You train six evenings a week, 60–75 minutes, in the park and at home, for 12 weeks. Capoeira is the heart of every session; strength, cardio and breath are built around it. Before you start, show this plan to your doctor or physio, especially for Asha's knee and Mela's wrist.
| Asha | Mela | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 45 | 41 |
| Height | 173 cm | 165 cm |
| Weight now | 91 kg | 62 kg |
| 12-week target | 82–85 kg (about 0.5–0.75 kg a week) | 58–59 kg on the way to 56–58 kg |
| Main focus | Fat loss, knee-safe strength | Strength and tone first, fat loss |
| Starting level | Somewhat active, Capoeira before surgery | Mostly inactive, new to Capoeira |
| Protect | Knee (surgery 2 years ago) | Right wrist (carpal tunnel) |
| Recovery notes | On estradiol (Estrofem): strength comes a little slower, so we prioritise consistent resistance and impact work for bone health | Medium stress: breath work closes every session |
| Sleep / stress | 7+ hrs, medium | 7+ hrs, medium |
A ground rule from your Mestre: Capoeira is a conversation, not a fight. You train as partners, you correct each other kindly, and you finish every session together.
Hard and lighter days alternate so Asha's knee and Mela's wrist recover between loads. Tap a day to open it. Missed a day? Don't double up. Pick up the next day's session and move on.
| Day | Theme | Fundamentos | Força | Where |
|---|
Every training evening follows the same five blocks, about 70 minutes. Start after 18:00 when the park cools, and keep water within reach.
| Block | Minutes | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Aquecimento (warm-up) | 10 | Brisk walk, joint circles, light ginga |
| 2. Fundamentos (skills) | 20 | The day's Capoeira moves, slow first, then to music |
| 3. Força (strength / cardio) | 20 | The day's circuit or park intervals |
| 4. Jogo (play) | 5–10 | Partner flow: one attacks slowly, the other dodges, swap. Smile. |
| 5. Volta à calma (cool-down) | 10 | Stretches and 3 min box breathing |
Rate effort 1–10. Skill blocks stay at 4–6. Circuits reach 7–8 for Asha and 6–7 for Mela in weeks 1–3. You should always be able to speak a short sentence.
Move to the next phase only when you both pass its checkpoint; repeating a week is progress, not failure.
Ginga, esquivas, cocorinha, first kicks; circuits 3 rounds.
Checkpoint: 5 min non-stop ginga, no knee or wrist pain
Add negativa, rolê, martelo; circuits 4 rounds, +2 reps.
Checkpoint: dodge-and-kick combos flow slowly with a partner
Standing meia lua de compasso; 2 min fast intervals; jogo grows to 10 min.
Checkpoint: 10 minutes of continuous jogo; week-8 retest done
Full sequences, 20 min roda on Saturdays, visit a Capoeira group in Bangkok.
Goal: Asha 82–85 kg, Mela 58–59 kg, both stronger
| Weeks | What changes in the daily sessions |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Do everything as written. |
| 4–6 | Circuits go to 4 rounds. Add 2 reps or 10 seconds to every exercise. Tuesday intervals go to 8 rounds. Wednesday adds negativa (week 4), rolê (week 5); Tuesday adds martelo (week 6). |
| 7–9 | Fast intervals become 2 min fast + 2 min easy, 6 rounds. Add standing meia lua de compasso on Tuesday and Thursday. Jogo blocks grow to 10 min. |
| 10–12 | Saturday roda grows to 20 minutes. Add 2 more reps. Visit a Capoeira group in Bangkok. |
| Any week | Pain, poor sleep or feeling sick: do half the rounds, or swap the session for a walk and stretch. |
These 12 moves are the alphabet of the jogo. The week column says when each move enters your training.
| Move | What it is | Starts | Asha (knee) | Mela (wrist) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ginga | The rocking step that never stops; arm guards the face | Week 1 | Keep it high; back heel lifts on every step | Arms relaxed, no clenched right fist |
| Esquiva lateral | Drop sideways under a kick, hand guarding the face | Week 1 | Bend only to comfortable depth | Full version |
| Cocorinha | Squat-dodge with heels down, arm over the head | Week 1 | Squat to bench height, deeper over weeks | Full version |
| Esquiva baixa | Low dodge, chest toward the front knee | Week 2 | Weight on the non-operated leg first | Full version |
| Meia lua de frente | Straight leg sweeps inside-to-outside across the front | Week 2 | Kick with the operated leg first so the strong leg supports | Full version |
| Bênção | Front push kick with the sole, "the blessing" | Week 2 | Waist height only, controlled return | Full version |
| Queixada | Outside-to-inside crescent kick | Week 3 | Let the supporting heel turn freely | Full version |
| Negativa | Low escape to the floor, one hand down, one leg extended | Week 4 | Bent supporting knee as deep as pain-free | Left hand only, or right fist on a towel |
| Rolê | Rolling turn out of negativa, staying low | Week 5 | Pivot on the ball of the foot | Left-hand side only |
| Martelo | Hammer-style roundhouse kick with the instep | Week 6 | Pivot the supporting foot fully; knee height first | Full version |
| Meia lua de compasso | Spinning back kick with a hand on the floor | Week 7 | Standing version first; full only if the knee is calm | Standing version, no hand down |
| Aú | Capoeira cartwheel | Week 9, optional | Bent-leg, low version; soft landing | Skip unless your doctor clears the wrist |
Weight loss comes mostly from the kitchen; training builds the body you keep. Use the plate method at every meal rather than counting. One pot, two proteins: dinners share one base. Both of you can eat the plant-based products (Zero Meat, Let's Plant Meat, Impossible). On chicken or pork nights, Mela gets the meat and Asha gets tofu or plant meat.
Tap a day to see its full cooking steps.
| Day | Dinner | Asha | Mela |
|---|
| Time | Asha | Mela |
|---|---|---|
| 16:30–18:00 | Get home. Cook rice and prepare the dinner base | At work |
| 17:15 | Pre-workout snack at home | Pre-workout snack at work, before leaving |
| 18:30 | Drink 500 ml water, change | Get home, drink 500 ml water, change |
| 18:45–20:00 | Train together | Train together |
| 20:15 | Finish dinner (10–15 min) and eat together | Eat together |
| By 22:30 | Wind down, screens off, sleep | Wind down, screens off, sleep |
| Asha (vegetarian) | Mela (eats meat) |
|---|---|
| Firm tofu (tao hu) | Grilled chicken (gai yang, skin off) |
| Tempeh, edamame, lentils, chickpeas | Steamed fish (pla neung manao) |
| Eggs and Greek yoghurt, if you eat them | Eggs, shrimp, lean pork |
| Plant mince and plant chicken | Plant mince and plant chicken too |
Asha: as a vegetarian training for strength on estradiol, ask your doctor about a vitamin B12, vitamin D and iron check.
| Instead of | Choose |
|---|---|
| Fried rice, pad thai, fried chicken | Rice with stir-fried veg and tofu or chicken (pad pak, pad kra pao with less oil) |
| Tom kha (coconut milk) | Tom yum nam sai (clear) or kaeng jeut (clear soup) |
| Cha yen, sweet coffee | Order "mai wan" (no sugar) or "wan noi" (less sweet) |
| Sticky rice with every meal | Steamed rice, one fist |
| Mango sticky rice | Fresh fruit: guava, papaya, pomelo |
Check that Japanese curry roux and chilli paste say vegetarian; many contain meat or shrimp.
Ticks are saved on this device only.
If hunger feels extreme, energy crashes, or eating starts to feel stressful, ease off: slow, steady loss lasts.
Thirty minutes every Sunday, one topic, in a fixed four-week cycle. Sit together, read, listen and talk.
| Sunday of week | Topic | What to learn | Try this together |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1, 5, 9 | Music: the instruments | The music leads the roda. The berimbau (a wooden bow with a gourd) sets the speed and style of play. Three sizes: gunga (low), médio (middle) and viola (high). Also the pandeiro (tambourine), atabaque (tall drum), agogô (double bell) and reco-reco (scraper). | Watch videos of each instrument. Clap the Angola rhythm, then São Bento Grande. Name each instrument you hear in a recording. |
| 2, 6, 10 | History | Capoeira grew among enslaved Africans in Brazil, who hid fighting inside dance and music. It was banned by law in 1890. In the 1930s Mestre Bimba opened the first official academy in Salvador and created the Regional style. Mestre Pastinha protected the older Angola style. In 2014 UNESCO listed the capoeira roda as world cultural heritage. | Watch one short documentary about capoeira history. Each share one fact that surprised you. |
| 3, 7, 11 | Philosophy | Ginga: never stand still, always adapt. Jogo: you play with your partner, not against them. Malícia: calm, clever awareness of what your partner will do. Axé: the good energy you give and receive. The roda: a circle where everyone is equal. | Talk about one place in daily life where you need ginga instead of force. Each write one sentence in a notebook. |
| 4, 8, 12 | Words and rituals | Roda (circle), jogo (game), ginga (sway), axé (energy), mestre (teacher), camará (friend). Players crouch at the foot of the berimbau, shake hands, and start when the music calls them. | Say each word aloud together. Use the foot-of-the-berimbau ritual to open next Saturday's roda. |
Measure every Sunday morning and test every 4 weeks. Type your numbers in the boxes; they are saved on this device only.
| Test | Asha wk 0 | wk 4 | wk 8 | wk 12 | Mela wk 0 | wk 4 | wk 8 | wk 12 |
|---|
Weight swings 1–2 kg day to day with heat, water and hormones; watch the 4-week trend and the waist, not one morning.