The Foundations Course is the starting point for every new member at Iron Blend Land who has not done structured barbell training before. It is four sessions, each 60 minutes, and it covers the four primary movement patterns that underpin everything we do in the group classes. Here is what happens in each session and why we structured it this way.

Session one: the squat pattern

The first session is entirely dedicated to the squat. We start with a movement screen to establish your baseline: how your hips move, whether your ankles have adequate dorsiflexion, and whether there is any obvious asymmetry between left and right. From there, we work through a goblet squat progression before moving to a barbell back squat with an empty bar. Most people leave the first session with a list of two or three mobility drills to work on before the next session.

Session two: the hip hinge

The second session covers the hip hinge, which underpins the deadlift and the Romanian deadlift. We start with the wall drill to establish the pattern without load, then progress to a trap bar deadlift before moving to a conventional barbell deadlift. The hip hinge is the movement pattern that most people get wrong most consistently, usually because nobody has ever explicitly taught it to them. By the end of session two, most people have a clean enough pattern to start loading it.

Session three: the press and pull

Session three covers the overhead press and the barbell row. These are the two horizontal and vertical pushing and pulling patterns that make up the upper body work in the group classes. We also introduce the pull-up or ring row as a bodyweight pulling option. The session ends with a short piece combining all four patterns learned so far, which gives both the coach and the member a sense of how the movements look when they are sequenced together.

Session four: putting it together

The final session is a full practice session structured like a group class. Warm-up, main strength work across two or three of the patterns, accessory work, cool-down. The coach observes and gives feedback but does not intervene unless something is unsafe. At the end of the session, you receive a written movement assessment and a recommendation for which group class level to join. Most people are ready for the standard group class. A small number benefit from one or two additional sessions before joining.

Why we require it for beginners

We made the Foundations Course a requirement rather than an option in 2020, after two years of observing what happened when new members went straight into group classes. The most common outcome was that they spent the first six weeks developing compensations rather than patterns, because the group class environment does not allow for the level of individual attention the early learning phase requires. The course costs £120 and takes four sessions. The alternative is months of reinforcing movement faults that are much harder to correct later.

The Foundations Course runs continuously throughout the year. If you want to start before the new block begins on 18 August, there are still spaces in the first two weeks of August. Contact us to book.