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The XanthiaMethod

Twelve weeks. Four sessions a week, 35 minutes each. I'm 41 and this is the program I'm running on myself — you can have the tracker I built for it. Beginners welcome — the first three weeks are for learning the movements, not moving weight.

12Weeks
4Sessions
35Minutes
$0Cost

What this actually is

I got a body scan. I didn't love the numbers. So I built a twelve-week plan and a tracker to run it in, and I'm filming the whole thing — the good weeks and the ones where nothing moves.

The app is free and it's the same one I use. If you want to do the twelve weeks alongside me, it's yours — whether you've been lifting for years or you've never touched a barbell.

What's in it

Never lifted before? You're the person I'd most like doing this.

The first three weeks are deliberately light — the point is learning the movements, not moving weight. Every exercise in the app links to a video. Start with an empty bar or the lightest dumbbells and add weight only when the movement feels the same every rep.

If you can get one or two sessions with a coach to check your squat and deadlift, do — it's the best money you'll spend and it's the only part of this I'd say don't guess at. But not having that isn't a reason to wait. Go lighter and go slower.

Please don't do this if you're under 18, pregnant or recently postpartum without clearance from your doctor, or if you have a current or past eating disorder. Calorie targets and progress photos do real harm in that context and no program is worth that. If you have a heart condition, a chronic illness, an injury or you're on medication, talk to your GP first — the app asks about all of this before you start.

Get the app

Drop your email and it lands in your inbox. I'll send you what I'm learning across the twelve weeks — the training, the numbers, what's working and what isn't. Unsubscribe whenever.

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By subscribing you agree to receive emails from Xanthia. Your email is stored with beehiiv (our email provider, based in the US) and is never sold or shared. Everything you log in the app stays on your own phone — it is never uploaded and I can't see it. How your information is handled.

Where I'm coming from. I've been training for over twenty years and I know my way around a barbell. I'm not a coach, I'm not taking clients, and I'm not a doctor or a dietitian. This is my own program and my own twelve weeks — it isn't advice written for you, because I don't know anything about you.

The calorie figures come from a published equation any fitness site uses. They're a starting estimate to take to your GP or a dietitian, not a plan prescribed for your body.

Lifting heavy carries real injury risk. Learn the movements properly, start lighter than you think you need to, and stop if you get chest pain, unusual breathlessness, dizziness, or pain that isn't ordinary muscle soreness.