Beginner plan, skewed to counter sitting: hip hinges, glutes, upper-back posture, deep core and hip/hamstring mobility lead the way; chest, quads and arms are kept lighter (soccer covers your legs). Tap any thumbnail for a short muted form demo.
Follow top to bottom. MAT · moves are grouped right after the warm-up so all your floor work is done in one go — keep them submaximal (activation, not failure) so your trunk is fresh for the lifts. Ramp-up = easy prep sets (reps@% of working weight); they don't count toward the working sets shown. Each card shows the muscles worked, front & back.
Warm-up · Easy cardio
Stationary bike at an easy pace until lightly sweating.
Warm-up · Dynamic mobility
Cat–Cow ×8, leg swings ×10/leg, glute bridges ×10, bodyweight squats ×10, hip-flexor stretch ×20s/side.
▶mutedMAT · Dead Bug
Deep core; press low back into the floor. Activation, not a burnout — stop well short of failure.
▶mutedMAT · Side Plank
Builds the weak lower side (obliques/QL). Keep it submaximal.
▶mutedBack Extension (hamstring-biased)
Legs straighter, neutral spine, drive through the hips to load the hamstrings. Add a plate on your chest once bodyweight is easy; never overextend.
▶mutedHip Thrust Machine
Re-activates glutes that switch off from sitting. Pad low on the hips, chin tucked, ribs down, squeeze at the top and pause 1s.
▶mutedChest-Supported DB Row (incline bench)
Bench at ~30–45°, chest on the pad so you can't swing — the easiest way to feel your upper back. Drive the elbows back, squeeze, pause 1s.
▶mutedMachine Chest Press
Chest (kept lighter). Steady tempo, controlled negative, don't lock the elbows.
▶mutedFollow top to bottom. MAT · moves are grouped right after the warm-up so all your floor work is done in one go — keep them submaximal (activation, not failure) so your trunk is fresh for the lifts. Ramp-up = easy prep sets (reps@% of working weight); they don't count toward the working sets shown. Each card shows the muscles worked, front & back.
Warm-up · Easy cardio
Stationary bike at an easy pace until lightly sweating.
Warm-up · Dynamic mobility
Cat–Cow ×8, leg swings ×10/leg, glute bridges ×10, bodyweight squats ×10, hip-flexor stretch ×20s/side.
▶mutedMAT · Bird-Dog
Lower-back & core control. Move slow, stay level. Activation only — don't grind.
▶mutedPallof Press (cable)
Anti-rotation core at the cable stack; resist the twist. Don't use the rotary-torso machine — that trains the opposite.
▶mutedSeated Leg Curl
Direct hamstring work. Slow on the way down.
▶mutedBack Extension (45°)
Strengthens the lower back & glutes that sitting weakens. Hip hinge, neutral spine; don't overextend.
▶mutedLat Pulldown
Vertical pull for the lats. Go lighter than feels natural, lead with the elbows, pull to the upper chest and pause 1s.
▶mutedRear-Delt Machine (reverse fly)
The key anti-desk-posture move — chest on the pad, pull the arms back and squeeze the rear delts. Light, controlled.
▶mutedFollow top to bottom. MAT · moves are grouped right after the warm-up so all your floor work is done in one go — keep them submaximal (activation, not failure) so your trunk is fresh for the lifts. Ramp-up = easy prep sets (reps@% of working weight); they don't count toward the working sets shown. Each card shows the muscles worked, front & back.
Warm-up · Easy cardio
Stationary bike at an easy pace until lightly sweating.
Warm-up · Dynamic mobility
Cat–Cow ×8, leg swings ×10/leg, glute bridges ×10, bodyweight squats ×10, hip-flexor stretch ×20s/side.
▶mutedMAT · Plank
Brace hard, glutes tight, flat back. Keep a little in reserve — you still have lifting to do.
▶mutedBack Extension (glute-biased)
Slightly round the upper back and squeeze the glutes hard at the top. Controlled; don't overextend. Add a light plate once easy.
▶mutedLeg Press
Quads (kept lighter — soccer already trains them). Feet mid-platform; slight knee bend at top.
▶mutedSeated Row Machine
Horizontal pull for the mid-back. Chest tall, drive the elbows back past your ribs, squeeze and pause. Don't lean back or yank.
▶mutedRear-Delt Machine (reverse fly)
Second posture dose for the week. Squeeze the rear delts, don't shrug or use momentum.
▶mutedDumbbell Lateral Raise
Shoulder width. Light, lead with the elbows.
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Your cardio comes from sport & a class — no extra treadmill needed.
Tuesday · Indoor Soccer
Interval cardio — sprints + recovery jogging. Warm up with light jogging and leg swings first to protect knees/hamstrings.
Thursday · BodyAttack
High-energy Les Mills class mixing running/jumping/lunging with push-ups & squats. Scale the impact moves while you build up.
Sunday · Outdoor Soccer
More ground covered than indoor. Warm up before kickoff, especially the day after leg work.
Do this ~10 min, 5–7 days a week — the fastest fix for tight hips and hamstrings from sitting. Never force or bounce.
Standing Hamstring Stretch
Soft knee, hinge from hips, don't bounce.
▶muted
Stomach Vacuum
Tightens the deep transverse abdominis (the corset muscle) to flatten the belly. Exhale fully, pull navel to spine, breathe shallow while holding. Daily, even at your desk.
▶mutedFlattening the belly (loose abs)
A belly that sticks out despite low body fat is usually a slack deep core plus posture, not mostly fat. The transverse abdominis (your waist corset) goes loose, and sitting tips your pelvis forward (anterior pelvic tilt), pushing the lower belly out. The fix is built in: glute + hip-flexor work corrects the tilt, bracing core (dead bug, plank, Pallof) trains the deep core, and the new Stomach Vacuum (in Mobility) directly tightens the corset — do it daily, even at your desk. Give it 4–8 weeks. If you see a vertical ridge down your abs when sitting up or feel a lump, get a doctor/physio to rule out diastasis recti or a hernia first.
Why this plan leans posterior
Sitting all day shortens your hip flexors and hamstrings, switches off your glutes, weakens your lower back, and rounds your upper back. So the plan loads back extensions, hip thrusts, leg curls, rows and rear-delt work, trains core every day, and keeps hip/hamstring mobility daily. Chest, quads and arms are trained lighter on purpose — they get plenty from pressing, soccer, and the pulls.
Warm-up, every lifting day
1) 5 min easy bike. 2) Dynamic mobility (cat–cow, leg swings, glute bridges, bodyweight squats, hip-flexor stretch). 3) Ramp-up sets per the cards — 2 easy sets before the first big lift, 1 before other compound lifts, none for isolation/core.
Why 8–12 reps
~1–5 reps = max strength, 6–12 = best for size, 15+ = endurance. Muscle grows across the range if you push close to failure — so 8–12 hard reps builds as much as heavy 3–5s with far less stress on your back. Keep the last 1–2 reps genuinely hard.
Progression
Beat last session by a rep or a small weight bump. Double progression: hit the top of the rep range on all sets, then add the smallest weight and drop to the bottom of the range. Log every set. Leave 1–2 reps in reserve.
Recovery
Protein ~1.6–2.2 g/kg/day. Sleep 7–9 h. Slight calorie surplus to gain muscle. Stand and stretch every 45–60 min of sitting. Sharp pain (not normal fatigue) = stop and swap; if back pain persists, see a physio.