Plan the coaching for your worst week
Coaching that collapses under work pressure was usually planned for an ideal week. A quarter-end, a delegation visit or a run of late calls arrives, two sessions are cancelled, and the package quietly expires. Build the arrangement around the week you have when work is at its heaviest, and count lighter weeks as a bonus.
RPM's personal training page introduces the coaches and the two sections. This guide covers the arrangement around the sessions: length, frequency, what you do between them and what happens when a meeting lands on your slot. For the training itself, a compact strength and conditioning programme sets out a 40-minute session and a 12-week plan.
What 30, 45 and 60 minutes can hold
A shorter session is not a worse one if the coach plans for it. These are typical contents, not fixed formats.
| Length | What fits | What gets squeezed | Works for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | A brief warm-up, one main lift and two accessory exercises done as a pair | Long warm-ups and any conditioning | Early starts and lunch breaks, once you know the lifts |
| 45 minutes | A full warm-up, two main lifts and a few accessories | Conditioning, unless it is paired with accessories | Most sessions before or after office hours |
| 60 minutes | Warm-up, two main lifts, accessories and a short conditioning finish | Very little | Learning phases, and weeks with only one session |
RPM does not publish its session lengths. Ask which are offered and whether you can mix lengths within one package.
Count the whole door-to-door time, not just the session. Changing, the drive and parking can double a 30-minute slot. At RPM there is free on-site parking at AD HUB and a lift to Level 4, which keeps the last part of the trip short.
Coached sessions and homework sessions in one week
WHO's 2020 guidelines advise adults to do muscle-strengthening activity that works all the major muscle groups on two or more days a week, and they note that some activity is better than none. A homework session from your coach's card counts towards those two days, so coaching does not have to cover every one.
- One coached, one homework: the smallest week that meets the two-day advice, and the one to fall back on when work is chaotic.
- One coached, two homework: more practice for the same coaching cost, if you can follow a written card.
- Two coached, one homework: suits the first months, or a goal with a date such as an event in the cooler season.
- Two coached, none at home: fine while you learn, but every cancelled slot then costs you a whole training day.
Homework sessions you will actually do
- Twenty to thirty-five minutes long, so it fits the evening of a late finish.
- Kept to one area of the floor, so no time goes on walking between stations.
- Built only from movements the coach has already watched you do well.
- With a written minimum version of three exercises for crunch days, which still counts.
- Logged on your phone in the same format the coach uses, so the next coached session starts from real numbers.
- With a no-equipment version for work trips, using bodyweight moves you have practised under supervision.
Keep your hardest or newest lift for coached days. Homework is for practice and volume, not for testing yourself alone at the end of a long day.
Rescheduling terms to agree before you pay
Most disputes over packages come from situations nobody discussed at the start. Settle these first, and get the answers in writing.
| Situation | A workable rule | Ask the coach |
|---|---|---|
| A meeting moves onto your slot | Move the session within the same week, with an agreed notice period | What notice period do you work to? |
| A work trip of a week or more | Pause the package, or swap coached sessions for a written plan | Can sessions be frozen, and for how long? |
| Ramadan working hours | Move sessions after iftar or to another part of the day | Which hours do you coach during Ramadan? |
| The coach is away | Cover from another coach, or a session credit | Who covers, and do they see my plan? |
| A same-day cancellation | A clear rule written down in advance | What counts as late, and is the session lost? |
Worked example: a month that refused to go to plan
Take a finance manager who agreed two coached sessions a week, on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, plus a Saturday homework session. Here is how one month bent without breaking.
| Week | What work did | How the plan bent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A normal week | Both coached sessions and the Saturday homework, as planned |
| 2 | Quarter-end, with late nights | Wednesday kept, Sunday moved to Monday morning, homework cut to the three-exercise minimum |
| 3 | Three days abroad | One coached session on Saturday, the no-equipment card done twice on the trip |
| 4 | Back to normal | Full pattern again. The coach held the loads on lifts missed in week 3 rather than raising them |
She trained on at least two days in every week, and the coach adjusted from her log instead of starting again. That is what a well-built arrangement buys.
Fitting coaching into RPM's hours
RPM has early-morning and late-evening opening, with shorter Friday hours. The full timetable is below. Ask which coaches have slots at the ends of the day you need, since coach availability is not published.
| Days | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| Saturday to Thursday | 06:00–23:00 |
| Friday | 09:00–22:00 |
Hours can change, for example during Ramadan. Confirm with the team before a late or early visit.
- For coaching built into a membership, Atelier centres on one-to-one sessions and Engine adds coached programming. The team confirms what each includes, and its price, when you ask.
- If you go straight to the office, the grooming hub has a vanity area with hairdryers and products. Ask whether towels are provided and which showers you would use.
- Coaches on the roster work in the Mixed section and the women-only Ladies section, where female coaches are available.
- On a free guided tour, ask to meet a coach at the hour you would actually train.
Sources
Questions, answered.
Is a 30-minute session worth paying for?
Often, once you know the main lifts and the coach plans tightly. In the first weeks, longer sessions give the coach time to teach, so many people start longer and shorten later.
Is coaching worth it if I travel every month?
It can be, if the package can pause and the coach writes travel cards. If trips break most months, occasional coaching with check-ins every few weeks may fit better.
What if the coach's open slots never match mine?
Ask the team whether another coach has hours that fit, or whether the plan can be written by one coach and checked less often. Do not buy a package around slots you already know you will miss.
Can the coach check my homework sessions remotely?
Many coaches review a shared log or a short video of one set. Ask how they prefer to receive it and how quickly they reply.