The method
We only run one thing, and we run it properly.
Everyone here is on the same twelve-week block. It opens with three weeks of volume, drops for a week, climbs through three heavier weeks, drops again, then sharpens across three weeks of low reps before you test in week twelve. That is the whole programme. It is not a secret and it is written on the wall by the chalk bowl.
What changes between members is not the shape of the block. It is the number you put into it, which is why the calculator sits at the top of this page instead of a photograph of somebody straining.
Percentages are of your best single, tested at the end of the last block, not of what you think you could do on a good day. If you are new, we take a conservative estimate from a set of five in your induction and correct it in week four.
Nothing here is auto-regulated by feel. If the sheet says four sets of three at 85 per cent, you load 85 per cent, and if it moves badly the coach on the floor changes it, not you.
- 01 Log every working set. Paper is on the bench.
- 02 Round down, never up. The bar does not care.
- 03 Back-off weeks are part of the block, not a rest.
- 04 Miss two sessions in a week and you repeat it.
The block
Twelve weeks, written down.
Loads below are worked from the max set at the top of this page for the back squat. Prescribed is the arithmetic; on the bar is the nearest weight you can actually build out of the plates in the rack.
| Wk | Sets | % | Prescribed | On the bar | Plates per side |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accumulation | |||||
| 1 | 5 × 5 | 70% | 70 kg | 70 kg | 25 |
| 2 | 5 × 5 | 72.5% | 72.5 kg | 72.5 kg | 25 · 1.25 |
| 3 | 5 × 5 | 75% | 75 kg | 75 kg | 25 · 2.5 |
| Back-off | |||||
| 4 | 4 × 5 | 65% | 65 kg | 65 kg | 20 · 2.5 |
| Intensification | |||||
| 5 | 5 × 3 | 80% | 80 kg | 80 kg | 25 · 5 |
| 6 | 5 × 3 | 82.5% | 82.5 kg | 82.5 kg | 25 · 5 · 1.25 |
| 7 | 4 × 3 | 85% | 85 kg | 85 kg | 25 · 5 · 2.5 |
| Back-off | |||||
| 8 | 3 × 5 | 67.5% | 67.5 kg | 67.5 kg | 20 · 2.5 · 1.25 |
| Realisation | |||||
| 9 | 4 × 2 | 87.5% | 87.5 kg | 87.5 kg | 25 · 5 · 2.5 · 1.25 |
| 10 | 3 × 2 | 90% | 90 kg | 90 kg | 25 · 10 |
| 11 | 3 × 1 | 92.5% | 92.5 kg | 92.5 kg | 25 · 10 · 1.25 |
| Test | |||||
| 12 | 1 × 1 | 102.5% | 102.5 kg | 102.5 kg | 25 · 15 · 1.25 |
Accessories are not in this table. Three to five sets of rows, pulls, presses or carries follow every session and are chosen by whoever is coaching that night.
The lifts
Four lifts carry the block.
Everything else on the floor supports these. The notes are the ones our coaches actually say, in the order they say them.
01
Back squat
- Bar on the shelf of the rear delts, not on the neck.
- Brace against the belt before you unrack, not after.
- Two steps back. Three is a wasted rep before the set.
- Knees track over the middle toe the whole way down.
02
Bench press
- Feet planted before the hands go anywhere near the bar.
- Shoulder blades down and back, and keep them there.
- Bar to the bottom of the sternum, elbows at about 45 degrees.
- Touch, wait for the call, then drive. No bouncing.
03
Deadlift
- Bar over the middle of the foot before you bend anything.
- Pull the slack out of the bar until you hear it settle.
- Chest up, lats switched on, then push the floor away.
- Every rep starts from a dead stop. Reset between them.
04
Overhead press
- Bar rests on the front delts, elbows just in front of it.
- Head back out of the way, then straight through.
- Finish with the ears in front of the arms, not behind.
- Ribs down. If the lower back arches, the weight is wrong.
Coaches
Four people, all on the floor.
Somebody who coaches is in the room every hour we are staffed. Nobody here sells memberships or supplements.
Ray Netherwood
Head coach since 2016
Opened the place with two racks and a mortgage. Writes the block, tests everyone in week twelve, and will stop your set if the bar path drifts.
Best 232.5 145 265
Dilys Achebe
Technique weightlifting background
Came from the Olympic lifts and brought the positions with her. Runs the Tuesday and Thursday technique hour, and every induction.
Best 145 77.5 175
Marek Sowa
Programming competition handling
Handles anyone lifting in a competition and does the arithmetic on the day. Keeps the accessory list, which is shorter than most people expect.
Best 262.5 172.5 300
Fiona Mackle
Novice pathway Barbell Basics
Takes people who have never held a bar through their first four weeks. Patient, and completely uninterested in how much you can lift on day one.
Best 130 70 162.5
Bests are squat bench deadlift, in kilos, in competition.
Membership
Three ways in.
Rolling monthly, cancel with a month's notice, no joining fee and no contract to sign. Membership is capped at 140 so the platforms stay free.
Open floor
£34/month
- Fob access, 06:00 to 21:30, seven days
- Six platforms, four racks, two competition benches
- The block on the wall, and the paper to log it
- No coaching, no form checks
For lifters who already know what they are doing.
Most members
Programmed
£58/month
- Everything in Open floor
- Your maxes tested and set every twelve weeks
- A written block with your numbers already in it
- Form checks on request, any staffed hour
For anyone who wants the block run properly on them.
Coached
£96/month
- Everything in Programmed
- Two coached sessions a week, booked in advance
- Video review of the main lift each week
- Handling and attempt selection at competitions
For lifters with a platform date in the diary.
- Day pass £8
- Barbell Basics, four weeks £70
- Induction, required, one hour Free
- Under 18 with a parent present Half
The room
Two railway arches, one floor, no mirrors above waist height.
- Platforms
- Six, 2.5 by 2.5 metres, rubber over ply
- Bars
- Nine power bars, two deadlift bars, one stiff bar, four women's bars
- Plates
- Calibrated steel to 0.5 kg, plus bumpers on two platforms
- Chalk
- Allowed, and provided. Liquid chalk is not necessary here
- Music
- One speaker, one aux cable, first come
- Parking
- Six spaces off Marshall Street, free after 18:00 on the street
Visit
Come in, have a look, lift something.
Every membership starts with a one-hour induction. It is free, it is not a sales meeting, and you will squat at the end of it.
Hours
- Monday to Friday
- 06:00–21:30
- Saturday
- 08:00–17:00
- Sunday
- 09:00–14:00
Staffed
- Weekday mornings
- 06:00–10:00
- Weekday evenings
- 16:30–21:00
- Saturday
- 09:00–14:00
Where
Ninth RepArches 6–7, Marshall Street
Holbeck, Leeds LS11 9YJ
Eleven minutes on foot from Leeds station, under the viaduct and left at the mill. The door is the one with no signage; the bell works.
Contact
Book an induction
Pick a staffed hour and turn up in something you can squat in. We will take a rough max from a set of five and put you into the block at the next back-off week.
Email the floorReplies come from whoever is in, usually within a day.