A Training Brief for AI Coaching

An AI coach is only as good as the context it starts from. Rather than re-explaining my training in every chat, I keep one brief and paste it in at the start: who I am as a trainee, where each skill is now, what I’m aiming for, what to protect, and how the week and the block are shaped. It’s context engineering for the gym. After every wave’s max test I update the baselines, so the next conversation starts from current numbers rather than old ones.

Profile

• Tall (183 cm) with a dense, strength-heavy frame. I’ve recently come down to my target bodyweight, so the phase is now maintenance: hold strength and let the bodyweight skills get easier. Long-lever skills (front lever, planche) gain most.
• A desk job, so skill sessions go in the morning: fresher nervous system, less desk stiffness, better sleep.

Baselines vs 12-month targets

Skill	Now	12-month target
Freestanding handstand	Inconsistent 5–15 s, occasional banana	30–60 s hollow hold with shape changes; press to handstand
Handstand push-up	11 back-to-wall; freestanding eccentrics only	3–5 clean freestanding reps
Front lever	4 s full (line needs cleaning up)	12–15 s unbroken, plus slow front lever pull-ups
Planche	Tuck on parallettes, 10–15 s	Solid advanced tuck, then a 3–5 s straddle
Pulling	17 dead-hang pull-ups; 3×4 at +35 kg (estimated 1RM around +55 kg); 6 ring muscle-ups	Strict bar and ring muscle-ups; +50 kg × 5; one-arm pull-up
Mobility and legs	Floor touch only when warm; pistols aggravate a knee	Full pancake and forward fold; pain-free pistols
Conditioning	5–8 km running a week plus weekend CrossFit or HYROX	A consistent Zone 2 base that doesn’t cost joint recovery

A re-test at the new bodyweight comes before the next wave’s week 1, so the targets start from honest numbers. One old weighted pull-up PB was dropped as a baseline: it was a year old and probably not a strict rep.

Guardrails

Forearm tendon (the one that flares with flat-hand pressing; see Deloads and Tendon Adaptation):

• Turn the hands out 10–15° on floor holds to cut shear on the little-finger side.
• Three-second peel-off: never snap off the floor, bar or parallettes. Keep the palms flat for 3 s after the set, curl into a loose fist, then step down.
• Prep: parallettes when needed, knuckle raises, wrist circles.

Knees: backward walking and sled drags, tibialis raises, heels-raised squats, couch stretch.

Muscle-up groove: one crisp, non-fatiguing rep a day after the warm-up (The Muscle-Up Transition).

Fatigue rules: heavy pressing and handstand push-up days need near-full recovery. Leave 1–2 reps in reserve. Never train through sharp, pinpoint joint or tendon pain.

Weekly split

Day	Session
Mon	Full rest: no grip or upper-body load
Tue	Morning handstand balance and compression work; easy Zone 2 run later
Wed	Primary handstand push-up strength: balance first, then wall HSPU, strict dips, pike variations
Thu	Pull and front lever, or active rest; no shoulder or triceps pressing
Fri	Secondary HSPU and volume: pseudo-planche, dips
Sat	Balance first, then CrossFit for legs and conditioning (scale heavy overhead pressing)
Sun	Balance first, strength, then CrossFit or HYROX; lower-body and forearm mobility after

Balance always comes before heavy pressing: it’s neural work and needs fresh shoulders (Balance Is a Control Loop, Handstand Push-up Progressions).

Six-week waves

1. Week 1, intro: about 70–75% volume, clean baselines, 4–5 s eccentrics.
2. Weeks 2–3, load: add a rep or 1–2 s to holds.
3. Week 4, overreach: full volume, maximum clean density.
4. Week 5, consolidate: crisp form, nothing to failure.
5. Week 6, deload: one working set at 50% volume, far from failure, then a max test.

The deload-then-test rhythm is the main lesson from last year (Calisthenics Programming: Skill vs Hypertrophy Phases), and fitting it into a busy week is its own problem (Training Around a Busy Week).