Groundwork

Four to eight people, five big patterns, and your eyes on every single rep

Strength & conditioning
New to lifting
45 min
Works for 4–8
1 instructor
Effort 3/5
Small studio or gym-floor corner
small-group
strength
beginner
technique
series

The ClassPlans programming teamLevel 3 group-fitness qualified · 10+ yrs teaching

Kit: A spread of light–medium dumbbells and kettlebells, mats, two benches or sturdy boxes, one broom-handle or dowel.

Warm-up8 min

Names, Aches & Ramps

RPE 2–3

Setup: Mats in a loose semi-circle facing you, kit still on the rack. Small group PT lives or dies on the first eight minutes: learn every name, and ask each person the same two questions — anything sore today, and what do you want out of these six weeks. Write the answers down after class; you will use them every week.

How it works: While they answer, keep them moving: 60 seconds of marching and arm circles, then two slow rounds of the pattern ramp — bodyweight squat to a bench, hands-on-hips hinge to a wall behind them, tall kneeling reach, hands-elevated push-up on the bench. Everything today appears here first at zero load, so nothing later is a surprise.

What to say

“Sit back until you feel the bench, then stand like you mean it.”
“Push your hips at the wall behind you — nod forward, don't bow.”
“This morning's version of you is who we train — tell me about anything that argues.”

Easier

Raise the bench height with a folded mat; halve the reps and double the chat.

Harder

Add a 2-second pause at the bottom of the ramp squats.

Workout12 min

Pattern School: Squat & Hinge

RPE 4–5

Setup: Two mini-stations three metres apart: squat corner with a bench and a light kettlebell, hinge corner with the dowel and a kettlebell on the floor. Split the group in half; you stand where you can see both, and drift to whoever needs you. Six minutes per pattern, then swap.

How it works: Squat corner works box squats: five slow sits to the bench, stand tall, rest, repeat — kettlebell held at the chest only when five bodyweight reps look identical. Hinge corner runs the dowel drill: dowel along the spine touching head, mid-back and tailbone, push the hips back until the hamstrings complain politely, stand. Five reps, then swap the dowel for a kettlebell deadlift from a raised surface. Coach one loud point to the room, then whisper individual fixes — beginners wilt when corrected publicly.

Common mistakes

Knees caving on the stand — cue 'screw your feet into the floor'.
Hinge becoming a squat — hips must travel back, shins stay honest and vertical.

What to say

“Three points of contact on the stick — lose one and the rep didn't count.”
“The squat goes down between your hips, not on top of your knees.”
“If the weight makes the movement ugly, the weight is lying about being your size.”
“Hamstrings tight at the bottom of the hinge — that's the feeling, memorise it.”

Easier

Squat to a higher box; hinge with the dowel only all block — the kettlebell can wait a week.

Harder

Kettlebell goblet squats with a 3-second lower; deadlift from the floor if the dowel stays glued.

Workout12 min

Pattern School: Push, Pull & Carry

RPE 5

Setup: Reset the corners: push corner keeps the benches, pull corner gets a dumbbell per person, and lay out a straight ten-metre carry lane along the free wall with a cone at each end. Same split, same six-minute swap; the carry lane runs continuously — send one person at a time down and back whenever they finish a set.

How it works: Push corner owns the push-up ladder: wall, bench, knees, floor — each person picks the rung where eight honest reps live, and you nudge them up or down after one set. Pull corner runs single-arm dumbbell rows with the free hand braced on the bench: eight per side, slow on the way down. The carry is the dessert: one dumbbell held suitcase-style at the side, walk the lane tall, swap hands, walk back. It teaches bracing better than any plank speech you could give.

Common mistakes

Push-up chins poking at the floor first — lead with the chest.
Carry hips swinging out to the side — cue 'ribs stacked over hips'.

What to say

“One straight line from head to heels — hips are part of the push-up, not cargo.”
“Row the elbow to your back pocket, not your armpit.”
“Carry like the fire alarm just went and you're the calmest person in the building.”
“Shoulders level on the carry — the weight leans, you don't.”

Easier

Everyone one rung up the ladder; rows with both hands braced and a lighter bell; carry the lane empty-handed tall first.

Harder

Feet-together push-ups with a pause; 2-second lower on rows; heavier carry, or a bell in each hand for the final lap.

The rest of this class plan is free — along with 3 more this week.

ClassPlans programming team

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