Routine for my fiance

[the.gladiator1987]

Hey ladies, so I am wanting to get my fiance on a workout routine. Nothing crazy just 3x a week. Probably will do something like an upper/lower split so one week would be U/L/U and the next week be L/U/L. Anyway here are her stats

Age: 21
Weight: 120
Height: 5'1"

Goals: She wants to tone everywhere. She is skinny and has an amazing body. I understand that toning is building muscle, shes like any other girl and thinks when I say that she needs to build muscle shes gonna look like a man, anyway she already went with me last night and did squats db lunges, SLDL, db curls, db military and benched the bar just to show her some things.

She is not on any set schedule. She is active and we play bball, go on walks, etc but no current "routine"

Diet is OK. She doesnt eat that much but last night we had chili dogs, then later had eggs, bacon, biscuits and milk. She doesnt eat "bad" but its not the best.

One concern would be that she is double jointed in her legs and arms. So when she stands straight her legs go back. Its weird lol so idk if this would stop her from doing some lifts...When I had her do squats with the 45lb bar she said it felt like her spine was crushing. Maybe just too much weight.

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So thank you ladies for ANY info on her routine. Im thinking of starting an upper/lower split and changing our diet. We are getting our own place in a month so our diet will be a lot better then.

 

[deestar]

Does she have any pre-existing health issues or injuries? Thinking about her back specifically. Squatting, as I'm sure you know, can be damn hard to get right. It might be a good idea to start her on a smith machine - I find it's easier to use appropriate form there, as it's much easier to push through your heels with the rack backing you up. Gotta make sure her back is doing the right things at all ranges of motion throughout the movement. If all else fails, give it up and seek a qualified trainer - the last thing you want is for her to blow her back out with bad squatting just as she's starting out.

I wouldn't expect double-jointedness to be an issue, so long as she fails to lock her joints at the top of movements (like leg press, bench press - you can see how that would be bad). I would put a heavy emphasis on LIGHT weights while she learns the form of various exercises, and ensure that the movements are comfortable.

How is her general, everyday posture?

D

 

[RottenWillow]

Hey ladies, so I am wanting to get my fiance on a workout routine. Nothing crazy just 3x a week. Probably will do something like an upper/lower split so one week would be U/L/U and the next week be L/U/L. Anyway here are her stats

Age: 21
Weight: 120
Height: 5'1"

Goals: She wants to tone everywhere. She is skinny and has an amazing body. I understand that toning is building muscle, shes like any other girl and thinks when I say that she needs to build muscle shes gonna look like a man, anyway she already went with me last night and did squats db lunges, SLDL, db curls, db military and benched the bar just to show her some things.

She is not on any set schedule. She is active and we play bball, go on walks, etc but no current "routine"

Diet is OK. She doesnt eat that much but last night we had chili dogs, then later had eggs, bacon, biscuits and milk. She doesnt eat "bad" but its not the best.

One concern would be that she is double jointed in her legs and arms. So when she stands straight her legs go back. Its weird lol so idk if this would stop her from doing some lifts...When I had her do squats with the 45lb bar she said it felt like her spine was crushing. Maybe just too much weight.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So thank you ladies for ANY info on her routine. Im thinking of starting an upper/lower split and changing our diet. We are getting our own place in a month so our diet will be a lot better then.

That's not bad? Sounds pretty bad to me.


Firstly, is it her idea to lift weights, or yours? If she doesn't really have the interest or motivation to get into the gym and pursue a serious weight training routine, any advice we could give would be pointless.


She needs a clear, well defined fitness goal and "toned" doesn't fit that bill. If this statement did in fact come straight from her, then probably what she wants is to look harder, but let's not assume. Show her some pictures of a variety of fitness chicks in competition and see if that's the body she wants. That's step one.

 

[musclemom]

That's not bad? Sounds pretty bad to me.

Firstly, is it her idea to lift weights, or yours? If she doesn't really have the interest or motivation to get into the gym and pursue a serious weight training routine, any advice we could give would be pointless.

She needs a clear, well defined fitness goal and "toned" doesn't fit that bill. If this statement did in fact come straight from her, then probably what she wants is to look harder, but let's not assume. Show her some pictures of a variety of fitness chicks in competition and see if that's the body she wants. That's step one.

THIS ^^^

An aside, RW, Glad is about 22 now, if I'm not mistaken. He's a male, who cycles, plays football, lifts and works out seriously. He has said before on the diet forum that he has one of those metabolisms that allow him to eat anything he wants, whenever he wants and not gain fat. IOW, if it's not Mickey D's three times a day, it's not too bad.

Anyway, hey Glad! I'm gonna give you the facts for your wife to be from a perspective you have NEVER needed to consider, NUMBERS:

1. Her BMR (basal metabolic rate) is 1365. You probably eat that before 10:00 a.m.

2. Giving her a moderately active lifestyle, she needs about 2015 calories to MAINTAIN her weight. That's it. A bit over 2000 a day, total, even if she's lifting hard. Gotta keep that in the back of your mind.

With women, perhaps even more so than men because we have hormones fighting us, achieving a certain body look hinges heavily on manipulating dietary macros and being very conscious of what you're eating, every minute, of every day.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Does she have any pre-existing health issues or injuries? Thinking about her back specifically. Squatting, as I'm sure you know, can be damn hard to get right. It might be a good idea to start her on a smith machine - I find it's easier to use appropriate form there, as it's much easier to push through your heels with the rack backing you up. Gotta make sure her back is doing the right things at all ranges of motion throughout the movement. If all else fails, give it up and seek a qualified trainer - the last thing you want is for her to blow her back out with bad squatting just as she's starting out.

I wouldn't expect double-jointedness to be an issue, so long as she fails to lock her joints at the top of movements (like leg press, bench press - you can see how that would be bad). I would put a heavy emphasis on LIGHT weights while she learns the form of various exercises, and ensure that the movements are comfortable.

How is her general, everyday posture?

D

Hi, yea I agree about her double jointness -- she wont need to worry as long as she doesnt lock out all the way. Ill also start her out with some db squats and smith machine squats. The movement itself is hard to learn let alone with weight. Posture is perfect

 

[the.gladiator1987]

That's not bad? Sounds pretty bad to me.


Firstly, is it her idea to lift weights, or yours? If she doesn't really have the interest or motivation to get into the gym and pursue a serious weight training routine, any advice we could give would be pointless.


She needs a clear, well defined fitness goal and "toned" doesn't fit that bill. If this statement did in fact come straight from her, then probably what she wants is to look harder, but let's not assume. Show her some pictures of a variety of fitness chicks in competition and see if that's the body she wants. That's step one.

She wants to. But diet will be the hard part for her. She did say "toned". I told her toned is building muscle and she said ok. I will show her but she will probably be too embarrased to say she wants to look like someone and then feel like she doesnt look good enough so she wont even say anything lol

 

[the.gladiator1987]

THIS ^^^

An aside, RW, Glad is about 22 now, if I'm not mistaken. He's a male, who cycles, plays football, lifts and works out seriously. He has said before on the diet forum that he has one of those metabolisms that allow him to eat anything he wants, whenever he wants and not gain fat. IOW, if it's not Mickey D's three times a day, it's not too bad.

Anyway, hey Glad! I'm gonna give you the facts for your wife to be from a perspective you have NEVER needed to consider, NUMBERS:

1. Her BMR (basal metabolic rate) is 1365. You probably eat that before 10:00 a.m.

2. Giving her a moderately active lifestyle, she needs about 2015 calories to MAINTAIN her weight. That's it. A bit over 2000 a day, total, even if she's lifting hard. Gotta keep that in the back of your mind.

With women, perhaps even more so than men because we have hormones fighting us, achieving a certain body look hinges heavily on manipulating dietary macros and being very conscious of what you're eating, every minute, of every day.

Thanks for the response musclemom, i agree diet is even more important in women. Thats gonna be the hard part. Eventually well get it on track but as far as a weight lifting schedule for beginner, what would you start out with? What kind of split?

 

[musclemom]

Thanks for the response musclemom, i agree diet is even more important in women. Thats gonna be the hard part. Eventually well get it on track but as far as a weight lifting schedule for beginner, what would you start out with? What kind of split?

I wanted to weight train, it was something I enjoyed doing, so you have to understand, I learned how to weight lift by buying equipment and teaching myself. I read everything I could, then with certain movements I watched myself in a mirror.

That's how I think EVERYONE should learn how to lift, frankly.

I'm going to point you away from EF to another site that DOES NOT compete with EF in any way. It's written by a woman who is into iron, for women who want to get into iron. And the best part, she's even tinier (5'0") than your girlfriend. Get your lady to read the site over, or you guys read it together.

Training :: stumptuous.com

If you scroll down you will see numerous training splits listed by training level (beginner, intermediate, etc.) Pick something from beginner and try it for a few weeks to see how she likes it.

There is a HUGE amount of useful information on that site, most importantly, the information on form (particularly about big moves). I've found her instructions to be some of the best, most detailed out there. See, I have physical problems (spinal problems, DJD in most of my joints) and nobody observing you can tell you as well as your own body what is a good movement versus bad. The only way you can know that is if you know how the move should feel and understand what muscles are working. That's mind-muscle connection and that's a matter of experience (as well as learning what muscle groups are working when you work).

I also think the most useful book you can get is "Strength Training Anatomy" by Frederic Delavier, that will really teach a person about mind/muscle connection (plus has some excellent tips about proper exercise performance).

I'm a "do it yourselfer" when it comes to weight training. I believe that the nature of the sport requires that the person who is going to be doing the work needs to take responsibility for educating themselves

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Thanks MM, I also believe everyone should be doing this stuff. The number 1 way for women to get rid of osteoporosis is.........weight training! lol the number 1 way to get toned is.....weight training! So many women fail to understand this. My fiance does want to start doing this again. Shes not afraid to get sweaty and lit heavy, she did say it was boring without music which i totally understand. Thanks for that site we will def read it together. When I had her do squats it looked weird, but when I had her holdon to a pole i front of her, they looked perfect so Im not sure. Maybe ill take a video of her and post it on here.

I cant make her want it as much as I do, her diet especially, but Im definitely going to keep motivating her. I dont wanna start her off too hard.

 

[musclemom]

Thanks MM, I also believe everyone should be doing this stuff. The number 1 way for women to get rid of osteoporosis is.........weight training! lol the number 1 way to get toned is.....weight training! So many women fail to understand this. My fiance does want to start doing this again. Shes not afraid to get sweaty and lit heavy, she did say it was boring without music which i totally understand. Thanks for that site we will def read it together. When I had her do squats it looked weird, but when I had her holdon to a pole i front of her, they looked perfect so Im not sure. Maybe ill take a video of her and post it on here.

I cant make her want it as much as I do, her diet especially, but Im definitely going to keep motivating her. I dont wanna start her off too hard.

just my opinion, here, but maybe consider getting her to start with deadlifts first (which I consider to be a slightly easier/safer exercise) instead of squats, or even dumbbell deads. Get her muscles built up, start activating her CNS and get her to learn proper form working with the weight below her waist first, which is a woman's stronger suit. Many women have trouble with squats at first from a purely mechanical perspective, they have virtually NO trapezius to rest the bar on, it can be anything to uncomfortable to down right painful. Deads activate almost all of the same muscle groups. It would be even better if she had access to a trap bar, no chance of shin scrapes and the shape of the bar encourages you to have good form.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Great idea! Thanks, For squats im just gonna have her practice bodyweight squats, but im having her do pretty much a lot of what i do. Military, bench, deadlifts, dips, etc.

 

[musclemom]

Great idea! Thanks, For squats im just gonna have her practice bodyweight squats, but im having her do pretty much a lot of what i do. Military, bench, deadlifts, dips, etc.

Good idea. Check out Krista's workout routines and remember, she doesn't have the recovery ability you do, give her sufficient recovery time and she'll have better results. Another thought, a lot of guys get their women started and have them doing 5 x 5s, which is about strength. Most women are less interested in power than appearance, so you want to go with a higher rep range, like for a bodybuilder.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

I've never trained higher rep, when u say that do u mean it should be heavy to where rep 10 or 12 is failure or almost failure?

 

[musclemom]

I've never trained higher rep, when u say that do u mean it should be heavy to where rep 10 or 12 is failure or almost failure?

Yep. Frankly I don't think anyone should go to failure, even in the lower rep range. I think it's over-rated. I have always held the belief that you should never get yourself into such a position that you cannot handle a weight safely and using proper form and in theory that's exactly where you are when you go to failure (this is training philosophy, mind you, not competition, but in a competition you are forced to assume the spotters know what they're doing).

Think three sets of 10 reps to get her started. It builds muscular endurance as well as strength. By the time she does the last set of reps she should be virtually to the point where the muscle is exhausted, but a brief rest will bring it back pretty quick.

 

[the.gladiator1987]

Yep. Frankly I don't think anyone should go to failure, even in the lower rep range. I think it's over-rated. I have always held the belief that you should never get yourself into such a position that you cannot handle a weight safely and using proper form and in theory that's exactly where you are when you go to failure (this is training philosophy, mind you, not competition, but in a competition you are forced to assume the spotters know what they're doing).

Think three sets of 10 reps to get her started. It builds muscular endurance as well as strength. By the time she does the last set of reps she should be virtually to the point where the muscle is exhausted, but a brief rest will bring it back pretty quick.

Yea i agree failure is not what Id want her to do anyway, not yet at least. Ok so 3 sets of 10 of he same weight, or ramp up?

 

[musclemom]

Yea i agree failure is not what Id want her to do anyway, not yet at least. Ok so 3 sets of 10 of he same weight, or ramp up?

Stick with the same weight. She's a beginner. You start ramping and pyramiding and all that good stuff with someone whose been playing with iron for a while.

That whole idea of "shocking the muscles" only applies to someone whose been lifting a LOOOOONG time.

Find a solid beginner routine, do it 10 x 3 with the same weight. She WILL feel it, and she WILL notice a difference very quickly. You'll probably want to bump her protein, get her a really SIMPLE whey protein (not a lot of shit added), just add one shake or so a day, don't let her drink all of her calories but she's small so it might be hard for her to get sufficient protein without a supplement. Otherwise, she's going to start waking up utterly ravinous and maybe eating her way through the day.

In the beginning, focus on form, helping her develop a system and helping her learn good habits both exercise and eating wise -- well, for that matter, you could probably use some discipline yourself on the food thing Don't overwhelm her. Keep the training simple. Look at it as a learning experience for both of you

 

[AFeedz]

Thanks for the question, gladiator and all the advice, muscle mom. I'm going to steal almost all of this information for myself.

 

[musclemom]

Thanks for the question, gladiator and all the advice, muscle mom. I'm going to steal almost all of this information for myself.

I just re-read the last post, one thing I forgot to add: You want to feel that by the last half of the final set of reps you're pushing it hard, like you'll probably make it, but you definitely couldn't do another full set. When it gets to the point where you KNOW you could easily knock out another set, it's time to increase the weight. Generally speaking, until you get a feel for what works for your body, you want to increase the weight at a rate of about 10% to 20%. Better to err on the side of being a little light instead of overloading and sacrificing good form