Spatts, Kronkette, Bikinimom

[Charvelle]

I don't know all the girls here who work out pretty hard and are strict with their diet, but you 3 came to mind quickly.

What is a good full body routine for a girl who is early 20's, in decent shape, but has never seen a weight room before? She is
not skinny, and not overweight, just soft.

Also, any help with a quick diet that would also benefit them, I'm
just hesitant to transfer what I do from a guy's perspective to a
girl, and thought maybe your insight could help put something together. Thanks!

 

[BrickGirl]

just a comment, but don't do it all at once, change things slowly, first this, then wait, then change that, then wait, don't freak her out

 

[Charvelle]

Thanks for the replies, other than getting her started, I won't be
training with her at all, but it is in a workplace gym, so there really won't be anyone else to help her out, as most of the time
your training alone in there.

Spatts, 5x5 ?(you mean reps, sets, exercises ??) I was thinking something like Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Legs/Shoulders then maybe an ab/cardio day (even though I'm not a big proponent of cardio). 4 days/week, 3 off days.

As far as goals, just to get leaned out, toned, nice abdominal wall,
some muscularity. I'm guessing she's around 5'6, 135-140 maybe,
so I wasn't sure how to adjust protein/carbs/fat for her, as I've
never really prepared anything for a girl to follow, to get lean/muscular, I've only done some diets for really heavy females.
Thanks again.

 

[The Shadow]

look up the Old School thread....3 day 5x5 and 5x3 plan

 

[Charvelle]

That looks like some good info, I will put something together with
that, thank you very much (diet info is great).

I am not good at females bf % guessing, but if she was a guy i'd
say about 18% or so, I'm not sure how that type of physique would equate to a females bf %, maybe low-mid 20's?? But no
muscle whatsoever, just soft and not skinny or fat (how vague can I be huh).

I'm sure she'd respond to anything structured and with a good intensity level.

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

Speaking from experience training friends who were primarily cardio queens, I think the training routines outlined in Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine are great starting points for women who are in shape. Personally, I probably wouldn't start someone who had never lifted before on a 5X5 style plan because it could be overwhelming to do heavy weight without being comfortable with *proper form* yet. I think when you first begin, you can put on muscle pretty rapidly with more moderate weight.


I would have your friend do 3 or 4 sets of 8-12 reps each, and I would probably have her do 3-4 days per week of circuit training for a month to get into it. Once she was familiar with all the different basic exercises and she had her form down, THEN I would start her on a more traditional split with heavier weight.

Here's a sample plan:

Monday: dumbell flat bench press (12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps), cable crossovers (3 sets), rope pulldowns (3 sets), triceps kickbacks or extensions (3-4 sets, lower reps), Standing Calf Raises (4 sets, low reps, high weight)

Wednesday: Squats (traditional or try split leg, with dbs instead of bb), Goodmornings, Unilateral Hamstring Curls, Deadlifts (not straight leg)

Friday: Overhead (military) db press, concentration curls, rear delt flyes, leg extensions (quads)

And have her do abs on her cardio days, 2-3 times a week, and encourage her to use a weight plate while doing crunches on a swiss ball if she's strong enough, and show her how to do the hanging leg raise if she's not used to it.

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

You also asked for diet suggestions. I think the structure outlined in Body for Life (minus all the meal replacement shakes) is a good place to begin. Go to www.BodyForLife.com for the details. Basically, just tell your friend(s) to eat every 3-4 hours, to have a whey shake immediately after lifting, and of course to eat "clean" as well. Depending on how hardcore your friend wants to be, www.FitDay.com is a useful tool for analyzing a diet down the calories and grams.

 

[The Shadow]

Here's a sample plan:

Monday: dumbell flat bench press (12 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps), cable crossovers (3 sets), rope pulldowns (3 sets), triceps kickbacks or extensions (3-4 sets, lower reps), Standing Calf Raises (4 sets, low reps, high weight)

Wednesday: Squats (traditional or try split leg, with dbs instead of bb), Goodmornings, Unilateral Hamstring Curls, Deadlifts (not straight leg)

Friday: Overhead (military) db press, concentration curls, rear delt flyes, leg extensions (quads)

And have her do abs on her cardio days, 2-3 times a week, and encourage her to use a weight plate while doing crunches on a swiss ball if she's strong enough, and show her how to do the hanging leg raise if she's not used to it.

No lat work?????

 

[Gladiola]

I agree with VLC on sticking to a relatively higher rep range - 8-12, for maybe teh first few weeks. You want to start slow & you don't want her to be sore as anything - but you want to introduce her to intensity. 8-10 reps is good to start.

"Chest/Triceps, Back/Biceps, Legs/Shoulders then maybe an ab/cardio day"

I think this is a great idea - 3 days of real lifting, + 1 ab/cardio day & 3 days off. Just be sure you don't do cardio the day after leg day & try to also not do shoulders before chest or back (wait, you probably already knew that... forgetting who I'm talking to here!).

What's her diet like now? My guess is she gets probably 20% calories from protein at most (haven't met many women IMX who are big meat-lovers... I mean, uh, carnivores). Assuming she eats like a typical 20-something female, if she merely increases protein, eliminates simple carbs, & ups her veggies intake - that should more than suffice. Considering she's not overweight now, she doesn't need to worry about getting super-strict with anything, including calorie counting, unless she so desires. Just eat clean, lots of water, 6 mini-meals a day.

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

No lat work?????

This is a good point. Modify accordingly.