One-to-one strength coaching · a barn outside Lewes
Get strong again. Slowly, on purpose.
Ridgeway Strength is one coach, one client at a time, in a converted barn on the edge of the Downs. It is for people in their forties and fifties who have not trained in years, people coming back from an injury, and hill runners who keep getting hurt. Nobody shouts. The weights go up a little at a time.
Who this is for
Most people who walk in have not lifted anything heavier than a suitcase in ten years.
That is the normal starting point here, not the exception. You do not need to "get a bit fitter first". The first session is built for exactly where you are.
Good fit
- You are somewhere between forty and sixty and have noticed stairs, shopping or the garden getting harder than they used to be.
- You are coming back after a shoulder, knee, hip or back problem and your physio has said "you need to get stronger" without saying how.
- You run on the Downs and keep picking up the same niggles.
- You have tried a big gym and hated not knowing what to do.
- You would rather train with one person who remembers your name than in a class.
Probably not the right place
- You want to lose a specific amount of weight by a date. Strength work helps, but it is not a weight-loss programme and Tom will not sell it as one.
- You are training for a powerlifting or strongman competition. You will outgrow the barn quickly.
- You want to be pushed until you are sick. That is not how this works.
- You are still in acute pain or waiting on a scan. Get that seen first; the barn will still be here.
If you are not sure, book the first session anyway. Part of its job is to tell you honestly whether this is the right thing.
How the coaching works
Two sessions a week. Five lifts. A notebook.
There is nothing clever about it, which is the point. Strength is built by repeating a small number of movements and adding a very small amount of weight, week after week, for months.
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You never share a session
Every session is you and Tom, or you and one other person you have chosen to train with. There is no one else in the barn.
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Everything is written down
Every set, every weight, every note about how it felt goes in a log. You get a copy after each session. After twelve weeks you can see, in numbers, what has changed.
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The weight goes up in small steps
Usually 1.25 or 2.5 kilograms at a time. That sounds like nothing. Over six months it is the difference between struggling with a suitcase and carrying it up the stairs without thinking.
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Twice a week is enough
Most clients come twice a week, at the same times, for as long as it is useful. Once a week works if you do one short session at home in between, and Tom will write that for you.
A typical first twelve weeks
Illustration, not a real client| Week | Squat | Deadlift | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 kg | 30 kg | |
| 2 | 14 kg | 35 kg | |
| 3 | 16 kg | 40 kg | |
| 4 | 16 kg | 40 kg | |
| 5 | 18 kg | 45 kg | |
| 6 | 20 kg | 50 kg | |
| 7 | 20 kg | 52.5 kg | |
| 8 | 22 kg | 55 kg | |
| 9 | 24 kg | 60 kg | |
| 10 | 24 kg | 60 kg | |
| 11 | 26 kg | 65 kg | |
| 12 | 28 kg | 70 kg |
Week 4 and week 10 are deliberately the same as the week before. Repeating a weight until it feels easy is part of the method, not a failure.
Your first session · £35
The first hour is mostly talking and moving. Very little lifting.
It is priced low on purpose so that the decision to come is a small one. You will not be tested, measured, weighed or photographed.
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First 20 minutes
Sit down and talk
What you did before, what stopped you, what hurts, what you actually want to be able to do. A kettle is on. Bring a list if it helps.
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Next 25 minutes
The movement assessment
Eight ordinary movements: standing up from a low box, reaching overhead, a single-leg balance, a hip hinge, a deep squat holding a post, and so on. Tom watches how each joint moves and writes it down. Nothing heavy, nothing you cannot stop.
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Last 15 minutes
Your first three lifts
Usually a squat holding a light weight, a hinge with a kettlebell, and a press. The bar is sometimes empty. That is fine — the first weeks are about pattern, not load.
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Before you leave
A written plan, and an honest answer
You get a one-page plan for the next six weeks and a plain view on whether this is right for you. If it is not, Tom will say so and point you somewhere better.
What to bring
- Clothes you can bend and squat in. Nothing special.
- Flat trainers, or bare feet is fine on the mats.
- A water bottle. There is a tap.
- Any letters from your physio or GP if you are returning from an injury.
Book a session
Pick a session, a day and a time.
No account, no card, no phone call. Tom confirms by email or text the same day.
This is the example version. Every button works, the slots behave like a real diary, and pressing confirm shows you the finished state — but nothing is sent to anyone and nothing is booked.
What kind of session
Step 1 of 3If this is your first time here, choose the first session.
Which day
Step 2 of 3The next two weeks. The barn is closed on Sundays.
What time
Step 3 of 3Choose a day first.
Prices
Five prices. No memberships, no joining fee.
Pay per session, or buy a block if you know you are staying. Blocks do not expire while you are training regularly.
Cancelling
Cancel or move a session with 24 hours' notice and nothing is charged. Less than that and the session is charged, or taken from your block, unless Tom can fill it. Genuine illness is never charged.
Paying
Card in the barn, or bank transfer within a week. Blocks are paid in one go before the first session of the block. There is no online payment and no card is stored anywhere.
If it isn't working
Unused sessions from any block are refunded in full if you decide to stop. Nobody is held to a plan that is not helping them.
What clients say
In their words
I hadn't done anything since my daughter was born, so about nineteen years. The first session was mostly talking, which I needed. Eight months on I deadlift more than I weigh and my back has stopped going.
Post knee op, I was told to "strengthen the quad" and left to it. Tom wrote it down every week so I could see it changing. Never once felt rushed or shouted at.
I run the ridge three times a week and used to pull a calf every spring. Two sessions a week through the winter and it hasn't happened since. I'd rather be lifting than stretching, honestly.
These are example testimonials written for this fictional business. On a real site they are the client's own words, used with permission.
The barn
A converted flint barn a mile out of Lewes, with the ridge behind it.
Getting here
Ridgeway Lane, off the road out of Lewes towards the Downs. It is the black timber barn with the oxide-red door, about a mile from the station on foot or ten minutes by bike. The address and a what3words pin come with your confirmation.
Parking
There is room for two cars on the gravel in front of the barn, and it is only ever you. Please do not park in the lane itself — it is a farm access.
Inside
One rack, one platform, a set of bars and kettlebells, a rowing machine, mats, and a wood burner in winter. There is a toilet and a place to change. There is no shower, no music unless you want it, and no mirrors.
Hours
Get in touch
If you would rather ask something first.
The details below are deliberately not real — this is an example site. A real build carries the coach's own number and email.
Call or text Tom
01273 000000Between sessions the phone is on silent, so a text usually gets a quicker reply than a call.
Replies the same day, usually in the gap between the morning and evening blocks.
Or just book
The first session exists so you do not have to explain yourself in an email first. Choose a time and come.
Book a first session