Initial lifting is three days a week and includes squats, deadlifts, and alternating bench presses and strict presses. This process may go on for weeks or even months.

One thing that BLOC is good at is understanding the challenges that come up in life, say a vacation where you don’t have access to a gym. The more you can plan ahead for special events and time away, the better your coach can keep you progressing.

You get feedback on the lifts within 24 hours, usually in the form of a link to a private YouTube video where you can see a play-by-play breakdown of the lifts.

As the weight gets heavier, your form starts to break down, and coaches will offer “cues” or phrases to get you to change your body in a certain way to correct your form.

These are very short statements or words intended to get you to change a specific part of your body position to correct a form error.

BLOC can also program for certain sports. Whether you are a marathoner, cyclist, or lifter, BLOC can ensure the programming complements what you are trying to do outside of the gym.

For those looking to compete in lifting related competitions, BLOC hosts their own online competitions from time to time, and they also prep clients for in-person meets.

For me, the sign of a good coach isn’t when things are going well but when things are breaking down. I suffered from an injury in my ribs in February 2020.

While the doctor was skittish and said I should take four weeks off, given how much it hurt to breathe, my coach suggested I deload 100lbs on squat and do five sets of two instead of the standard three sets of five.

Instead of resting for four weeks, I was able to work steadily through the injury and land exactly where I left off.

This is the type of experience you pay for from experts with years of real-world experience, as many of them have seen nearly everything under the sun and know how to react accordingly.