If a woman, who is new to weight lifting and I mean really, really new. Wants to get started on fitness plan which focuses more on weight training, would you inform them about the DOMS, beforehand? I'm talking about my mother...

Absolutely! But do it in a way that is informative, but not scary (so to speak). Make sure she understands what it is, and why it happens. If you don't tell her about it, she may very well lift for one day, get a bad case of DOMS, and then decide to quit.

Yes! Also make sure that she knows what kind of pain isn't DOMS (immediate searing or pinching pain and etcetera). If I didn't do my research, and went into the routines that I've been doing, I'd easily get discouraged. Thanks to knowing about DOMS, I realize that the stiff ache that manifested the day after I worked the muscles was a necessary rite of passage rather than a warning to avoid challenging myself in my strength training.

Besides, if she's a working person, she should know to expect that sort of pain so she can schedule it around the rest of her life, to avoid interruptions.

Thanks for the replies, I really hope she'll dig into this fitness stuff. Anymore advice for women who wants to start fitness? :confused:

Thanks for the replies, I really hope she'll dig into this fitness stuff. Anymore advice for women who wants to start fitness? :confused:

A very important one for everyone, but especially for women because of the cultural significance, is to remind her that the scale is not the be-all-end-all of progress, and that weight can fluctuate greatly for any number of reasons.