0:00 of 90:00
‹ Sessions

Niovi + Irene

Same list, two different lifters. Every logged exercise has a Niovi row and an Irene row. Fill in both. When you hit send, the message comes out split by name.

Never share a bar setup without a plate change. They both hit 40 kg RDL and 50 kg hip thrust last time, and that is exactly how one of them ends up training the other’s numbers.

Last shared session before both travel. Irene away 29 Jul to 23 Aug, Niovi 31 Jul to 16 Aug. Niovi is back first, so her first week back is a solo week.

Block 0 , screen and ask FIRST, before anyone is tired
  1. Knee-to-wall, both feet, in cm. BOTH.
    Niovi: no baseline exists and this is her progress metric #2.
    Irene: her sheet ticked "tight ankles" but NOT "dorsiflexion restricted". This settles it, and tells you whether her knee cave is an ankle problem or a hip one. Test the ankles before spending weeks on glute med.
    Niovi
    Irene
  2. Active straight leg raise, in degrees, both legs. BOTH.
    The opposite leg stays flat on the floor or the rep does not count.
    Niovi
    Irene
  3. Hurdle step, both legs. BOTH. Write down which leg is STANDING and which pelvis DROPS. Not "wobbly" , the actual side.
    Niovi: her program runs right-leg emphasis but her raw sheet says LEFT hip drop.
    Irene: her asymmetry is recorded left, but the hurdle step side was never written down.
    Niovi
    Irene
  4. ASK. Last chance for a month. Niovi’s age. Injury, surgery and medication history for BOTH , nothing is on file for either of them. Niovi’s thumb: which hand, exactly where, since when, what else sets it off. How many solo sessions Niovi actually does. Which hand Irene plays tennis with.
    Notes

Side-Lying Clam

On your side, knees bent, open the top knee without rolling the hips back.

Why this oneNeither of you can control a knee the glute has not switched on yet. Two minutes here is why the RDL and the lunges later do not turn into knee work.

Set up: on the side, knees bent about 90, heels together, hips stacked.

Movement: open the top knee as far as it goes without the pelvis rolling backwards.

Golden tip: if the hips roll back, the glute has stopped working and the back has taken over.

Half-Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

Half-kneeling, squeeze the glute FIRST, then lean forward.

Why this oneYou both sit in an anterior tilt, which is why the hip thrust stops short and the low back takes the work. This is what buys the range back before you load it.

Set up: half-kneeling, back knee down, front foot flat.

Movement: squeeze the back glute and tuck the pelvis under FIRST. Only then lean forward.

Golden tip: glute squeeze first, every time. Without it they just arch the lower back and feel nothing.

Push-Up Plus into Forearm Plank

Push-up, then an extra push at the top, then straight into a forearm plank hold.

Why this oneSerratus weak and anterior core weak are on both your FMS sheets. This is the one exercise that hits both, which is why it opens the session.

Set up: high plank or push-up position, hands under shoulders.

Movement: push-up, then at the top push the floor away to round the upper back. Then drop to forearms and hold.

Golden tip: the extra push at the top is the whole point. Do not let it disappear as they tire.

NioviHips level. She lets one side drop.
IreneChin tucked. She pokes it forward.
Niovibodyweight
Irenebodyweight
2 + break, togetherHalf-Kneeling Pallof Press in the RDL rest. Swapped OFF the Bosu balance on purpose.

Barbell RDL

Hinge the hips back, bar close to the legs, squeeze the glutes to stand.

Why this oneYour heaviest lift and the one that carries furthest outside the gym. It goes early because it needs you both fresh, and you each run your own number.

Set up: bar in front of the thighs, feet hip width, soft knees.

Movement: hips back, bar tracking close to the legs, then glutes to stand.

Golden tip: NEVER share a bar setup without a plate change. Both hit 40 kg last time but they are not the same lifter.

Watch out for this

The standard failure mode of a two-person session is one of them anchoring to the other’s number instead of her own. Watch for it here, it shows up on the RDL first.

Load the bar for whoever goes second while the first is still lifting, so the plate change is not dead time.

Niovilast: 40 kg
Irenelast: 40 kg
In the RDL break

Half-Kneeling Pallof Press

Half-kneeling, side-on to the cable, press the handle out and resist the twist.

Why this oneIt costs no session time, it lives inside the RDL rest. Core that has to hold still while everything else moves is the kind neither of you trains alone.

Set up: half-kneeling, side-on to a cable at chest height, handle in both hands at the chest.

Movement: press straight out, hold a second, return. Nothing else moves.

Golden tip: light. This is a filler, not a lift. If it turns into a grind it is stealing from the RDL.

Niovilight
Irenelight
3 + break, togetherChin Tuck holds in the Hip Thrust rest. New for both.

Hip Thrust

Upper back on a bench, drive the hips up to a straight line, stop at neutral.

Why this oneThe most direct glute loading either of you does. Everything else today asks the glute to help. This asks it to do the work on its own.

Set up: upper back on a bench, bar over the hips, feet planted.

Movement: drive the hips up until the body is a straight line, then lower with control.

Golden tip: STOP AT NEUTRAL. Both of them will overarch at the top if nobody says anything.

Watch out for this

Both overarch at the top and call it a full rep. Ribs down, stop where the body is straight, not where the back bends.

Cue it as "finish, do not push past". A hand held flat above the hips gives them a target to stop against.

Niovilast: 50 kg
Irenelast: 50 kg
New for both

Chin Tuck Holds

Gently draw the chin back and hold, five seconds, five times.

Why this oneDeep neck flexors weak is on both your sheets and neither of you has ever been given anything for it. Five sets of five seconds, inside a rest you were spending anyway.

Set up: sitting or standing tall, shoulders down.

Movement: draw the chin straight back, as if making a double chin, without tipping the head down. Hold five seconds.

Golden tip: straight back, not down. If the head tips they are doing a different exercise.

Finally happening

Lat Pulldown

Seated, pull the bar to the upper chest, shoulder blades set before the bar moves.

Why this oneThe only pulling-from-above in the session, and you have both skipped it once already. Nothing else here builds the back that holds your shoulders where they belong.

Set up: thighs under the pads, hands a little wider than the shoulders.

Movement: set the shoulder blades down and back, THEN pull to the upper chest, then rise slowly.

Golden tip: shoulder blades down and back BEFORE the bar moves. Otherwise it is an arm exercise.

Niovinever done
Irenenever done

If time runs out, this is the LAST thing to cut. It has already been skipped once.

Irene does the FULL combo now

Lateral Squat + Single-Arm Shoulder Press + Bicep Curl

One dumbbell, one side at a time: two lateral squats, press, curl, press, two lateral squats.

Why this oneThree directions in one slot: sideways, overhead, and biceps. Irene runs the full version from today, which is the step up from last time.

Set up: one dumbbell, feet wide, weight held at the shoulder.

Movement: 2 lateral squats, single-arm press, bicep curl, press again, 2 more lateral squats. Then switch.

Golden tip: same dumbbell the whole way through, never set it down. That is what makes it hard.

NioviFull combo, 9 kg and up.
IreneFULL COMBO now. Her overhead ban was lifted 25 Jul and she pressed 7 kg overhead on 21 Jul with no problem.
Niovilast: 9 kg
Irenelast: 7 kg

Curtsy Lunge

Step one leg back and across behind you, then push back to standing.

Why this oneCrossing behind loads the side of the hip in a direction nothing else today touches. That is the muscle that stops the knee falling in everywhere else.

Set up: standing tall, dumbbells at the sides if loaded.

Movement: step one leg back and across behind the other, lower, then push back to standing.

Golden tip: front knee tracks over the middle toes. It is the exercise most likely to let the knee collapse in.

NioviRun it EVEN both sides this week, NOT right-emphasis. Her side question is unresolved and guessing wrong widens the asymmetry.
IreneCoach her LEFT harder. That is her recorded unstable side. New exercise for her, so form before load.
Niovino number on file
Irenenew for her

Cardio, on their own

Both of them, after the session, unsupervised. 125 to 135 BPM.

Why this oneNot supervised, which is exactly why it gets said out loud before they leave. The finisher is in every session by rule.

Set up: whatever they prefer, bike or treadmill.

Movement: steady, 125 to 135 BPM.

Golden tip: say the heart-rate target out loud. Niovi already has this target on her solo Session B, so keep them consistent.

Before they leave
  1. Niovi: nothing. Do not send her off with a routine she will feel guilty skipping. 2.5 weeks with a wedding in it is not a training block. If she asks, banded ankle work at home only.
  2. Irene: only if she wants it, hip flexor stretch and chin tucks. If she hesitates, send her off clean.
  3. Both: expect mild detraining. Do not chase 40 kg RDL or 50 kg hip thrust on the first session back. Rebuild the pattern, then the load.
Pattern check: horizontal push, hinge, hip extension, vertical pull, squat and frontal plane, vertical push, unilateral, core. Missing horizontal pull, deliberately , Irene rowed on 24 Jul and both did Cable Row with Rotation on 21 Jul. It comes back next block.

Before they leave

Ask them

  • Chin Tucks and the Pallof Press were new. Keep them or bin them?
  • What will you each actually have while you are away, gym, bands, nothing?
  • Did either of you catch yourself going for the other one's number?
  • Anything in the neck or the low back today?
  • What do you want more of when you are back?