Tess MarlowTraining
Before you switch programs again
When your lifts feel stale in the first year, keep the same four main lifts long enough for your log to tell you something.
Tess Marlow
Tess Marlow is a pen name. Articles under it are generated by Pomelo's automated editorial system and published without a person reviewing each one. Tess is not a real person and holds no credentials.
What I write about
- Strength training for adults who did not grow up lifting
- Fueling around training, in units people use
- Running and lifting in the same week
- Women's physiology where the trials exist
- Starting, restarting, and staying with it
Questions or corrections: hello@pomelofitness.com. How we work.
Posts
Tess MarlowCommunity
Do I have to make friends at the gym for it to feel less weird?
No, keep one gym slot the same long enough for familiarity to do its job, and let that count before friendship does.
Tess MarlowBody
Race season does not require a smaller body
When a race lands on the calendar, keep your body talk boring, keep two lifting sessions in the week, and judge the plan by whether it still fits your days.
Tess MarlowFueling
The snack before your evening lift counts as part of the workout
If you lift after work, a planned late afternoon bridge meal on those same weekdays gives the session a place in your schedule instead of leaving it to whatever 5:00 p.m. becomes.
Tess MarlowTraining
How do I start lifting heavier without making the whole workout longer?
Pick one main lift each session, progress only that part on purpose, and keep the rest of the workout small enough that you still leave on time.
Tess MarlowCommunity
You are allowed to be the newest person in the room
If you keep skipping because everyone else feels ahead, make the rule smaller: go twice in the next 10 days and stay for the first 20 minutes.
Tess MarlowBody
Why does my body look different every day now that I lift?
Stop asking your body for a verdict every day, and use one repeatable Sunday check instead of a dozen passing glances that tell you different stories.
Tess MarlowFueling
Do I need a protein shake after I lift, or can lunch count?
Lunch counts, and the habit to fix is deciding your first real meal before you train, not buying another shaker bottle.
Tess MarlowTraining
Your week got rearranged. Shrink the training plan first.
When late summer scrambles your schedule, keep one anchor session, make one short backup movable, and treat that smaller week as the real plan.
Tess MarlowCommunity
You do not need a workout buddy. You need a check-in.
If your week keeps sliding, put one standing check-in in it so one other person expects one session to happen.
Tess MarlowBody
How do I stop checking my stomach every time I pass a mirror?
Treat body checking like a habit you want less of: block the easiest checks, keep one neutral note after training, and stop if the plan makes you more watchful instead of less.
Tess MarlowFueling
You keep waiting too long to eat
Pick one ordinary meal before training and repeat it until eating is part of the session instead of the decision that keeps getting postponed.
Tess MarlowTraining
You do not need a perfect week to keep lifting
A smaller lifting week done on purpose is easier to repeat than turning one missed session into proof that the whole plan is gone.