Bodyweight Blocks

Equipment tier: bodyweight — no equipment at all. The user is in a field, a park, or a hotel room. No pull-up bar, no weights, no bench, no bands. If it needs something, it doesn't belong here.

Source of truth for bodyweight blocks. Each ## slug section is one block. Metadata bullets map to strength_blocks columns.

Sport-specific and injury blocks also live here because they're almost always bodyweight by nature.

Schema reference

Every block has exactly these fields:

• Kind — foundation | sport-specific | injury
• Intent — (foundation only) max_strength | power | general | conditioning — weekly agent picks this
• Sport — (only if sport-specific) e.g. running
• Issue — (only if injury) e.g. plantar fasciitis
• Method — (only if sport-specific / injury) e.g. isometric, tissue tolerance, stability, eccentric
• Equipment — bodyweight
• Target — Full Body | Lower Body | Upper Body | Upper Push | Upper Pull | Posterior Chain (extensible for sport-specific)
• Phases — any subset of base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load — high | moderate | low — muscular + CNS impact
• Metabolic Load — high | moderate | low — energy system stress

Plus a fixed exercise list.

Intensity scaling

Blocks are authored at their high-intensity prescription. The composer picks the actual intensity for today and scales:

• high — sets and RPE as written
• moderate — sets as written, RPE − 1 (min 5)
• low — sets − 1 per exercise (min 2; exercises authored at < 3 sets unchanged), RPE − 2 (min 4)

Some blocks define a low_override when the default rule produces a bad result (see individual blocks).

Sport-specific and injury blocks are always done as written — they're already at their appropriate dose.

Foundation

push-and-squat

The minimum viable full-body block. Four movements with zero equipment: a horizontal push, a bilateral squat, a unilateral lower pattern, and a core anti-extension hold. Scales from beginner (knee push-ups, box squats) to advanced (feet-elevated push-ups, pistol progressions) without changing the block structure.

• Kind: foundation
• Intent: general
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Full Body
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: moderate
• Metabolic Load: moderate

Exercises

unilateral-lower

Single-leg lower-body foundation. Running is a single-leg sport, and these split-stance patterns build the strength and stability that transfer most directly. No equipment — body is the load. Add a backpack if you need more.

• Kind: foundation
• Intent: general
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Lower Body
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: moderate
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises

bodyweight-power

Plyometric foundation. Trains the body to produce force quickly — the quality that matters on hills, in surges, and in the final kilometer. Ground contact is short, rests are long, volume is low. This is power work, not conditioning.

• Kind: foundation
• Intent: power
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Full Body
• Phases: build, peak
• Neuromuscular Load: high
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises

bodyweight-conditioning

Full-body heart-rate work in circuit format. Prescribed when you need a conditioning stimulus without running — hot weather, tight schedule, or a day when the legs need a break from impact but the engine still wants work. Short rests, continuous movement, honest effort.

• Kind: foundation
• Intent: conditioning
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Full Body
• Phases: base, build
• Neuromuscular Load: low
• Metabolic Load: high

Exercises

Sport-specific

runners-isometric-finisher

Isometric accessory for runners. Short holds at modest effort that build tissue tolerance in the core, hip, and posterior chain — the structures that fatigue in late-race miles and let form collapse. Designed to follow a foundation block as a finisher; can also stand alone on easy days.

• Kind: sport-specific
• Sport: running
• Method: isometric
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Posterior Chain
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: low
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises

calf-and-foot-robustness

Low-intensity tissue prep for the calf complex and foot intrinsics. Targets the structures most vulnerable to running overuse: tibialis anterior, soleus, arch. Light enough to stack on top of any session without stealing recovery from the primary work.

• Kind: sport-specific
• Sport: running
• Method: tissue tolerance
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Lower Body
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: low
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises

hip-stability-circuit

Pelvic control work. Targets the glute medius, adductors, and deep rotators that prevent hip drop and knee valgus under running fatigue. Low load, high neuromuscular demand — these are the muscles that quietly fail at mile 20.

• Kind: sport-specific
• Sport: running
• Method: stability
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Lower Body
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: low
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises

Injury

plantar-fasciitis-protocol

Remedial block for mild-to-moderate plantar fasciitis. Based on the Rathleff high-load strength protocol — the approach with the strongest evidence for plantar fasciitis resolution, consistently outperforming stretching alone.

The centrepiece is the single-leg calf raise with a towel rolled under the toes. The towel dorsiflexes the MTP joint, engaging the windlass mechanism and loading the plantar fascia under tension — exactly the stimulus the tissue needs to remodel. The soleus work (bent-knee) targets the deeper calf muscle that shares load with the fascia and is often silently weak. Intrinsic foot exercises (short foot, toe spread) rebuild the arch support system that reduces fascia strain long-term. Tibialis work balances the anterior compartment.

When to prescribe: User reports foot pain identified as plantar fasciitis (mild or moderate severity). Added to upcoming strength sessions as the sport-specific/injury block, or prescribed standalone on non-running days. Continue until pain-free for 2+ weeks.

When NOT to prescribe: Severe plantar fasciitis (medical referral needed), active heel spur diagnosis, or pain that worsens during the exercises themselves.

Timing guidance: Avoid first thing in the morning when the fascia is at its stiffest and most vulnerable. Best performed after a short warm-up walk or later in the day. Can follow a foundation strength block.

• Kind: injury
• Issue: plantar fasciitis
• Method: tissue tolerance
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Lower Body
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: low
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises

Key exercise — Single-Leg Calf Raise with towel: Roll a hand towel to ~3cm diameter and place under the toes so the MTP joints are dorsiflexed. Rise fully onto the ball of the foot, pause 2s at the top, lower over 3s. The towel engages the windlass mechanism, directly loading the plantar fascia. This is the exercise that matters most — if time is short, do this one and skip the rest.

Short Foot Activation: Seated or standing, place foot flat. Pull the ball of the foot toward the heel without curling the toes — the arch should visibly rise. Hold 10s. This rebuilds the intrinsic arch muscles that reduce fascia load long-term.

Frozen Bottle Roll: Roll a frozen water bottle under the arch for 60–90s. Combines massage with anti-inflammatory cold therapy. Not strength work — included because it's the single most effective daily self-care intervention for plantar fasciitis and should be part of every session.

achilles-tendinopathy-protocol

Remedial block for mild Achilles tendinopathy. Heavy slow resistance on the calf complex — Alfredson and Beyer protocols simplified. Loads the tendon through full range to promote remodelling.

• Kind: injury
• Issue: achilles tendinopathy
• Method: eccentric
• Equipment: bodyweight
• Target: Lower Body
• Phases: base, build, peak, taper
• Neuromuscular Load: moderate
• Metabolic Load: low

Exercises