Needin some female advice here

[JohnnyCoho]

Hey there ladies, hope I'm Ok posting in here for some female advice. Got a question for you all.

Got a few gals at the gym asking about what programs I think they should go on. Got one who's just gettin started and just looking for general fitness, another lookin to add muscle. What routines are you all on or what would you recomend? (Told them I'd ask here for them)

 

[Daisy_Girl]

They can train exactly like a male. Plan their workouts like you would for yourself if you had those goals.

 

[Sassy69]

What Daisy said. But for the lady who is new to the whole thing, I still like the Body for Life approach - the book explains so well how the diet & training & cardio fit together. The biggest thing to get especially women to approach "fitness" and "the gym" correctly is to give them enough education to understand how it all works - instead of the idea of starving to lose weight, can't eat any fats at all and dont' want to lift heavy weights cuz might end up looking like The Hulk.

For the other lady looking for more mass, just let her know it takes fuel to provide size, and explain the tear down & build up concept and that it takes a while with intensity & consistency. And make sure that its not the weight that she's lifting but the form - never sacrifice form to go for the heavier weight. And she can train like you do. You might also have her experiment with the idea of heavy training one week and lighter training on the alternating week to get some size.

 

[JohnnyCoho]

Thanks Sassy & Daisy!! Kinda what I figured would be the answer.

Neither wants to do Dips or Pull-ups though, just cause they dont like them. Think I should tell them to Cowgirl-Up and just do them,...or not?

Dunno why they're asking me either, especially when there's one gal there that used to be pro.

 

[Ali35]

Tell them to Cowgirl up and start doing dips and pull-ups. Doing exercises that use body weight are essential to any workout. Dips and pull-ups can be difficult for women at first but if they get good spots and push past failure as well as do several negatives after they can't do any more full reps they will find that they increase the number of reps they can do quite quickly.

Eventually they'll be doing weighted dips and pull-ups because it won't be enough with just body weight!

Dips and pull-ups can also be incentive to lose weight, as you drop weight the number of reps you can do goes way up.

ETA - why don't they "like them"?

 

[JohnnyCoho]

Ali,..they dont like em', IMO, cause' they cant do em' without a spot.
They say its cause they dont want "wings" like me (lats) but persoanally I think thats a crock. I'll tell em' tomorrow to COWGIRL UP!!!

Thanks Ali ya have some good points I can hammer at them too!!

 

[Sassy69]

Tell them first that they don't have to worry about the "wings" - women don't have as much testosterone in their bodies and just because they started lifting things heavier than a can of Diet Coke doesn't mean they have to worry about looking like a guy. I might suggest that as part of their training, particularly because they are new, they might want to look at some core training too for stability, and working on form before they start feeling like they have to go after the heavy stuff.

 

[JohnnyCoho]

Actually Sassy showed them a bunch of Swiss Ball stuff to work on their core. They've both been doing Tai-Bo (sp?) for awhile they say. I can buy that, both seem to be in reasonable shape.

Told them too to Cowgirl up tonight and do the pull-ups and dips, and explained the importance of compound lifts.

Feelin like a baaaaaaaaaaaaad boy right now though,...they said fine to the pull-ups and dips but I had to spot them,..and I did. Bad part is I've been happily married now for 11 years, and I have to admit I felt like I was cheating or somthing...(spotted them by grabbing their ankles and no, they wouldn't have anything to do with spotting themselves off of a bench) and yes, I am a flirt, and my wife knows it and lives with it daily.

 

[Ali35]

Yeah, ankles is the best way to spot dips/pull-ups. I don't like it when I ask for a spot on those and someone grabs me around the waist... my butt is already basically in their face! LOL.

Nice work, though. It will pay off for them if they stick with it.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

They can train exactly like a male. Plan their workouts like you would for yourself if you had those goals.

Word.

I train with a guy we do exactly the same lifts just not at the same weight.