I’ve always enjoyed working out especially weight lifting. But consistency has never been my strong suit. While I walk a five-mile trail loop near my house at least a few times a week, at 68, my real goal is to build muscle and functional strength for longevity. However, I’ve never stuck with strength training because I struggled to find the right program to keep me motivated. So, when I had the chance to review the Women’s Health Build & Burn barbell program firsthand, I didn’t hesitate to say yes.
Designed by Aja Campbell, CSCS, the four-week strength training plan centers on mastering foundational barbell lifts while progressively building strength and muscle. The program includes four weekly workouts, each 30 to 60 minutes long, with clear instructions and options to modify or intensify the moves to improve form, boost confidence with the barbell, and support body recomposition goals.
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My main goal for the month-long challenge was simple: to get stronger and actually stick to a strength training routine. Here’s my candid review and what I learned from trying the Women’s Health Build & Burn barbell track.
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My First Impressions of the Program
The barbell track included one lower-body day, one upper-body day, and two full-body days weekly, over four weeks. Workouts one through three featured a main lift like box squats, bench presses, or deadlifts—paired with two supersets each made up of three or four exercises performed back to back with no rest between sets.
The fourth workout of the week switched things up with exercises performed EMOM every minute on the minute and AMRAP as many rounds as possible in five minutes. Every session also began with a quick warmup routine and wrapped up with an optional finisher.
Laura Williams
Although I was nervous to get started because I didn’t have too much experience lifting weights, the challenge was easy to jump into: I needed a fair amount of equipment for the workouts—barbell, power rack, bench, small box, and a variety of weight plates—but my local gym had it all.
When it came to the actual workouts, the exercises were simple to learn and perform with proper form, especially with the clear step-by-step instructions. I also liked that the reps for each move were relatively low—between 6 to 12—because it motivated me to try and increase the weight each week. Even though I didn’t have serious weight-lifting experience, I felt confident in my abilities; everything I needed to succeed was right there in the downloadable PDF.
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From the start, I could feel my balance being tested in unfamiliar ways.
On the first day of the challenge, I struggled to complete the warmup jumping jacks and alternating knee hug to quad pull without stopping between reps to catch my balance or hold onto the wall. But by the end of the first week, I could finish all the reps without stopping and without any support. I was shocked at how quickly my balance improved, but it was motivating proof that even just a few workout sessions could lead to noticeable progress in a short time.
When it came to the main lifts
I found the step-ups to be my biggest challenge. I felt wobbly with the barbell resting across my shoulders, but again, by week two, my wobbling went away and I felt much more stable and steady with each step. In a way, it felt like my balance hadn’t been challenged in so long that I just had to shake off the rust.
As each day progressed, I felt my strength and confidence improve under the barbell, especially during squats and bench presses. I’d started the challenge with a 20-lb technique barbell, which felt moderately heavy for me—I knew I was probably capable of lifting heavier, but I wanted to get comfortable with proper form. Sure enough, by the end of the first week, the weight felt lighter and I knew it was time to level up further. I was moving through each lift with better form and a sense of control I hadn’t expected so quickly.
Laura Williams
It felt great to get back into regular exercise again, but I won’t lie: I was so sore the first few days. In the past, I might have skipped a workout if I had sore muscles, but I was committed to the challenge, so I pushed through. I knew sticking to a routine was the only way to get stronger—and I was right.
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I was able to increase the barbell weight by 10 pounds each week, which proved I was stronger and capable of more than I expected.
Because I had never lifted weights consistently and hadn’t tracked my progress before or practiced any type of progressive overload gradual increase of stress or load on the body to improve strength and muscle gains, I didn’t have a baseline or a clear sense of what I was capable of in the gym. Yet week after week, I was more confident with every lift, and my strength was evident: By the end of week four, I was lifting more than double the weight I started with. I was using 60 pounds for nearly every exercise, and on my final bench press session, I felt especially strong and decided to push the weight up to 65 pounds total.
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By the end of the four weeks, my arms were more muscular, my clothes were a little looser, and I even noticed definition in my waist that hadn’t been there on day one. My energy levels also improved during the day, and I was sleeping better at night.
On top of that, I was surprised by how many improvements I noticed on my five-mile walks after the four weeks. After the four weeks, my posture felt better as my traps and core stayed engaged. My energy and endurance improved too, since my pace was also noticeably quicker. Normally, it takes me about two hours to complete the loop, but after four weeks of consistent barbell lifting, I was able to finish in just one hour and 36 minutes.
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Another unexpected perk? I was spending less time sitting during the day. In the past, after a walk or workout, I’d shower and then veg out for the rest of the day. But during the four weeks of the challenge, I found myself moving more—whether it was tackling chores, running errands, or finding small ways to stay active instead of plopping down on the couch. I think it comes back to feeling more energized overall, but the post-workout adrenaline rush also motivated me to keep moving.
Laura Williams
Overall, the Build & Burn challenge was easy to jump into and level up later on thanks to the simplicity of the barbell.
As someone who’s struggled to stay consistent with regular strength workouts, I was excited that this challenge kept me fully on track. Four days a week of strength training was more exercise than I was used to—and a different type—but it was manageable, and I appreciated that every workout could be done in an hour or less.
What I loved about this specific track is that starting with the barbell instead of a lot of dumbbells of different weights, for instance, made it easy to start working out regularly and stay consistent since I was just using one piece of equipment each day. The 20-lb technique barbell gave me a solid foundation to learn moves, gauge my strength, and nail down my form before upping the weight.
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I also loved that the program clearly outlined exactly what to do each week, so I didn’t have to think about which workouts to tackle and when. It took a lot of the mental planning and decision-making out of exercising, which made sticking to a routine much easier. All I had to do was show up, follow the instructions, and put in the work, which kept me motivated to stick with it and keep progressing.
This challenge really showed me how much continual work pays off in the gym, strength- and confidence-wise. I was shocked at how I was able to steadily increase the barbell by 10 pounds each week—it made me realize I was far stronger than I had expected, and continually upping my weights and showing up repeatedly was the key to making steady, efficient progress.
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Moving forward, I definitely want to make strength training workouts a regular part of my routine and incorporate some of the moves and concepts from this plan. My goal is to stick with strength training at least twice a week to keep building on the progress I’ve made in just four short weeks. This challenge was the kickstart I needed, and I’m excited to see how much stronger I can become when I keep showing up for myself.
