Strength and Conditioning
You don't have time to write a training program.
That's the part we do.
A strength program built for you, coached, and rebuilt every four weeks from what you actually did.
Two or three 45-minute sessions a week – 90 to 135 minutes – placed around the climbing days you already have.
$75 a fortnight, founding rate. Ten founding places, already filling up. Start training this week.
The planning is the whole job
Most climbers program their own strength work. A few weeks off a spreadsheet, some good sessions, then a work trip or a deadline that eats a fortnight. You come back unsure whether to pick up or start again, so you start again. Six months later the loads are where they were.
That's the job this takes off you. Your coach builds the program, reads what you log, and rebuilds it every four weeks against what actually happened – including the weeks that went badly.
What you get
Two or three 45-minute sessions a week. Most of them attached to a climbing session you're already making, so for most people it isn't an extra trip to the gym. Depending on your week and how you're recovering, one might land on a day you're not climbing. A third session only goes in when your schedule and recovery can carry it. The number is agreed with you before anything gets built.
Four-week cycles, rebuilt from your logs. Three weeks of progressive overload, followed by a deload week.
Your program in the Sequence app. Every session laid out with sets, reps and target effort. You log what you did, including the sessions that went badly – those are the useful ones.
The training area at Sandbox. Everything the program calls for is already in the room.
Coaching support and advice. For the questions that come up mid-week: this felt wrong, I missed Tuesday, my finger's sore, can I move a session. If you also work with a climbing coach at Sandbox, they're in the loop too, so the strength work is planned in line with what you're doing on the wall.
Three scheduled sessions in every cycle. An orientation walkthrough before you start, a load calibration at the end of week 1, and a review and rebuild at the end of week 3.
A session, start to finish
You're already in the gym. You open Sequence and today's session is there – the exercises, the sets, the reps, and how hard it should feel. You warm up, you work through it, and you log what you did. Not what it said. If you got six when it asked for eight, you write six.
Logging takes a minute at the end, and it dials in your next session just right.
Your coach sees the log. Loads that were too light go up. A movement you flagged as sore gets swapped. A week you missed because work happened gets rebuilt instead of quietly falling behind.
Your first four weeks
Before week 1. You get your program in Sequence and a walkthrough of it – what each block is for, what to log, how the progression works.
Week 1. You train and you log. The loads are an estimate, because everyone's are until they've done a session. At the end of the week your coach reads your logs and changes them. Most people turn out to be lifting too light in one place and too heavy in another.
Weeks 2 and 3. The load goes up. If a session goes badly you tell your coach and the week gets rebuilt rather than ignored.
End of week 3. Review. Which lifts moved, how you're recovering, and what changes in the next cycle.
Week 4. Deload. Volume drops so you can recover before the next cycle.
Then the next four-week cycle starts.
Your coach
The program is coached by Michael Thorley. He came to strength and conditioning in his early 20s and spent five years as a personal trainer, working with general-population clients across a range of sports and reading well beyond the job.
He's a climber, and what he works on now is using strength and conditioning for climbing performance and injury prevention. He's back at university completing a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science, on the way to becoming a sport physiotherapist.
He builds your program, answers your questions, reviews your loads and rebuilds the next cycle from your training logs.
Founding places
The program has been running as a closed trial, with members training on it, logging their sessions and going through the four-week cycle. Now it's open to everyone.
The first ten paid members are the founding group, and they keep the founding rate for as long as their subscription runs. There's no closing date on it. It ends when the tenth person joins, and that might be next week or next month.
There's no start date either. Your cycle starts when you do – if you're reading this on a Tuesday you can be training by the weekend.
What it costs
$75 a fortnight. Billed every 14 days, first payment when you start.
Gym entry isn't included. The program is billed separately from your entry or membership, and you'll need one to use the training area.
Cancel any time. It stops at the end of the fortnight you've already paid for. No lock-in, no minimum term. You can also pause if you're travelling or sick – message your coach and we'll hold the billing until you're back.
$75 stays while you stay subscribed. The rate doesn't change while your subscription runs, and a pause doesn't count as a break. Once the ten founding places are gone, new members join at $95 a fortnight.
The founding rate exists because the first ten are joining early, and their feedback shapes what the program becomes.
This is for you if...
• You climb two or more days a week and want the strength work to serve that, not compete with it
• You've read enough training content to know you should be doing this, and you want someone to just build it
• You can commit to two or three 45-minute sessions a week alongside your climbing
• You'll log your sessions honestly, including the bad ones
• You're happy training on your own between check-ins, with your coach reading your logs
This probably isn't for you if...
• You need a coach in the room every time you train
• You want a program you can print once and follow for six months without talking to anyone
• You can't find 90 minutes a week for training that isn't climbing
• Something's currently injured and hasn't been assessed. Get that looked at first
• You want a fixed answer on what your grade will be in twelve weeks
Questions
How much time does it take each week?
Two or three 45-minute sessions – 90 to 135 minutes. Most of them attach to a climbing session you're already making, so for most people it isn't an extra trip to the gym. The number of sessions is settled with you at the start, against the time you have.
Do I need a Sandbox membership?
The program is billed separately from gym entry, and you'll need entry or a membership to use the training area.
What if I climb somewhere else?
The sessions are written for the equipment in Sandbox's training area: barbell, bench, dumbbells, kettlebells, pull-up bar and resistance bands. If you can get to all of that somewhere else, it works. Tell us where you train when you get in touch and we'll talk about what you have available.
Can I train with the coach in person?
The subscription is programming and coaching, not supervised sessions – you train on your own, ask questions and provide feedback, and your coach works from your logs. If you want a session in person, to be shown a lift or to have someone watch your technique, ask your coach and we'll arrange one. It's booked and paid separately from the subscription.
I'm dealing with an injury. Can I still do this?
Tell us before your program is built – it's a condition of starting, and it changes what gets written. If it hasn't been assessed, get it assessed first. Move Clinic are running a physio pop-up at the gym on Thursdays until 10 September; see the physio pop-up page.
What's Sequence?
The app the program lives in. Free to you – you'll get an invite once your program is built. Your sessions, your logging and your history in one place.
Do I need to be strong already?
No. The week-1 calibration check-in exists because starting loads are guesswork until you've done a session. If you've never lifted, we may need to arrange a few in-person sessions first to set your technique right.
Is this instead of climbing?
No. It sits alongside your climbing and gets adjusted when your climbing load changes. If a strength session is costing you a climbing session, that's a programming error and it gets fixed.
What happens after four weeks?
The week-3 review sets up the next cycle, rebuilt from what your logs showed. The subscription continues unless you cancel.
Can I cancel?
Any time. It takes effect at the end of the current fortnight. There aren't partial refunds for unused days, and if you haven't had your Sequence invite or any check-ins yet, tell us within 7 days of paying and we'll refund it in full.
What if I travel, or get sick for two weeks?
Message your coach and we'll pause your billing until you're back.
Can I do this alongside climbing coaching at Sandbox?
Yes, and it works better that way. Both coaches are in the loop, so the strength work is done in line what you're doing on the wall.
Start with a conversation
A few questions about your climbing and your training background. We'll come back inside 24 hours to set up a time to go through what you're after and how the program would fit your week – about 15 minutes on a call.
$75 a fortnight, cancel any time, pause if you need to. Ten founding places, already filling up.
Questions first? ask@sandboxbouldering.com.au
Training for climbers at Sandbox
Sydney, NSW