Never lifted a weight? What your first strength session is really like

Walking into a gym for the first time is the hardest part of strength training. Not the lifting. The walking in. So let's take the mystery out of it.

Plenty of the women who train with us had never touched a barbell before their first session. Some had been put off by big, busy gyms. Some had tried a class years ago and felt lost. Nearly all of them were nervous. That is normal, and it passes quicker than you think.

What happens when you arrive

You will be welcomed in, shown around and asked a few simple questions: what you would like to get out of training, whether you have done any before, and whether there is anything we should know about, such as an old injury or a health condition. There is no fitness test and nothing to prove.

Learning the basic movements

Most strength training is built on a handful of movements you already do every day: squatting down to sit in a chair, picking something up off the floor, pushing and pulling. Your first session is about learning to do those well, usually with light weights or just your body weight to start.

Your coach will show you each movement, watch you try it and give you one or two things to think about. You do not need to get it perfect. Nobody does in their first session, or their tenth. Good technique is built over weeks, rep by rep.

How hard will it be?

Hard enough to feel like you have done something, and not so hard that you cannot walk the next day. A good coach starts you lighter than you could manage, because the first job is learning the movement. The weights go up once you are moving well and feeling confident.

You might feel a bit of muscle soreness a day or two later, especially in your legs. That is normal when you use muscles in a new way, and it eases as your body gets used to training.

What to wear and bring

• Comfortable clothes you can move and bend in.
• Flat trainers. Very cushioned running shoes can feel wobbly when you lift, so flatter is better.
• A bottle of water.
• Anything you would like to ask. Write questions down beforehand if that helps.

Why a small group helps

In a small group session the coach can see everyone, so you get the attention you need without the pressure of being watched one to one for an hour. You also get to see other women of all ages and abilities lifting, which does more for your confidence than anything we could say.

That is how our Ladies That Lift sessions work: coached strength training in a small group, on a programme built around where you are starting from.

The only thing you need to bring is you

You do not need to get fit before you start. You do not need the right kit or to know the names of the lifts. You just need to turn up once, and the easiest way to do that is a tester session.