New To Lifting Weights? 11 Tricks That Will Make Everything Easier

However, before any of those women were seemingly confident and could do no wrong, they were beginners at some point. They had the same fears and doubts. Here are 11 tips I remind each woman to keep in mind when beginning her weight training story:

Fear is a powerful substance that if not acknowledge and contained possesses the power to stop us in our tracks. While it's normal to feel intimidated, this doesn't mean you shouldn't persist. Fear is beneficial—it's our body's way of trying to keep us safe. Don't fight your fear. Instead, acknowledge and walk with it, then politely tell it to go away.

Adopting a strength training habit is less like playing Simon Says and more like playing the chemist. Just as a scientist needs to mix and match doses until the perfect formula is established, your strength training operates the same way. Explore many different types of strength training until you find one that suits your goals and provides enjoyment.

In this world, fortune favors those who take action. Develop a bias for taking action. Large leaps aren't required; just take one small step at a time.

Women work twice as hard as men do at the gym (sorry, guys). However, I've also noticed that many of the women I worked with have a tendency to equate the quality of their workout with how exhausted and sore they are. Strength training is different from running or other types of cardio. Sweat isn't going to come as easily since you're taking rest breaks in between and it's likely cooler in the weight section.

Protect your self-worth and sanity and only compete with yourself on your strength-training journey.

If it's only 15 minutes at first, it's still a success. If you can't lift a lot at first, feel awkward or uncomfortable, but you still finish your workout—that's a success. The fact that you did something already separates you from the majority who may be letting fear stop them. Don't be so hard on yourself; progress is progress.

Not paying attention to your form makes as much sense as me trying to perform fancy salsa dancing moves without learning my basic step patterns (embarrassingly this was a true story). At the end of the day, weight training first and foremost needs to be executed in the safest manner as possible.

Resist equating a number of exercises, reps, and sets to the quality of your workout and instead use the quality of movements and how they supplement your goals as the main measure of effectiveness for your exercise program.

Strength training provides myriad benefits for women and one of those are the strengthening of their bones, which helps with osteoporosis (and, no, strength training won't make you big and bulky).

Consistency, repetition, and time are the equation for getting results. It's better to make small but realistic commitments that you can stick with rather than large and daunting commitments that cause unnecessary friction within your daily lifestyle.

It's important to remember that you're on a specific journey with your goals, not on someone else's timeline. Each woman will have different hormonal levels, lifestyle stressors, different commitments, experience, and comfortability. Just focus on getting 1 percent better each day. The better exercise fits into your ideal lifestyle, the likelier exercise will be a mainstay over the long haul.