If you're new to strength training, it can feel overwhelming to know where to begin. With endless advice on social media, it's easy to waste time guessing and overthinking. After 10,000+ training sessions, here are the three things I’d prioritize if I were starting over.
1. Follow a structured plan and lift 3 days a week
This removes guesswork and gives you structure and intention for your workouts. You’ll enter the gym with a plan that’s focused and targeted. If you wing each workout, muscle groups get neglected and progress stalls. Three days of lifting is enough stimulus for results and allows for sufficient recovery between training sessions.
An effective workout program will:
Hit each muscle group directly 2x a week
Use a full body or upper/lower training split
Use rep ranges of 6-12
Include 30-45 minutes of cardio (can be walking) on non lifting days
Be a minimum of 8 weeks
Remove decision fatigue and build momentum
I train busy people with demanding lives: moms, doctors, nurses, lawyers, real estate developers and professionals, managing partners, senior directors at hedge funds and investment banks, even a senior advisor within the presidential administration. They all make time to exercise a minimum of 45 minutes three days a week. If you think you’re too busy, it’s worth asking: is it really a lack of time, or a lack of priority and time management?
Stick to your program. Do not hop around. When we start something new, motivation and drive come easily. We start to see some progress from our body being a little tighter and small strength improvements. Progress isn’t linear, it’s normal to hit a plateau. The biggest mistake is thinking the answer to this is novelty in different exercises or a more intense workout style (HIIT classes, cardio programs). Consistency beats intensity. I promise if you stick with an intelligently designed workout program consistently year round you will continue to see results.
2. Learn how to lift with proper form
I highly recommend you hire a training coach for 6 months and train 2-3x a week to learn how to lift. This investment in your health and body is a skill you will have for the rest of your life. It will put you leaps and bounds ahead helping you achieve results in half the time.
Why form matters
I’ve coached hundreds of clients in over 10,000 training sessions. I’ve never had a client come to me with perfect form. Over half of the general population doesn’t know how to properly hip hinge (i.e. deadlift). Working out with improper form not only leaves gains on the table because you’re not recruiting the right muscle fibers, you’re less confident to lift heavy and take sets to failure. Bad form eventually leads to injuries that could otherwise be avoided.
What to do if you can’t hire a coach
If hiring a trainer isn’t financially feasible, start by filming your workouts and comparing them to exercise demos performed by certified trainers on YouTube. Check for posture, body angles and muscle activation on all your lifts.
3. Lift to get stronger, not just leaner
During lifting sessions we should prioritize muscle strength and hypertrophy. You’ve probably heard the term “progressive overload”. What this means is getting stronger over time by lifting heavier weights or performing more reps with that weight. Progressive overload is feedback that the adaptations needed to build muscle are happening.
Lifting for fat loss doesn’t work - weight loss comes from being stricter with nutrition. Turning weight lifting sessions into cardio makes the workout less effective in building strength and muscle. To build muscle, you need to lift with enough effort and intensity for muscles to experience high degrees of mechanical tension. This means taking sets to failure or 1-2 reps in reserve (RIR) to create adaptations needed for muscle hypertrophy.
Intentional lifting helps track progress and set new goals. A good strength program will repeat the same main exercises. Too much variety of exercises isn’t good, it’s hard to track progressive overload and be sure your program is working.
Building muscle is the foundation for a strong, lean, capable body. If you want to look toned, feel strong and train efficiently, start with these three steps and stay consistent.
Want to learn how your body can change but you might still weigh almost exactly the same, or why two women with the same weight and height can still have a different body shape? Read this blog post.
Want to train smarter, not just harder? I specialize in strength based training for busy women who want results without wasting time. Join the Newsletter List for exclusive tips on strength-based training and nutrition for busy women.
