A 5-day recomposition build: glute and hip-dip shelf development, arm definition, a flat and functional core, athletic conditioning, and a splits progression. Built around everything she walked me through on the phone.
She walked me through all of it on the phone: the lifts she already loves, the hip dips, the arm insecurity, wanting a split by her birthday. Nothing here is generic. The periodization, the arm and core strategy, and the athletic layer are all built around exactly what she told me, so it adds up to the shape she's after by February 26 instead of staying four good days that don't compound.
Programmed to the ISSA CPT standard, for Echelon Fitness Collective.
| Phase | Weeks | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: Foundation & Reconnection | 1–7 | Rebuild the habit first. Technique on every lift, light plyo to teach landing mechanics before intensity, tracking habit starts here. Baseline photos, measurements, and split-depth check in Week 1. Deload Week 7. |
| Phase 2: Shape & Strength Build | 8–15 | Progressive overload on hip thrust, sumo squat, back squat, and RDL. Hip-dip shelf work and Day 3 arm volume both step up. Plyo/agility complexity increases. Deload Week 15. |
| Phase 3: Recomposition Push | 16–23 | Nutrition tightens to a modest deficit (see Nutrition Protocol). Metabolic finishers added to Day 2 and Day 4, ab definition work stays consistent. Deload Week 23. |
| Phase 4: Peak & Polish | 24–28 | Volume tapers ~15% so she walks into her birthday recovered, not depleted. Splits progression gets its final push. Week 28: photo check-in against Week 1 baseline. |
| Day | Focus | Why it's placed here |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Glute Power + Hip-Dip Shelf (Heavy) | Fresh CNS for the heaviest compound pull of the week. |
| Day 2 | Athletic Core, Agility & Conditioning | Recovery day for the lower body, load day for jump/agility work and abs. |
| Day 3 | Back, Posture & Arm Definition | Full upper-body recovery from Day 1, posture work for the hourglass line. |
| Day 4 | Glutes, Hamstrings & Side-Glute Volume | Second glute stimulus of the week, volume-biased instead of heavy. |
| Day 5 | Mobility, Splits & Light Home Recovery | Active recovery before Day 1 restarts the week; where the splits get made. |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Hip Thrust | 4 × 6–8 | 45 lb |
| Sumo Squat (Heavy) | 4 × 6–8 | 45 lb |
| Cable Kickback | 3 × 8–10/leg | 25 lb |
| Romanian Deadlift | 3 × 8–10 | 25 lb |
| Step-Ups (lean-forward, glute bias) | 3 × 10/leg | 15 lb |
Cues: Hip thrust, ribs down, chin tucked, drive through heels, not a lower-back movement. RDL, hips travel back not down, soft knee bend, feel the stretch in the hamstring before reversing. Step-up, torso leans forward over the front leg so the glute, not the quad, does the driving.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Load |
|---|---|---|
| 5A · Single-Leg Squats | 3 × 15–20/leg | bodyweight |
| 5B · Cable Clamshells | 3 × 12–15/side | 10 lb |
| 5C · Side-Lying Hip Abduction Pulses (new) | 2 × 20/side | bodyweight |
The lean-forward angle and the slow pulse both bias the upper glute medius fibers, the muscle that fills in the hip dip. Non-negotiable even on short-time days.
No ladder at home? Tape an X-pattern on the floor and use that instead.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted Pull-Ups | 2 × 8–10 | more assistance |
| Lat Pulldown | 3 × 10–12 | 45–50 lb |
| Seated Cable Row | 2 × 10–12 | 40 lb |
| Face Pulls | 3 × 8–10 | 40 lb |
Pull-ups: stop 2–3 reps before failure; maintenance block for the back, not a max-effort day.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Triceps Pushdown | 3 × 12–15 | 20 lb |
| Skull Crushers | 2 × 12–15 | light |
| Overhead Rope Tricep Extension (new) | 2 × 15–20 | light |
Three angles (pushdown, overhead, skull crusher) cover the whole triceps without heavy loading. Builds shape, not size; the fat loss that reveals it happens through nutrition, not more sets.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Back Squat (Heavy) | 4 × 6–8 | 45 lb |
| Single-Leg RDL | 3 × 8–10/leg | 25 lb |
| Hyperextensions (glute bias) | 3 × 12–15 | 25 lb |
| Seated Leg Press (glute stance, feet high & wide) | 3 × 10–12 | 45 lb |
| Lying Hamstring Curl | 3 × 10–13 | 40 lb |
Her flow, held in sequence, two rounds through. Hold times are the floor; add 5–10 seconds per position every two weeks as range opens up.
Optional Light Cardio: 15–20 min incline walk, or light jump rope, low-impact enough to arrive fresh for Monday.
Recomposition happens on the plate more than on the platform. At 154 lb, here's the target, built around what she told me on the call she wants: more protein, tighter carbs, more water.
| Macro | Target |
|---|---|
| Protein | 150 g/day |
| Fat | 55 g/day |
| Carbs | 175–225 g/day |
| Water | 90–100 oz/day |
General fitness and nutrition guidance from her coach, not a substitute for individualized clinical dietary advice. Check with a physician before starting the plyometric or splits work if there is any joint, hip, or back history.
One session a week won't produce a split by February; range of motion responds to frequency. Keep Day 5 as the full flow, and add two short 10-minute "flexibility snacks" on off-evenings (pancake fold + middle split lean is enough) to triple weekly stretching frequency without adding a real session.
She told me on our call that inconsistent tracking has been the barrier, so the system is deliberately light. Five things, logged weekly, nothing more.
| What | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions completed | Weekly | Target 5/5, floor is 4/5; the number that predicts the outcome more than any other. |
| Body weight | 1×/week, same morning conditions | Trend over 4 weeks, not day to day. |
| Protein grams | Daily, even if estimated | The one macro worth tracking precisely. |
| Progress photos | Every 2 weeks | Recomposition shows in the mirror before it shows on the scale. |
| Waist / hip / thigh measurements | Monthly | Confirms the shift the scale alone won't. |
Everything above is built on what she told me on our call already works for her. This just gives it a runway to February 26. Check in through the Member Portal on how Week 1 feels, adjust from there.