$19 one-time
- The full 8-week plan as a PDF, from Kristina
- Every session added to your phone's calendar, from your start or race date
- Phaes Insights free for 10 weeks
- Gym and home versions of every exercise
Secure checkout with Stripe. No account needed.
Want it to adapt to you every day? Get it coached in the app: $9.99 a month, first week free.
Who this plan is for
You want to get stronger, not run a race. You have lifted a little before and want a real program, at the gym or at home.
Kristina Folcik wrote it for women in perimenopause and menopause, when the old way of training (lots of miles, tempo runs, light weights for high reps) tends to leave you tired, stalled, or hurt. It works with or without MHT (HRT).
- Heavy strength three days a week, 5 sets of 5
- Gym and home versions of every exercise
- One HIIT circuit a week, easy walks or yoga between
- A reset week every fourth week
How it trains you differently
In Kristina's words, it takes a while to wrap your head around a new way to train. The plan follows her method for this stage of life:
- Lift heavy, rest properly. Few exercises per session, long rests, and a last set that is genuinely hard.
- Easy days are easy. Walks or yoga between lifting days, plus one short HIIT circuit a week.
- Strength sessions are challenging. Lift heavy for you, 5 sets of 5.
- A reset week every fourth week. No intensity and lighter weights in weeks 4 and 8, so you absorb the work.
- One full rest day a week, physical and emotional, and more protein to support the muscle you are building.
Her advice is to give it a few weeks: in her experience, women on this method find they have more energy and fewer niggles. Read more about her method in a marathon build, sprint interval training, and why reset weeks matter.
Sample weeks, day by day
Here are three weeks exactly as they appear in the plan: the first week, the first reset week, and the hardest week. Tap a day to see its sessions.
How the 8 weeks are built
Three weeks of building, then a reset week at about 70% of your usual weights, twice through. No running needed.
The strength sessions
5 sets of 5, 2 min rest between sets. Go heavier on the last set; getting only 2 reps is fine. Every session ends with core. Each exercise has a gym version and a home version.
Arms + calves
- Biceps Barbell curl or at home: Dumbbell curl
- Triceps Close-grip bench press or at home: Close-grip push-up
- Calves Standing calf raise or at home: Single-leg calf raise
- Core Pallof press or at home: Side plank
Chest/back/shoulders
- Chest Bench press or at home: Push-up (elevate feet to progress)
- Back Bent-over barbell row or at home: One-arm dumbbell row
- Shoulders Standing overhead press or at home: Dumbbell shoulder press
- Core Plank or at home: Plank
Lower body
- Glutes Barbell hip thrust or at home: Single-leg hip thrust
- Hamstrings Romanian deadlift or at home: Single-leg Romanian deadlift
- Quads Back squat or at home: Bulgarian split squat
- Core Dead bug or at home: Dead bug
Hips
- Hips Goblet Cossack squat or at home: Lateral lunge
- Adductors Adductor machine or at home: Copenhagen plank
- Abductors Cable hip abduction or at home: Banded lateral walk
- Core Pallof press or at home: Side plank
HIIT: Once a week on leg day, before your leg strength. Warm up 5 min. Then 15 min: 3 moves, 5 sets each of 40 s work, 20 s rest. Moves include squat jumps, skater hops and single-leg hops, with a no-jump version (squats, lunges, calf raises) if your lower legs hurt.
Fixed plan or coached?
The plan, $19 once
The same 8 weeks for every woman at this level, as a PDF, in your calendar and in the Phaes app. You follow it; you adjust it yourself on bad days. Includes Phaes Insights for 10 weeks.
Phaes Coach, $9.99 a month
The same method, built into a plan that changes every day with your sleep, energy, symptoms and cycle, with a coach you can ask to move things around. First week free. Start with Coach.
$19 one-time
- The full 8-week plan as a PDF, from Kristina
- Every session added to your phone's calendar, from your start or race date
- Phaes Insights free for 10 weeks
- Gym and home versions of every exercise
Secure checkout with Stripe. No account needed.
Want it to adapt to you every day? Get it coached in the app: $9.99 a month, first week free.
Frequently asked questions
Can I do this plan at home?
Yes. Every exercise has a gym version and a home version (for example, bench press or push-ups). Heavy means heavy for you: the last set should be hard.
Do I need to run?
No. The easy days are walks or yoga. If you also run, the race plans include the same lifting.
Who are these plans for?
Women in perimenopause and menopause, and women over 40 who want to train this way. Kristina wrote the method for changing hormones, with or without MHT (HRT).
What do I get when I buy?
An email from Kristina with your plan as a PDF, plus Phaes Insights free for the length of the plan and 2 more weeks. Sign up in the app with the same email you paid with and Insights turns on automatically.
What is the difference between the plan and Phaes Coach?
The plan is fixed: the same weeks for everyone at that level, for a one-time price. Phaes Coach builds the same method into a plan that adapts every day to your sleep, energy, symptoms, and cycle, for $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with a free first week.
Do I need a gym?
No. Every strength exercise has a gym version and a home version. Heavy means heavy for you.