Week 1 of Radikal Reset: Start Here
The first week is not about proving how much you can suffer. It is about building the base that helps you complete the next 8 weeks: choosing your route, training with control, moving more and tracking progress without becoming obsessed.
In Week 1 of Radikal Reset, you will train 4 days, complete 2 easy cardio sessions, choose between the Gym Route and the Home Route, work mostly at RIR 2 and use a simple way to track progress. The goal is not to destroy yourself. The goal is to finish the week thinking: “I can keep going.”
You do not need to change your whole life this week. You need to stop improvising. That is why Week 1 belongs to the base and adaptation phase: you learn the system, find your weights or exercise variations, choose your route and start building consistency.
Radikal Reset has two main routes: the Gym Route, if you train with machines and weights, and the Home Route, if you train without a gym using basic equipment. Choose one route and follow it. Do not mix both.
Note: this content is educational and does not replace individual medical, nutritional or coaching advice. If you have injuries, significant joint pain, a medical condition or important doubts, speak with a qualified professional before starting.
Before you start: choose your route
Gym Route
Choose this route if you have access to a gym, machines, cables, dumbbells or barbells and want to progress with structured strength training.
Home Route
Choose this route if you want to train with a backpack, bottles, books, chairs, a towel or mat and a safe elevated surface.
Week 0
If you are highly detrained, anxious about the gym, carrying a lot of extra weight or unsure how to perform basic exercises, start with Week 0.
Week 0 is not a punishment or a delay. It is a softer entry point to learn technique, build confidence and arrive at Week 1 feeling more prepared. If you are not sure whether to skip it, do it.
The definitive weekly structure
- Monday: Upper Body A.
- Tuesday: Lower Body A.
- Wednesday: rest or brisk walk.
- Thursday: Upper Body B.
- Friday: Lower Body B.
- Saturday: easy cardio or optional brisk walk.
- Sunday: rest.
If you cannot train exactly on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, that is fine. Keep the logic: 4 workouts per week, separating hard sessions whenever possible.
Week 1 intensity: RIR 2
Finish each set feeling that you could do about 2 more reps with good technique.
If you could do 5 or 6 more reps, the exercise is too easy. If you could not do any more, you went too far for this phase. In Week 1, we are not chasing failure, records or ego. We are chasing control.
Warm-up before each workout
Your warm-up should prepare what you are about to train. It should not be the same random warm-up every day.
Upper body warm-up
- 3-5 minutes of easy bike, easy rowing or brisk walking.
- Jumping jacks: 2 sets of 20-30 seconds.
- If impact is not appropriate, switch to fast marching in place.
- Shoulder circles: 10 forward and 10 backward.
- Arm openers: 10 reps.
- Easy incline push-ups or wall pushes: 10 reps.
- Very light rowing or scapular retractions: 10 reps.
- Before the first main exercise, do 1 very easy warm-up set to practice technique.
Lower body warm-up
- 4-5 minutes of easy bike or brisk walking.
- Jumping jacks: 2 sets of 20-30 seconds.
- If impact is not appropriate, switch to fast marching or step touch.
- Bodyweight squat: 10 reps.
- Bodyweight hip hinge: 10 reps.
- Short easy lunges: 6 per leg.
- Glute bridge: 10 reps.
- Ankle/hip mobility: 30-40 seconds.
- Before the first main exercise, do 1 very easy set with light load.
Week 1 — Radikal Reset Gym Route
This route is designed for gym training with machines, weights and alternatives. If a machine is busy or you do not know how to use it, do not lose the session: use a safe alternative and keep going.
Day 1 — Upper Body A
Goal: chest 8 sets, back 8 sets and biceps + triceps 8 total sets as a superset.
Chest — 8 sets
- Bench press or machine press — 4 sets of 6-8 reps. Rest: 90-120 s.
- Incline dumbbell press or incline machine press — 4 sets of 8-10 reps. Rest: 75-90 s.
Back — 8 sets
- Seated row, machine row or supported row — 4 sets of 6-8 reps. Rest: 90-120 s.
- Lat pulldown or assisted pull-up — 4 sets of 8-10 reps. Rest: 75-90 s.
Biceps + triceps — superset
- 5A. Dumbbell, cable or bar curl — 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
- 5B. Cable triceps extension — 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
- No rest between biceps and triceps. Rest 60-75 s after each full round.
Optional cardio finisher: 10-15 easy minutes. If you walk, make it a brisk walk, not a slow stroll.
Day 2 — Lower Body A
Goal: strong quad work, hip hinge, hamstrings, calves and core. Approximate volume: 20-21 sets including core.
- Squat, hack squat or leg press — 4 sets of 6-8 reps. Rest: 90-150 s.
- Romanian deadlift — 4 sets of 8-10 reps. Rest: 90-120 s.
- Leg press — 4 sets of 10-12 reps. Rest: 75-120 s.
- Leg curl — 3 sets of 10-12 reps. Rest: 60-90 s.
- Calves — 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Rest: 45-75 s.
- Plank or crunch — 2-3 sets.
Day 3 — Upper Body B
Goal: shoulders 8-10 sets and chest + back superset with 8 total sets. This day is more compact and denser.
Shoulders — 8-10 sets
- Military press, dumbbell press or shoulder press machine — 4 sets of 6-8 reps. Rest: 90-120 s.
- Lateral raises — 4 sets of 12-15 reps. Rest: 45-75 s.
- Face pull, rear delt fly or reverse pec deck — 2 sets of 12-15 reps. Rest: 45-75 s.
If you are short on time, do only the first two shoulder exercises and stay at 8 sets.
Chest + back superset — 8 total sets
- 4A. Converging press, machine press or push-ups — 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
- 4B. Seated row, lat pulldown or machine row — 4 sets of 8-10 reps.
- No rest between chest and back. Rest 75-90 s after each full round.
Optional cardio finisher: 10-15 easy minutes. Brisk walk, bike, elliptical or easy incline treadmill.
Day 4 — Lower Body B
Goal: glutes, hamstrings, unilateral work, quad accessory work, calves and core. Approximate volume: 22-23 sets including core.
- Trap bar deadlift, Romanian deadlift or safe heavy hinge — 3 sets of 5-6 reps. Rest: 120-150 s.
- Bulgarian split squat — 4 sets of 8-10 reps per leg. Rest: 75-120 s.
- Hip thrust — 4 sets of 8-10 reps. Rest: 75-120 s.
- Leg extension — 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Rest: 60-90 s.
- Leg curl — 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Rest: 60-90 s.
- Calves — 3 sets of 15-20 reps. Rest: 45-75 s.
- Side plank or pallof press — 2-3 sets.
Week 1 — Radikal Reset Home Route
The home version is not an inferior version. It is a route designed to help you progress with lower friction, using basic home equipment and adjusting difficulty with a backpack, pauses, tempo and exercise variations.
Equipment needed
- A strong backpack.
- Books, bottles or packs to load the backpack.
- Two firm and stable chairs.
- A towel or mat.
- A step, bench or safe elevated surface.
- Your phone timer.
Day 1 — Upper Body A at home
Goal: chest 8 sets, back 8 sets and arms 8 total sets as a superset.
Chest — 8 sets
- Incline, regular or feet-elevated push-ups — 4 sets of 8-15 reps.
- Backpack floor press — 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
Back — 8 sets
- One-arm backpack row — 4 sets of 10-15 reps per side.
- Two-arm backpack row or bent-over backpack row — 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
- If you have a resistance band, you can replace the second row with a band pulldown.
Biceps + triceps — superset
- 5A. Backpack or bottle curl — 4 sets of 12-20 reps.
- 5B. Close-grip push-ups or overhead backpack triceps extension — 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
- No rest between biceps and triceps. Rest 60-75 s after each full round.
Day 2 — Lower Body A at home
Goal: full lower body with emphasis on quads and hinge work. Approximate volume: 20-22 total sets.
- Backpack squat with pause at the bottom — 4 sets of 12-20 reps.
- Backpack Romanian deadlift — 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
- Reverse lunges — 4 sets of 10-15 reps per leg.
- Single-leg glute bridge — 3 sets of 10-15 reps per leg.
- Single-leg calf raises — 3 sets of 15-25 reps per leg.
- Plank or crunch — 2-3 sets.
Day 3 — Upper Body B at home
Goal: shoulders 8-10 sets and chest + back superset with 8 total sets.
Shoulders — 8-10 sets
- Pike push-up — 4 sets of 6-12 reps.
- Lateral raises with bottles or a light backpack — 4 sets of 12-20 reps.
- Rear delt fly with bottles — 2 sets of 15-20 reps.
If you are short on time, do only the first two exercises and stay at 8 sets.
Chest + back superset — 8 total sets
- 4A. Regular, incline or feet-elevated push-ups — 4 sets of 8-15 reps.
- 4B. Backpack row — 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
- No rest between push-ups and rows. Rest 75-90 s after each full round.
Day 4 — Lower Body B at home
Goal: full lower body with emphasis on unilateral work, glutes and hamstrings. Approximate volume: 20-24 total sets.
- Bulgarian split squat — 4 sets of 8-12 reps per leg.
- Backpack hip thrust — 4 sets of 10-15 reps.
- Sliding hamstring curl with towel — 4 sets of 8-15 reps.
- Step-up to bench or step — 4 sets of 10-15 reps per leg.
- Continuous final squat — 2 sets of 20-30 reps.
- Side plank — 2-3 sets per side.
If you cannot do everything, do not disappear.
The Minimum Version keeps the chain alive when you have little time, low energy or a messy week.
- Do the first main exercise of the day.
- Do the second main exercise of the day.
- Finish with 8-12 minutes of easy cardio or brisk walking.
Doing the minimum version is not failing. It is avoiding breaking the process.
Cardio in Week 1
During Week 1, complete 2 easy cardio sessions of 20-25 minutes. You do not need HIIT. You do not need to finish destroyed.
- Options: brisk walking, bike, treadmill, elliptical, easy rowing or easy stairs.
- The pace should allow you to talk, but you should still feel that you are working.
- If you choose walking, make it a brisk walk. Not a slow window-shopping stroll.
- Cardio is a support tool, not punishment for eating.
Nutrition in Week 1
This week, you do not need an extreme diet. You need to start eating with more structure.
- Include protein in your main meals.
- Swap liquid calories for water, coffee, tea or zero-sugar drinks.
- Use a simple plate: protein + vegetables/fruit + adjusted carbs + reasonable fats.
- Do not turn one bad meal into a bad day.
- Do not compensate with punishment. Return to normal at the next meal.
How to track progress without obsessing
You do not need to measure everything every day. You need a simple, repeatable reference that you can actually maintain. Choose one option.
Option A — Body weight
Weigh yourself after waking up, use the same scale and repeat every 2 weeks. Do not make decisions from one isolated weigh-in.
Option B — Photos
Take one front mirror photo every 4 weeks. Use similar lighting, the same place, the same posture and, if possible, similar clothing.
Option C — Combined
If you want more control, use body weight every 2 weeks and one front photo every 4 weeks. It is not mandatory.
Mistakes to avoid in Week 1
Mistake 1: training to failure from day one
In Week 1, leave about 2 reps in reserve. Finishing destroyed does not make you more consistent.
Mistake 2: turning cardio into punishment
Cardio should help you move more and reinforce the habit. You do not need HIIT to start.
Mistake 3: tracking too much
If tracking makes you obsessive, simplify. Body weight every 2 weeks or one photo every 4 weeks is enough to begin.
Mistake 4: quitting because of one bad meal
One meal does not ruin the process. Disappearing for several days does.
Mistake 5: skipping Week 0 if you need it
If you feel lost, Week 0 may be the decision that prevents you from quitting before you really start.
Your goal this week
Your goal is not to transform your body in seven days. Your goal is to complete your first workouts, learn the system, find your weights or variations, move more, eat with more control and avoid quitting because you did not do it perfectly.
Related guides
You do not need another Monday. You need a structure you can complete.
Radikal Reset is designed to help you train, eat better and keep going even when a week gets messy.