Will my husband's training routine help/hinder my goals?

[ModelInProgress]

I've recently started working out with my husband, however, he is a large guy that has been working out for years and does a powerlifter's type workout. I, on the other hand, want to weight train for the purpose of losing body fat and toning and slimming. I've read several articles regarding weight training for females and most of them have differing opinions on routines. I don't have any experience weight training on my own and there aren't any personal trainers floating around our gym to help people on the floor (unless you're a paying client). The last time I seriously weight trained was a few years ago and I lost 6% body fat in 2 months, but I had a personal trainer at the time telling me what to do. I'm saying all of this to come to this point: my husband does his splits and waits 3 minutes between sets (going for strength more than hypertrophy) and I just do what he does, but at a lower weight of course...will this help or hinder me in my goal of losing fat and replacing it with lean muscle as quickly as possible? (I also do cardio 6 days a week for 45 minutes to an hour).

I don't know my exact weight or body fat percentage...but I'm 29 years old and 5'9" tall:
(attempting to attach a recent picture so you can get an idea of my body type)

[energizer bunny]

weight training for females shouldnt be much different than for men.....except for maybe the weight....the difference is your goals, hes training for strength and your training for fitness/physique, so your training definately needs to differ from your boyfriends.....im no expert but ill help you as much as i can untill the vets see this thread.......how many days are you going to be training per week?

[**TOP**]

weight training for females shouldnt be much different than for men.....except for maybe the weight....the difference is your goals, hes training for strength and your training for fitness/physique, so your training definately needs to differ from your boyfriends.....im no expert but ill help you as much as i can untill the vets see this thread.......how many days are you going to be training per week?

Agreed,BUT...... if your boyfriend is doing powerlifting exercises i would personally advise against it,there is no reason for you to do powercleans,or wait that long in between sets. The female clients i train actually do the same workout that i train male bodybuilders to do. You should be doing a circuit type training,i would not allow my wife to workout with power lifters because"in my opinion" it wouldnt be optimal for what she would need,there are better alternatives...TOP

[ModelInProgress]

weight training for females shouldnt be much different than for men.....except for maybe the weight....the difference is your goals, hes training for strength and your training for fitness/physique, so your training definately needs to differ from your boyfriends.....im no expert but ill help you as much as i can untill the vets see this thread.......how many days are you going to be training per week?

Generally, he trains 5 days a week...for example: Day 1- shoulders/upper back
Day 2- chest, Day 3- legs, Day 4- triceps/biceps, Day 5- lower back/abs (this may not be the exact order, but you get the idea).

[ModelInProgress]

Agreed,BUT...... if your boyfriend is doing powerlifting exercises i would personally advise against it,there is no reason for you to do powercleans,or wait that long in between sets. The female clients i train actually do the same workout that i train male bodybuilders to do. You should be doing a circuit type training,i would not allow my wife to workout with power lifters because"in my opinion" it wouldnt be optimal for what she would need,there are better alternatives...TOP

This is what I was afraid of...because of his goals, following his routine won't help me that much (although it has to be better than doing nothing). Until I get used to weight training and proper form enough to try doing a routine on my own, will it hurt me any to follow along with him? I don't know or have anyone else to work out with, and the only thing at our gym that I could get assistance with is using "the line" (their group of resistance training machines with college kids walking around setting the weights for members). I know that using free weights and a variety of exercises is optimal as opposed to doing everything on machines where there is just one exercise per body part, limited ROM, and it doesn't really help the stabilizers. Or what should I be doing (and I can try to look up video on proper form/technique)?

[energizer bunny]

well if you're really unsure of technique and exercises then going with your husband will defiantely be benificial, as you can learn good form etc........if i were you id maybe get a personal trainer just for 1or2 sessions, so they can show you all the exercises and correct form.....once you have done them a few times youl feel confident to go around the gym yourself....

yeah looking on youtube and typing in the excercises youl be doing is a good idea also.....

[ModelInProgress]

Thank you both for your responses

[MuscleScience]

Agreed,BUT...... if your boyfriend is doing powerlifting exercises i would personally advise against it,there is no reason for you to do powercleans,or wait that long in between sets. The female clients i train actually do the same workout that i train male bodybuilders to do. You should be doing a circuit type training,i would not allow my wife to workout with power lifters because"in my opinion" it wouldnt be optimal for what she would need,there are better alternatives...TOP

I have to agree 100% with this, I do not think lifting in a powerlifting scheme or even a traditional bodybuilding style would be all that effective unless the goal was for either pure strength or size.

Circuit type training is about 95% of the training I do, whether they are a twenty something female or an 80 something female. Of course exercise selection is different and intensities but the commonality in it is that the person gets a tailored workout that addresses their particular goals while still addressing those problem areas whatever they may be. And you still get the cardiovascular benefit while working on strength and balance. Where as a bodybuilder workout is addressing more of an overall theme of building mass, with exceptions of course.

[ModelInProgress]

Thank you for the advice. I will look into the cost of getting a personal trainer to go over a circuit routine with proper form a couple of times (and if I can't afford that, at least find some videos online that demonstrate and see if my husband will be willing to check my form at the gym the first couple of times).

[MuscleScience]

Thank you for the advice. I will look into the cost of getting a personal trainer to go over a circuit routine with proper form a couple of times (and if I can't afford that, at least find some videos online that demonstrate and see if my husband will be willing to check my form at the gym the first couple of times).

Group Exercise classes are a great way for someone new to exercise to not only learn but to have motivation with proper intensity. If your gym has those available then I would strongly recommend you try them out. You wont like all of them and thats fine. Find one you really like and try to learn what you can from it and take that back into the weight room with you.

[amcon]

another good sorce (not getting in to a personal trainer) would be to find a fitness modle you like the look of her body type and it generally matches yours - and watch her videos on youtube... pic up a few days work outs write down notes and follow them when you go to the gym...

good luck

[ModelInProgress]

Group Exercise classes are a great way for someone new to exercise to not only learn but to have motivation with proper intensity. If your gym has those available then I would strongly recommend you try them out. You wont like all of them and thats fine. Find one you really like and try to learn what you can from it and take that back into the weight room with you.

The vast majority of group exercise classes at our gym are cardio...there are a few that incorporate resistance training (generally abs and glutes), but I will continue checking to see if they add any that will be of benefit to me (they add new ones periodically). Thank you for your input

[ModelInProgress]

another good sorce (not getting in to a personal trainer) would be to find a fitness modle you like the look of her body type and it generally matches yours - and watch her videos on youtube... pic up a few days work outs write down notes and follow them when you go to the gym...

good luck

That's a good idea. Thank you

[quarry206]

hey everybody, well this is my wife's thread, but i'll add my two pennies to maybe help out what is going on....

yes i do a power lifting routine most of the time, but lately i have not workout out at all and for the next about 8weeks i was just going to do a normal 5day split in order to get back in shape and also hit some areas and rehab my RC that i injuried.

I have been doing, which my wife has been doing along with me, one body part a day five days a week, and she does cardio in a different session.

1-chest
chest press, fly's, (i'll work in the three bench press, flat, incline and decline)
2-back
pull downs, different row movements, dead lift
3-legs
leg curls, lunges, leg press, calf raises, squats
4-arms
bi's ..curls with cables, db's and machines.. tri's dips, pull downs, kick backs..
5-abs
crunches, flutter kicks, weighted machine cruches, leg lifts.

i have been moving through the exerises to help her learn and do proper form. since we go to a very nice gym its yes to not have to be rushed or do a lot of weight changes, enough space...

my only issue for her besides helping with form, linking exercises with muscle groups and also different ways to do the same movement to add stress or de-stress different areas...i really don't know what is the rep range she should be in, some ways i feel she needs to do sets of 20, since she is starting out, learning form and how and where to feel it. but i know most fitness model style work outs are in the 10-12 rep range..

any advice on rep range or exercises for women would be helpful. i am very able to coach her on how to do things, but i'm not very well trained on what a womans needs are in the gym.

[FireGuy]

I kinda agree with Amcon in that I am not really sure what type of body type she aspires to. "Toning and Slimming" means different things to different people. She has a great structure to begin with and good achieve a "Figure" competitors look with a good year of training and proper diet. I hope she doesnt fall into the "dont want to get too big" mindset. As anyone knows it takes a huge amount of effort to gain muscle and its not something that accidently happens. Most women can follow a bodybuilding like routine and they are not going to blow up. A program full of foo foo isolation exercises is not going to yield good results. I would stick to basic exercises in the 8-20 rep range. Her intensity level will be what determines what amount of muscle she adds.

Take her to a bodybuilding show and see what she thinks about the Figure Competitors. I think she could really excel in that area if she wanted to go that route.

[ModelInProgress]

The body type that I'm aspiring to is more along the lines of fitness models. I know my body type has it's genetic limitations (not going to be a size 0), and I'm naturally a little more muscular than the average woman on the street, but I want to be the best, most in shape version of myself possible (within the limits on training posed by having a family, limited funds, etc. LOL). I am well aware that women do not have the hormones or genetics necessary to "bulk up" in the same way that men do (with the exception of steroids, which I have no intention of taking). I don't want to bulk up, I want to get smaller and have toned muscle definition, and I know that weight training will help me to accomplish this much more than cardio and diet alone ever could. My goal is to lose at least 20 pounds of body fat and gain about 5 pounds of lean muscle within the next few months with consistent diet, weight training, and cardio. I appreciate everyone's advice and input (my husband is more than willing to help me out, but even he isn't exactly sure what I should be doing in the weight room).

[MuscleScience]

I kinda agree with Amcon in that I am not really sure what type of body type she aspires to. "Toning and Slimming" means different things to different people. She has a great structure to begin with and good achieve a "Figure" competitors look with a good year of training and proper diet. I hope she doesnt fall into the "dont want to get too big" mindset. As anyone knows it takes a huge amount of effort to gain muscle and its not something that accidently happens. Most women can follow a bodybuilding like routine and they are not going to blow up. A program full of foo foo isolation exercises is not going to yield good results. I would stick to basic exercises in the 8-20 rep range. Her intensity level will be what determines what amount of muscle she adds.

Take her to a bodybuilding show and see what she thinks about the Figure Competitors. I think she could really excel in that area if she wanted to go that route.

Good Advice!