# 3-Month Training Plan — v2

**Setup:** 5 days/week · ~45 min per session · calisthenics-led · knee-conscious · mobility block included.

**What changed from v1:** pull-ups, dips and push-ups now lead the sessions they belong to (machine versions demoted to backoff volume). Core rebuilt around three functions instead of one. Dedicated mobility work added. Squat pattern reintroduced from the top down.

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## Read this first — the knee

You've described pain in the bottom of a squat, pain coming up, and audible noise. **Get this assessed by a physio before chasing squat depth.** Painless clicking is normal and harmless. Pain plus noise plus a joint that struggles under bodyweight is worth someone actually looking at it — the fix is different depending on whether it's ankle restriction, patellar tracking, or something structural, and drilling the wrong one makes it worse.

Everything below is built to be conservative in the meantime.

**Ground rules:**
- Pain sets the range, not the machine. Top-half leg press is a legitimate rep.
- Dull muscle burn fine. Sharp, pinching, or clicking-with-pain is a stop.
- Sore or swollen the next day → drop that movement's load 20–30%.
- Off the table for now: running, box jumps, deep loaded squats, jumping lunges.

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## Weekly structure

| Day | Session |
|-----|---------|
| Mon | Push — dips, chest, shoulders, triceps |
| Tue | Lower A — hinge & hamstring |
| Wed | Pull — pull-ups, back, biceps |
| Thu | Rest + mobility block |
| Fri | Lower B — quads, glutes, squat prep |
| Sat | Upper B — push-ups, arms, core |
| Sun | Rest + mobility block |

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## Warm-up (every session, 6–8 min)

5 min easy bike or cross trainer, then **dynamic only**:

- Leg swings, front-to-back and side-to-side — 10 each
- Bodyweight hip hinges — 10
- Cat-cow — 8
- Arm circles and band pull-aparts — 15
- 1–2 light ramp-up sets on the first exercise

**No static stretching before lifting.** It reduces force output slightly and does nothing for long-term flexibility. Save it for after.

---

## Rest times — how to use them

| Type of exercise | Rest |
|---|---|
| Weighted calisthenics, heavy compounds | 2–3 min |
| Secondary compounds (rows, presses, leg press) | 90 s – 2 min |
| Isolation (curls, raises, flies, extensions) | 60 s |
| Calves, core | 45 s |

**Rest longer than feels necessary on the heavy work.** Cutting rest to 60 seconds on weighted pull-ups doesn't make the session more productive — it just means fewer reps at a lighter load, which is less stimulus, not more. The research on this is fairly settled: for hypertrophy, 2–3 minutes on compounds beats short rests.

**If you're short on time, cut exercises, not rest.** Dropping the last isolation movement costs you very little. Rushing the first three costs you the session.

**Superset the small stuff** (curls with triceps, calves with core) if the clock is tight — the two muscles don't compete, so nothing is lost.

Sessions land at roughly 35–40 minutes with these rests, warm-up included. Cardio on Days 2, 4 and 5 sits on top of that.

---

| Exercise | Pattern | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Weighted dips** | Press + long head | 4 × 6–10 | 2–3 min |
| Smith machine incline press | Incline press | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell overhead press | Front delts | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Pec deck or cable fly | Chest isolation | 2 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Cable lateral raise | Side delts | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Cable overhead triceps extension | Long head | 2 × 10–12 | 60 s |

Pushdowns dropped — dips cover the lateral head well enough that the time is better spent elsewhere.

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## Day 2 — Lower A (hinge & hamstring)

| Exercise | Pattern | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Romanian deadlift | Hamstring compound | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Lying or seated leg curl | Hamstring isolation | 3 × 10–15 | 90 s |
| Dumbbell hip thrust | Glutes | 3 × 10–15 | 90 s |
| Leg press — top half only | Quad compound | 3 × 10–15 | 90 s |
| Standing calf raise | Calves + ankle | 3 × 12–20 | 45 s |
| **Ab wheel rollout** or long-lever plank | Anti-extension | 3 × 8–12 / 3 × 20–30s | 60 s |

Then: **20 min steady cardio** (bike, seat high, or cross trainer), then the mobility block.

---

## Day 3 — Pull

| Exercise | Pattern | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Weighted pull-ups** | Vertical pull | 3 × 4–6 | 3 min |
| Bodyweight pull-ups, backoff | Vertical pull volume | 2 × AMRAP−1 | 2 min |
| Seated low row | Horizontal row | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Reverse pec deck | Rear delts | 3 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| EZ bar curl | Main curl | 3 × 8–12 | 90 s |
| Hammer curl | Brachialis / brachioradialis | 2 × 10–12 | 60 s |

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## Day 4 — Lower B (quads, glutes, squat prep)

| Exercise | Pattern | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| **TRX-assisted squat** or heel-elevated goblet squat to a high box | Squat tolerance | 3 × 8–12 | 2 min |
| Leg press | Quad compound | 3 × 10–15 | 2 min |
| Leg extension — light, slow, pause at top | Quad isolation | 3 × 12–20 | 90 s |
| Seated leg curl | Hamstring isolation | 3 × 12–15 | 90 s |
| Cable glute kickback or hip abduction | Glutes | 2 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Seated calf raise | Calves | 3 × 15–20 | 45 s |

Then: **20 min steady cardio**, then the mobility block.

**Squat progression — top down, not depth-first.** Start with the TRX taking most of your weight, squatting only as deep as stays pain-free. Over weeks: less arm assistance → box gets lower → heels come down. If any stage hurts, go back a stage. This is about building tolerance, not proving range.

---

## Day 5 — Upper B + core

| Exercise | Pattern | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Weighted push-ups** (plate on back) or feet elevated | Horizontal press | 3 × 10–15 | 2 min |
| Cable row | Horizontal row | 3 × 10–12 | 90 s |
| Bodyweight pull-ups | Vertical pull, second dose | 2 × AMRAP−2 | 2 min |
| Dumbbell lateral raise | Side delts | 2 × 12–15 | 60 s |
| Superset: preacher curl + skull crusher | Bicep peak + long head | 2 × 10–12 | 90 s after both |
| Cable crunch | Loaded flexion | 3 × 10–15 | 60 s |
| **Suitcase carry** (one heavy dumbbell) | Anti-lateral flexion | 3 × 30–40m each side | 60 s |

Then: **20–25 min steady cardio.**

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## Calisthenics progressions

Treat these like any other lift — logged, progressed, done first while fresh.

**Starting point:** 7–8 bodyweight pull-ups at 70kg, 30–40 push-ups, dips already accessible. Previous best 10 pull-ups at 60kg — so returning to 10 at your current bodyweight is a genuine strength gain, not just a comeback.

### Pull-ups — weighted
- **Working sets:** +5kg (belt or dumbbell between the feet), 3 × 4–6.
- **Backoff:** 2 bodyweight sets, one rep short of failure.
- **Progression:** when you hit 6 reps on all three working sets, add 2.5kg and drop back to 4.
- **Milestone to chase:** +20kg for 5 reps, and 12 clean bodyweight reps.

### Dips — weighted
- If you can manage 12+ bodyweight reps, weight them: 4 × 6–10.
- If you're under 12, run bodyweight to 12 first, then add load.
- Torso slightly forward, stop at the depth your shoulder is comfortable with.
- **Milestone:** +20kg for 8 reps.

### Push-ups — loaded
At 30–40 reps, bodyweight push-ups are an endurance set, not a growth stimulus. Load them:

- **Plate on the upper back** (10–20kg, get someone to place it) for 3 × 10–15, **or**
- **Feet elevated on a bench** plus a plate, **or**
- **Deficit push-ups** on dumbbell handles for a deeper stretch.

Keep a bodyweight AMRAP as an occasional finisher if you enjoy it, but don't count it as working volume.

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## Core — three functions, not one

You were right that crunches alone don't transfer. Loaded flexion still builds the visible abs, so it stays — but it's now one third of the job.

| Function | Exercise | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-extension | Ab wheel rollout / long-lever plank | Day 2 |
| Anti-lateral flexion | Suitcase carry | Day 5 |
| Anti-rotation | Pallof press | Mobility block |
| Loaded flexion | Cable crunch | Day 5 |

Carries are the most underrated of these. One heavy dumbbell, walk without leaning, brace hard. It transfers to everything.

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## Mobility block (10–12 min)

**After training, or on Thursday and Sunday.** Muscles are warm, so the holds actually do something. Hold each for **45–90 seconds** — 20-second stretches don't change tissue length.

| Stretch | Sets | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Knee-to-wall ankle mobilisation | 3 × 30s each | **Ankle dorsiflexion — the priority** |
| Calf stretch on a step, knee straight then bent | 2 × 45s each | Gastroc + soleus |
| Couch stretch | 2 × 45s each | Quads, hip flexors |
| 90/90 hip rotations | 2 × 45s each | Hip internal/external rotation |
| Adductor rock-back | 2 × 45s | Groin, squat width |
| Supported deep squat hold (TRX or rack) | 3 × 30–60s | The position itself |
| Pallof press | 2 × 10 each side | Anti-rotation core |

**Ankle dorsiflexion is where I'd put your money.** Restricted ankles are the single most common reason a squat feels terrible and loads the knee badly. Test it: kneel, front foot flat, drive the knee over the toes without the heel lifting. Under 10cm from wall to toe on either side is worth working on daily.

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## The 12 weeks

**Weeks 1–2 — Reload (upper body).** You're not learning these movements, you're reloading tissue after time off. Two weeks at ~3 reps short of failure, then push. Lower body stays at 4 weeks of conservative work — that's the knee, not your training age.

**Weeks 3–8 — Add work.** Full sets. Stop ~2 reps short on upper body. Push load, especially on the weighted calisthenics. Cardio 3×/week from week 5.

**Weeks 9–12 — Push.** 1–2 reps short on compounds. Last set of isolation work taken to where the next rep would break form.

**Week 12 — Deload.** Halve the sets, keep the weights, walking only.

**Exception:** leg press, leg extension and the squat progression stay at 2–3 reps in reserve throughout. Don't chase intensity on the knee.

**Double progression:** hit the top of the rep range on every set → add the smallest increment → drop to the bottom of the range and build back up. Applies to cable crunches and weighted calisthenics too.

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## Tracking

Log every set: exercise, weight, reps. For calisthenics log the progression stage as well as the reps — "band-assisted pull-up, green band, 3 × 7" tells you more than "pull-ups".

Photo and waist measurement at weeks 1, 6, 12. Also note your knee-to-wall measurement at week 1 — it's the clearest evidence that mobility work is doing anything.