So my gf's routine will be pretty similar to mine??

[B0dybuilder]

Hey sisters,

Ok, i have promised to help get my girlfriend in shape!! yes.. i know it was a mistake!

I am very well versed in macro-nutrition and bodybuidling, however its all for hypertrophy oreintated training, due to my bodytype etc etc i have not payed much attention to cardio of nutrion for weight loss.

Could some of you ladies , at this point i would love to completement you all on the outstanding job you have done which is why i seek your wisdom, please help guide me in the correct direction?

She basically works out as follows...

Monday : spinning
Tuesday : body combat
wednesday : weights
Thursday : step

Something along those lines.. her meals consist of a small breakfast, soup for lunch and a medium sized dinner. She is not fat by any means but her deposits are primarlity around her stomach and she wishes to loose it there (i know you cant spot reduce and have explained this to her! )

Would she be better off training on a 5day split with weights like i do??? Build some lean mass to raise her RMR and daily caloric need? If so, how much cardio .. how many sets / bodypart etc?

Many thanks in advance

BB

 

[Sassy69]

The training is something that she's gonna have to figure out -- as far as what she enjoys doing & will continue to do. She can certainly follow your training schedule as well. (Women don't need 'special female training'. She can lift just like you do, but within a weight range that she can do clean & tight form.) For lots of people new to training its not so much the perfect routine as it is just gettign them to fit the schedule into their lifestyle & doing it. She seems pretty active and I can't speak to the cardio in addition to training.

I think her first place to work on is the diet. Dude, my guess is she's starving herself. If you do the macro breakdown it should be pretty obvious she isn't eating enough to build any muscle. And if she' sgonna throw in that cardio & training, she's going to be catabolic very soon.

What's her height, weight & bodyfat? And also, I know you are offerign to help her, but what are HER goals? You can't do it for her so she needs to want to make the lifestyle changes to accomplish it. Even get her to post on here.

For a diet, I would point you to the "Shadow's Project' stickie at the top for some guidelines on a diet that isn't too crazy to adapt to.

 

[GiaDona]

the best thing i ever did was start to follow my boyfriend's training routine. (the only thing I don't do is shrugs b/c I don't want to bulk up my traps). although, i've always trained with more weights than most girls in my gym, I still used to have that girly mentality--free weights, kickbacks, leg curls--nothing heavier than 20 lbs. I was totally intimitated by the smith machine. bench presses, no way. i was scurred.

but i love doing his routine for my body (saw definition that i had NEVER seen b4) and we have so much fun together. matter of fact, i need to get down there b/c he's already there waiting for me!
in case ur interested, i've posted my routine in my log--the thread GiaDona 2005.

Good luck to u and ur girl!

 

[the-short-one]

The training is something that she's gonna have to figure out -- as far as what she enjoys doing & will continue to do. She can certainly follow your training schedule as well. (Women don't need 'special female training'. She can lift just like you do, but within a weight range that she can do clean & tight form.) For lots of people new to training its not so much the perfect routine as it is just gettign them to fit the schedule into their lifestyle & doing it. She seems pretty active and I can't speak to the cardio in addition to training.

I think her first place to work on is the diet. Dude, my guess is she's starving herself. If you do the macro breakdown it should be pretty obvious she isn't eating enough to build any muscle. And if she' sgonna throw in that cardio & training, she's going to be catabolic very soon.

What's her height, weight & bodyfat? And also, I know you are offerign to help her, but what are HER goals? You can't do it for her so she needs to want to make the lifestyle changes to accomplish it. Even get her to post on here.

For a diet, I would point you to the "Shadow's Project' stickie at the top for some guidelines on a diet that isn't too crazy to adapt to.

Bump this. She needs to eat like you would. 4-5 times a day with protein. If she doesn't eat enough, her body will go into starvation mode and hold on to all the fat she's got, no matter what cardio she does.

 

[B0dybuilder]

Hi,

Thank you for the comment, sorry about the delay in my reply. Her height is about 5'4, i beleive her weight is about 130lbs and i would guess her bf% is 23% or so.

It appears most of her fat is deposited around her stomach and her main goals are to loose the fat in this area. She would also like to add some more definition to her muscles. We both find it comfortable to train at different times and she will be training around 5times a week. I thought i would give her an introduction to my split and see how she find its, if nothing else i can show her correct form and find her weight range.

I was going to recommned her lowering carbs and increasing protein in her diet. I am very keen to get her reading and posting on here also, there seems to be a wealth of information.

Sorry in retrospect i can see my title may seem a little derogatory, did not mean any offence, women are more then capable of showing us guys a thing or two!

Thank again for all your help.

 

[the-short-one]

She needs to eat every 3 hours to keep her metabolism going. If she's working out and doing cardio 5 days a week, she can afford to take in around 1700 - 1800 calories a day and will lose fat. (Sassy might recommend more, especially if she's trying to build muscle - go with what she says)

She'll be depressed to hear this, but you can't spot reduce. I'm guessing that all she really needs to do is change her diet and she'll lose the fat. I know it sounds crazy, but we need to eat more to lose. By more I mean oatmeal, egg whites, salmon, chicken breasts, vegitables, almonds, protein powder, brown rice, etc. 6 small meals a day. No sugar. No carbonated sodas.

If she's weight training with you and wants to build muscle, her weight may not change or it may increase, but her BF% will drop. A woman's ab muscles (6 pack) don't begin to show until we drop down to about 14% BF.

 

[The Shadow]

you cant build muscle and burn fat at the same time or you will do neither...pick ONE goal and work towards it

 

[B0dybuilder]

Hey Shadow, i have been reading your posts, very good read. Thanks bro.

Yeah im aware she cannot spot reduce. The methodology i was working on was try and increase her lean body mass thus bumping her daily caloric need which will help her loose fat? Lets say her goal is to loose fat. Surely weight lifting and building muscle can contribute to this? I dont beleive you can optimumly gain muscle and loose fat, but i beleive in a controlled enviroment you can acheive both?

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks again

 

[Sassy69]

Muscle weighs more than fat, muscle takes up less space than fat. Muscle burns fuel at a more efficient rate than fat. Don't get too hung up on the fat loss part. I think her biggest problem is her diet because there's hardly anything there. One of the hardest thing for people new to the whole weightlifting thing is that they need to eat to lose bodyfat. She can't cut out any more calories because my guess is that she's nutritionally starved and all that cardio is catabolizing what muscle she has. The stomach fat is commonly one of the last places to go (like my friggen thighs....). The only way to get there is to continually drop bodyfat until that area starts to approach what she is looking for, but the rest of her may start looking too lean (depending on how she carries her fat). What she can also do is build more muslce & create the illusion of a leaner shape. Don't let her fixate on the stomach. If she focuses on overall eating enough and some additional resistance training, she can get away from teh "skinny fat" look. IMO, she needs to get that diet in order.

Let me give you a comparison - my mom (granted she's 63...) is like 40% bodyfat. She is not heavy, she does step aerobic 3x /week & walks 5 miles / day. She eats 3 small meals/day but I can't get her to eat more protein. She's skinny fat.

 

[The Shadow]

Hey Shadow, i have been reading your posts, very good read. Thanks bro.

Yeah im aware she cannot spot reduce. The methodology i was working on was try and increase her lean body mass thus bumping her daily caloric need which will help her loose fat? Lets say her goal is to loose fat. Surely weight lifting and building muscle can contribute to this? I dont beleive you can optimumly gain muscle and loose fat, but i beleive in a controlled enviroment you can acheive both?

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks again

too gain muslce you must eat over maintenance


to lose fat you must eat LESS than maintenance



...you cantdo both at thesame time




SASSY - "muscle weighs more than fat."??

Negative Ghostrider......its more dense as you say...but a pound is a pound