S2S · Movement Standards
What “done” looks like — published, so we coach the same call.
Eight S2S patterns, five tiers each. The standards grade movement before they grade load — a heavy rep with a leaking pattern is a lower-tier rep than a clean one at less weight. Tier R3 is the S2S floor; it's the rep we coach to.
- R1
- Foundation
- R2
- Developing
- R3 · S2S standard
- Proficient
- R4
- Advanced
- R5
- Expert
Entry rep. Bodyweight, ROM, control.
Sub-bodyweight or assisted load, quality holding.
Meaningful load, form holds. The rep we coach to.
Earned relative-strength multiples or skill expression.
Mastery — most lifters will never need this tier.
R4 · Pulling pattern
Locked support, body straight, dead-hang line below.
An advanced standard, not a starter rep. The patterns below ladder up to expressions like this one — earned over time, never skipped to.
01Pattern · Pushing
Move load away from the body with control.
Pushing is the most-trained and least-coached pattern in commercial gyms. The standards here grade scapular position, body line, and full ROM long before they grade load.
- R1Foundation
Wall push-up
12 controlled reps · chest to wall · full arm extension at the top with shoulder blades protracted.
- R2Developing
Knee push-up
12 reps · chest to floor · straight line from knees to shoulders · no hip sag, no flared elbows.
- R3Proficient
Strict push-up
8 reps · full body line · chest to floor · elbows ~45° from torso · lockout at the top with scapular control.
- R4Advanced
Bench press at 0.75× BW for 5, or 8 strict ring dips
Bench: paused on chest, full lockout, no heel rise. Dips: chest to ring height, full lockout, no kip.
- R5Expert
Bench press at 1.25× BW for 5, or strict handstand push-up
Heavy press without form drift. HSPU: full ROM to head touch, controlled lockout, no wall flop.
02Pattern · Pulling
Move the body — or load — toward the body against gravity.
Vertical pulling exposes more weak links than any other pattern: grip, lat tension, scapular control, anti-extension. We grade the strict rep, not the kipping one.
- R1Foundation
Active dead hang
30 seconds · scaps packed (not shrugged into ears) · ribs down · no shoulder pain.
- R2Developing
Negative pull-up or banded pull-up
5 reps · 6–8 second eccentric from chin-over-bar · full hang at the bottom · no momentum.
- R3Proficient
Strict pull-up
One rep · chin clearly over bar · full hang at the bottom · no kip, no body swing, no leg drive.
- R4Advanced
8 strict pull-ups, or weighted pull-up at 0.25× BW
Same strict standard, expressed against repetition or against load.
- R5Expert
Weighted pull-up at 0.5× BW, or front lever tuck hold 10s
Heavy strict pull or a true skill expression. Either earns the same tier.
03Pattern · Squatting
Drop the hips below the knees and stand back up under load.
The squat exposes ankle, hip, and thoracic mobility, anti-flexion strength, and breath mechanics in a single rep. The standards grade depth, posture, and tempo before they grade weight on the bar.
- R1Foundation
Box squat to seat height
10 controlled bodyweight reps · feet flat through full ROM · chest stays up · no knee cave.
- R2Developing
Full bodyweight squat
12 reps · hips below knee crease · heels flat · neutral spine · no compensation pattern.
- R3Proficient
Goblet squat at 33% BW
8 reps · depth held · chest tall · ribs down · controlled descent, deliberate stand.
- R4Advanced
Back squat at 1.5× BW for 5, or pistol squat each side
Heavy bilateral or earned unilateral. Pistol: full depth, no rocking, controlled tempo.
- R5Expert
Back squat at 2× BW for 1, or 8 pistol squats per side under tempo
Heavy bilateral with form holding through the lift, or repeated unilateral mastery.
04Pattern · Hinging
Send the hips back, load the posterior chain, and stand.
Hinging is the highest force-production pattern in the body — and the most miscued. We grade hinge depth, spinal position, and bar path before we grade plates.
- R1Foundation
Dowel hip-hinge
Three contact points held (head, mid-back, sacrum) through the full ROM · knees soft, not bent · no spinal flexion.
- R2Developing
Romanian deadlift at 25% BW
10 reps · neutral spine · bar (or DBs) tracks close to the legs · hamstring stretch, not low-back strain.
- R3Proficient
Conventional deadlift at 1.0× BW for 5
Locked-out at the top with hips and knees · no rounding under the bar · controlled descent.
- R4Advanced
Deadlift at 2× BW for 5
Heavy hinge without spinal compromise · same standard as R3 expressed against load.
- R5Expert
Deadlift at 2.5× BW, or strict single-leg RDL at 50% BW
Elite hinge expression — either bilateral mastery or unilateral mastery earns it.
05Pattern · Carrying
Walk under load with posture held.
Carries train the body as a single system — grip, core, posture, gait, breath — in a way no isolated exercise replicates. They're a primary pattern in S2S, not a finisher.
- R1Foundation
Suitcase carry at 25% BW one side
25 m · upright posture · no lateral lean · breathing stays steady.
- R2Developing
Suitcase carry at 50% BW per side
30 m · spine vertical · ribs over pelvis · grip holds the full distance.
- R3Proficient
Farmer carry at 100% BW total
30 m · 50% BW per hand · upright spine, ribs down · no shoulder shrug, no step shortening.
- R4Advanced
Farmer carry at 150% BW total
30 m · posture and gait hold the full distance · breath under control at the finish.
- R5Expert
Farmer carry at 200% BW total, or overhead carry at 50% BW
Heavy bilateral, or locked-out overhead with neutral spine — both earn the tier.
06Pattern · Stabilizing
Resist movement the body wants to make.
The core's primary job is to refuse to move — to transmit force without leaking it. Standards here grade anti-extension and anti-rotation, the two failure modes that cost most lifters their back.
- R1Foundation
Dead bug
10 alternating reps · low back pinned to the floor through the full ROM · breath held through the brace.
- R2Developing
Hollow hold
30 seconds · head and shoulders off the floor · low back pressed flat · no rocking.
- R3Proficient
Hollow hold 60s, or side plank 45s per side
True anti-extension or anti-lateral-flexion expression at duration. No hip drop, no rib flare.
- R4Advanced
L-sit on parallettes
15 seconds · legs straight, locked, parallel to the floor · scaps depressed and protracted.
- R5Expert
Front lever tuck hold 10s, or L-sit 30s
Either is an honest skill expression. Most clients will not need this tier.
07Pattern · Rotating
Generate or resist rotation through the hips and spine.
Rotation is where strength meets sport — and where most general programs are silent. We grade rotation through controlled anti-rotation first, then earned rotation, then sport-relevant power.
- R1Foundation
Tall-kneeling Pallof press
10 controlled reps per side · no lateral hip shift · no shoulder rotation · resist, don't move.
- R2Developing
Half-kneeling cable chop
8 reps per side · no lateral lean · exhale on the press · ribs over pelvis.
- R3Proficient
Standing cable wood-chop at 50% BW
8 reps per side · full hip rotation, not lumbar twist · controlled deceleration on the return.
- R4Advanced
Standing cable rotation at 75% BW
Form holds at heavy load · hips drive the rotation · spine stays stacked.
- R5Expert
Medicine ball rotational throw at 30% BW
6 max-effort throws per side · form is repeatable rep to rep · hips lead, arms follow.
08Pattern · Body control under load
Move slower, pause longer, hold position when load asks for collapse.
The 8th S2S pattern is a quality applied across the others — but it grades on its own. Tempo and pause work expose what raw strength hides: whether the lifter actually owns the rep.
- R1Foundation
Tempo bodyweight squat (3-1-1-0)
8 reps · 3-second descent · 1-second hold at depth · controlled stand · no compensation through the slow phase.
- R2Developing
Tempo goblet squat (3-1-1-0) at 25% BW
8 reps · same tempo discipline under sub-bodyweight load · form holds at the bottom.
- R3Proficient
Pause back squat (1-2-1-0) at 1.0× BW for 5
5 reps · 2-second pause at depth · no bounce, no spinal flexion under the pause · controlled stand.
- R4Advanced
Pause back squat (3-3-1-0) at 1.25× BW for 5
Heavy load with extended pause · breath held, position held · stand under control.
- R5Expert
Pause front squat (3-3-1-0) at 1.5× BW for 3
Elite tempo expression with the bar in the rack position · upright torso, no collapse.
Why this is published
Coaching that grades movement, not effort.
The S2S standards exist so the call is the same call. A strict pull-up is a strict pull-up — chin over bar, full hang at the bottom, no kip — whether it's coached at 8 a.m. or 6 p.m., in person or in a program.
Standards are published because they protect the buyer. Programs sold against a private rubric ask the trainee to take the trainer's word for what “working” means. S2S Programs sell against this document.
If you can name the tier, you can coach the gap.
Find your tier
Free intro call. We'll grade where you are on the patterns that matter.
Twenty minutes. We walk three or four patterns together, you leave with an honest read on your R-tier in each, and we tell you the path forward — a program, an Adaptive cycle, or 1:1.