From Beginner to a 105kg Back Squat: Milly’s Strength Transformation
When Milly first came to OPEX Bristol, becoming seriously strong wasn’t the goal.
She was a 20-year-old Zoology student living in Bristol City Centre who described herself as someone who would “rather be sedentary”. Her initial priorities were losing body fat, becoming more active and improving how she felt day to day.
More than three years later, Milly can back squat 105kg, bench press 58kg and deadlift 100kg.
During that time, she has moved from university into full-time employment, maintained a broadly stable bodyweight and discovered a completely different motivation for training: finding out just how strong she can become.
Milly’s Results at a Glance
Training Period: April 2023 to present
High-Bar Back Squat: 5kg goblet squat → 105kg × 1
Bench Press: 2.5kg dumbbells per hand → 58kg × 1
Deadlift: 7.5kg Romanian deadlift → 100kg × 1
Bodyweight: Remained broadly between 66kg and 69kg
Life Stage: Zoology student → full-time employment
Coaching: Training, nutrition & lifestyle
Coach: Milo Kirkpatrick, OPEX Bristol
Where Milly Started
Before joining OPEX Bristol, Milly had already tried several approaches to improving her health and fitness, including gym work, aerobic training, dieting and fasting.
Fat loss was her initial goal, but there were other motivations behind it.
Milly wanted to stop feeling weak and was conscious of the potential long-term effects of a sedentary lifestyle. She also enjoyed travelling and hiking, often carrying a heavy backpack, so becoming stronger and developing better endurance had practical benefits too.
Rather than telling Milly that her original goal needed to change, we started from where she was.
As she became more capable and started seeing measurable progress, her motivation shifted naturally. Losing body fat became less important, while discovering how strong she could become gave her something much more engaging to pursue.
Building Strength From the Ground Up
Milly didn’t need an advanced lifting programme when she started.
Her early training included a 5kg goblet squat, 2.5kg dumbbells for pressing and a 7.5kg Romanian deadlift. These gave us an appropriate starting point for developing strength, movement confidence and consistency.
We also monitored simple lifestyle factors, including bodyweight, step count and hydration.
Early check-ins highlighted other areas requiring attention. Milly was struggling to progress her dumbbell bench press, her sleep was inconsistent and her appetite was low.
Instead of simply increasing the workload or restricting food further, the approach changed. We introduced more movement variety and shifted some of the nutrition focus towards rebuilding a regular appetite.
That ability to adapt became an important part of Milly’s progress.
From Beginner Exercises to Serious Strength
As Milly became more experienced, her programme progressed with her.
Squat work developed through variations including back squats and safety bar squats. Her pressing progressed towards increasingly demanding bench press work, while deadlift training incorporated sumo, trap bar and conventional variations.
Training was organised into structured blocks, with planned deloads roughly every five weeks to manage fatigue and prepare for the next phase of progression.
Over time, that consistent approach added up.
A 5kg goblet squat became a 105kg high-bar back squat. Pressing 2.5kg dumbbells developed into a 58kg barbell bench press. A 7.5kg Romanian deadlift progressed to a 100kg deadlift.
There was no single breakthrough responsible for those results. They came from progressive training, appropriate recovery and consistent work over several years.
You can learn more about how we approach personalised strength training programmes at OPEX Bristol.
Making Training Work Around Real Life
Milly’s progress didn’t happen in perfect conditions.
Her training had to work around travel, hiking, university exams and periods of irregular sleep. Then, after graduating, she moved from a flexible student schedule into full-time employment.
Her programme changed with her.
Training frequency and timing were adapted around her new routine, while periods away were managed by adjusting loads and gradually building again. The strength base Milly had developed meant she could regain momentum without returning to square one.
This is an important part of individualised personal training. Long-term progress depends on having a programme that can adapt when work, travel and everyday commitments change.
More Than Three Years of Progress
Today, Milly’s key lifts stand at:
High-Bar Back Squat: 105kg × 1
Bench Press: 58kg × 1
Deadlift: 100kg × 1
Her bodyweight has remained broadly between 66kg and 69kg during this period, meaning her increase in strength wasn’t simply the result of becoming substantially heavier.
But the numbers aren’t the only measure of progress.
Someone who once described herself as preferring to be sedentary has now maintained a consistent coaching relationship for more than three years. She has continued training through university, travel, graduation and the transition into working life.
Her relationship with exercise has changed too.
Milly arrived focused on losing body fat. Over time, strength gave her another way to measure progress and something positive to work towards.
Instead of concentrating primarily on becoming smaller, she became interested in discovering what she was capable of.
Why Milly’s Approach Worked
There wasn’t a shortcut behind Milly’s progress.
She started at a level appropriate to her ability, and her exercises and training loads developed as she became stronger and more experienced. Planned recovery helped manage progress across multiple training blocks, while the programme could be adapted when her circumstances changed.
Training, nutrition and lifestyle were also considered together rather than as separate parts of the process.
The result wasn’t a quick transformation built around a short-term deadline. It was more than three years of progressive coaching through changing goals, schedules and stages of life.
That consistency allowed modest starting weights to become genuinely impressive strength numbers.
Your Starting Point Doesn’t Define Where You Can Finish
Milly started with a 5kg goblet squat. Today, she has back squatted 105kg.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to chase the same number. It shows that you don’t need to arrive at the gym already strong, experienced or confident to start making progress.
At OPEX Bristol’s private gym in Ashton Gate, clients follow individual programmes built around their current ability, goals and circumstances.
Whether you want to become stronger, develop a consistent training routine or simply discover what you’re capable of, it starts with understanding where you are now.