The first six weeks, from your side
If you are starting strength training, the first six weeks usually go something like this:
- The first sessions feel awkward and you are sore for a day or two afterwards.
- By the second or third week the soreness is far less and the movements start to feel familiar.
- The weights go up faster than you expected.
- Somewhere around week four or five, everyday jobs start to feel easier.
- By week six you move with more confidence than when you started.
None of that is luck. Each part has a reason, and knowing the reason makes it easier to keep going.
Six weeks of personal training in Poole, in plain terms
Your body changes in a rough order. First your nervous system gets better at using the muscle you already have. Then the muscle itself starts to grow. The soreness at the start is part of your body getting used to work it has not done before, and it settles quickly.
That order is why the first six weeks at Ocean Fitness are built the way they are. Strength after 40 runs in three stages: assessment and foundation in weeks one and two, structured strength work in weeks three and four, then power and speed in weeks five and six.
What the research says about the first six weeks
The studies below were done on young adults, not people over 40, so read the timings as a guide rather than a promise.
The early strength comes from your nervous system. In 1979 Toshio Moritani and Herbert deVries followed seven young men and eight young women through eight weeks of strength training. Most of the strength gained early on came from neural factors, meaning the nervous system getting better at switching the muscle on. Muscle growth took over as the main factor after roughly three to five weeks.
The first-session soreness settles quickly. In 2016 Felipe Damas and colleagues trained ten untrained young men twice a week for ten weeks. After the first session the men had signs of muscle damage, soreness and a drop in strength. By the fifth session, around week three, only some soreness remained. Early on, the body's muscle-building activity went mostly on repair. Later it lined up with actual growth.
Muscle growth shows up sooner than most people think. In 2007 Olivier Seynnes, Maarten de Boer and Marco Narici had seven young volunteers train their thighs three times a week for 35 days. The muscle was measurably bigger after 20 days, about 3.5% in the middle of the thigh. By day 35 it was up by 6.5% to 7.4%, and maximum strength was up by about 39%.
What that means for your six weeks
Weeks one and two are about learning the movements and letting your body get used to the work. You will get stronger quickly here, mostly because you are getting better at the movements.
Weeks three and four are where the loading becomes structured. The soreness has usually settled, so you can train harder and recover in time for the next session.
Weeks five and six add power and speed. By then there is more muscle to work with, and the movements are familiar enough to do them quickly and well.
By week six you will move differently. You will feel it before you see it.
Personal training in Poole at Ocean Fitness
Every programme starts with a look at how you move, and the loads go up as you get stronger. The studio is private, at 1 Victoria Road in Poole, BH12. One trainer, one client.
The guarantee is simple. If you do the work and do not feel stronger and more capable after six weeks, I will keep training you until you do. No time limit. No small print.
If you want to know why that matters more than being fit, read why capable beats fit. When you are ready, book a free consultation.
Personal training in Poole: common questions
How soon will I notice results from strength training?
Strength usually goes up within the first few weeks. In a 1979 study, most of the early strength gain came from the nervous system getting better at using the muscle, before the muscle itself grew.
How long does it take for muscles to grow?
Sooner than most people expect. A 2007 study of seven young adults measured a 3.5% increase in thigh muscle size after 20 days of training three times a week, rising to between 6.5% and 7.4% by day 35.
Will I be sore after my first personal training session?
Some soreness after the first sessions is normal. In a 2016 study of ten untrained men, signs of muscle damage were clear after the first session and had largely settled by the fifth session, around week three.
What does the six-week programme at Ocean Fitness Poole include?
Weeks one and two cover assessment and foundation, weeks three and four structured strength work, and weeks five and six power and speed. If you do the work and do not feel stronger and more capable after six weeks, Dom keeps training you until you do.
References
- Damas F, Phillips SM, Libardi CA, et al. Resistance training-induced changes in integrated myofibrillar protein synthesis are related to hypertrophy only after attenuation of muscle damage. The Journal of Physiology. 2016;594:5209-5222.
- Moritani T, deVries HA. Neural factors versus hypertrophy in the time course of muscle strength gain. American Journal of Physical Medicine. 1979;58(3):115-130.
- Seynnes OR, de Boer M, Narici MV. Early skeletal muscle hypertrophy and architectural changes in response to high-intensity resistance training. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2007;102(1):368-373.