Things I wish I'd known when I started training

Have a training plan/log. Don't just turn up to the gym and see what equipment is free. Know exactly what you are going to do each gym visit: the exercises you are going to do; the weights you want to use; the number of sets/reps you will use or the conditioning routine you have planned. It saves time faffing around and gives you something to aim for. Try to have at least a month planned out in advance.

Keep a record of what you do each session. It makes it easy to monitor progress and, if you have to have break through injury/illness, it makes it easier to know where to start back from.

If motivation to train is a problem, arrange to train with a friend. It is much more difficult to ditch a session if you have to consider somebody else.

 

Lift at a level that is appropriate to your experience and health.

Just because your mate (who has been lifting for years) can do a 3x bodyweight deadlift, it does not mean you should try one on your first session. Start light and increase the weight you lift slowly. Rushing to lift heavy weights will very likely end up with you injured. For the first few weeks you may make what seems like excellent progress, however some of this will be due to learning correct form and some will be because you started out well below your maximum weight on each lift. Leave your ego at the door. It is better to increase your lifts by 1kg a week over a year, than to try to add 20kg over a couple of weeks and end up injured!

If you have a pre-existing injury research whether or not all lifts are safe for you to do, e.g. if you have a shoulder injury, then barbell overhead pressing may not be a wise idea, but you may be able to use dumbbells. The same may be true for pull ups, you may be safer doing them using gymnastic rings than a fixed bar, as the rings will move and allow your shoulder to remain in a more comfortable movement plane. If you have a back injury, front squats may be a safer lift to use than back squats.

Remember that strength standards are different for males and females and most articles that list target weights to achieve are aimed at males.

To give you an idea of your progress have a look at the following link:

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

 

Just to add to this...

Don't believe everything you read in the media. The difference between what is written in the newspapers and what was in the original research is often huge. In many cases journalists are not qualified scientists and therefore may be unable to criticially assess what they are reporting on. They also go for headlines and shock tactics and often what they report lacks the qualifying statements, exceptions and often the point/target group of the research. The same goes for diet books, they are usually written based on decades old research and rarely include up to the minute advice. Also authors tend err on the side of caution and don't want to be the first to publish a book based on reseach that counteracts conventional wisdom.

When you read about a new study in the newspaper or are looking for up to date diet advice, try to get the original research and read it critically. Sites such as Pubmed will give you abstracts and many journals nowadays are open access, so you don't need to work in academia to read them. The chances are that new research is a better indicator of the facts than a paper/study that is 30 years old. This is because, in the intervening 30 years, the knowledge base has increased and the technology available to scientists has become much more sophisticated and sensitive.

Don't dismiss a new idea because it counteracts what you've 'always been told' or because you think that those supporting it are a bunch of weirdos. A lot of the best websites for information can be populated by what I call 'fundamentalists'. They rave about whatever the theme of the website is and severely attack anyone who questions them or doesn't conform to what they believe in. This attitude doesn't necessarily negate the information of the website! It's the same as in martial arts. Some people refuse to accept any system but theirs might have benefits, it doesn't mean their system is rubbish, just that the individuals with this 'fundamentalist' atttitude are closed minded, intolerant muppets. Most reasonable people can see the pros and cons of different ideas, and may subscribe to one view more than another. It doesn't mean they totallly dismiss other viewpoints without doing their research first.

 

To expand on this:

Learn to listen to your body and understand what it is telling you. This can be difficult for beginners who have no previous experiences to fall back on. Learn to differentiate between a muscle that is aching because you've just given it a really good workout, and a muscle that is sore because it is injured or on the way to being injured - this is particularly important for people with chronic, re-occurring injuries.

For example: I have a bad back, but experience tells me the difference between the muscles feeling tight/tingly when I've just done a heavy set of deadlifts and the muscle feeling sore because I've just reinjured them. The former I can easily treat with a hot bath or a heat pack, the latter needs 2,3,4 (or even more) weeks of complete rest and careful behaviour on my part.

Something for the women to think about: learn to understand how your monthly cycle affects your training. Some people don't have any problems and can carry on regardless. Other people feel really weak and get bad cramps and really can't train during their periods. Accept that this is the way your body is and plan it into a routine. Use the week of your period as a rest and recovery week, deload in your lifting, drop any activities that cause pain - e.g. rolling round on the floor in a bjj class with a 80kg male sitting on my stomach is the last thing I want to do if I have cramps! Also listen to your body with regards to your diet - do you suffer from anemia, if you do make sure you eat enough iron rich foods.

http://figureathlete.t-nation.com/free_online_article/diet_and_nutrition/pumping_iron

Edited to add another link.

Scroll down for some information about training through a menstrual cycle:

http://figureathlete.t-nation.com/f...ized_figure_training_part_ii_optimal_training