Every phase has performance-based exit criteria — not calendar dates. You advance when your body demonstrates readiness. Running a phase an extra week is not failure. It is program compliance.
90/90 diaphragmatic breathing, intra-abdominal pressure, McGill Big 3. BW hip hinge, lateral band walks, suitcase carries, short walks. Eliminate pain triggers and establish the movement patterns everything else is built on.
EXIT: Pain 0–2 consistently · Hip hinge established · Bracing consistent
KB deadlift progression (16→24kg), Pallof press, goblet squat, split squat, rucking (20→30 min), sled drag, farmer carry. Anti-rotation and anti-lateral flexion strength under load.
EXIT: KB DL 24 kg · Ruck 30 min @ 20 lbs · Pain-free
Barbell deadlift, front squat, pull-ups, KB swings, heavy farmer carry, sled. Target 1.0×BW deadlift. Ruck loads increase to 30 lbs at 60 min. Four sessions per week.
EXIT: DL 1.0×BW · 5 pull-ups · Ruck 60 min @ 30 lbs
Structured sport return across all 5 pathways. Peak strength work. Structured EMOM conditioning (Every Minute on the Minute with enforced work:rest ratio) — quality sets with mandatory rest intervals. Performance assessment at Week 12. Maintenance protocol handoff. What's Next routing.
EXIT: Performance assessment passed · RTP clearance achieved
| Session Type | Frequency | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Session | 2–3x / week | Warmup · McGill Big 3 · Main lifts · Carries or sled · Optional walk |
| Ruck / Walk | 1–2x / week | Progressive load and duration per phase. No intensity — controlled pace only. |
| Active Recovery | Phase 1 only | 20–30 min walk at easy conversational pace. No structured training. |
| RTP Session | Phase 4 | Sport-specific reintroduction per the five RTP pathways. Intensity gated by readiness score. |
Every session written out. Phase accordions expand to reveal each session. The warmup protocol is the same for every strength session — see the Technique tab. Do not skip it.
Every exercise used in the program with full coaching cues. Return here when a movement feels wrong or when pain appears in an unexpected place during a drill.
Before every session: run a 3-question check-in. Your score determines what you do today. This system prevents the spiral from "pushing through" into injury. It is not optional.
Lie on your back with both hips and knees at 90° (feet on a wall or chair). One hand on your chest, one on your abdomen. Breathe in through your nose — feel your abdomen rise and your ribcage expand 360°. Your chest should move minimally. Breathe out slowly through pursed lips.
This is not relaxation breathing. It is intra-abdominal pressure training. IAP is generated by the coordinated contraction of the diaphragm (from above), pelvic floor (from below), and transversus abdominis (circumferentially) acting together. The diaphragm is one component — not the sole driver. Five quality breaths here are worth more than five minutes of passive stretching.
Before each loaded rep: inhale moderately, brace your trunk as if you are about to take a punch. The brace is a 360° expansion — not just "suck in your stomach." Think: expand outward in all directions. Hold the brace through the rep. Release only at the top of the movement or after the rep is secured.
This becomes automatic. In Phase 1 you are learning it. By Phase 3, it is reflexive. By Phase 4, you brace without thinking. That is the goal.
Three questions. Rate each 1–10 (1 = worst, 10 = best). Add the scores. Total determines today's training status.
| Question | Rate 1–10 |
|---|---|
| Sleep Quality Last Night | 1 = almost none / 10 = 8+ hrs uninterrupted |
| Energy on Wake | 1 = exhausted pre-coffee / 10 = sharp and ready |
| Joint and Back Feel | 1 = pain or stiffness / 10 = no symptoms |
This is expected discomfort during a rebuild. Monitor it but do not stop. If it rises during the session, reduce load but stay with the movement pattern.
Reduce load by 30–50%. Finish the session at lower intensity. Log the session and the pain context. If this happens two sessions in a row on the same movement, remove that movement for one week.
Stop the session. Do not push through. Pain above 6/10 during training is a signal the system is not ready for this demand. Walk home, do 90/90 breathing, and re-assess tomorrow.
Stop immediately. Any sharp, shooting, or nerve-type pain (radiating down the leg, numbness, tingling) is a full stop. Do not train again until this is evaluated.
Day 1–2: 90/90 breathing 10 minutes. Walk 20–30 min at easy pace. No structured training. Ice or heat per preference.
Day 3: McGill Big 3 only — at Phase 1 volume (3×6 Curl-Up / 3×20s Side Plank / 3×5 Bird Dog). No loading. Walk after.
Day 4: Reassess with the daily check-in. If Green — return to the last session of the previous phase. If Yellow — continue with Big 3 and walk. If Red — repeat Day 1–2 protocol.
Note: A pain flare is not a failure. It is data. Log what happened before the flare (load, sleep, stress, sport), note it in the tracker, and adjust accordingly.
Re-progression Rate After Flare: Drop one full phase (not one week). Do not resume prior phase until: (a) 0/10 pain at rest for 3 consecutive days, (b) pain-free full ROM of all prior-phase movements, (c) likely flare cause identified. Re-progress at 50% of prior phase volume for the first week back.
Structured return to your sport. Each pathway has a specific sequence, progression criteria, and full-clearance standard. Do not skip stages. The sequence exists because the tissue responds to progressive load — not to your schedule.
3 × 10 min at easy conversational pace. Walk 5 min between intervals. Terrain: flat. Total ~45 min. Pain must stay 0–3/10 throughout and 24 hours after.
2 × 20 min at easy-to-moderate pace. Walk 5 min between. Terrain can add mild grade. Pain still 0–3/10 throughout and after.
30 min continuous at easy-to-moderate pace. If pain-free, running is cleared. Log time and pace.
By Week 12 you have rucked 60 min at 35 lbs. Progressive rucking beyond the program: increase duration or weight by one variable at a time. Never increase both in the same week. Target: 90 min at 45 lbs over 4–6 weeks post-program.
Positional drilling with no resistance from partners. 45 min technical work. No live rolling, no positional sparring. Focus: movement without load from another body.
Positional sparring at 50% intensity. Partner provides light resistance only — not trying to escape or attack. 3-min rounds with full rest between. Max 3 rounds.
Normal intensity rolling. 3-minute rounds at regular training volume. Monitor pain during session and 24–48 hours after. Full clearance: pain 2/10 or less during and after. Pain must be 2/10 or less before any live grappling contact. At 3/10+, BJJ is restricted to positional drilling with no resistance only.
15 min shadow at 50% intensity. 15 min light bag work — no power shots, no rotational kicks. Focus on hip mobility and footwork. Teeps and jabs only.
Full bag work including body kicks and rear kicks at 70% power. Pad work with a partner at controlled intensity. No clinch work yet. 3-round sessions.
Full training including clinch, sparring at 70–80% intensity. Monitor rotational load. Full clearance: no pain during or after a full training session.
Begin Stage 4 only after 2 weeks of pain-free Stage 3 activity. Start at 50% power × 10 reps per side. No consecutive spinning combinations for the first 2 weeks of Stage 4.
If your primary sport is powerlifting, Olympic lifting, or general barbell training, this pathway governs the return to your competition lifts.
Add back your primary competition lifts (back squat, bench, etc.) at 60% of previous training max. Technical work only — no intensity above RPE 7.
Increase to 70–75% of previous training max. Two competition sessions per week. Maintain McGill Big 3 as pre-session warmup for life.
Return to your base training program. Deadlift should now be above 1.0×BW and climbing. Back squat load follows the same progression. No maximal attempts until 12 weeks post-program completion.
For active duty, veterans, law enforcement, firefighters, and others with occupational physical demands that cannot be fully controlled.
Resume full occupational duties. The program has built the capacity to tolerate these loads. Manage recovery on high-demand shifts with McGill Big 3 that evening and 90/90 breathing.
Return to tactical fitness training — PT standards, operational fitness tests. Treat these like Phase 4 sessions: daily readiness check first, modify if Yellow, skip if Red.
Full operational capacity. The maintenance protocol keeps the system running under sustained load. Brief Jacques if you are preparing for a specific selection course or assessment — the post-program routing applies.
Mark each session complete when you finish it. Tracker state saves to this browser. Phase completion is tracked separately from individual sessions.
The program is complete. The rebuild is done. The question now is what the system gets pointed at. Three paths, depending on where you want to go.
Your back is rebuilt. Your recovery architecture is not. RF addresses sleep, hormonal indicators, gut function, and the systemic recovery capacity that determines how fast you adapt to training stress. This is the underlying system the performance runs on.
The back is no longer a limiter. Now you need an aerobic base and conditioning architecture that lets you train and compete without gassing — in combat sports, in tactical work, or in rucking events. The UE builds the engine behind the performance.
Everything running at once — strength, conditioning, combat readiness, recovery — on a schedule that doesn't break down under real-world load. Built for military, law enforcement, and serious competitors who need full architecture, not another single-focus program.
Not sure which program fits? The free OCA Assessment takes 10 minutes and identifies exactly where your system is and which program addresses it. Or book a consultation and Jacques will tell you directly.
Four tools to measure where your system actually is. Run the full OCA before you start the program and again at Week 12. Use the Daily Readiness scorecard before every training session.
Recovery debt is the accumulated gap between training stress applied and recovery resources available. Most athletes entering this program are running a chronic deficit. This calculator gives a working estimate of where that balance sits.
Ten recovery indicators rated 1–10. The score places you in a track and benchmarks your starting point. Run this at Week 1 and again at Week 12.
Rate where you actually are — not where you want to be. The score only helps if it's accurate.
Three questions. 30 seconds. Complete this before you start. The output modifies your session — not how you feel after coffee, but how you feel right now.
Enter your Week 1 OCA score and your current OCA score. The delta is the measurable output of the program.