Welcome to Week 4 of the Lean Track! You’ve found a pace you can repeat and held it steady. Now it’s time to build on it with small, sustainable progressions.
ATHLETICS TIPS
Week 4 | Make progress you can control.
Progress doesn’t have to mean pushing harder. This week, pick one thing to improve a little: your pace, the quality of your work, or your consistency across the week. Going harder every session isn’t the goal, and it’s the quickest way to burn out. Keep whatever you change repeatable.
Your Cue This Week
Choose one small progression per session. That could be a slightly quicker pace in the second half, or the same pace with smoother transitions and steadier breathing. If you can’t repeat it tomorrow, it’s too much.
| SESSION | TYPE | POWER |
| Loyals | Hybrid | Progress pace or load slightly without losing repeatability. Use Loyals to blend resistance and conditioning without red-lining from the start. |
| Romans | Resistance | Use controlled, challenging resistance in Romans; keep rests purposeful and movement quality high. |
| Foxtrot | Cardio | Progress pace or load slightly without losing repeatability. In Foxtrot, favor sustained output and efficient transitions. |
| Hammer | Resistance | Use controlled, challenging resistance in Hammer; keep rests purposeful and movement quality high |
| T10 | Hybrid | Progress pace or load slightly without losing repeatability. Use T10 to blend resistance and conditioning without red-lining from the start. |
| Devil’s Peak | Hybrid | Progress pace or load slightly without losing repeatability. Use Devil’s Peak to blend resistance and conditioning without red-lining from the start. |
| Mkatz | Resistance | Use controlled, challenging resistance in Mkatz; keep rests purposeful and movement quality high. |
NUTRITION
Fuel the Work: Build a Meal, Not a Rulebook
You don’t need a perfect meal plan to eat well. A useful approach is to build meals from a few simple components: a protein source, a carbohydrate source, vegetables and/or fruit, and a source of predominantly unsaturated fat like nuts, seeds, avocado, or olive oil.
From there, portions can flex with your appetite, activity, and goals. A meal might be rice with chicken and vegetables, pasta with lentils and vegetables, eggs on toast with fruit, or tofu with noodles and vegetables. There are countless combinations, and cultural foods fit too.
The goal is balanced meals that work for your real life, not rigid ones you can’t keep up. Some people prefer three larger meals, while others do better with smaller meals and snacks. The best structure is the one you can repeat.
Try this: At your next meal, aim for foods from at least three different food groups instead of judging the meal as “good” or “bad.”
You can also use the F45 Challenge app meal plans for ideas on balanced meals that fit around your training.
WELLNESS
Progress Isn’t Only the Scale
At the halfway point, it’s tempting to judge the whole Challenge by one number. Body weight can shift from day to day because of hydration, food intake, glycogen, and other factors, so a single weigh-in doesn’t tell the full story.
Look at the bigger picture. How are your energy levels? Are you sleeping better? Are your sessions feeling stronger or more manageable than in Week 1? Are you showing up consistently? These are all signs the approach is working.
WEEK 4 TAKEAWAY
This week is about progress you can sustain. Improve one thing at a time, whether that’s pace, quality, or consistency, build balanced meals that fit your life, and look at more than the scale. You’ll also complete your midpoint check-in, including a repeat of your benchmark test, so you can compare directly with Week 1.
Nutrition tips in this email were developed with Liz Radicevic, Accredited Sports Dietitian at Radnutrition (@Radnutrition).
