The goal of week one is not transformation
Read the beginner's guide and etiquette before day one if you can. If you cannot, this page is enough to walk in.
Before you arrive
- Induction: book it in the PureGym / The Gym Group app even if you think you know a goblet squat. Staff will show you this site’s equipment quirks (half the Smith machines are not created equal).
- Kit: trainers you can brace in, shorts or joggers, a top you can raise your arms in, a 1-litre bottle, a cheap towel, a padlock.
- Time: go at 10:00–15:00 or after 20:00 if your life allows. Peak 17:00–19:30 is a hard mode setting. See membership maths.
- Plan on paper or notes app. Do not invent the session on the floor.
The week
Train Monday / Wednesday / Friday or any three days with a rest day between. Same session three times. That is deliberate. Learning the walk from changing room to dumbbells is part of the work.
Session A — 40–45 minutes
| Order | Movement | Sets × reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easy bike or treadmill | 5–8 min | — | Warm-up, not a HIIT class |
| 2 | Goblet squat | 3 × 8 | 90s | Dumbbell at chest; see form |
| 3 | Seated or machine row | 3 × 10 | 90s | Pause one second at the body |
| 4 | Push-up or machine chest press | 3 × 8–12 | 90s | Elevate hands on a bench if needed |
| 5 | Romanian deadlift with dumbbells | 3 × 8 | 90s | Soft knees, bar/DBs slide down thighs |
| 6 | Plank | 3 × 20–40s | 60s | Breathe. Stop before the shake-show |
Load: pick a weight where the last two reps are honest, not heroic. Write the numbers down. Next session, try one extra rep or the next dumbbell pair. That is progressive overload in miniature.
What you skip in week one
- HIIT classes that leave you too sore to come back Wednesday
- “Chest day” copied from a 19-year-old
- Five isolation machines for arms
- A PT sales pitch you did not ask for (you can hire later, on your terms)
Day-by-day
Day 0 (Sunday): pack the bag. Charge the membership barcode. Put the session in your calendar like a train.
Day 1: induction if booked, then Session A. Leave after the plank even if you “feel fine.” Stopping is a skill.
Day 2: walk, sleep, protein at each meal (UK protein). Soreness in quads is common. Sharp joint pain is not — skip the next session and speak to a GP if it persists.
Day 3: Session A again. Same exercises. Add a rep or 2kg if day 1 was easy.
Day 4: rest. Mobility is optional; warm-up notes can wait until week two.
Day 5: Session A. You now know where the rows live. That is progress.
Day 6–7: rest. Decide whether week two is the same three days (correct default) or you add a short walk-in etiquette recap.
Food in week one
Do not start a 1,200-calorie diet and a gym habit on the same Monday. Eat roughly as you do now, with a protein source at each meal. If you want a number: about 1.6g protein per kg bodyweight as a ceiling to aim toward, not a week-one exam. Details: nutrition.
When week one is a success
You have three ticks in a notebook, you reracked, and you have a starting weight for five movements. Then move to the full 3-day programme or stay on this stub for another week if life was chaotic.