i.
Technique before load
Every lift starts light enough that you can think about it. Weight goes up when the movement earns it — not because a spreadsheet says this is week four.
Independent strength coaching
Heavy things, handled calmly.
Common Room is a small coaching space run by Rae Halloran. One person on the floor at a time, a written plan you actually understand, and no rush to get anywhere you are not ready for.
Beginners, returners and stubborn intermediates all welcome.
- SessionsSixty minutes, one to one
- PlanWritten and revised every block
- RoomQuiet floor, no queueing for kit
- PaceSet by you, not the calendar
What the room runs on
Three things that do not change, whatever you came in to work on.
Coaching here is deliberately unglamorous. The gains come from turning up, lifting something sensible, and adjusting the plan when life gets in the way.
ii.
Plain language
You will leave knowing what you did, why it was in the session, and what it is building towards. No jargon, no mystery protocols, no shame about asking twice.
iii.
A plan that bends
Bad sleep, a busy month, an ankle that is complaining — the block gets rewritten around it. Consistency survives when the programme is willing to move.
Programmes
Four ways to train here.
Most people start with a consult and land on one of these. Moving between them mid-year is normal and costs nothing but a conversation.
One-to-one strength
Most common starting point
- Format
- 60 minutes, coached start to finish
Squat, hinge, press, pull and carry, built into a block you repeat long enough to get good at. Suited to anyone who wants someone watching every rep while the habit settles in.
Return to lifting
Post-injury, post-break
- Format
- 60 minutes, slower ramp
For coming back after an injury, an operation, a pregnancy or a few quiet years. We work alongside whatever your physio or clinician has said and rebuild load carefully from there.
Small group
Four people, fixed slot
- Format
- 60 minutes, same group weekly
A standing slot with the same three other people, each on an individual sheet. Cheaper than one-to-one and considerably harder to skip once the group knows your name.
Remote programming
Train at your own gym
- Format
- Written block, monthly review
A written programme for people who already train confidently but want structure and a second opinion. Includes video feedback on your main lifts and a rewrite each block.
How it works
From first message to first block.
Nothing here is a sales funnel. The consult exists so we can both find out whether this is a sensible fit.
Send the form
Tell me roughly what you want to work on and when you can realistically train. A couple of sentences is plenty.
Consult
A relaxed half hour covering training history, injuries, schedule and what you would like to be able to do in a year.
Movement session
We go through the basic patterns with light load so I can see how you move before anything gets written down.
First block
You get a written programme for the next several weeks, then we start, review and adjust as it goes along.
Inside the room
One floor, decent kit, nobody watching you.
If big commercial gyms have put you off before, this is the opposite experience: a single room, booked sessions only, and a sound system kept at conversation volume.
Booked slots only
The room is never open-access, so there is no waiting for a rack and no audience for your first set of anything.
Kit that covers it
Barbells and plates, adjustable benches, dumbbells, kettlebells, a trap bar, bands and a sled. Enough for a full programme, not a showroom.
Changing space
A private changing room with a shower, lockers and somewhere to leave a bag while you train.
The coach
Rae Halloran
I came to coaching sideways — a decade of distinctly average rugby, a shoulder that needed rebuilding, and a long stretch of rehab that turned out to be the most interesting training I had ever done. Learning to load a joint back up properly changed how I think about everything else.
Most of the people I work with are not athletes. They are in their thirties, forties and fifties, they sit down for work, and they would like to carry the shopping and the kids without something twinging. That is a completely reasonable goal and it responds extremely well to boring, consistent strength work.
My job is to keep the plan honest, keep the weight appropriate and be the person who notices when your left hip is doing something it did not do last month.
- Focus
- Barbell strength, rehab-adjacent work
- Works with
- Beginners, returners, desk-bound lifters
- Approach
- Long blocks, small jumps, written notes
Questions
The things people ask before booking.
I have never lifted a weight. Is this too advanced for me?
No — complete beginners are the majority of first consults. The first few weeks are mostly learning five movement patterns with very light load, and nobody else is in the room while you do it.
How often should I expect to train?
Two coached sessions a week suits most people, and one plus a written session you do yourself works well too. We will pick something that fits your actual week rather than an ideal one.
What does it cost?
Rates depend on the programme and how often you train, so I send the current options after the consult once we know what you would actually be booking. Blocks are paid monthly and there is no long contract.
I am working with a physio. Can we still train?
Usually yes, and it tends to go better when we coordinate. Bring whatever guidance you have been given and I will build the programme around it rather than across it.
What should I bring to the first session?
Flat shoes, clothes you can move in, and water. Everything else is here, including a changing room if you are coming straight from work.
Book a consult
Start with a conversation.
Send a few lines about what you would like to work on. I read every enquiry myself and reply with times for a consult.
- The consult is a conversation, not a trial session.
- No obligation to book anything afterwards.
- If Common Room is the wrong fit, I will say so.