Stop Training in Pieces: build your first whole-body routine in four weeks

Most routines train you in pieces. This one trains all of you.

Leg day, arm day, a run when you can. Weeks go by, and your feet, your balance, your back and your hands never get a turn. Then the jar won't open, the stairs feel steeper and the shopping bags dig in.

Stop Training in Pieces turns your week into one plan that covers everything. Two strength sessions that work your whole body. Aerobic movement you can actually repeat. And the parts most routines forget, from your feet to your fingertips. Pick the versions that fit you today, follow the plan for four weeks, and you'll know exactly what to change next.

What you get

A routine for your whole body, ready to start this week

• ✓

  Four weeks, planned day by day. Eight strength sessions with aerobic and balance practice around them, plus a starting track if you're coming back from very little.

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  Two sessions, ready to go. An A and a B session that each cover legs, push, pull, shoulders and trunk, with a home version of each exercise and a gym alternative for the main ones.

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  Your whole body, feet to fingertips. Chapters on legs, feet and balance, push and pull, your middle, and a full chapter on hands and wrists.

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  Start where you are. Choose the version that fits today, from a chair stand to a wall push-up, using a chair, a wall and light weights at home.

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  Progress you can see. The one-change rule tells you exactly when to add a rep, a set or a little load, and when to repeat a week.

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  14 printable pages. Session log, starting card, weekly planner, a record for both hands and more. Print the ones you need.

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  Plans for real life. Fallback plans and short sessions for busy days, so one missed day doesn't end the routine.

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  Sourced. Built on CDC, WHO, NHS and ACSM guidance, with 38 numbered sources at the back.

What's inside

Eleven chapters, a plan for four weeks and 14 printables

• Start
  How to use this guide and the quick startThree decisions that set up your first week
• 1
  Give every kind of fitness a jobAerobic, strength and balance, each with its place in your week
• 2
  Choose a starting point you can repeatSets, reps and effort in plain words, with no max test
• 3
  Build your engine around your lifeFind your aerobic pace with the talk test and fit it into a real week
• 4
  Train the legs that carry youChair stands, hinges, bridges and the sides of your hips
• 5
  Start at ground levelFeet, ankles and balance practice with support in reach
• 6
  Push, pull and reachChest, back, shoulders and arms, starting at a wall
• 7
  Give your middle a useful jobTrunk control, carries, breathing and easy neck movement
• 8
  Bring your hands into the planSqueeze, hold, finger, thumb and wrist work for both hands
• 9
  Make progress you can explainThe one-change rule for adding difficulty the right way
• 10
  Put the whole body into two sessionsBuild your A and B sessions, at home or at the gym
• 11
  Keep the week when life changesFallback plans, short sessions and a next-week review
• Plan
  Your four-week whole-body planDay by day, with a starting track and a continuing track

14 printables, one page each

• 1What I want my training to help me do
• 2My starting-point card
• 3My aerobic week
• 4My lower-body choices
• 5Feet and balance
• 6Upper-body coverage
• 7Trunk and easy movement
• 8Hands and wrists, both sides
• 9My one-change progression card
• 10My A/B builder
• 11My next-week review
• 12My session record
• 13My Whole-Body Week
• 14My four-week review and day 29