routine for my wife

[inked1]

well after years of trying to get her to work out, my beautiful wife looks like she is finally going to do it.

I was thinking of a 3 day routine for her, based on squats , bench and deads.
She is 30 yo about 5'10 around 60kg. Her goals are figure rather than BB.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Ponderosa]

are u being serious? i mean, if her goals are NOT to be a BB...but to retain a feminine form, perhaps she shouldn't be focusing on deads and press. just my humble opinion. i train or have trained a lot of females...best advice can't be given without a photo, or at least a detailed description of her "problem" areas. we all have 'em. and also, a little better idea of her specific goals. i'm usually VERY up front with my trainees. i'm sure your wife doesn't need much improvement...but it's wonderful that she's getting involved. good luck bro.

[inked1]

mate I have no idea about how females should train, but I presumed that a basic routine around the core lifts would be the way to go.

She doesn't have any real problem areas, and she has never done any sort of resistance training before so i have no idea how her body will respond.

As far as specifc goals, she is just keen to add a little muscle all over, whilst shedding a bit of BF

[Behemoth]

Why would a woman want to avoid core lifts? That doesn't make sense. It's not like they will automatically make her get all huge and muscular. Whether she grows huge muscles or not depends more on her diet and whether she uses any assistance. Personally, I've talked to more than a couple women who love squats and deads.

[jul]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Why would a woman want to avoid core lifts? That doesn't make sense. It's not like they will automatically make her get all huge and muscular. Whether she grows huge muscles or not depends more on her diet and whether she uses any assistance. Personally, I've talked to more than a couple women who love squats and deads.

I personally LOVE squats! I think they are the best exercises, hands down, for legs and glutes. I do a lot of SLDL for hammies as well. And rack deads for lower back. I agree, I don't think she has to worry about getting too muscular unless she has some help from supps. Just my opinion...

[Ponderosa]

i never said anything derog about squats...everyone should do them if they can. but for most women who want to retain a feminine appearance, deads and even too much bench press is NOT key to their fitness regiment. again, it totally depends on what shape you're striving for. best bet: have her simply ask for a few recommendations from one or two of the other ladies at her gym; tell her to pick who she talks to based on their workout routines and level of dedication. i'll try to dig up some old websites that help too. cheers.

[BADKITTY]

IMO squats and deads are a key part of a training program for overall shaping and toning. she doesnt have to do them heavy to see great results. i call them "time saver" exercises because they work a variety of muscle groups as well as the core. also, i teach "BodyPump" classes, which are geared toward toning, strengthening and leaning out women, and squats, deads and clean and presses are the key movements. so theyre not JUST for bb'ers and pl'ers; youve got the general population doing them in aerobics classes these days...
~MINX

[inked1]

thanks Jul and Minx.
i was thinking something along those lines minx, just wasn't sure. I don't know any females that train regularly, there are a few at my gym, but they have no idea and look like shit.

would either of you guys be able to post a real simple routine that I could get her started on?

thanks

[jul]

I think I would start her out with an upper body, lower body split. As far as the leg workouts, have her do squats and ham curls or SLDL. I also like lunges a lot. Especially for beginners. As she advances on those, add weight.

Upper body exercises, I think I would have her do some sort of lat pull down, shoulder press, bench, and then tri ext and a DB curl. I am helping a couple girls that are just starting out and this seems to be working thus far. Hope this helps some...

Minx may have more suggestions. Jul

[Easto]

Day 1

Squats/Legpress
Leg Curls/SLDL
Calves
Chin Ups/pull downs
Seated Row/DB Row
Abs

Day 2

Bench/Incline
Shoulder Press
Dips/Tricep Pushdowns
Dumbell Curls
Abs

Cardio on days off.

[djeclipse]

Originally Posted by Easto

Day 1

Squats/Legpress
Leg Curls/SLDL
Calves
Chin Ups/pull downs
Seated Row/DB Row
Abs

Day 2

Bench/Incline
Shoulder Press
Dips/Tricep Pushdowns
Dumbell Curls
Abs

Cardio on days off.

What's the reasoning for putting back with legs? This is a good thread as my FG wants to start working out but wants to lose weight.

She's been going to the gym doing mostly cardio but I would like her to start using weights to actually build muscle. I was going to make her a 3 day routine but I'm not sure what to do with her as far as reps and weight go.

I was thinking reps to failure (or close) but not sure of how many. Maybe 1st set 12-14, 2nd and third 8-10? She wants to lose weight and tone, not gain mass.

I am new to the site by the way, I just started back at the gym last week after 8 years of doing nothing but gaining weight and eating like crap... I am seriously kicking myself for ever stopping working out... anyway enough about me.

[inked1]

welcome to the board djeclipse

[jul]

Originally Posted by djeclipse

What's the reasoning for putting back with legs? This is a good thread as my FG wants to start working out but wants to lose weight.

She's been going to the gym doing mostly cardio but I would like her to start using weights to actually build muscle. I was going to make her a 3 day routine but I'm not sure what to do with her as far as reps and weight go.

I was thinking reps to failure (or close) but not sure of how many. Maybe 1st set 12-14, 2nd and third 8-10? She wants to lose weight and tone, not gain mass.

I am new to the site by the way, I just started back at the gym last week after 8 years of doing nothing but gaining weight and eating like crap... I am seriously kicking myself for ever stopping working out... anyway enough about me.

I think I would start her out with the 2 day split as Easto outlined above. If she has not been working out with weights, I would keep her in a higher rep range for the first few weeks. And since she is wanting to loose BF maybe have her do circuit for a while to keep her heartrate up. I would make sure her diet looks good before having her lift heavy though. One thing I have seen women make a mistake of is carrying an excessive amount of BF and then lifting heavy. They build muscle under the fat which ends up making them look even bigger. Just my opinion without knowing her stats. Jul

[djeclipse]

Originally Posted by jul

I think I would start her out with the 2 day split as Easto outlined above. If she has not been working out with weights, I would keep her in a higher rep range for the first few weeks. And since she is wanting to loose BF maybe have her do circuit for a while to keep her heartrate up. I would make sure her diet looks good before having her lift heavy though. One thing I have seen women make a mistake of is carrying an excessive amount of BF and then lifting heavy. They build muscle under the fat which ends up making them look even bigger. Just my opinion without knowing her stats. Jul

Thanks for the reply.

So by higher rep range what number am I looking for 15 to failure?

Also what exactly is circut? I don't think I've ever head of it, does it have to do with cardio?

Thanks again for the reply.

[jul]

Originally Posted by djeclipse

Thanks for the reply.

So by higher rep range what number am I looking for 15 to failure?

Also what exactly is circut? I don't think I've ever head of it, does it have to do with cardio?

Thanks again for the reply.

You most welcome! And by higher rep range I mean 15-20. If she has not been training with weights, I don't think I would have her go to failure for the first few weeks anyway.

Circuit would be like giant sets. Moving from one exercise to another without rest in between. When I train women that are overweight I will have them do like 3-5 exercises without rest and throw in 2-3 minutes on the treadmill too. Just a thought.

[Easto]

Originally Posted by djeclipse

What's the reasoning for putting back with legs? This is a good thread as my FG wants to start working out but wants to lose weight.

She's been going to the gym doing mostly cardio but I would like her to start using weights to actually build muscle. I was going to make her a 3 day routine but I'm not sure what to do with her as far as reps and weight go.

I was thinking reps to failure (or close) but not sure of how many. Maybe 1st set 12-14, 2nd and third 8-10? She wants to lose weight and tone, not gain mass.

I am new to the site by the way, I just started back at the gym last week after 8 years of doing nothing but gaining weight and eating like crap... I am seriously kicking myself for ever stopping working out... anyway enough about me.

I think the 2 day split is a good start. Once she starts to build up her weights, you can move to a 3 day split.

I would do 1 working set per exercise. What that means is do a couple warmup sets, but leave enough gas in the tank to be able to bust out one set to complete failure. Then move on to the next exercise.

I would give her a higher rep range 12-20 (to failure). You can also vary this to keep her workouts interesting. As well, you are going to want to substitute exercises in and out or else she will get bored pretty quick.

Also, have her keepa journal of her workouts so she can trek her progress on paper.

[djeclipse]

Thank you both for the replies, they are much appreciated.

We are going to the gym tonight and I'll try to make a routine, today will be upper body. She is a little intimidated of the free weight section of the gym but I will try to incorporate as many free weight movements as possible. I'll post up the routine tomorrow sometime if possible.

One question about working chest. I remember reading years back when I was working out that women shouldn't do any flat bench exercises (press or flies), so I am thinking maybe incline press or flies? or should I just stick with the press and fly machines for chest?

[jul]

Originally Posted by djeclipse

Thank you both for the replies, they are much appreciated.

We are going to the gym tonight and I'll try to make a routine, today will be upper body. She is a little intimidated of the free weight section of the gym but I will try to incorporate as many free weight movements as possible. I'll post up the routine tomorrow sometime if possible.

One question about working chest. I remember reading years back when I was working out that women shouldn't do any flat bench exercises (press or flies), so I am thinking maybe incline press or flies? or should I just stick with the press and fly machines for chest?

I mix my chest exercises up between flat and incline. I am not sure why women wouldn't do flat. I do. In my opinion, women shouldn't train any differently than men.

[djeclipse]

Originally Posted by jul

I mix my chest exercises up between flat and incline. I am not sure why women wouldn't do flat. I do. In my opinion, women shouldn't train any differently than men.

I remember reading somewhere that women shouldn't do flat bench or flies, something about bone structure or something, it was a while back, I don't remember.

Anyway, I started her on day 1 yesterday, the routine is as follows, let me know if you have any suggestions or comments.

Day 1 Chest, Shoulders, Tries

3 sets of each exercise, all sets are supposed to be : Set 1 & 2 15 reps and set 3 10 reps to failure.
Excuse the lack of proper names for the exercises.

Chest Press (machine)
Fly machine

Sitting dumbbell press (shoulders)
Lateral Raises (side)
Lateral Raises (front)

Triceps dumbbell extension over head
Cable push (triceps)

It comes to a total of 21 sets which may be a little too much for her? So I told her she could do either the side lateral raises or the front lateral raises and switch them up every other time.

I hope this will be a good start for her, any comments?

[jul]

Looks pretty good to me!

[djeclipse]

Originally Posted by jul

Looks pretty good to me!

Thanks. Although I think I worked her out a little too hard as she is really sore today. I thought that the high reps wouldn't be as hard on the body for beginners, but I guess I was wrong. Hopefully either today or Friday we'll be able to get in day 2 which will be Legs, Back and Bies. I'll post the workout when after we do it.

[djeclipse]

We did day 2 today which is Legs, Back and Bies.

She didn't want to do squats as she isn't comfortable doing many sets in the free weight (basically guy) section.

So here is the workout she did with the goal of the first 2 sets = 15 reps and the third = 10 reps to failure.

Leg press machine
Leg curls
Those machines that work the inner thighs and outer thighs (not sure what they are called.

Cable pull down in front of the head (back)
Some machine that simulates a seated cable pull down.

Standing barbell curls
Standing alternating dumbbell curls.

Again, that is 27 sets but she seems to go through them quite fast, not taking as long of a break as I would so hopefully she won't get bored with it.

Again, if there are any suggestions/ criticism I am more then happy to hear them.

Thanks.