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Whatever the reason you want to learn to lift — lose weight, build a better-looking body, get strong, forge greater self-confidence, complement your sport, improve your health, to be able to outrun fellow Homo Sapiens should a zombie outbreak occur — you’re in the right place.

Depending on what you’ve read or previously been told about strength training, the information here may surprise you. In fact, I hope it does.

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The gym is a place for every individual. No one is better than anyone else, and no one deserves to be there more than the person beside them. Lifting weights is an activity for everyone.

But it may not always feel that way.

Has it ever felt like your low back was “straining” as you deadlifted the bar off the floor?

The day after deadlifting, have you been left with battered and bruised shins?

You’re likely making a very common mistake. And the great news? It’s incredibly easy to fix.

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‘Tis the season for holiday cheer, all things pumpkin-spice, and perhaps a few too many spiked egg-nogs. Something else is supplied in abundance this time of year too:

Guilt. Shame. Punishment. All for, get this, eating food.

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We interrupt your regularly scheduled article filled with practical strength training and nutrition information to help you build a healthier body without resorting to miserable dieting tactics or grueling workouts to bring you this important message about bad luck, soggy hiking boots, and a bit of optometry.

Imagine for a moment you and I are going on a hike together on a midsummer afternoon. We choose a trail that cuts through a thick forest.