How do I know what weight to use?
Pick a weight you can lift for the full number of reps with good form, finishing each set feeling like you could have done two or three more. If you could have done six more, go heavier next set. If your form broke down, go lighter. The one-rep max tool can suggest starting weights once you know a few lifts.
How often should I train?
Three days a week is plenty to make great progress, especially at the start. Four is good if you enjoy it and recover well. Consistency beats volume: three sessions every week for a year will do more than six sessions a week for a month. Busy? Short on time is just two days a week.
Will lifting make me bulky?
Not by accident. Building a lot of muscle takes years of focused training and eating more food on purpose. For most people, lifting makes them look leaner and feel stronger.
Who can see my workouts and logs?
Only you. Everything you log (lifts, cardio, bodyweight, your Fitness Coach chat) is saved on your own phone or computer and never sent anywhere. Nobody else using the site or the app can see it, and neither can we. The one exception is if you turn on rest alarms: then only the time your rest ends and an anonymous address for your phone's notifications go to the site's server, so it can buzz you, and they're deleted when the alarm goes off. Nothing about your workouts is sent.
One exception you'll always see: when Fitness Coach says its answers are written by Claude (an AI made by Anthropic), what you type in the chat is sent to write the answer. Your logs, records, and settings still stay on your device.
One iPhone tip: Safari and the home-screen app keep separate storage. If you add Baseline to your home screen, log from the app from then on.
Can I use this like an app on my phone?
Yes, with no app store needed. It gets its own icon, opens full screen, and works without signal at the gym. Your logs stay on your phone.
iPhone: open this site in Safari, tap the Share button (the square with an arrow), then Add to Home Screen.
Android: open it in Chrome, tap the menu (three dots), then Add to Home screen or Install app.
Should women and men train differently?
Not really. A large review of studies (Roberts and colleagues, 2020) found that men and women gain muscle at similar rates relative to where they start, and women often gain upper-body strength even faster. So every plan here works for everyone. What changes is the starting weight and the size of the jumps: lighter lifts go up in smaller steps, and the log handles that for you.
Pick by goal, not gender. Want to focus on glutes and legs? Try Glutes & legs focus. Want a stronger upper body? Try Upper body focus. Brand new? Start with New to lifting.
Cardio or weights for losing fat?
Both help, but neither replaces eating a little less. Weights protect your muscle while you lose. Walking and cardio burn extra energy and are good for your heart. The plans here use both. Start with the Lose fat plan and the calorie estimator.
I'm sore. Should I skip my workout?
Mild soreness is normal in the first few weeks and usually fades once you warm up. Train anyway, maybe a little lighter. Sharp pain, joint pain, or pain that gets worse as you move is different: stop that exercise and get it checked. The 5-minute warm-up helps your first sets feel better.
What are the unwritten gym rules?
Put your weights back when you're done. Wipe down benches and machines. Don't stand right in front of someone using a mirror or rack. If someone is between sets on equipment you want, it's fine to ask how many sets they have left or whether you can work in. More of these in gym words, decoded.
How much protein do I need?
A common target for people who lift is about 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight (1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram). If you have a lot of weight to lose, base it on your goal weight instead. The calorie estimator works this out for you. Food first; if you're curious about protein powder or creatine, read the supplements guide.