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I am always happy to hear that guys are encouraging their female acquaintances and partners to train with weights. Many women are introduced to weights by male partners and friends, and this introduction creates an ongoing interest. What if you’re a guy that’s interested in women’s training, and want to know how to do a good job? Here are some helpful tips along with dos and don’ts.

Well, now, you’re all excited and ready to go to the gym. But where do you start? There’s no point in stumbling around the gym with no particular plan in mind. If you don’t have a focus it’s easy to get bored and give up. The solution? A routine. Here’s how to put one together.

Contrary to what you might think, you don’t get stronger and fitter IN the gym, but OUTSIDE of it. The recovery, not the workout stimulus, is what makes the magic. Rest big to gain big.

You hear about how “low-rep sets” are better for goal X and “high-rep sets” are better for goal Y. What does that really mean? Here, an introduction to the concepts of intensity, volume, and planned variation — aka periodization.

We used to think that weight training would slow you down for other activities. We heard of mythical athletes who got “muscle-bound” after training and wound up with the agility of Jabba the Hutt. We know now that weight training is an excellent companion to just about any sport. It can help you be stronger, faster, leaner, more powerful, and even help you prevent and recover from injuries.

But how do you go about designing a weight training program for your chosen activity? Clearly a skier is going to have different needs than a rock climber. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to weight training. Here are some suggestions.

It’s not a question I encounter as frequently as “how to lose bodyfat?” but there are lots of women out there who do want to be bigger, heavier, and/or more muscular. It’s a refreshing change to answer this question, frankly. The challenge, as many skinny folks have discovered, is how to do it healthily.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on the site, it’s counterproductive to try to lose fat at the same time you try to gain mass. It’s like trying to build a house while someone keeps taking the bricks away. Pick one goal and eat and train accordingly.