The Most Effective Weight Training, Cardio & Nutrition for Women | Dr. Lauren Colenso-Semple

For women who have never done formal resistance training, the approach should focus on challenging all major muscle groups through a full-body program. The most important principle is training close enough to failure - meaning if you can only perform 10 repetitions and not an 11th, stopping at 8 or 9 repetitions provides an appropriate stimulus for growth.A practical starting framework involves training 2-3 times per week with full-body sessions. For someone training Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, each session should target all major muscle groups with compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and presses. The beauty of this approach is its flexibility - if life gets in the way and you only manage Monday and Friday one week, you've still hit every muscle group twice.Each muscle group should receive at least 2 sets per session, with 3 being preferable, and up to 4 being beneficial. Beyond 4 sets per muscle group per session becomes unnecessary. Rest periods should be approximately 2 minutes for most exercises, potentially extending to 3 minutes for demanding compound movements like squats or deadlifts.