GF wants to start working out, need help with training ideas

**Kal-El** · 09-18-2006, 08:05 PM

Hopefully female members will chime in. I did a search but didnt find what im looking for. My girlfriend is looking into joining the gym I go to with me. Her stats are 5'3 135. She is mainly interested in losing fat and toning up not gaining any muscle. She has recently started eating really well again and has been dieting but not getting the results she is looking for from just the dieting. Sooo what kind of training regimen should she start out with. I have talked with her about cardio and starting small and working her way up to at least 30-45mins 2x3 times a week. Any help would be great guys/gals, I'm clueless about toning and what tightening stuff to have her try.

**mateo112** · 09-18-2006, 08:19 PM

if she joins the gym tell her to ask around or ask the staff if they have trainers. you know just to give her a base on working out.

**Kal-El** · 09-19-2006, 07:27 AM

Originally Posted by mateo112

if she joins the gym tell her to ask around or ask the staff if they have trainers. you know just to give her a base on working out.

we go to a small gym that has 1 "trainer" that im more qualified than.

bump

**spencer** · 09-19-2006, 09:10 AM

cv and situps for a start

**Kal-El** · 09-21-2006, 09:14 PM

bump

**Grappler13** · 09-22-2006, 08:28 AM

Girls are afraid of bulking up. If they are not juicing, it's very hard for the vareage girl to get bulky. I would help her on her diet, PWO, and slowly move her to heavy weights (this will take MONTHS!!!!!!!!) because she will think that she is getting big but it's really just anew muscle underneath the "weight she wants to lose. My sister is a triathalete (sp?) and was complaining that she had gone from 110lbs to 125lbs during her training. She also admitted to moving down two dress sizes from 4 to a freakin' zero! I still can't get it through her head that she is heavier but smaller.

Look, girls are not going to bulk like a guy will. We bust our asses lifting all sorts of heavy weight and it's not like I blow up from one set of heavy deads. It will be a slow process and if you care, throw away the scale and take her measurements every couple of weeks. Eventually she will see the light. I workout with a girl I call the pixie. One day I was doing Arnold's with 45-50lb dumbells and she asked me about the movement. So she tries the exercise with 20s and then I notice that she's waiting for the 50's. Her arms are about like sticks but she's strong as hell. Tell your lady to FORGET about the weight and check her dress size. I told my sister, "what if you weighed 200lbs and were still a size zero, would you really think you are fat? Girls thinking that they will get huge is rediculous and the gear using female bodybuilders have contributed to this idea. Throw away the scale and get out the tape.

**DNoMac** · 09-22-2006, 11:20 AM

Like Grappler said, girls don't have enough testosterone to get big. Tell her, unless she has been shaving since she was 5 and her voice is deeper than yours, she doesn't have to worry about getting big. Also, ask her if she's more interested in losing 5 lbs, or a few dress sizes.

To start off, obviously dropping bodyfat is gonna involve strict dieting and cardio. But she definitely can't neglect the weights. You can still burn fat while lifting weights. Likewise, the more lean mass you have, the more calories your body consumes/day. I would start her off doing some type of circuit training, then when she gets comfortable/experienced with the weights, break it up into a 3 day split.

Example:
day 1 Pushing muslces
day 2 Legs
day 3 pulling muscles

Really, her training regime doesn't have to be that different than yours or mine, just different weights, and perhaps more reps and shorter rest intervals to keep the heart rate up (rather than train til failure).

**Kal-El** · 09-22-2006, 12:48 PM

EXACTLY what i was looking for thanks for coming through guys!!!

**Grappler13** · 09-22-2006, 01:45 PM

Throw away the scale and take it as your responsibility to manage her calorie intake. Figure out her BMR and her needs and drop it by 500 calories or so. Take all her measurements and write them dow except for her weight (throw the scale away or hide it). I agree that circuit training is the way for chicks at first because the free weights are intimidating so push her through a circuit routine 3x a week with good PWO. My wife is completely annoying as once she gets to a certain level on a machine, she won't move up the weight for some reason (thinks she'll get big. I'm over there deadlifting 405 and my waist is smaller than hers at the moment. I would do everything you can to encourage her to use weight vs cardio as most chicks seem to fake their way through cardio and don't really push it hard. It's a tough battle you've got to fight.

**Kal-El** · 09-22-2006, 02:13 PM

Here is what i have put together so far how does it look?

Circuit Training: 2 circuits

Warm-up: 10 min at moderate pace on cardio machine of choice

Dumbbell Squats 20 reps

Machine Bench Press 12 reps

Dumbbell Rows 12 reps

Standing Calf Raises w/ Dumbbells 15 reps

Lying Leg Curls 12 reps

Swiss Ball Crunches or Lying crunches 25 repetitions

Rest: 30-60 sec between exercises and at least 3 to 5 minutes between circuits

Cardio:

20-30 min moderate pace on cardio machine of choice

**Kal-El** · 09-22-2006, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by Grappler13

Throw away the scale and take it as your responsibility to manage her calorie intake. Figure out her BMR and her needs and drop it by 500 calories or so. Take all her measurements and write them dow except for her weight (throw the scale away or hide it). I agree that circuit training is the way for chicks at first because the free weights are intimidating so push her through a circuit routine 3x a week with good PWO. My wife is completely annoying as once she gets to a certain level on a machine, she won't move up the weight for some reason (thinks she'll get big. I'm over there deadlifting 405 and my waist is smaller than hers at the moment. I would do everything you can to encourage her to use weight vs cardio as most chicks seem to fake their way through cardio and don't really push it hard. It's a tough battle you've got to fight.

Exactly what I'm going to do. Thanks for the input bro really appreciate it.

**Grappler13** · 09-22-2006, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by Kal-El

Here is what i have put together so far how does it look?

Circuit Training: 2 circuits

Warm-up: 10 min at moderate pace on cardio machine of choice

Dumbbell Squats 20 reps

Machine Bench Press 12 reps

Dumbbell Rows 12 reps

Standing Calf Raises w/ Dumbbells 15 reps

Lying Leg Curls 12 reps

Swiss Ball Crunches or Lying crunches 25 repetitions

Rest: 30-60 sec between exercises and at least 3 to 5 minutes between circuits

Cardio:

20-30 min moderate pace on cardio machine of choice

How many days can you get her to the gym? Five? Three? At first, let her have her way with the cardio as she'll feel the endorphins and want to come back. I'd ease her into the weights and go easy on her so that she isn't afraid of the gym because she can't move the next day. If you can get her on a full circuit, one set to almost failure per machine should be just fine at first but make her work and spot her if possible (pull the cable or whatever). Keep her records and encourage her to move up whenever she pushes past the 12 rep mark. As for the dumbell squats, I'd get her acclimated to the smith machine first. It's intimidating but it kicks the crap out of your quads and gives her a safety net if she fails. Start her easy and make it more of a cardio style workout until she builds some muscle tone and can see it. Harp on her diet. This is a subject near and dear to my heart as I have trained many women in the past and they all don't want to get big. Fing retarded but thats what female juicers have convinced women they will become if they lift heavy. Strenght training is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing a woman can do as it is medically proven to combat osteoporosis and every lb of muscle she puts on will eat calories/reduce fat. Good luck. Be gentle with her and let her figure out what she likes. LAter, you can work her towards symmetry and even get her doing dips and pull-ups. The quicker she can move away from teh machines, the better but don't rush her. Women are funny .

**Kal-El** · 09-22-2006, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Grappler13

How many days can you get her to the gym? Five? Three? At first, let her have her way with the cardio as she'll feel the endorphins and want to come back. I'd ease her into the weights and go easy on her so that she isn't afraid of the gym because she can't move the next day. If you can get her on a full circuit, one set to almost failure per machine should be just fine at first but make her work and spot her if possible (pull the cable or whatever). Keep her records and encourage her to move up whenever she pushes past the 12 rep mark. As for the dumbell squats, I'd get her acclimated to the smith machine first. It's intimidating but it kicks the crap out of your quads and gives her a safety net if she fails. Start her easy and make it more of a cardio style workout until she builds some muscle tone and can see it. Harp on her diet. This is a subject near and dear to my heart as I have trained many women in the past and they all don't want to get big. Fing retarded but thats what female juicers have convinced women they will become if they lift heavy. Strenght training is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing a woman can do as it is medically proven to combat osteoporosis and every lb of muscle she puts on will eat calories/reduce fat. Good luck. Be gentle with her and let her figure out what she likes. LAter, you can work her towards symmetry and even get her doing dips and pull-ups. The quicker she can move away from teh machines, the better but don't rush her. Women are funny .

right now it will be 3 days a week. I was thinking about the smith machine that was my first choice but at my gym its in the view of everyone where as she could take the dumbbells and do them somewhere private at least private to her. she is very shy about her body even though she is gorgeous to me. im going to do the circuit training for i think 4-6 weeks and then move her into more regular weight training. once again man thanks for the excellent, educational response!