Strength & impact you build gradually, with kinder, well-controlled movement.
The shape
The weekly shape
Two sessions is the whole ask. Pick the days that suit your energy. Leave a day between A and B where you can.
The minimum session
Warm-up + the two big lifts (squat & hinge), one set each. ~8 min. On a low day that’s a win, not a failure. It keeps the thread.
One honest note: returning energy wants to become planning. This is already planned. The next action is session one, not optimising the plan.
On-ramp
Movement prep, 5 min, every time
Your transition ritual as much as a warm-up. In order:
Breathing. 10 slow breaths. Let the belly and lower ribs expand on the inhale, soft and unhurried. Settles the system before you load it.
Ankle rocks. Knee over toe, 10 each side.
Hip circles / standing hip CARs. 5 slow each way.
Spine rotations. Seated or standing, 8 each side.
Bodyweight squats to a chair. 8 reps. Your daily “is everything moving well today?” check.
Starting tip, the first set is a warm-up for your brain
Picking up a weight, the nervous system can take a set or two to “remember” what that load feels like, so the first reps can feel heavier, clumsier or oddly effortful, which makes starting feel like a bigger hurdle than it is. Don’t judge the weight, or the session, on round one. Treat the first set as a recalibration: light focus, just groove the movement. It settles fast, and the good feeling shows up by set two.
Bone & power
The impact ladder (skip / jump)
Work top to bottom. Spend 1–3 sessions at a level before moving up. Do it early in the session, when fresh.
Green light to progress
No joint pain, no discomfort, and landings stay quiet and controlled. Any pain, a niggle at an old-injury site, or landings that feel heavy or out of control. Drop back a level. That’s information, not failure.
Readiness self-check (before Level 1)
All of these comfortably, with no joint pain?
10 single-leg calf raises each side
10 sit-to-stands from a chair (one leg if you can)
30 sec single-leg balance each side
Jog on the spot 60 sec
Clear → ready for Level 1. Not yet → stay at Level 0 and build the base first.
Worth doing
Impact is high-load by nature, so build height gradually and let comfort, not ambition, set the pace. If you’re returning from an injury or have any specific health considerations, a quick check with a physio before adding impact is the highest-value step. Readiness here is individual.
Session A
Strength A
Full body. Tap Watch demo on any move to see the form on YouTube.
Session B
Strength B
Full body, different moves.
Getting stronger
The progressive-overload arc
Same handful of moves getting steadily harder over ~8 weeks, then a light reset, then restart with fresh variations.
The six levers, reach for the next one before assuming you need heavier weights
heavier weight · more reps · more sets · slower lowering (3–4 sec down) · fuller range with control · shorter rest
The one weight rule
Start at the bottom of the rep range. When you can hit the top on every set with ~2 reps still in the tank, go up a notch next time and drop back to the bottom. That’s the whole engine.
Track it
Log it
Tap a session, nudge the numbers (last time is shown), Save. It stays on this device. Seeing last week is the cue to beat it.