Dana came in after a winter of back spasms that started, as they usually do, with something light: a laundry basket. Her physio had cleared her to load again and told her to find someone who would actually watch.

We spent the first three weeks on the hinge with a kettlebell, then moved to the bar at 135 lb, a weight she could pull for five clean reps. From there it went up five pounds most weeks and stayed put on the weeks her sleep didn't.

By week twelve she pulled 230 lb for a single. The more useful number: she hadn't missed a session for her back since week two.