1. Remember everyone (including that big guy hogging the weight rack) started out as a beginner and honestly most people are so concerned with looking at themselves, that they won’t even pay attention to what you are doing. 

To help you feel more confident the first time you walk in the weight room I highly suggest watching form videos of the lifts you will be executing and practicing at home with just your body weight beforehand. It will also help you feel better if you have your entire plan built out so you know exactly what exercises you will be performing as well as the reps and sets. That way you aren’t left trying to figure out what to do next. Last, when you show up to the gym plug in your headphones, turn up your favorite pump-me-up tunes, and walk confidently into the gym reminding yourself that EVERYONE (including you!) belongs in the weight room.

YES! The beauty of creating your own workout program is that you can customize it to where you are in your journey, even if you are just starting out.

Start with the question, “What is most important to me?” Is it distance from your house? Is it whether or not they have childcare? Is it the type of equipment they carry? Whatever it is, figure that out first and then select the gym that best aligns with what matters most to you.

YES! As long as you have access to at least dumbbells at home you’ll be able to create an effective program that includes progressive overload.

First, start with what you have! If you don’t have any equipment begin with body weight movements while you shop around. To really get the most out of your workout program you’ll want to start with access to at least dumbbells, and specifically heavy, medium, and light weight pairs (what constitutes “heavy” vs “light” will be relative to you). that’s nothing then use your body weight.

From there you can continue to build your home gym with the equipment you want to include in your workouts. Check out my podcast episode on building a home gym and the bonus: How to Build Your Home Gym.

1. Start with a quick 2-3 minute, get your blood moving, movement like running, biking, rowing, jumping jacks and then assess how you feel. You can go straight into lifting at this point or if you feel tight you can do some dynamic stretches to loosen up the muscles you are about to train. 

If you have heavy compound lifts slated for the day, it’s best to warm up to your working weight by starting with warm-up sets. 

For example, if my working sets for my squat were programmed for 3 x 6 at 185 lbs I would do a warm-up set with the empty bar, a set of 5 at 105 lbs, a set of 4 at 140 and a set of 3 at 160 and then I would start my working sets at 185 lbs.

If you have a goal to get stronger or build muscle and are open to taking supplements, creatine is the one supplement you’ll want to add. As one of the most well researched supplements there are literally hundreds of scientific papers indicating creatine is safe and effective. I take 5 g of creatine a day, everyday including rest days, and this is the brand I use. You can hear more about creatine and other supplements on Episode 60 & 61.

This is a common question/concern so I created a whole bonus to help you out. Check out How to Progressive Overload Without Adding Weight

Nope! Being sore doesn’t mean you are building muscle and not being sore doesn’t mean you aren’t building muscle. Soreness tends to be more related to doing something new rather than how effective it is for building muscle.

1. You’ll want to gather and analyze the following data points:
1. The weight you are lifting in your workouts is going up.  
2. Your flexing measurements are increasing and your progress pictures show muscle growth.
3. The scale could be going up, and if it is, is your waist measurement remaining constant? That’s a good sign that the weight you are adding isn’t likely fat and could mean you are gaining muscle.

If you are a pencil and paper kind of gal, the training logs I provide will be super helpful. Print them out, throw them into your gym bag, and write in your reps, sets, and weights.
 If you are more of a tech-y gal and are willing to invest in an app for tracking your weights, I personally use (and recommend) Strong - Workout Tracker & Gym Log app. Check out the tutorial in the resource library.

Overtraining happens when your body is unable to recover from the stress you place upon it. That means what is overtraining for one person, may not be overtraining for another. You may need three rest days and your friend may be able to perform fine with only one rest day. The best way to know if you need to add another rest day is to look for signs and symptoms of overtraining including:

• Feeling more sore and having that soreness last longer than normal 
• Inability to train or previously manageable level.
• Feeling “beat up” every time you return to the gym
• Insomnia or restless sleep
• Excessive fatigue
• Persistent injuries or muscle pain
• Irritability or agitation

If you experience these signs and symptoms it’s a good idea to test out adding an extra rest day to your week.