Read this first
Safety and gym etiquette
Training should make you more capable, not injured or unpopular. Use this page before you chase a number on the bar.
Medical disclaimer
IronLedger provides general fitness education and a personal training log. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it does not replace a consultation with a qualified clinician.
Seek medical advice before beginning a new exercise programme, especially if you have heart disease, chest pain, dizziness, joint or spinal conditions, are pregnant or recently postpartum, take medication that affects heart rate or blood pressure, or have been inactive for a long period.
Stop immediately and get urgent help if you feel chest pain, unusual shortness of breath, faintness, severe headache, or sudden unexplained pain during or after training.
A real-world coach is recommended
Videos and written cues cannot see your joints, your history, or the way you actually move. A qualified personal trainer, strength coach or physiotherapist can film your lifts, regress exercises, and progress you safely.
This is especially important for barbell squats, deadlifts, overhead pressing and Olympic-style work. Book a few in-person sessions when you start, when you stall, or when something hurts.
If you train alone, use safety pins or spotter arms in a rack, learn how to fail a lift, and never max out a bench press without a competent spotter or a rack set to catch the bar.
Warm-up and cool-down
Spend 5–10 minutes raising your temperature (easy bike, row, or brisk walk), then do 1–2 lighter sets of the first lift. Cold, heavy singles are a common way to pull a muscle.
Move the joints you are about to load through a comfortable range: hip openers before squats, band pull-aparts before pressing, easy hinges before deadlifts.
After training, walk and breathe until your heart rate settles. Gentle range-of-motion work is enough; you do not need an aggressive stretch on a fatigued muscle.
Technique before load
Add weight only when the last set still looks like the first. Missing reps with a rounded back or bouncing a bench press off the chest is not progress.
Film a set from the side every few weeks. Compare it with a reputable form video, or show it to a coach.
Pain is a signal. Muscle burn and effort are expected; sharp joint pain, radiating nerve pain, or pain that alters your gait is not. Regress, change the exercise, or stop.
Equipment and environment
Check collars, cables, pins and bench stability before you load. Do not use damaged plates, frayed cables or a bench that rocks.
Set the safety bars in a squat rack to just below your lowest safe position. Learn how to dump a failed squat backward onto the pins.
Keep the lifting area clear of bottles, phones and spare plates. Chalk is useful; a puddle of it on a slippery floor is not.
If you use a belt, it is a cue to brace against — not a substitute for a strong trunk. Wrist wraps, straps and sleeves are optional tools, not armour.
Recovery, sleep and progression
Most natural lifters do well with 3–5 hard sessions a week and at least one full rest day. Soreness is not a requirement for growth; repeatable training is.
Sleep, protein and a modest calorie surplus or deficit (depending on your goal) do more than any supplement. Creatine monohydrate is well-studied for many adults — still ask a clinician if you have kidney disease.
Progress with small jumps: 1–2.5 kg on upper-body lifts, 2.5–5 kg on lower-body lifts, or an extra rep before you add load. Deload a week when sleep, mood and bar speed all drop.
Recommended rep ranges
Ranges are guides used in general strength and hypertrophy practice. They are not medical prescriptions. If a range hurts a joint, stop and get it checked.
| Goal | Reps | Load | Sets | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 1–5 | About 85–100% of 1-rep max | 3–6 | 3–5 minutes |
| Strength–hypertrophy | 4–8 | About 75–85% of 1-rep max | 3–5 | 2–3 minutes |
| Hypertrophy | 6–12 | About 65–80% of 1-rep max | 3–5 | 60–90 seconds |
| Muscular endurance | 12–20+ | About 50–65% of 1-rep max | 2–4 | 30–60 seconds |
Gym etiquette
A gym is shared machinery. Courtesy keeps people safe and the floor usable at 18:00.
01
Re-rack every plate
Put weights back on the tree or the bar they came from, in matching pairs. A deadlift platform left at 180 kg is a trap for the next person.
02
Wipe what you sweat on
Carry a towel. Spray and wipe benches, pads, handles and floor marks. If the gym provides disinfectant, use it — do not just smear sweat with a dry sleeve.
03
Do not hog a station
On busy equipment, let others work in. Share the squat rack between sets. Circuits that occupy four machines at once belong in an empty gym or at home.
04
Ask before working in
A simple “mind if I work in?” is enough. Reset their machine or bar to their settings when you finish your set.
05
Leave phones off the benches
Film your own lifts if you need to, but do not occupy a bench to scroll. Keep calls outside the floor. Headphones in is not an excuse to ignore a spotter request.
06
Respect personal space and spotting
Do not walk in front of someone mid-set or step over a barbell. If you agree to spot, watch the whole set — thumbs around the bar on a bench, and lift only when they ask or the bar stalls.
07
Control the drop
Bumper plates on a platform may be dropped from a controlled height. Iron plates on a deadlift jack, dumbbells and machines should be lowered. Slamming is noisy, damages kit, and startles people under load.
08
Chalk, cologne and cameras
Use chalk where the gym allows it and clean the bar after heavy pulls. Go easy on fragrance in a closed room. Ask before you film anyone else in the background of your content.
09
Peak hours and classes
If a class owns the floor at a posted time, finish your set and move. Do not take the only adjustable bench into a corner for 40 minutes of curls at 18:00.
10
Be decent
No staring, no unsolicited coaching, no comments on other people’s bodies. Offer help if someone is clearly stuck under a bar. Report broken kit to staff instead of leaving it for the next member.