“Building muscle and strength takes time… Forget about what anyone else is doing and just compare you to where you were yesterday, or last week, or last year! You’ll be amazed at what you will have achieved.

“Keep going – those baby increments will lead to big changes.”

How fast should you progress in the gym?

The trickiest thing is that there’s no hard and fast rule for how and when you should be progressing. And your performance will rarely be a linear, upward trajectory – especially as women who have hormone fluctuations that make some times of the month feel harder than others.

Progress does require challenging yourself, so be honest about whether you actually are pushing yourself in the gym or if you’re just getting by.

Gym progress: why slow progress and adding small weights are important