Articles and guides

Practical material for self-coached training: the short answer first, then a step-by-step method, limits of applicability and sources.

Material

Your first gym session: a step-by-step plan
What to do in your first gym session: a ready 45–60 minute plan — warm-up, 5–6 machine exercises, cool-down. A printable card, limits of applicability and checked sources.
Updated: 2026-09-02
How long a workout should last
How long a strength session should last: how to estimate the time from the number of exercises, sets and rests. A calculation table, a worked example for the 2-day program and the order in which to cut things when time is short.
Updated: 2026-09-05
How to choose your starting working weight
How to find a working weight: warm-up attempts, a worked example and a decision table.
Updated: 2026-09-05
How to progress your training load
A double-progression algorithm for strength training: set a rep range, grow the reps to the top of the range, then add weight. A decision table for plateaus and worked training-log examples.
Updated: 2026-09-05
How long to rest between sets
How long to rest between sets: a decision table for heavy, light, core and warm-up sets, a readiness criterion and the honest trade-off between time and performance. The guidance matches the site's programs.
Updated: 2026-09-05
How to track progress in your training
How to track progress in your training: a local training-log template, a table of reliable metrics, rules for comparing 2–4 week periods and a warning about the noise in short-term measurements. No sign-up and no data storage.
Updated: 2026-09-05
Warming up before a strength session
The minimum warm-up before a strength session: a 5–10 minute general block and specific warm-up sets for the first exercise. What is known about the benefits of a warm-up and what is not — with no promise of preventing every injury.
Updated: 2026-09-05