Small studio · Eight-week blocks
Train for eight weeks, not for forever.
Drift Grove is a two-rack studio for people who want a coach in the room, a written plan, and a finish line they can see. Every block is eight weeks long, reviewed at week four, and ends with a session where we decide together what comes next.
- 8-week blocksWritten start to finish before session one.
- 55-minute sessionsWarm-up, main lifts and review, every time.
- Four per groupSmall groups capped so cues stay individual.
- Week-four reviewPlan adjusted on evidence, not on guesswork.
Choose a lane
Four ways to train here
Each lane runs on the same eight-week calendar, so blocks start and finish together. If two lanes look right, mention both in your enquiry and we will sort it in the consultation.
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1:1 Strength
For building a base from scratch
Two sessions a week with the same coach, built around squat, hinge, press and carry. You learn the lifts with light loads first and we add weight only once the pattern holds for three sessions.
- Two 55-minute sessions each week
- Written plan with a home option for travel weeks
- Video review of your main lift at weeks one and eight
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Return to running
For coming back after a layoff
A walk-run progression paired with single-leg strength work. We start below what you think you can manage, hold the load steady for two weeks, then build. Designed for people returning after illness, injury or a long gap.
- One studio session plus two guided solo runs each week
- Load tracked in minutes, not distance
- Handover notes if you are working with a physio
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Small group of four
For training alongside other people
Four people, one coach, one shared plan with individual loads. Everyone works through the same session structure at their own weights, so a first-timer and someone in their fourth block can share the same hour.
- Fixed slot for the whole eight weeks
- Loads written on your own card, not called out
- One make-up session per block if you miss a week
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Remote programming
For training in your own gym
For people who already train but want the plan taken off their hands. You send clips, we send adjustments. Built around the equipment you actually have, which we confirm before the block is written.
- Plan rewritten every two weeks
- Form feedback on clips within two working days
- One video call at week four to review progress
Inside the 55 minutes
What a session actually looks like
Nothing is improvised on the day. The shape below is the same whether it is your first session or your fortieth, which is why people stop wondering what they are walking into.
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0–8 min
Check-in and warm-up
Sleep, soreness and anything that changed since last time. The warm-up is then picked to match — it is not a fixed routine you repeat regardless of how you turned up.
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8–16 min
Pattern practice
Light sets of the day's main lift to rehearse position. This is where corrections happen, before the weight is heavy enough to make them hard to feel.
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16–38 min
Main lifts
Two lifts, working sets, timed rest. Your card lists the target reps and the load from last week so you always know what you are chasing.
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38–50 min
Supporting work
Single-leg work, upper-body pulling and trunk work in short circuits. This is the part we adjust most often, usually to work around a stiff week.
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50–55 min
Write it down
Loads recorded, next session previewed, one thing to focus on before you are back. You leave knowing what Thursday holds.
First session Session one is longer — about 75 minutes — because we spend the first half talking through history, old injuries and what you want out of the block before anything gets loaded.
This week
Weekly timetable
Slots are held for the full eight weeks, so availability changes between blocks rather than week to week. Pick two that suit your routine and name them in your enquiry.
| Slot | Session | Focus of the day | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 06:30 | Small group of four | Squat and pull | 1 place |
| Mon 18:00 | 1:1 strength | By plan | Held |
| Tue 07:15 | Return to running | Single-leg strength | Open |
| Tue 19:00 | 1:1 strength | By plan | Open |
| Wed 06:30 | Small group of four | Hinge and press | Held |
| Thu 07:15 | Return to running | Walk-run progression | 2 places |
| Thu 18:00 | 1:1 strength | By plan | Open |
| Fri 09:30 | Small group of four | Carry and conditioning | 1 place |
| Sat 08:00 | Consultation and first session | Assessment only | Open |
| Sat 10:00 | Small group of four | Full body, lighter | Open |
The studio is closed on Sundays and on the last Friday of each block, which is kept for plan writing and week-four reviews. Remote programming has no fixed slot — clips are reviewed on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Your coach
Maren Vaske
Strength coach · Founder of Drift Grove
I spent nine years coaching in large commercial gyms and found the same problem everywhere: people were sold sessions, not plans. Drift Grove runs on blocks instead, so there is always a written start, a review point and an honest conversation at the end about whether to continue.
Most of the people I work with are starting again rather than starting fresh — after an injury, a long stretch at a desk, or a few false starts on their own. My job is to make the next eight weeks boring enough to finish and specific enough to work.
- Level 4 StrengthAdvanced strength and conditioning certification
- Rehab referralQualified to take and return physiotherapy referrals
- Pre and postnatalSpecialist training for both stages
- Barbell coachingSquat, bench, deadlift and overhead technique
Getting started
How a first block begins
Three steps between an enquiry and your first working set. Nothing is charged before the consultation, and nothing is written before we have talked.
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Send the form
Tell me your goal, anything that currently hurts, and the two slots that fit your week. A reply usually lands within one working day.
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Consultation
Forty minutes in the studio covering history, a movement screen and a light lift, so we both know what the starting point is. You leave with a recommended lane.
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Block one starts
Your plan is written before session one and your slot is held for eight weeks. We review at week four and again at the end.
What to bring to the consultation
- Trainers with a flat sole
- Clothes you can squat in
- A water bottle
- Any physio notes you have
- A rough idea of your week
Questions
Before you enquire
The things people ask in the consultation, answered here so you can decide before booking one.
How is training priced?
By the block, not by the session. Each eight-week block is quoted as one figure that covers your sessions, the written plan, the week-four review and any plan changes in between. The quote depends on the lane and how many sessions a week you train, so it comes with the consultation summary rather than off a price list. There is no joining fee and no rolling contract — when a block ends, it ends.
What happens if I miss a session?
Give more than twelve hours' notice on a 1:1 and we move the session within the same block wherever the timetable allows. Small groups include one make-up session per block, taken in any group slot with space. Sessions cancelled with less notice are counted as taken, because the slot cannot be filled that late — the exception is illness, which I would always rather you stayed home for.
I have an old injury. Can I still train?
Usually yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people come here. The consultation covers what happened, what still provokes it and what you have already been told by a clinician. If something needs assessing properly first I will say so and suggest you see a physiotherapist before we load it. If you are already under someone's care, I can write to them with the plan so you are not getting two sets of instructions.
Do you coach during and after pregnancy?
Yes, in both stages, with a pre and postnatal qualification behind it. Plans are built around your trimester or your recovery stage and reviewed more often than a standard block — usually every two weeks rather than at week four. Postnatal blocks start with breathing, trunk and load tolerance before anything heavy, and I will ask for your sign-off from your midwife or GP before the first session.
What equipment does the studio have?
Two racks, a platform, barbells from 10kg, dumbbells to 40kg, kettlebells, cable machine, rower, bike and plenty of floor space. Deliberately no mirrors and no queueing — the room is capped at four people plus a coach, so you never wait for a rack. Changing space and showers are available, though most people training before work use them more than the evening group does.
How do I know whether it is working?
Every session is written down, so progress is visible in the numbers rather than in how you felt on the day. At week four we compare your loads, reps and session notes against the plan and change whichever is wrong — sometimes the plan, sometimes the expectation. At week eight we repeat the first-session lift on video so there is a direct before-and-after to look at.
Can I pause a block if work or travel gets in the way?
A block can be paused once for up to three weeks, and your slot is held while it is paused. For shorter trips you will get a travel version of the plan instead — the same structure rewritten for a hotel gym or a bodyweight-only week — which keeps the block running rather than interrupting it. Pauses longer than three weeks become a new block, because the plan would need rewriting anyway.
Does remote programming include any in-person time?
One consultation at the start, which can be done by video call if you are not local, and one video call at week four. Everything else runs on written plans and clip feedback, returned within two working days on Tuesdays and Fridays. If you are within reach of the studio, many remote clients add a single in-person session at the start of each block to check the big lifts.
Start a block
Request a first session
This form goes straight to Maren. The more you tell me about what hurts and what your week looks like, the more useful the consultation will be.
- A reply within one working day
- A recommended lane and two possible slots
- A block quote after the consultation, not before
- No obligation to continue after the first block