A homework day is the light session between two coached ones: a brisk walk, three movements your coach has already watched you do, and one short conditioning piece. It exists to add a third touch of the patterns each week, not a third dose of effort. Every set stops with four reps left; nothing on this page should leave you sore.
This is the sheet a coach writes for a member of a small group who trains with us twice a week and wants the other days to count. It is deliberately smaller than the beginner dumbbell workout, which is a standalone program. This one leans on the coaching happening around it.
Time: about 20 minutes
Equipment: a pair of dumbbells, somewhere to walk
For: Members with two coached sessions a week who want one light day in between; anyone whose coach has already checked their squat, row and carry.
Not for: A third hard session. If a movement has not been coached yet, it does not belong on a homework day; leave it for the floor.
Warm-up
- The walk is the warm-up: five minutes brisk, outdoors if the rain allows, up a Lonsdale block and back if you want the heart rate to lift.
- Six slow bodyweight squats, rehearsing the depth your coach signed off on.
The three checked movements
Only movements a coach has already seen you do belong here. A homework day repeats what was taught; it does not introduce anything. Two sets each, a full four reps in reserve, and the dumbbell one size lighter than the one you used on the floor.
| Movement | Sets × reps | Effort | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goblet squat | 2 × 10 | 4 reps in reserve | Same depth as the coached version, slower on the way down |
| Single-arm dumbbell row | 2 × 10 each side | 4 in reserve | Hand on a counter or the rack; elbow to the hip, trunk still |
| Suitcase carry | 2 × 40 steps each side | Tall, no lean | A hallway turned and counted is fine; switch hands without setting the load down if you can |
Rest: 45 to 60 seconds between sets. The rest is short because the sets are easy.
One conditioning piece
Pick one and keep it conversational. The coached sessions carry the hard intervals; this is aerobic maintenance with a hill in it.
| Movement | Sets × reps | Effort | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incline walk | 1 × 6 minutes | Full sentences possible | A treadmill at a moderate grade, or the steepest street on the way home |
| Stair repeats | 1 × 6 minutes | Easy up, easy down | The apartment stairwell or a public staircase; the walk down is the recovery |
Rest: None needed; finish and cool down on the walk home.
Make it harder or easier
Harder: It should not get harder. If the two sets feel routine, add a third set before you add any load, and keep the four reps in reserve. Loads move on the coached days, where someone is watching the pattern; the homework day inherits them a week later. The session-plus-homework structure explains why that order matters.
Easier: Walk and carry. Ten minutes brisk, two suitcase carries each side, done. That is still a homework day, and it still counts toward the week.
Common questions
Why only three movements when I have twenty minutes?
Because every extra movement is one more thing being practised unsupervised. Three checked patterns done cleanly three times a week is how skill compounds; a longer list quietly turns into a session nobody has coached.
Should homework loads match my coached-session loads?
No, one size down. The coached day is where load is tested against a coach's eye; the homework day repeats the movement, not the maximum. If the dumbbell at home is the only one you own, stop the sets a rep or two earlier instead.
Can the homework day sit right next to a coached session?
Yes at this intensity. The ideal is a day between, so a Monday and Thursday member runs it on Saturday, but a Tuesday homework day after a Monday session does no harm because nothing here approaches failure.
