Mojo wants to help, can you help Mojo..................help?

[gotmojo]

Thanks in advance for any and ALL info.!!!

Need some assistance with helping a good friend of mine develop a strength program. In her words "Something to tone me up and get me stronger. If I lose a few pounds in the process, well that's just icing then isn't?"

She has not been in a gym in the past year due to a knee injury, (Torn tendon suffered from leg being swept in a Tae Kwon Do tournament.) She is no stranger to physical activity and as a matter of fact, just before her knee injury, she started training for a triathlon. Her diet isn't too bad, she does eat mostly clean but tends to eat large amounts of carbs through the winter.

Bottom line is that she needs a program that will strengthen/tone, maybe shed a couple of stray pounds and bring her fitness level back up over all.
(Don't know if consideration needs to be made for this but, she rehabbed her knee for close to a year and was released by her PT two months ago.)

Her stats are as follows: (If anything else is needed just let me know.)

Female

Occupation: Air Traffic Controller (very sedentary)

Age: 37yrs

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 142

BF: Approx. 26%

BMR: 2112

(She also likes long walks on the beach, cold Chinese food, and snuggling on rainy days.) j/k

 

[Thandie]

Thanks in advance for any and ALL info.!!!

Need some assistance with helping a good friend of mine develop a strength program. In her words "Something to tone me up and get me stronger. If I lose a few pounds in the process, well that's just icing then isn't?"

She has not been in a gym in the past year due to a knee injury, (Torn tendon suffered from leg being swept in a Tae Kwon Do tournament.) She is no stranger to physical activity and as a matter of fact, just before her knee injury, she started training for a triathlon. Her diet isn't too bad, she does eat mostly clean but tends to eat large amounts of carbs through the winter.

Bottom line is that she needs a program that will strengthen/tone, maybe shed a couple of stray pounds and bring her fitness level back up over all.
(Don't know if consideration needs to be made for this but, she rehabbed her knee for close to a year and was released by her PT two months ago.)

Her stats are as follows: (If anything else is needed just let me know.)

Female

Occupation: Air Traffic Controller (very sedentary)

Age: 37yrs

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 142

BF: Approx. 26%

BMR: 2112

(She also likes long walks on the beach, cold Chinese food, and snuggling on rainy days.) j/k

As I always say, diet and training are key. In order to get 'toned' she has to have her diet in check. Because she's been realeased from her pt, I'm guessing she can train at this point?

Is best if she post her diet. What she eats and drink throughout the day. It would be great if she comes in herself and join us.

 

[ironwings]

So, she has lifted free weights before? How long has she been lifting (minus the time off)?

 

[gotmojo]

So, she has lifted free weights before? How long has she been lifting (minus the time off)?

Thanks for the response!

Ironwings:
Before the injury she had been lifting free weights off and on for approx. 2 years, from my understanding nothing with any "real" structure, she primarily relied upon martial arts training for fitness.

Thandie:
Her diet isn't too far off and she does eat predominantly clean, (Don't know the macros.) but as far as that goes I can dial that in for her no worries.
I just didn't want to "re-invent the wheel" as far as a weight training program is concerned. I see a lot of great knowledge in this forum, that is why I posted here, to see what types of routines our female members like and have seen results with. And also to see if there is anyone that may have been in her position before that may be able to offer some input.

At this point she cannot compete in TKD and the triathlon is also shelved for now, I feel this will also fill that void for her and she will love weight training as a full-on sport.

 

[ironwings]

Last question - what has her therapist released her to do regarding legs? It depends on which tendon and how severe the injury is. I can put her a plan together - wish she'd join!

 

[gotmojo]

Last question - what has her therapist released her to do regarding legs? It depends on which tendon and how severe the injury is. I can put her a plan together - wish she'd join!

She had a tear in her right patellar and lateral patellar tendons. Her PT gave her a release with the following restrictions, she should use a brace while limiting weight training and not endure heavy weight, no running/jumping and no pivoting movements yet.

I refer people to EF all the time and I'd like her to join, but am not sure I like the idea of mixing RL with EF right now. I'm a single father and EF is really my only escape/stress relief......got a nice balance going.

 

[ironwings]

She had a tear in her right patellar and lateral patellar tendons. Her PT gave her a release with the following restrictions, she should use a brace while limiting weight training and not endure heavy weight, no running/jumping and no pivoting movements yet.

I refer people to EF all the time and I'd like her to join, but am not sure I like the idea of mixing RL with EF right now. I'm a single father and EF is really my only escape/stress relief......got a nice balance going.

From what you have posted she likes to be active. Those that train for triathlons are typically bored stiff in the gym! It will be important for her to do something she feels good about so that she will keep it up. I would recommend doing full body supersets to keep her heart pumping (adrenaline which she apparently likes) and to allow her knee and quad to rest longer.She will want to stay away from too many quad movements - the quad pulls on the patellar tendon when contracted. Here is a sample program she could start with. If she progresses well, I would advise switching it up in 4 weeks or so.

Do two movements back to back with no rest for three full sets. Rest for 1 - 2 minutes between supersets. 1 minute on most, 2 minutes after leg presses

Start with twice a week and progress to 3x week.

Workout 1

DB Shoulder press (seated) 3x8
(no superset)

DB Incline press 3x8
DB Bent over row 3x8

EZ bar bicep curls 3x8
Narrow grip EZ bar chest presses 3x8

Hanging leg or knee raises 3x10
Smythe Machine Squat - feet slightly forward 3x10 (she could also do these leaning against a exercise ball - both are much better on the knee tendons and joints)

Workout 2

DB side raises 3x8
no superset

DB 1 arm flat chest press 3x8
Assisted or unassited pullups 3x8 (she could work on negatives if she wants to work towards unassisted)

Lying hamstring curl 3x10
SLDL 3x8

Workout 3

BB Shoulder complex: front raise, upright row, military press (with any size bar) 3x6
no superset

DB incline bicep curls 3x8
Dips - assisted, unassisted or weighted 3x8

Exercise ball hamstring curl 3x10
Leg press, feet high on the platform and shoulder width apart digging through heals 3x8

Pushups 3xfailure
Abs (planks, plank slides, reverse crunch etc) 3xfailure

**follow each session with 15 - 20 minutes of cardio (ellipticals or arcs are probably her best bet)

***cardio on her off days too ;-)

****do legs towards the end of the workout. that way she won't have to worry about her knee during the rest of the workout. Mind on the muscle!

*****get her on a good pre and post workout nutrition plan

Hope this helps get her started. Best wishes to her and her recovery!

 

[gotmojo]

This is absolutely perfect!

I agree with her being "bored in the gym", this is fully the type of input that I was looking for.

Like I said I didn't want to re-invent the wheel, I just wanted a solid plan to get her started and you totally delivered!

Thanks again!

From what you have posted she likes to be active. Those that train for triathlons are typically bored stiff in the gym! It will be important for her to do something she feels good about so that she will keep it up. I would recommend doing full body supersets to keep her heart pumping (adrenaline which she apparently likes) and to allow her knee and quad to rest longer.She will want to stay away from too many quad movements - the quad pulls on the patellar tendon when contracted. Here is a sample program she could start with. If she progresses well, I would advise switching it up in 4 weeks or so.

Do two movements back to back with no rest for three full sets. Rest for 1 - 2 minutes between supersets. 1 minute on most, 2 minutes after leg presses

Start with twice a week and progress to 3x week.

Workout 1

DB Shoulder press (seated) 3x8
(no superset)

DB Incline press 3x8
DB Bent over row 3x8

EZ bar bicep curls 3x8
Narrow grip EZ bar chest presses 3x8

Hanging leg or knee raises 3x10
Smythe Machine Squat - feet slightly forward 3x10 (she could also do these leaning against a exercise ball - both are much better on the knee tendons and joints)

Workout 2

DB side raises 3x8
no superset

DB 1 arm flat chest press 3x8
Assisted or unassited pullups 3x8 (she could work on negatives if she wants to work towards unassisted)

Lying hamstring curl 3x10
SLDL 3x8

Workout 3

BB Shoulder complex: front raise, upright row, military press (with any size bar) 3x6
no superset

DB incline bicep curls 3x8
Dips - assisted, unassisted or weighted 3x8

Exercise ball hamstring curl 3x10
Leg press, feet high on the platform and shoulder width apart digging through heals 3x8

Pushups 3xfailure
Abs (planks, plank slides, reverse crunch etc) 3xfailure

**follow each session with 15 - 20 minutes of cardio (ellipticals or arcs are probably her best bet)

***cardio on her off days too ;-)

****do legs towards the end of the workout. that way she won't have to worry about her knee during the rest of the workout. Mind on the muscle!

*****get her on a good pre and post workout nutrition plan

Hope this helps get her started. Best wishes to her and her recovery!

 

[ironwings]

Very welcome. Another note I realized I didn't mention and is very important is the amount of weight she is lifting. While she can go a bit lighter on the legs - depending on how she is feeling - she should be lifting as much as possible to finish the reps. She should feel like she can't possibly get another one out. It will take a couple of weeks to get that right but it is a fun process.

And, tell her to lay off the cold chinese food

 

[RottenWillow]

Thanks in advance for any and ALL info.!!!

Need some assistance with helping a good friend of mine develop a strength program. In her words "Something to tone me up and get me stronger. If I lose a few pounds in the process, well that's just icing then isn't?"

She has not been in a gym in the past year due to a knee injury, (Torn tendon suffered from leg being swept in a Tae Kwon Do tournament.) She is no stranger to physical activity and as a matter of fact, just before her knee injury, she started training for a triathlon. Her diet isn't too bad, she does eat mostly clean but tends to eat large amounts of carbs through the winter.

Bottom line is that she needs a program that will strengthen/tone, maybe shed a couple of stray pounds and bring her fitness level back up over all.
(Don't know if consideration needs to be made for this but, she rehabbed her knee for close to a year and was released by her PT two months ago.)

Her stats are as follows: (If anything else is needed just let me know.)

Female

Occupation: Air Traffic Controller (very sedentary)

Age: 37yrs

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 142

BF: Approx. 26%

BMR: 2112

(She also likes long walks on the beach, cold Chinese food, and snuggling on rainy days.) j/k

Hola Moooooooj!

For strength, always follow the KISS method. I fall back on Mike Mentzer's chapter on starting out, Break Ins: The Basic Eight. (That is 8 exercise for the entire body). One set per exercise, maybe one rest/pause rep at the end of each set. Hit each bodypart no more frequently than once every 5 days. I actually make nice strength gains pumping iron once every 6-7 days. Won't do so much for hypertrophy, but I think it maximizes strength gains for the natty lifter.

She'll need training on proper form of course, but I'm assuming you'll take of that.