.
Start with The Baseline
The five tests are free on their own and take about twenty minutes. Plenty of women run them and stop there, which is a perfectly good outcome.
They are also the first column, so if you decide on The Block later you will already have one.
Before you decide
I have never lifted anything. Is this too advanced?
No. The first three weeks are bodyweight only and assume you have never done this. Weight comes in at week four, at whatever load is right for you, and the program tells you how to work that out.
What equipment do I need?
Nothing for the first three weeks. After that, one pair of dumbbells you can actually feel, or a backpack you can put books in. Adjustable dumbbells are the single best thing to own if you are buying anything, because you will outgrow a fixed pair.
One band or a suspension strap covers the pulling movements. About thirty dollars.
Do I have to run the five tests first?
Yes, and they are free. When you buy, I will ask you to send me your five numbers before I set you up, because the read at the end compares two columns and there is no point without the first one.
If you ran them months ago, run them again. The comparison only works from a recent starting line.
How much time is this, honestly?
Two sessions a week at thirty to forty minutes for the first three weeks, then two to three at forty-five to fifty. Two sessions you actually do will beat four you plan and abandon.
How do I get set up?
The training is delivered through CoachRx, an app on your phone. I build accounts on Mondays and Thursdays, so you will be running within two business days of sending me your numbers.
What if I miss a week?
Pick it up where you left off and move your week twelve accordingly. The comparison is twelve weeks of training rather than twelve weeks on a calendar.
Is this coaching?
No, and that is intentional. This is a program with a measured start and a measured finish. It does not change based on how it is going, there are no calls, and I am not reviewing your form or answering questions along the way.
Precision 90 is a different order of thing. It opens with a full blood panel, a written interpretation of what your metabolic and hormonal markers are actually doing, ninety days of training and fueling built around them, and the panel run again at the end so you can see what moved. The Block is twelve weeks of training. Precision 90 is finding out why your body is behaving the way it is and then building around the answer.
The twelve weeks are going to happen either way.
You can spend them roughly the way you spent the last twelve, which is what most women do and what almost nobody decides to do on purpose. Then in November you are standing exactly here, working out whether it is too late to start.
Or you spend them on this, and in November you have two columns in your own handwriting and a written answer about what happened in between.
That is the entire decision, and it is a smaller one than it feels like right now.
I coach. Nothing here is medical care and nothing in it is a diagnosis or a treatment recommendation. If something hurts, stop. If you have a condition that affects exercise, clear this with your physician before you start.
I don't guess. I measure.