If you’re reading this, I’m guessing you’re new to weights.

You’ve seen the some transformations online from people who used weights, and you’re curious.

But you also have no experience lifting weights, so you’re not sure where to start.

In this post you will learn how to start lifting weights and the first steps to take.

You will also learn how the right steps are like a Teddy’s ice cream with a flake and sprinkles; and why

up until now, all you’ve had are sprinkles, with no ice cream, no cone and no flake.

Running In Water Is Like Lifting Weight

Have you ever tried to run in water?

Its pretty hard.

Much harder than running normally right?

That’s kind of what resistance training is like – resistance (weights) makes human movement harder.

Weights allow us precisely control the intensity of an individual clients training, even within a small group.

They allow us offer all clients a safe and personally challenging way to train, so they can transform their body, injury-free.

That’s why we have clients as young as 16 years old, right up to clients in their early 70’s.

We can scale and adapt training to all levels and abilities.

We regularly get new clients in their 40’s and 50’s starting in our 28 Day Transformation Challenge.

Small group training is an excellent way for people of all ages to get in shape and get stronger.

The majority of people new to resistance training need a tailored training program.

They need a program tailored to their experience, strength, mobility and fitness levels.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen in commercial gyms.

Commercial gyms are great at attracting high volumes of people with low monthly fees and im guessing

you have probably been a member of one at some point, even if you only went a handful of times.

Commercial gym classes could have 10 to 30 people in a class, all doing the same regime.

The trainer doesn’t have a chance of getting around to see everyone and offer the support they need.

Theres no individuality, no customisation and ultimately no results.

Thats why these classes and fitness style sessions are dying a death in Dublin.

In the same way that exercise to music and aerobics died out; quality coaching, customised training and

superior results in strength and fat loss will soon be the standard to live up to.

The Problem With Cardio For Fat Loss

I’m going to assume if you’re new to weights, you have probably used cardio for exercise up until now.

Running, walking, classes and the likes.

Ill use running as an example because its what most of our new clients have done before they start with us.

Running is generally a bad primary choice of exercise for someone seeking fat loss.

If you have weight to lose, you probably haven’t been very active up until now.

Your movement quality and running technique might be quite poor.

Maybe you work in an office and suffer from back-pain.

Running involves a lot of impact – every stride you take exerts a load on your knee 2 to 3 times your body weight (1).

Combine poor movement quality, poor running technique, poor fitness / fast fatigue, weak joints,  and the heavy

stride of someone overweight and you have a recipe for a knee injury, or worse.

35 Year Olds Run Faster Than 20 Year Olds

A typical 35-year-old female with weight to lose can’t run as fast or as far as a 20-year-old could.

Thats obvious.

Any 35+-year-olds we’ve taken on who have completed the couch to 5k, started their training by walking.

They walked and then did a little bit of running with it, gradually building it up until they could run 5k.

They didn’t expect to be able to run 5k from day one.

They knew they needed to start at a comfortable pace and build it up.

So why doesn’t that logic transfer apply when they decide to jump into a one-size fit all class.

These classes are generally unsuitable for someone who has been inactive for a while.

They must know on some level that it’s not suitable for them.

We have more 50+ year old clients than ever at the moment because we offer them safe and effective training.

My 60 year old mum is one of them.

She’s been training with us for 3 years now and has a double bodyweight deadlift and a 1.5 x bodyweight squat @ 60kg bodyweight.

If that makes no sense to you, just know that its seriously bad ass.

She’s stronger than most guys and she got there from starting with an 8kg deadlift and bodyweight squat.

It doesn’t matter where you start from, so long as your training is tailored, mapped out weeks in advance and

your coach knows you, your abilities and your weaknesses and adjusts your training accordingly.

Why Our Transformation Clients Lift Weights

Its no secret that we use resistance training with all our clients.

Since we launched our first 28 Day Transformation Challenge back in 2015, we have helped over 1,000 clients

lose a guaranteed 10 pounds of fat in 28 days.

That’s not 10 pounds of weight by the way.

That’s 10 pounds of fat.

You can weigh less and look no different, but you can also completely change your bodies shape without changing weight much.

The picture below demonstrates that pretty clearly.

I’ve covered weight loss vs fat loss in an earlier post, so if you haven’t had your body fat measured consistently (every 3-4 weeks),

Then checkout this post before you read this one: How to Lose Fat From Any Body Part: 4 Step Plan

How to Start Lifting Weights and Where to Look

This post could go on for days but ill filter it down to the stuff you need to know the most.

I’m going to arm you with your own bullshit radar so you can spot the good training options from

the ones you want to avoid and know how to find a trainer that can help you get results.

The Dreaded Gym Tour and Pushy Sales Pitch

If you’ve ever joined a commercial gym, you have probably been given a tour by one of the trainers.

When you joined the gym you were sold on the idea of “Free Classes” and “A Free Consultation With a Personal Trainer”

Sound great you think…

Ill get a program from trainer and follow it myself a few times a week and do a class on the other days.

Sorted.

You arrive for your “Consult” and soon realise its more of a flash tour of the gym from a newbie trainer who doesn’t seem

to be bothered with you because you’re not a paying client of his/hers.

Maybe it turns into a sales pitch from the trainer as they try to lure you into buying a block of sessions with them.

Either way, you get your flash tour and are shown how to use whatever machines are free at the time.

You see others using free-weights but you think you’re better starting on machines because you’re a beginner.

How to Know If Your Training Is Working

Your training goal should be to get stronger.

If you’re not getting stronger, your training isn’t working.

If you’re not dedicating a day, week or session to test your strength, its not as effective as it could be.

Machines wont help you get stronger.

Classes wont help you get much stronger.

They also wont help you improve your mobility or flexibility much.

Chose the Right Exercises

Some exercises are better than others.

Period.

The best exercises are the ones that help you get stronger.

The more joints that move in an exercise the better.

Squats, Deadlifts, Bench Pressing, Pull-Ups, Dips for example and all solid choices.

Ab crunches and bicep curls aren’t.

They have their place but they’re like the sprinkles on a Teddy’s 99 ice cream.

They’re good to have but they’re useless without the cone and ice cream.

Commercial gyms classes are all sprinkles and no cone.

Scrumdiddly’s is obviously nicer than Teddy’s by the way, but I think the 99 is a good metaphor.

The same is true for cardio, HIIT and basically anything thats not making you stronger.

Strength training should be your foundation (the 99’s cone).

Mobility and corrective exercises fit in here too because they’re needed to get stronger and stay injury-free.

Assistance exercises that help you get stronger is your ice cream.

HIIT and Cardio are your flake.

Isolation for minor muscles is your sprinkles.

I bet you never went into Teddy’s and asked for sprinkles.

But thats all commercial gyms sell and its why they’re cheap.

All you’ve had up until now is sprinkles, flakes and maybe a bit of syrup.

Imagine how much different your experience and results would be if you had a full 99.

I love a 99 dipped in chocolate but i don’t know how to fit that in here.

Chose the Right Reps, Sets, and Weight

Exercises, Reps, Sets, Load, Intensity, Tempo and Rest periods are all ingredients in a program.

A program is a detailed plan of training, designed in advance.

It should be built to help you get from where you are now, to your goal within the next 8 weeks for example.

99 Ice creams are made of milk, eggs, and cream sugar.

Teddy’s have a way of making their ice cream taste differently to other 99’s.

They must either use different ingredients to other 99’s or apply them in a different method.

Thats kind of like a how a program is put together.

They don’t “wing it” and start a pile in random quantities of each and hope for the best.

They have a proven method that produces a finished product and superior results.

A program is a finished product after all the ingredients are combined in setting out method.

The ingredients used and the way they’re combined is done to produce a specific cake.

Have You Ever Been On a Program?

If you have done Personal training before, you were probably on a program.

If you were in a class of some kind, you weren’t.

Classes are made to facilitate big groups with space and equipment available.

In fairness, the trainers can only do what they can with space and equipment available to them.

In some big name gyms, trainers don’t get paid.

They make their money from personal training clients they sell on the gym floor

(hence the sales pitch I mentioned earlier during your flash tour when joining)

The whole commercial gym system isn’t designed with you in mind or for your results.

Its designed to get you in the door and signed up for a few months and when you inevitably stop

attending because you’re not getting results and things aren’t working for you, they hope you will

forget about the payments coming from your account or feel too guilty to cancel them.

Afterall, you intend the start fresh most Mondays so cancelling your membership means cancelling your

intentions to exercise and make an effort to lose weight.

Little Weights = Little Results

I said earlier, if you’re not getting stronger, your training isn’t working.

Getting stronger allows you to lift heavier weights.

Have you ever seen those pink, green and blue weights in commercial gym classes?

They’re an absolute joke.

The same goes for the 4kg kettlebells.

The super light because like I said earlier, they’re classes are oversubscribed and under coached.

They would rather give you a lightweight that you can’t hurt yourself with, rather than teach you how to lift.

Its a complete waste of your time.

Imagine how much faster you could achieve results with a program and nutritional plan in place.

If you followed a system that’s been proven to produce results, every single time.

That’s what our 28 Day Transformation Challenge does.

It’s a step-by-step program which will help you lose 10 pounds of fat in 28 days (guaranteed).

If you don’t lose 10 pounds of fat on the program, we will refund you.

No questions asked.

Over 1,000 people have gone through our program now.

You’ve been getting sprinkles all your life, maybe its time you get that 99.