Back after the summer
Back in
after the summer.The holiday, the barbecues, the six weeks of the kids being off. Most people in the gym in September are people who stopped in June. Here is the way back in. Every session coached by Stevie.
September is not a fresh start, it is a restart
A fresh start is a story people tell in January. September is simpler than that: the holidays are done, the school run is back, and the week has a shape again for the first time since June. That shape is the only thing a training plan really needs.
Nearly everybody coming back has the same two worries, and neither is about the training. The first is walking in unfit. The second is that they did this last year too.
Walking in unfit
Everything is scaled to the person doing it, on the day, by Stevie. That is what a coached session is. Your first week is the easy version of every movement and a set of measurements so there is a starting point to argue with later. The person beside you is not watching, because they have their own weights to think about.
Having done this before
If you have restarted and stopped twice already, the thing that is broken is not your willpower, it is the structure. The block is eight weeks long, it has a start date and a finish date, the classes are capped so your place is a real place, and you are measured at both ends. When something has a finish line, disappearing from it is a decision rather than a drift.
What the first fortnight feels like
Week one is sore and slightly embarrassing and over quickly. Week two is the one where the conditioning stops being a shock. By week three most people have stopped negotiating with themselves about whether they are going, which is the whole game. Nobody is promising you a number here: you get measured in week one and week eight and the tape says what happened.
Where to start
- A free ten-minute consult. Gym or phone. What you want, what stopped it last time, anything sore.
- The 8-Week Package, £205. Every class on the timetable, the Personal Training slots, a nutrition plan, measured at both ends.
- Or one to one, £295. If a class is not where you want to restart, ten private sessions over five weeks does the same job with nobody else in.
Next start
Questions
How unfit will I be after a summer off?
Less than you think and more than you would like. Strength comes back faster than it was built the first time; the conditioning is the bit that feels rough for a fortnight. Nobody is graded on week one.
Should I get fit before I come back?
No. That is the loop that keeps people out for another six months. Come back unfit and be coached; the first session is scaled to the person who turns up.
I have done this before and stopped again.
Then the useful question is what stopped it, not how hard you try this time. Bring that to the free consult and the week gets built round it: shifts, the school run, the nights you are never getting back.
Do I have to wait for the next block to start?
The 8-Week Package runs in blocks and the next one starts Monday the 4th of January. If that date does not work, say so and Stevie will tell you what else does rather than leave you waiting.
What if I have put on more than I want to admit?
You are weighed and measured privately, by Stevie, and the numbers are yours. Nothing goes on a wall and nothing is announced.
Also: the three-step restart, starting from nothing, what October does to a plan, what other people said.