How to read a 7-day plan and stick to it

Every routine pack comes with a 7-day plan as a PDF, sent by e-mail once your order is paid. It is a week of training for one goal, using the items in your box. Here is how to read it and how to get through the week.

How the week is laid out

The first page shows the whole week as a strip from Monday to Sunday. Each day is marked as a training day or a rest day, with its title, such as "Pull" or "Rest", and roughly how many minutes it takes. Below it, a table lists every session, and an "In your box" list shows the items the plan uses.

After that, each training day has a page of its own. The last page is a log for writing down what you did.

Start on any Monday you like. If you get your pack on a Wednesday, read the plan, set out your kit and begin the following Monday.

Reading a session

Each session page lists its exercises in order. Every exercise has four parts:

• The name of the exercise, such as "Deadlift" or "Hip stretch with strap".
• The prescription: how many sets and reps, how long to hold, or how long to keep going.
• The item from your box to use, where one is needed.
• A short note, for example "sets 3–4" when an item is only for some of the sets.

There is also a note for the whole session. It tells you what to focus on and when to stop.

What the numbers mean

• 4 × 5 means 4 sets of 5 reps. Do 5 reps, rest, and repeat until you have done 4 sets.
• 3 × 8–10 means 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps. Stop each set somewhere in that range, when the reps start to slow.
• 3 × 30 s means 3 holds of 30 seconds, such as a plank or a stretch.
• 2 × 15 per side means 2 sets of 15 on the left and 2 sets of 15 on the right.
• 10 min is a block of time at an easy, steady pace, such as rolling or walking.

Rest between sets is in the session note. If it is not given, take about 60 to 90 s for strength work and 30 s for mobility work.

How hard should it feel

Finish most sets with two or three good reps still in you. You should be able to keep the same form on the last rep as on the first. If your form changes, the set is over, even if the plan says one more rep.

Stretches should feel like a gentle pull. If anything feels sharp, stop that exercise and move on.

The plan is general. It is not written for your body or your history, and it is not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, talk to a doctor or physio before you start.

Rest days count

Rest days are part of the plan. Some have an easy walk or a few minutes of rolling. If you feel like training on a rest day, keep it to that and save the energy for the next session.

Set the week up before it starts

A plan is easier to follow when the decisions are already made.

1. Pick the times. Look at your week and put each session in your calendar, with the minutes from the plan.
2. Set out the kit. Leave the mat rolled by the door, the bands in their bag, the straps in your gym bag.
3. Read the next session the night before. Two minutes of reading saves ten minutes of looking at your phone between sets.
4. Keep the log close. Print the last page or keep notes on your phone.

When you miss a day

You will miss one now and then. Skip it and go on with the next session on the plan. Do not stack two sessions into one day to catch up. If you miss most of a week, start again on Monday.

If a session is too hard, do fewer sets and note it in the log. If it is too easy, finish it as written and note that too.

Using the log

For each session, write the date, the band colour or setting you used, and the sets and reps you actually did. Add one line on how it felt. After a week you have a record of where you started, which makes the next week easier to plan.

After the seventh day

You can repeat the same week. Small changes keep it moving: one more rep per set, one more set, the next band in the set, or a few seconds longer on each hold. Change one thing at a time and keep the rest the same.

If you lose your PDF, you can download it again from your order page. Browse the routine packs to see the week for each goal, read Lifting straps or chalk if you train with a barbell, or ask us if something in your plan is unclear.