Four stages. One continuous loop.
The Aldera coaching methodology is a closed-loop system. Each engagement begins with a formal assessment and terminates with a review that seeds the next assessment. The loop runs continuously across the duration of the coaching relationship.
Assess
The assessment stage establishes the data foundation for the entire engagement. It has three components: the movement screening, the body composition assessment, and the lifestyle intake conversation. All three are conducted at session one and documented in the training log before any programming begins.
The movement screening evaluates the six primary functional patterns — squat, hinge, push, pull, carry, and rotation — assessing range of motion, bilateral symmetry, and compensatory movement strategies. Findings are recorded with qualitative notation and inform the priority hierarchy of the first mesocycle.
The body composition assessment records baseline anthropometric data using validated measurement protocols. These figures are used as a progress reference point at each subsequent mesocycle boundary. The lifestyle intake covers sleep, stress, nutrition habits, working pattern, and exercise history.
Plan
The planning stage translates assessment data into a structured periodised plan. The plan is built at the mesocycle level — a four-week training block with defined objectives, load programmings, and session format. Each mesocycle sits within a broader macrocycle that spans the agreed engagement duration.
The goal-setting framework is established at this stage. Objectives are defined at three levels: the primary outcome goal for the macrocycle, interim benchmark targets for each mesocycle boundary, and qualitative markers to be tracked within each weekly schedule. All three levels are documented in the training log before the first session of the block commences.
The weekly schedule specifies session frequency, session type distribution, active recovery weeks, and rest-day routine expectations. Load progressions are structured around the principle of progressive overload, with deload weeks embedded at intervals appropriate to the individual's adaptation capacity.
Execute
Execution is the delivery stage. Each session follows the format established in the periodised plan: warm-up and mobility preparation, primary compound movement work, accessory exercise block, and cool-down with flexibility drill. Session duration and structure are consistent across the block to allow meaningful load comparison week on week.
Live technique feedback is applied throughout the primary movement block. Cues are delivered precisely and sparingly — sufficient to correct observed deviations from optimal form without interrupting the session's loading rhythm. Technique notation is appended to the training log following each set where a significant observation occurs.
Following each session, a session recap is recorded. The recap documents the loads completed, technique observations, any deviations from the planned structure, and a subjective readiness rating for the following session. This data feeds directly into the next session's load programming and accumulates across the block to inform the review stage.
Review
The review occurs at the boundary of each mesocycle. It is not an informal check-in. It is a structured session in which the training log data from the preceding block is analysed against the objectives set in the goal-setting framework. Progress is measured quantitatively — load progressions, body composition assessment repeat, performance benchmark outputs — and qualitatively through session recap trends.
The review produces two outputs. First: a documented account of outcomes against targets, providing a precise record of where the individual's position has shifted since the last assessment. Second: an updated goal-setting framework for the subsequent mesocycle, reflecting any changes to objective priority, training stimulus, or lifestyle factors identified in the review conversation.
The review is the point at which the loop completes and resets. The updated assessment data becomes the new baseline from which the next plan is constructed. This continuity — each block informed by the last, each plan built from current data — is what distinguishes structured periodisation from sequential programming.
The theoretical basis for the framework.
Periodisation Theory
The framework draws from classical periodisation literature — the systematic organisation of training load over time to peak performance at a defined point. Mesocycles are structured to apply a stress stimulus and allow adaptation before the next incremental load is applied. This prevents accommodation without risking overtraining at the individual's current capacity.
Specificity and Variation
Training stimulus is specific to the individual's stated objective at the macro level, while variation in exercise selection and loading parameters at the micro level maintains adaptation signal. Generic templates apply the same variation structure to all individuals regardless of their assessment profile — this is the principal failure mode Aldera's approach is designed to address.
Injury Risk Management
Movement screening findings directly influence load programming in the early mesocycles. Asymmetric loading patterns, restricted ranges of motion, and compensatory strategies identified at intake are addressed through targeted mobility protocol and accessory selection before higher-intensity work is introduced. Posture correction work is embedded from session one where the screening indicates a requirement.
Lifestyle Integration
Physical performance adaptation does not occur exclusively within sessions. Sleep quality, rest-day routine, nutritional intake, and stress load all affect the rate at which the training stimulus produces adaptive change. The weekly schedule accounts for these variables, and the lifestyle intake data from session one is revisited at each review to identify any shifts that should inform the subsequent plan.