Baseline Assessment: Week 1
Three sessions to find out where a new client actually is. This is a measuring instrument, not a training block: a movement screen, submaximal strength markers, and a work-capacity test. Nothing is taken to failure and no true 1RM is attempted on a client nobody has watched lift. Each strength marker is a rep target that ends at RPE 8, and the load they reach there IS the baseline. Record the loads, reps and times in the session notes, then re-test after the first real block.
See your setup in four steps
- Length
- 1 weeks
- Days a week
- 3
- Sessions
- 3
- Exercises
- 20
Equipment: Bodyweight, Dumbbell, Cardio machine and Cable
The program, week by week
Each line is sets × reps (or time) at the load to use: RPE is how hard the set should feel out of 10, and a percentage is of your one-rep max. Estimate your one-rep max.
Week 1
3 sessions
Day 1Session 1 · Movement screen + upper baseline
Film the screen sets from the side. Nothing today goes past RPE 8 — you are collecting data, not building fitness.
Warm-up
1×8 @ BW · rest 30s
- 90-90 Hip Stretch
Reps per side, hold each for 20 seconds.
1×5 @ BW · rest 30s
2×10 @ BW · rest 45s
- Bird Dog
Reps per side.
2×8 @ BW · rest 30s
- Bodyweight Squat
SCREEN — film from the side, feet in frame. Note depth, heel lift, knee travel and torso angle.
1×5 @ BW · rest 1m
- Push-Up
BASELINE — max clean reps, stop at the first rep that breaks form. Capped at 20. Record the number. Hands elevated is fine; note the height.
1×20 @ BW · rest 1m30
- Dead Hang
BASELINE — seconds. Hang until the shoulders shrug up, capped at 45s. Record the time.
1×45 @ BW · rest 1m30
- Dumbbell Bench Press
BASELINE — two build-up sets, then ONE set of 8 that ends at RPE 8 (two reps still in the tank). Record the load. This is a rep-max estimate, not a 1RM: do not chase a heavier set.
3×8 @ RPE 8 · rest 2m
- Dumbbell One-Arm Row
Same protocol — build, then one set of 10 at RPE 8. Reps per arm. Record the load.
3×10 @ RPE 8 · rest 1m30
- Plank
BASELINE — seconds. Hold until the hips drop, capped at 60s. Record the time.
1×60 @ BW · rest 1m
Day 2Session 2 · Lower baseline + conditioning
Movement quality decides when a set ends today. If the hinge rounds or the squat collapses, that IS the result — stop the set and write it down.
Warm-up
2×12 @ BW · rest 30s
- Bodyweight Step-Up
Reps per leg.
2×8 @ BW · rest 45s
2×10 @ BW · rest 45s
- Dumbbell Goblet Squat
BASELINE — build, then one set of 8 ending at RPE 8. Record the load and the depth reached.
3×8 @ RPE 8 · rest 2m
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
BASELINE — capped at RPE 7 on purpose. End the set the moment the lower back rounds and record how many reps that took.
3×8 @ RPE 7 · rest 2m
- Wall Sit
BASELINE — seconds. Thighs parallel, hold to form failure, capped at 60s.
1×60 @ BW · rest 1m30
- Indoor Rowing
WORK-CAPACITY MARKER — 500 m time trial at a hard-but-repeatable effort (RPE 8, not a sprint to failure). Record the time and the average split. Sub a bike or a treadmill if there is no rower — just use the same machine at re-test.
1×500 @ RPE 8 · rest 0s
Day 3Session 3 · Pull, power and carry baselines
Power first while they're fresh, then pulling strength, then the carry. Three attempts on the jump, best one counts.
Warm-up
1×8 @ BW · rest 30s
2×10 @ BW · rest 45s
- Bird Dog
Reps per side.
1×8 @ BW · rest 30s
- Broad Jump
BASELINE — three attempts, full rest between. Land and stick it; a stumble doesn't count. Record the best distance in centimetres.
3×1 @ BW · rest 1m30
- Lat Pulldown
BASELINE — build, then one set of 10 ending at RPE 8. Record the load.
3×10 @ RPE 8 · rest 2m
- Inverted Row
BASELINE — max clean reps, chest to the bar, capped at 15. Record the number AND the bar height; the height is half the result.
1×15 @ BW · rest 2m
- Farmers Carry
BASELINE — metres per trip. Record the load carried and whether grip or legs gave out first.
2×40 @ RPE 7 · rest 1m30
- Side Plank
BASELINE — seconds per side, capped at 45s. A big left/right gap is worth chasing.
1×45 @ BW · rest 45s
Questions
- How many days a week is Baseline Assessment: Week 1?
- 3 sessions a week for 1 week, 3 sessions in all. Each one is written out below with every exercise, set, rep, load and rest.
- What equipment does Baseline Assessment: Week 1 need?
- It uses bodyweight, dumbbell, cardio machine and cable.
- Is Baseline Assessment: Week 1 free?
- Yes. Read it here for free, or run it in CoachVana with a free account: pick it from the program library and every set you log is saved, with rest timers and your personal records.
- Can a coach give Baseline Assessment: Week 1 to a client?
- Yes. A coach assigns it to a client, changes the client's copy to fit them, and sees every set the client logs. CoachVana is free for a coach's first 3 clients.
Run Baseline Assessment: Week 1 free
Create a free account, pick it from the program library, and CoachVana logs every set with rest timers and your personal records. Coaches can assign it to clients.
See your setup in four steps
Your first 3 clients are free. 0% commission on everything you sell.