How to Start Strength Training
My new favorite person, James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits, posted a great infographic on Instagram yesterday. While his usually topics are about habits, this one was specifically about strength training. Clear is not only drawing from the research of his book, but from his own experience strength training for the past 10 years.
For people just getting started, he recommends these three principles to help you stick with it for the long haul. I agree with all of them and they are principles we use at Gain to help guide our programming when starting new people.
Start too light
Do easy stuff first. Get practice reps in. Learn the skills required and build volume at these lower intensities before going heavy.
2. Don’t Miss Workouts
Your effort must be sustained if you want to see changes. We tell people all the time, don’t skip the gym if you don’t want to workout, come and do something different if you need to but keep the consistency going by always coming to scheduled appointments.
3. Make Tiny Gains
“Average speed can take you far if you just keep walking.”
Honestly, a lot of the gains people get they don’t even notice until they go do something and realize it isn’t as hard as it used to be. That’s a good way to progress. Don’t expect massive gym PR’s all the time. Look for the little things outside of the gym that are easier than they used to be.
Justin Miner
@portsmouthcoach
