The FORGE UK

We’re not just training to be strong — we want to be able to use that strength quickly.

We start with goblet squats to load the legs, then go straight into a depth drop.

First job: absorb the force and own the landing.

Then from that position: explode into the highest vertical jump possible.

We’re training the ability to go from absorbing force → producing force quickly.

Strength. Control. Explosiveness.

That’s what carries over to athletic performance.

Help, Heal & Change the World.
One Human Being At A Time.

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

The session might be finished… but we’re not.

Finisher for the lads:

20 kettlebell swings → 20 goblet squats.

Repeat. Target = 3 rounds.

One rule — the bell doesn’t touch the floor.

If it does? 20 burpees.

Nothing complicated. Just a simple way to finish the session, empty the tank and see who can keep working when fatigue kicks in.

Help, Heal & Change the World.
One Human Being At A Time.

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

50 CALORIE ASSAULT BIKE CHALLENGE.

The challenge is simple.

50 calories. One person at a time. Beat your previous best.

Dan: 54s → 53s
John: 56s → 54s
Tony: 1:43 → 1:39

The numbers might only change by a few seconds, but when you’re already pushing at your limit, those seconds are hard earned.

That’s what makes these challenges useful. There’s nowhere to hide behind how you felt or how hard you think you worked. You’ve got a number, and you’ve got something to beat.

Get on. Put the work in. See what you can do.

Then next time, try to do it faster.

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

NO BOUNCE. NO MOMENTUM. EVERY REP EARNED.

Here I’m demonstrating a seated dead-stop military press before Lew starts working through his sets.

The difference with the dead-stop variation is simple:

Every rep comes back to a complete stop.

There’s no bouncing straight into the next rep and no carrying momentum over from the previous one.

Bring the bar down under control.

Stop. Reset. Brace. Then drive.

That means you have to create the force again from a dead position every single rep.

Once Lew’s got the movement dialled in, we start working through the gears and gradually adding weight.

And that’s the important part.

As the load increases, the standard doesn’t decrease.

Same setup. Same control. Same dead stop. Then drive the bar hard.

Progression isn’t just putting more plates on the bar.

It’s being able to put more plates on without losing the ex*****on that got you there.

BUILD THE WEIGHT. KEEP THE STANDARD.

The Forge 🫡
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A CHEST PRESS ISN’T JUST MOVING TWO DUMBBELLS UP AND DOWN.

There are a few small details here that completely change where you feel the movement.

First is your arm position. Go too square with your elbows flared out and you’re putting unnecessary demand through the shoulders. Tuck the arms right into your sides and you start shifting more of the work towards the triceps.

For what we’re trying to achieve here, I want the arms sitting at roughly 45 degrees.

Then comes the actual pressing motion. Rather than thinking about simply pushing the dumbbells straight towards the ceiling, imagine you’re reaching your arms around someone for a massive cuddle 😂

At the top, think about trying to squeeze your biceps together.

They’re obviously never going to meet — but that intent helps bring the upper arms across the body and gets a harder contraction through the chest.

Then Daniel gets into his working set and we add another piece: breathing.

Big breath in and brace as the dumbbells come down through the eccentric.

Control the descent.

Then as you reverse the movement and drive the weight back up, force that breath out.

And once Daniel reaches his final rep, we add an intensity technique.

With a spotter controlling each dumbbell, we take him into a deep loaded stretch at the bottom and hold it for roughly 10 seconds.

That isn’t something you need on every set — and it needs to be controlled — but used appropriately, it’s another way we can increase the stimulus without simply throwing more weight on the dumbbells.

Position. Intent. Breathing. Control. Intensity.

The exercise might look basic.

The ex*****on doesn’t have to be.

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

THE WATCH THOUGHT HOLTY WAS FINISHED🚨

Bit of upper-body work with the lads.

Started by demonstrating staggered press-ups, then Sam and Holty had a run through them.

Halfway through, Holty’s watch starts trying to contact emergency services like the big man’s having a heart attack

But jokes aside — give him his credit.

Holty was 131kg when he first walked through The Forge doors, and for a bloke carrying that sort of bodyweight, he can knock out some seriously good press-ups.

That’s a lot of weight to control through every rep.

Sam, on the other hand, was looking a little too comfortable…

So we changed the demand.

Staggered press-ups ➡️ plyometric press-ups.

That’s what progression actually looks like.

Not changing exercises every week for the sake of it.

Master the movement. Build the strength. Then increase the demand.

EARN THE PROGRESSION

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

PART ONE | 17 BURPEES.
CHEST TO FLOOR. EVERY REP.

The leaderboard has a new benchmark.

17 burpees.

Every single one chest to floor.

No shortcuts.

No half reps.

Just quality from start to finish.

It’s easy to chase numbers.

It’s much harder to hit the standard every single rep.

Sam’s put a proper score on the board.

The question is...

Who’s knocking him off the top? 👀

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

PART TWO | 17 BURPEES.
CHEST TO FLOOR. EVERY REP.

The leaderboard has a new benchmark.

17 burpees.

Every single one chest to floor.

No shortcuts.

No half reps.

Just quality from start to finish.

It’s easy to chase numbers.

It’s much harder to hit the standard every single rep.

Sam’s put a proper score on the board.

The question is...

Who’s knocking him off the top? 👀

Help, Heal & Change the World.
One Human Being At A Time.

The Forge 🫡

ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

COACHING IS IN THE DETAILS.

Two little coaching points from Lucy’s session that can make a big difference to the quality of your training.

First — breathing through your reps.

On the goblet squat, we’re getting Lucy to breathe in and brace as she lowers, control the bottom position, then breathe out as she drives back up.

It sounds basic, but when the reps start getting harder, breathing and bracing are often some of the first things people lose.

Then onto Bulgarian split squats — and Lucy nearly started with her stronger leg.

With unilateral work, we generally want to start with the weaker side first.

Why?

Because whatever your weaker side can do becomes the benchmark.

You then match that with your stronger side, rather than allowing it to do more and making the imbalance even bigger.

Small details.

Big difference.

That’s what coaching is.

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com

COACHING IS IN THE DETAILS.

Two movements here with Aldo, both targeting the upper back and rear delts — and both showing how a few small adjustments can completely change the quality of a rep.

Starting with the lying face pulls. We want the pull coming towards the face, head up and hands staying square.

The other important part is not allowing the arms to fully extend and completely lose the tension between reps.

Control the return. Keep tension where we want it. Then pull again.

We then move into a single-arm dumbbell high-pull variation.

Again, it’s not just about moving the dumbbell from A to B.

Aldo was initially dropping too low into the movement, so we shortened that portion and focused on getting the elbow driving straight up and finishing high.

That’s what coaching should look like.

Watch the rep. Make the adjustment. Feel the difference. Repeat it until it becomes automatic.

Small details. Better ex*****on. Better results.

Help, Heal & Change the World.
One Human Being At A Time.

The Forge 🫡
ForgedThroughDiscipline.com