THE PRINCIPLES
MOST PLANS GIVE YOU
EXERCISES. THIS GIVES YOU A
TRAINING MODEL.
01
TRAIN THE QUALITIES, NOT THE WORKOUT
Every block develops a specific athletic quality - force, rate of force, elasticity, capacity - in the order the body actually adapts to them.
02
STRENGTH BEFORE SPEED
Plyometrics and sprint work only pay off on top of a strength base. We build the base first so the fast stuff makes you faster, not injured.
03
TECHNIQUE IS TRAINING
Drills borrowed straight from track and field coaching. Better mechanics is free performance, and the cheapest injury insurance there is.
04
EIGHT WEEKS, THEN WE REBUILD IT
Every block ends with a check-in. Your next 8 weeks are built around what actually happened, not the same plan repeated on a loop.
THE PROGRAMS
EXAMPLE 8-WEEK BUILDS
AX8 / YOU
Don't fit a category below? Tell us your goals, and we'll build the 8-week block around you - not a template.
Your goals
Your equipment
Your timeline
8 WEEKS
AX8 / SPR
Sprinters and field athletes chasing raw speed
Max strength
Plyometrics
Sprint drill mechanics
8 WEEKS
AX8 / DIS
5k to marathon runners who keep breaking down
Strength endurance
Reactive plyos
Running drills
8 WEEKS
AX8 / M30
Men over 30 rebuilding a body that performs
Hypertrophy base
Power output
Conditioning
8 WEEKS
AX8 / W30
Women over 30 training for strength, shape and bone density
Full-body strength
Low-impact plyos
Metabolic work
8 WEEKS
AX8 / CYC
Road, gravel and track cyclists lacking top-end watts
Unilateral strength
Peak power
Off-bike conditioning
8 WEEKS
INSIDE A CYCLE
THREE SESSIONS. TWO QUALITIES. ONE CLEAR PROGRESSION.
Each week pairs a lifting session with sport-specific plyometrics and drill work, then loads it wave by wave. You get video demonstrations, prescribed loads and intensities, and a simple way to log what happened. So week 8 is written from week one, not guessed.
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Injury-aware progressions from an accredited exercise scientist
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Gym or minimal equipment variations for every session
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Programs rewritten at the end of every 8-week block
STARTING FROM LESS THAN A COFFEE A DAY
CHOOSE YOUR PLAN
THE COACH
CRAIG BAKER
Bronte-based personal trainer, running coach and former international decathlete. Twice voted one of Sydney's top five personal trainers, and the writer behind Just Like An Athlete. These programs are the studio method — the strength, conditioning and athletics work done 1:1 in Bronte — written down for people who train anywhere else.
TESTIMONIALS
"I've been training with Craig for 3 years on a weekly basis and in that time I've become the fittest and strongest I've been in my life. Craig is the most innovative PT I know, constantly challenging me with different movements"
Tiffany Kasz, Client (Sydney)
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT
Dr Jacqueline Millet
Client & International Marathon Runner (London)
"Craig was my personal trainer for 5 years and I can honestly say that working with him changed the course of my life.
​
I had always wanted to be a runner, however, when I first met Craig I was an unfit, 57 year old woman who had rarely engaged in exercise or sport. Other PTs might not have wanted to take on the challenge but Craig did not appear to be fazed.
Over a period of 6 months or so, using a series of progressively more challenging workouts, we built my fitness up to a level where I could start to run. From then on I never looked back. I quickly progressed from 5K parkruns to 10K events. The gym work continued alongside my newfound love of running and enabled me, in the years that followed, to compete successfully at Master’s level in many distances including winning my age group in the iconic Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa and running for my country in the UK Masters Marathon Championships.
During this time, I also completed over 160 marathons including the Six World Majors and numerous multi-day endurance events. Craig’s excellent knowledge of physiology and exercise science helped keep my body strong and injury free.
Throughout our time working together I always found Craig to be supportive and reliable and sessions to be varied and fun. He led by example by keeping his own fitness levels high and demonstrated perseverance and commitment to his sport.
I learnt a lot from Craig but one of his phrases in particular often comes to my mind towards the end of a long race, “Last set, best set”- when I think I have no more to give I can usually find something extra.
Craig helped me to become a runner. Whatever your fitness goals and dreams I’m certain that working with Craig will make it more likely that you will achieve them."