Are you finally ready to pick up the weights for the first time but you have no idea where to start?? Then today’s blog is for you!
Hands down picking up weights for the first time can be one of the most intimidating and scary things for women and today I want to share some tips for starting out that will help you feel confident and comfortable picking the weights up today and every day moving forward.
First off I want to share my personal experience with weight training. I grew up in the sport of competitive swimming which is very much a cardio based sport. Yes our coaches certainly included dry land strength training to an extent but it was never a huge focus for us…we put in miles and miles in the pool perfecting technique, starts, and turns. Sometimes the focus was on speed work, sometimes it was on endurance work, sometimes the focus was on our best events and sometimes the focus was on our worst…but at the end of the day we put in lap after lap after lap. It was probably about halfway through my swimming career that I was introduced to the idea of a personal trainer. Our club has received some grant money and the board and our coach had decided to use the money to hire a personal trainer for the elite group and I will confess it left the worst taste in my mouth ever. The trainer they choose was not a good fit for our little family and honestly I dreaded the days we had to work with her, like I can’t explain to you how much I hated it. So you could say my introduction to the world of strength training and personal training wasn’t an awesome one and to be honest with you if you had asked me then at 16 what I would be doing now, never in a million years would I have thought I would be working in the same space.
Once I left the world of competitive swimming, exercise kind of felt like a foreign thing for me…I didn’t know how to be active in any way other than swimming. Like to the point that when I was in university I used to go swim laps on my own cause I didn’t know how else to keep moving…it was foreign to me. Eventually, I did get a gym membership with a friend and we would go a few times a week and mostly just use the cardio equipment…the idea of lifting weights honestly never really crossed my mind. Flashing forward to after graduation and trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do with my life after I didn’t get into a physiotherapy program I started to explore the world of weight training a little more and this is where I truly felt myself come alive.
Did I start lifting heavy weight right away…not at all, in fact I’m pretty sure I bought a set of 5 lbs dumbbells and stuck with that for more time than I needed to. But I started to explore, started to learn, went back to school and explored the world of programming and at the end of all that, I guess ended up where I am today. So what’s the point of me telling you all this…well starting out can be scary and intimidating yes, but if done right…beginning strength training will change your life…and I’m about to give you some tips on how to start.
Tip 1: Get Curious
Get curious about strength training. Start asking questions and don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions. No question is silly or stupid. If you were learning any other skill for the first time you would have questions and you would want to seek out answers…strength training should be no different.
Tip 2: Hire a Coach
Before you jump at me saying “I don’t have the money for this” hear me out because this is important. Strength training is incredible and life changing but it still needs to be done correctly. Investing in a well educated coach who can guide you on your journey can be hugely beneficial in ensuring that you are performing exercises with good form and they can also help give you a confidence boost. I also want to say that hiring a coach doesn’t mean that you have to hire a personal trainer to be with you one-on-one for all your sessions. Working one on one with a trainer works really well for some people, but for others they really just need someone to do the programming for them and guide them and there are plenty of qualified exercise professionals out there that will offer this as an option. To give you an example, I offer programming in 8 week increments where I will meet with you discuss your goals and write a program to help you meet those goals. I will also ensure that you know what the exercises are and work through them so that you have form down and then send you on your way to do the program yourself. It’s more affordable than personal training, but you are still getting a lot of the benefits of having someone write a program specific for you…we’ll call it win-win situation. Hire a coach when you’re starting out, honestly you will thank yourself for it down the road.
Tip 3: Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
This is one of the hardest tips, but it’s certainly one that’s necessary when you are starting out. Learning any new skill is going to be a little bit uncomfortable at first and strength training isn’t going to be an exception to that. It’s okay to be uncomfortable, but don’t let it hold you back. One of the biggest barriers for people when they first start out on a strength training journey specifically in a gym is that they are worried that other people are watching and judging them. I know that it does feel like that, and that may be a bit uncomfortable in the beginning but I can assure you that for the most part no one is watching you, no one is worried about what you are doing. In today’s society we all very much go into everything we do with a head down approach and walking into a gym is no different for people. Head in, do your thing, know that it may feel uncomfortable at first but I promise if you stick with it, it will get better.
Tip 4: Don’t Let Other People Get You Down
Everyone has an opinion, and there’s going to be plenty of people who are going to share their opinions with you whether you ask for them or not. Some may be positive, while others will be negative and the hardest thing in the world is to not let those negative opinions get you down. Remember that you are doing this for you…finding your try why and reminding yourself of it when you hear these negative opinions from others will help you to stay on track with whatever goals you are striving for. At the end of the day you are doing what is best for you and that is all that matters…you are not choosing to embark on this strength training journey to please anyone else and there may be times that you have to remind yourself of that but try your best not to let it derail you.
Tip 5: Start Small
Remember those 2 5lb weights I mentioned in my story. I chose to start small…never did I imagine when I bought those 5 lbs weights that I would be lifting what I am today, and today I know that what I’m lifting now will one day be a weight of the past as well. Small changes made over longer periods of time are generally the successful changes. Starting small also allows you to build your confidence and will help you get comfortable pushing those limits further and further as you progress. There is no shame in starting small…start where you are comfortable and allow yourself the opportunity to build your confidence.
Tip 6: Set Measurable Goals
Ah goal setting…so many people hate setting goals (I’m putting my hand in the air here cause I am among them), but setting goals that you can measure over periods of time will allow you to look back and see how far you have come. Day to day you may not notice your progress as much, but when you look back in a year’s time and see how far you’ve come, you will be surprised. Grab a notebook and jot your goals down then check them off when you reach them. These goals don’t have to big and way in the future. If you’re lifting 10 lbs today and you completed 10 reps then make your goal next week to lift 15lbs for 8 reps. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but over time this will help you to progress to heavier weights and continue on your strength training journey.
Tip 7: Be Proud to Be Strong
I can’t emphasize this last tip enough. One of the most common things any fitness professional hears from women is…”I don’t want to lift heavy weights…I don’t want to be bulky” and while I will avoid my rant because I have an entire blog post on it (you can read more about it here is you like) I don’t even want any woman to be afraid to be strong. Strong women move better, they are able to keep up with their kids better, they suffer from less injuries or pain, they are less likely to suffer from chronic disease and they just feel better overall…so why wouldn’t you want to be strong? Wear your strength like a badge of honour…because it is…you work hard for your strength and you deserve to be proud of yourself for those accomplishments. Be proud of being strong!
There you have it…7 tips to help you start off your strength training journey today. Still not sure strength training is for you…reach out to be directly here. I would love to chat with you about strength training can be applied to your life and goals and how it can help you. If you are looking for a coached to help guide you on your journey you can also reach out here and we can discuss the best options for you. I promise that you if you give strength training a chance it may surprise you and you may end up happier and healthier than you’ve ever been…and who wouldn’t want that!?!
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