Iron Protocol — Client Pack

Four pillars.
Four weeks.

Read the rules once. Run the protocols daily. Eat from the list. Tick the journal every night. That's the whole system — the pillars hold it up, you just have to stand on them.

Non-negotiables

Five rules

Not preferences. Not targets. Five lines that don't move for the length of the block, so you stop having the same argument with yourself forty times a week.

The rules — all five, every day, for the whole block
No.RuleWhy it's in
Rule 1 No alcohol None. Not a glass with dinner, not a schooner after the game, not "only on weekends".
  • It costs you the deep sleep you're training for, on the exact nights you'd drink.
  • It's the reliable gateway to breaking rule two, usually within the hour.
  • Plan the out before you walk in: soda and lime, zero-alc beer, or buy the round and don't drink it.
Rule 2 No pasta, rice, bread The three staples that quietly make up most of the volume on a plate. Cut them and portion size sorts itself out without you counting a thing.
  • Pasta→zucchini ribbons, roast veg, lentils, or the same sauce over a bigger serve of meat
  • Rice→cauliflower rice, potato, sweet potato, beans, extra greens
  • Bread, wraps, toast→eggs, lettuce cups, a proper cooked breakfast
  • Servo sandwich at lunch→last night's leftovers, packed the night before
Rule 3 Phone down at 8pm No socials after 8pm — YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, the lot. Calls and texts are fine. Charge it in another room.
  • The scroll is what pushes bedtime back, not the light. Cut the scroll, get the hour back.
  • It kills the late-night kitchen visit that breaks rules one and two.
  • Read, stretch, talk to someone, or go to bed early. All beat the feed.
Rule 4 Same wake time every day Pick a time you can hold on a Sunday, not just a Tuesday. Alarm out of reach. Weekends included — that's the whole point.
  • A fixed wake time is the strongest single lever on sleep quality. Bedtime follows it on its own.
  • Sleeping in on the weekend gives you jet lag without the holiday.
  • It makes the morning light and the training slot automatic instead of negotiable.
Rule 5 Sun on your face, 5 minutes Every day, outside, no sunglasses. Overcast counts — it's still far brighter than indoors. Earlier is better.
  • Daylight through the eyes is what anchors your body clock, and a solid clock is what makes you sleepy at the right end of the day.
  • Most people get a fraction of the light they need; five minutes outside beats an hour by a window.
  • Sun safety still applies past mid-morning — hat and sunscreen on the skin, but keep the sunglasses off for those minutes.
Rule 6 — weekly

Sauna — once a week

One 45 minute booking. Run it as three rounds of 12–15 minutes with a few minutes out to cool between, not one long sit. Half a litre of water before, more after.

  • Cardiovascular load without impact. Heat pushes your heart rate up much like a steady walk does, and regular sauna use is associated with lower blood pressure over time.
  • Recovery and sleep. Most people report less muscle soreness in the days after, and an easier time getting to sleep that night.
Book your sauna →
The daily work

Protocols

Thirteen daily ticks, in the order they fall through your day. Most take a minute or two. Here's each one and why it's in. Learn them once, then stop thinking about them.

The daily protocols — in the order they fall through your day
ProtocolWhat to doWhy it's in
Wake up Same time, water, light Up at your alarm time, seven days a week, weekends included. Straight out of bed, alarm out of reach.
  • Consistency beats duration. A fixed wake time does more for how you feel than an extra hour at the weekend ever will.
  • It sets up everything else — the water, the light and the fast all hang off getting up on time.
Water Big glass + Celtic salt, within 10 mins A full glass of water within ten minutes of waking, with a pinch of Celtic sea salt stirred in.
  • Rehydrate first. You've gone eight hours without fluid; the pinch of salt replaces some of what you lost overnight.
  • Skip the salt if you've been told to watch your blood pressure or sodium.
Sunlight 10 minutes early morning sunlight Outside, within an hour or so of waking, no sunglasses. Overcast still counts. Walk, have your coffee out there, whatever gets you out the door.
  • Sets the clock. Morning light through the eyes is the main signal your body uses to time sleep, and it's what makes you tired at a sensible hour tonight.
  • Mood and alertness. Morning light exposure is consistently linked with better mood and a sharper start to the day.
Fast Fast until midday Nothing but water and black coffee until midday, then break the fast with a proper protein-led meal. Work up to it. Week one: black coffee and water until 9am, then an apple to tide you over to lunch. Each week push the apple later, until you're through to midday on coffee and water alone.
  • Simplifies the day. One fewer meal to think about, and it pulls your eating into a tighter window without counting anything.
  • Steadier energy. Most blokes find their morning focus sharpens once they're past the first week of adjustment. We weren't built to eat all the time.
  • Control the hunger, don't fight it. Sip water, drink tea. If you go dizzy, a pinch of salt in water. If the dizziness keeps up, eat something — that's the rule, not a failure.
  • Out entirely if you're diabetic or have any history of disordered eating. Tell me and we'll run it without.
Coffee Black coffee only, no milk Fine during the fast — black, no milk, no sugar, no sweetener. Last coffee by midday.
  • Keeps the fast clean. Milk or sugar breaks it; black coffee doesn't.
  • Protects your sleep. The midday cut-off means caffeine has cleared your system by the time you're winding down, which is what the evening rules are built on.
Cold Finish cold — 60 seconds End your shower with a full minute of cold. Chest and back under the water, not just your legs. Slow exhales, longer than the inhale, until the gasp settles. Build up from 30 seconds in week one if you need to.
  • Alertness that lasts. Cold water triggers a sharp noradrenaline response — most people feel switched on for hours afterwards, without caffeine.
  • Practice at staying calm. A controlled minute in something you don't want to do is a rep for every other uncomfortable decision in the day.
Push 10 push-ups Any time in the day, in one set or broken up. Full range — chest to the floor, lock out at the top. Drop to your knees if you need to.
  • A daily minimum that compounds. Ten a day is nothing on paper and a lot over a block — it keeps pushing strength ticking over between sessions.
  • A habit anchor. Small, unmissable, and hard to talk yourself out of — which is the whole point.
Food No rice, pasta or bread The three rules on food, every day. Protein at every meal, veg at two of them, and enough to actually fuel the training.
  • Portion control without counting. Cut the three staples and plate size handles itself.
  • See the Rules page for the full swaps and the reasons behind them.
Water 2 litres of water Across the day, on top of the glass you have on waking. More if you've trained hard or been in the sauna.
  • Everything else works better hydrated — training, focus, appetite, and recovery from the heat and cold work.
  • Easy to undershoot. Two litres is a floor to hit deliberately, not a number most people reach by accident.
Squat sit 1 minute squat sit Sit at the bottom of a deep squat for a minute — broken into chunks is fine at first. Heels raised on a book or a plate is completely fine. Hold a doorframe for balance if you need it.
  • Buys back range you've lost. A daily minute at end range keeps ankles, knees and hips moving through the positions a desk takes away.
  • Better squats under load. Comfort at the bottom position transfers straight to depth and control when there's a bar involved.
  • Ease off if you get sharp knee pain — reduce depth, raise the heels more, or hold support.
Breath work Box breathing — 10 rounds One round is: in through the nose for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold empty for 4. Ten rounds takes about three minutes. Sit upright, shoulders down, count slowly and evenly. If four feels like a stretch, drop to three.
  • Downshifts the nervous system on command. Slow, even breathing at around six breaths a minute slows heart rate and settles the stress response — useful before a session, a hard conversation, or bed.
  • Focus you can call up. The counting gives your attention one job, which is why it works as a reset in the middle of a messy day.
  • Sitting or lying down only. Never in or near water, and stop if you get light-headed.
Bedtime 8pm — 10g creatine, phone away 10g creatine monohydrate with a full glass of water, and the phone down from 8pm — no socials. Standard maintenance dosing is 3–5g a day, so 10g is on the high side; take it with plenty of fluid and drop back if it upsets your stomach.
  • The best-evidenced supplement there is. Creatine reliably improves strength and power output alongside resistance training, and helps you hold onto lean mass.
  • A wind-down that isn't a screen. The 8pm cut-off is what actually gets you to bed on time — the creatine is just the cue to start.
  • Check first if you have kidney disease or take medication affecting the kidneys.
What goes in the trolley

Nutrition

Eat from this list and you can't really go wrong. Protein at every meal, veg at two, good fats on everything, and the fast handles the rest.

The list — grouped by what it does for you
GroupBuyWhy it's in
Protein Sardines in olive oiltinned, skin and bones in Salmonfresh or tinned White fishsnapper, flathead, barra Chicken breast · Steak · Eggs Biltongthe real stuff, not jerky with sugar in it
  • Muscle and satiety. Protein is what you're training to keep. It also fills you up for longer than anything else on the plate.
  • Sardines and salmon bring omega-3 and, with the bones in, calcium. Cheapest high-quality protein going.
  • Eggs are the most complete food on the list — whites, yolks, the lot.
Vegetables Broccoli · Brussels sprouts · Cauliflower Spinach and leafy greens Garlic · Onion Capsicum · Zucchini · Mushrooms
  • The cruciferous three — broccoli, sprouts, cauliflower — are fibre, volume and the compounds your liver uses to clear things out. Cauliflower doubles as your rice.
  • Greens for magnesium and folate, which most blokes run short on.
  • Garlic and onion make everything taste like food, which matters when the rice and bread are gone.
Fruit Blueberries · Strawberries Apples · Oranges Lemonssqueeze into water
  • Berries are the lowest-sugar, highest-antioxidant fruit there is. Have them with the coconut yoghurt.
  • An apple is your fast-breaker in week one — fibre, water, and enough to take the edge off without a meal.
  • Lemon in water makes plain water easier to drink two litres of, and it's a vitamin C hit. Use it.
Fats Extra virgin olive oildrink a shot straight, or pour it over everything Avocado Walnuts · Almonds Coconut yoghurtunsweetened
  • Olive oil is the backbone — monounsaturated fat and polyphenols. Cook in it, dress with it, drink it. Go extra virgin, cold pressed, in a dark bottle.
  • Avocado and nuts keep you full between meals and carry the fat-soluble vitamins from your veg into you.
  • Coconut yoghurt stands in for the milk you're not having — a fat-and-fibre base for the berries.
Slow carbs Sweet potato Lentils · Chickpeas Pumpkin
  • Your carbs, now that rice, pasta and bread are out. Slower to digest, so no spike-and-crash.
  • Lentils and chickpeas are protein and fibre in one — bulk a meal out without touching the rules.
  • Sweet potato after training is the one place a bigger carb hit is earning its keep.
Gut Sauerkrautfrom the fridge section, unpasteurised Kimchi Apple cider vinegar"with the mother" — on salad
  • Fermented food feeds the bacteria that run your digestion, your immune system and a surprising amount of your mood. A forkful with a meal is plenty.
  • Cider vinegar as a dressing — some evidence it blunts the blood-sugar rise after a meal, and it's a better salad dressing than anything in a bottle.
Extras Creatine monohydratepowder, plain, 10g before bed Celtic sea saltpinch in your morning water Herbal or green teafor the fast
  • Creatine is the best-evidenced supplement there is for strength and lean mass. Nothing else on the shelf comes close.
  • Celtic salt replaces the minerals you lose overnight and in the sauna. Also your first move if you go dizzy during the fast.
  • Tea is the fast's best friend — hot, zero calories, something to do with your hands at 10am.

Not on the list: rice, pasta, bread, anything in a packet with a cartoon on it, seed oils, sugar in your coffee, and alcohol. If it's not here and you're not sure, message me before you buy it.

The evidence

Bullet journal

Hit All at the top of a day, then untick anything you didn't do.

Coach only

Build a client pack

Fill this in, then download a personalised copy to send. The client's file opens with their name, their dates and their checklist already in it, and without this screen. The intake form is separate — share the fixed intake link before their first session.

Client

Who it's for

Delivery

Where submissions land

With an endpoint set, both buttons post straight to FormSubmit and it emails you — no email app opens on the client's end. Leave it blank and they fall back to their own email app. Test it before you send the pack out: the first submission to a new address triggers an activation email you have to click.

The daily list

Checklist rows

One item per line. These become the rows of the journal grid, the same every day, and the denominator for the compliance score.

Keep this file as your master. It always has the setup screen. The copy you download is locked to the client and doesn't. To change someone's plan mid-block, edit here, download again and send the new file — their ticks live in their browser, not in the file, so nothing is lost as long as they keep opening it the same way on the same device.