Women's Health June 6, 2026 0 Comments

The 4 Game-Changing Strength Training Secrets I Wish I Knew 5 Years Ago—And How They Could Turbocharge Your Gains Today

Ever felt like you’re hauling yourself through a maze when you start strength training—only to end up right back where you began? Yeah, I’ve been there, and honestly, it’s as frustrating as trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. You dive into workouts with every ounce of energy, only to find yourself stuck with conflicting advice and routines that barely move the needle. But here’s the kicker: what if there were just four golden nuggets of wisdom that could have saved you years of spinning your wheels? Enter Sarah Mackay, a fitness junkie who’s been in the trenches and is now spilling the tea on the game-changers she wishes she’d known before pumping iron five years ago. Trust me, these aren’t your average tips—they’re the stuff that could double your results and keep you sane in the process. Ready to stop wasting time and start making gains? Let’s get into it. LEARN MORE

3 min read

Starting strength training is difficult enough without running into dead ends that end up stalling your results. From confusing advice to ineffective routines, it’s easy to waste months or years spinning your wheels without seeing real change.

That’s why fitness enthusiast Sarah Mackay decided to share the four things she wished she knew before starting training in the gym five years ago.

‘It’s so you don’t have to waste the same years making no progress like I did,’ she revealed. ‘I genuinely think I would have made twice the improvements if someone had just told me this on day one.’

4 Things To Know Before You Start Strength Training

1. There Is No Rush

At the beginning, Mackay tried to reach goals as quickly as she could.

‘I wanted to lose fat as fast as possible, so I cut calories. I wanted to build muscle, so I did [a huge amount of] exercises,’ she recalls.

While these things worked in the short term, they were also unsustainable, and she eventually hit a point where it wore her down physically and mentally.

‘Now, I take things slowly,’ she reveals. ‘[Health and fitness are] supposed to last your entire life, so it’s better to implement habits and behaviors that you can sustain in the long term, rather than just for a couple weeks to look good for a holiday.’

2. Use Rep Range Progressions

When Mackay started implementing progressive overload, she thought it only meant increasing weight over time, and in ‘every single session’. However, that didn’t always work, ‘especially if my body hadn’t adapted to that weight jump yet’.

Progressive overload can also mean doing more workouts during the week, decreasing rest time between sets, or slowing exercises down – among other things.

Mackay opted for increasing volume, or the number of total reps performed.

‘What I like to do now is use rep ranges,’ she said. ‘I’d go with 6-8 or 6-10, starting with a weight that I could do for 6 reps – 1 rep shy of failure – and then as the weeks went on, I would keep that same proximity to failure, but try to increase my reps on a weekly basis.’

She found this to be a better approach: ‘You’re working more with your body in comparison to giving yourself arbitrary jumps before you’ve even adapted to last weight that you did the week before.’

3. Stop Focusing On Whether It Fits Your Macros

Mackay realized she needed to change the way she approached nutrition.

‘It was always, “How little or how much can I eat?”. It was never about the food quality,’ she reflected. ‘When I swapped from eating just solely protein snacks or shakes to more single-ingredient foods like cuts of meat, vegetables and healthy fats, I saw a dramatic change in my energy levels. My bloating and blood sugar levels improved, [as did] my performance in the gym and my progress overall.’

Mackay’s careful not to demonize protein snacks or ‘sweet treats’ – she just doesn’t make them the bulk of what she eats. ‘They definitely have their place, but [don’t make them] your entire diet just because they fit into your macros.’

4. Make Quality Sleep Part of Your Fitness Program

After realizing that a bad night’s sleep consistently wore down her mental and physical health, Mackay slowly increased from 4-6 to 7-9 hours.

Both her energy and appetite regulation improved. ‘I didn’t realize how much sleep played a role in your food choices and the amount of food you’re eating. When you’re tired, it makes it much harder to stick to your eating plan,’ she explained.