PT Programme Design Case Study

Name: Conor Gardiner

D.O.B.: 24/01/1997

Address: Moneen West, Ardrahan, Galway

Eircode: H91 HFP9

Email: Conorgardiner1997@gmail.com

Mobile: 089 433 09 11

PAR-Q answers:
1. Has your doctor ever said you have a heart condition and … → no
2. Do you feel pain in your chest when you do physical activ… → no
3. In the past month, have you had a chest pain when you wer… → no
4. Do you lose your balance because of dizziness or do you e… → no
5. Do you have a bone or joint problem (for example, back, k… → no
6. Is your doctor currently prescribing medication for your … → no
7. Do you know of any other reason why you should not do phy… → no

Signature: Conor Gardiner

Print Name: Conor Gardiner

Date: 10/05/2026

Name: Conor Gardiner

Date: 10/05/2026

D.O.B.: 24/01/1997

Phone: 089 433 09 11

Occupation: Vet

Email: Conorgardiner1997@gmail.com

Working Hours: Monday - Friday 9-5. On call ever Wednesday evening and every 3rd weekend.

Main Goals: To lose fat
Build muscle
Improve endurance
100kg bench press
Increase weight lifting on all areas

Problem Areas: No

Exercise History: Lots of steps and physical job but no training at the moment. Has worked out in a gym for a few years but never had a program done or followed one. Also focuses a lot on upper body and very rarely does lower body.

Do you find it difficult to lose weight?: no

Breakfast: 2 sausages, 2 pudding, 1 egg and 2 slices of whole grain toast. Or 4 Weetabix with milk

Water Intake: 2 litres

Lunch: Toasted ham and cheese with crisps or a chicken fillet roll

Alcohol: Once every 2-3 weeks

Illness / Injury: Broke leg - femur when he was 18

Medication / Treatment: No

Pregnant: no

Post-Natal: no

Planning: no

Notes: No

Do you smoke?: no

How many per day?: 0

Times Available to Train: Evenings between 8-9. Not Wednesday evenings

Agreed Package: 12 sessions

Agreed Start Date: 11/05/2026

Test 1:
Name of test / measurement: 1RM Bench Press
What does it test / measure?: Chest strength
Relevance to client's goals: Would like to bench press 100kg
Equipment used: Barbell bench press
Record of scores / measurements: 85kg 1RM
Result / interpretation: Conor is close to his goal. He has hit 100kg before but not in over a year so this is quite an achievable goal to hit over 6-8 weeks

Test 2:
Name of test / measurement: Body fat measurement
What does it test / measure?: Percentage of body fat
Relevance to client's goals: Body composition goal
Equipment used: Skinfold callipers
Record of scores / measurements: Skinfold
Chest - 10 mm
Midaxillary - 12 mm
Triceps - 12 mm
Subscapular - 14 mm
Abdomen - 20 mm
Suprailiac - 18 mm
Thigh - 14 mm
Result / interpretation: Sum of 7 skin folds is 100mm. Estimated body fat is around 17-18%
Higher percentage in abdomen area
Good baseline to start for a 4-8 week program

Test 3:
Name of test / measurement: Beep Test
What does it test / measure?: Cardiovascular fitness
Relevance to client's goals: Improve fitness endurance
Equipment used: Beep test sound and cones
Record of scores / measurements: Level 10
Result / interpretation: He has a strong cardiovascular fitness base but can be improved.

Date of session: 2026-05-11

Exercises:
1. Barbell Bench Press — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60s · sets: 60 / 62 / 65
2. Incline DB Bench Press — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60s · sets: 25 / 28 / 30
3. Assisted Pull Ups — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
4. Seated DB Shoulder Press — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 20 / 20 / 22
5. Cable Tricep Pull Downs — 3×12 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 30 / 32 / 35
6. DB Lateral Raises — 3×15 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 8 / 8 / 8

Warm-up, cool-down, and other phases (cardio, intervals, stretching etc.): Warm Up - 5 mins on the bike, 5 mins dynamic stretching focusing on using bands for upper body to get ready for the session.

Cardio - Gerschler Farthek on the treadmill.

Cool down - 5 mins walk on treadmill and some static stretching.

Session notes:
• Comments, equipment, machine settings, notes: [Used standard 20kg BB for bench press. Used the rope attachment for tricep pull downs.]
• Observations re client technique: [Showed great control on all bench press reps.]
• Areas of difficulty, modifications to make next time or cues to be given: [Struggled toward the end of the assisted pull ups. May use a heavier band for the next time or lower the reps. Was using his body to drive up his arms for the lateral raises. Will Que not to swing so much the next time or maybe do a drop set when that starts to happen.]
• Flexibility or other exercises required: [Conor felt shoulders rounded a bit after bench press so may do some further dynamic stretching before hand.]
• Client feedback: [Conor enjoyed the session and loves doing an upper body. He also enjoyed the cardio section as he had never done that method before.]

Date of session: 2026-05-18

Exercises:
1. BB Squat — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 75 / 80 / 85
2. BB RDL — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 30 / 40 / 50
3. BB Split Squat — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 50 / 55 / 55
4. Leg Extension — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 45 / 50 / 50
5. Standing Calf Raise Machine — 3×12 @ 3010 · sets: 45 / 45 / 50
6. Leg Curl Machine — 3×12 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 40 / 45 / 45

Warm-up, cool-down, and other phases (cardio, intervals, stretching etc.): Warm up - 5 min on the bike with some dynamic stretching focusing on lower body e.g squats, worlds greatest stretch, lunges, hip flexors.

Cool down - 5 mins walk on treadmill and some static stretching.

Session notes:
• Comments, equipment, machine settings, notes: [Conor had never done an RDL before so we worked on technique and started weight low. All of the rest of the machine settings worked well. Conor knew how to set everything up.]
• Observations re client technique: [Conor maintained good depth for the squats. Conor kept the BB close to his thighs and had a good hip hinge for the RDLs]
• Areas of difficulty, modifications to make next time or cues to be given: [There was a slight wobble in his legs for the split squat. May drop the weight to just the bar to focus on balance.]
• Flexibility or other exercises required: [Work on a bit of balance in the warm up as there was some difficulty with the split squats]
• Client feedback: [Conor felt sore and worked after this session. He rarely does a full leg session so he felt a bit tight and a sore back after.]

Date of session: 2026-05-25

Exercises:
1. Standing BB Overhead Press — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 40 / 42 / 45
2. BB Bench Press — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 65 / 67 / 70
3. Bent Over Row — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 45 / 50 / 55
4. DB Bicep Curls — 3×12 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 12 / 15 / 15
5. Cable Face Pulls — 3×15 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 20 / 22 / 25

Warm-up, cool-down, and other phases (cardio, intervals, stretching etc.): Warm Up - 5 mins on the bike, 5 mins dynamic stretching focusing on using bands for upper body to get ready for the session.

Cardio - Tabata on the Rower

Cool down - 5 mins walk on treadmill and some static stretching.

Session notes:
• Comments, equipment, machine settings, notes: [Used the standard 20kg BB for the first 3 exercises. Used rope attachment for face pulls and set at highest height possible.]
• Observations re client technique: [Kept elbows locked for bicep curls. Maintained good posture for BOR]
• Areas of difficulty, modifications to make next time or cues to be given: [Slight lean back in the overhead press on the last few reps. Encouraged to brace core and use slight bend in knees if needed to push weight overhead.]
• Flexibility or other exercises required: [No]
• Client feedback: [Conor felt his bench press was really strong and could have gone a bit heavier. Will consider for the next session.]

Date of session: 2026-06-01

Exercises:
1. Hex Bar Deadlift — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 80 / 85 / 90
2. Weighted Push Ups — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 5 / 5 / 5
3. Leg Press Machine — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 120 / 130 / 140
4. Lat Pull Down — 3×10 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 55 / 60 / 60
5. DB Chest Flys — 3×15 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 12 / 12 / 14
6. Tricep Extensions — 3×15 @ 3010 · rest 60 · sets: 17 / 20 / 22

Warm-up, cool-down, and other phases (cardio, intervals, stretching etc.): Warm up - 5 min on the bike with some dynamic stretching focusing on a mix of lower and upper body

Core workout after main phase. 5 mins of 45s on 15s off of 5 core exercises.

Cool down - 5 mins walk on treadmill and some static stretching.

Session notes:
• Comments, equipment, machine settings, notes: [Was capable of using all machines and knew how to set them up. Used a standard 20kg hex bar for the deadlift. Used wide grip for the lat pull down.]
• Observations re client technique: [Conor technique for deadlift wasn’t amazing. He had a bit of a rounded back but it was his first time doing them so that is why we kept the weight low. Form was good on everything else except for chest flys where his arms were coming quite far down past his shoulders so we corrected that.]
• Areas of difficulty, modifications to make next time or cues to be given: [On the last rep of leg press Conor’s knees curved in a little bit so make sure to drive through the heels and keep the knees stable for the next time]
• Client feedback: [Conor found the deadlift hard especially 10 reps considering it was his first time so we will reduce that for the next time we do them.]

Exercises:
1. BB Bench Press — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
2. Incline DB Bench Press — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
3. Weighted Pull Ups — 3×6 @ 3010 · rest 60
4. BB Shoulder Press — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
5. Cable Tricep Pull Downs — 3×12 @ 3110 · rest 60
6. DB Lateral Raises — 3×15 @ 3110 · rest 60

Warm-up, cool-down, and other phases: Warm Up - 5 mins on the bike, 5 mins dynamic stretching focusing on using bands for upper body to get ready for the session.

Cardio - Gerschler Farthek on the treadmill. Ensure the speed has increased since the 1st session.

Cool down - 5 mins walk on treadmill and some static stretching.

Exercises:
1. BB Back Squat — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
2. BB Deadlift — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
3. BB Reverse Lunges — 3×8 @ 3010 · rest 60
4. Leg Extension Machine — 3×10 @ 3110 · rest 60
5. Standing Calf Raises — 3×12 @ 3110 · rest 60
6. Seated Leg Curl — 3×12 @ 3110 · rest 60

Warm-up, cool-down, and other phases: Warm up - 5 min on the bike with some dynamic stretching focusing on lower body e.g squats, worlds greatest stretch, lunges, hip flexors.

Cool down - 5 mins walk on treadmill and some static stretching.

Reasons for changes in Mesocycle 2: Dropped the repetitions on target areas e.g bench press to allow weight to increase. Helping Conor to reach his goal of 100kg bench press.

Added weights to the pull ups and dropped the amount.

Kept the weights high for isolation exercises but added a 1 second pause to increase time under tension.

Increased the speed on the treadmill for Gerschler Fartlek with the improvement in cardiovascular fitness.

Reasons for changes in Mesocycle 3: Switched to BB lunges instead of splits squats as balance has improved.

Moved from Hex bar deadlift to BB deadlift with improved technique.

Also added a pause on the isolation exercises for time under tension.