Girls, post your workouts please?

AM13

Girls,
All the threads seem to be about guys workouts, anyone like to post your workouts ,as I would love to get an idea what everyone does in the gym.... Thanks....

g'em

tbh my workouts would be very similar to anything the guys do. I'm doing powerlifting-specific training right now though so irrespective of it being male/ female oriented it's probably very different to what anyone else is doing!!

But there's no reason for girls not to do the same brilliant compound lifts that guys do - squats, deadlifts and bench work. Squats give your bum a great shape, deadlifts make your back nice and strong and help improve posture and bench strengthens the pectoral muscles - while it won't make your boobs any bigger it certainly helps keep them nice and ... um... perky!!

hunnymonster

Although I'm coming from a completly different angle than g'em (endurance athletics) I would scho what she says in so far as I do pretty much what the boys do. I will admit I do get a bit competative in training trying to prove I'm not "just" a girl.

At the moment, I'm just recovering from a really bad tummy bug where I hardly ate anything for 2 weeks so was really weak. By next week I should be back up to 3 bikes, 3 runs, 3 swims and 2 weights sessions a week. The bikes range from 2 to 6 hours, the runs from 1 to 3 and the swims and weigths are each about an hour.

AM13

Thanks for that. I've started weight training, squats with barbell, bench presses etc... I do this twice a week with a bit of cardio afterwards then another day I do cardio... Just kind of feel a bit weird as most girls just do cardio in the gym, what is that all about?

g'em

AM13 wrote:

Just kind of feel a bit weird as most girls just do cardio in the gym, what is that all about?

lol, yeah there's a lot girls out there who are afraid of doing weights for fear that they'll 'bulk up' The simple fact is we have nowhere near the levels of testosterone necesary to build muscles the same way that guys do. The vast majority of the really big female bodybuilders you see pictures of are chemically 'enhanced' to help them look that way.

But strength training has gazillions of positive effects, and is hand-down more effective than cardio alone for fat loss, so good on ya for getting into it!

justsomebloke

AM13 wrote:

Just kind of feel a bit weird as most girls just do cardio in the gym, what is that all about?

Generally cause they don't fully understand what and why they are doing stuff. Most women have the misconception that if they lifted anything over 5kg that they are just going to get bulky muscle and start to look like a drugged up Bodybuilder, when the reality is a lot different and they could get a lot of benefits from proper weight training

Oh and I am not being sexiest on this one either as most men don't have a clue what they are doing either

AM13

Thanks I've started it a few weeks now and can see toning already, plus I started with low weights and am already upping them, ha all the years i've been doing the cardio thing, what a waste ha
Although am I right by sayin you need to do a bit of cardio too?

thirtyfoot

My wife says if freaked the bejaysus out of guys when she was in the gym and she would ask a guy can she work in on the bench he is working on. Many a time they wouldn't understand what she meant and she would have to explain. At least once a week I would have to listen to her complain about such and such a guy who did this or hogged that or was looking at her as if she shouldn't be there until she'd put him back in his box by using his squat bar after him and squatting the same as he just did even though half the size. Think it was a major motivator for her!

rubadub

AM13 wrote:

Thanks I've started it a few weeks now and can see toning already, plus I started with low weights and am already upping them, ha all the years i've been doing the cardio thing, what a waste ha
Although am I right by sayin you need to do a bit of cardio too?

Do the weights before the cardio, this way you have more energy to lift heavy weights and this stimulates the muscle growth more. A "toned" look is really low bodyfat with good muscle underneath. You should lift as heavy a weight you can for 8-12reps while still being in good control of your movements. This will trigger muscle growth and boost your metabolism a lot.

As mentioned some women have this idea that if they pick up the wrong weight they will wake up like schwarzenegger, and be stuck like that forever. If you ever did get "too big", you simply stop lifting and the muscle will reduce in size. I seriously doubt you would ever get too big though, if you look at fitness models in TV & magazine ads they have probably been lifting heavy for many years and look great.

I am surprised weight training is not done by more women, it possibly has more benefits for women than men, e.g. strengthening bones for osteoporosis. Many men & women are ignorant of the great calorie burning effect of weight training too.

g'em

Great to see you're noticing the benefits!!

AM13 wrote:

Although am I right by sayin you need to do a bit of cardio too?

cardio does have it's place. Personally I believe that for fat-loss diet is the most important influence, then weight training, then cardio, and even at that only certain types of cardio. Interval training will more often than not be more effective than endless hours of high intensity training (unless you're training for endurance, in which case fat-loss won't be your primary goal anyway).

AM13

Thanks again, I do the weight training then the cardio...

ali.c

I pretty train like a guy too, I either do a Total body session or some of the crossfit circuit workouts or sometimes a mixture of both. I do some cardio but rarely in the gym as i find gym cardio quite boring tbh. The tbt i use is still pretty much based on the one g'em gave me when i first started

I pick one excercise per body part per session.
Back:
Deadlift
Seated Row
Pull-ups/ chins

Legs:
Squat
Walking lunges
Leg Press

Chest:
Push-ups
Bench Press
Incline Press

Shoulders:
Seated Military DB press
Lat raises
Front raises

Triceps:
Dips
Dumbell extensions
Push-downs

Biceps:
DB Curls
Hammer Curls
Incline Curls

someothername

jsb wrote:

Generally cause they don't fully understand what and why they are doing stuff. Most women have the misconception that if they lifted anything over 5kg that they are just going to get bulky muscle and start to look like a drugged up Bodybuilder, ........

ha! ill def second this , my missus wont even look at the weights section of our gym no matter how much i try tell her to!
some people cant be helped i guess :rolleyes:

AM13

Ali.C


Are you saying you don't do each exercise per body part that u just do one?

Thanks for posting that, it looks great...

g'em

AM13 wrote:

Are you saying you don't do each exercise per body part that u just do one?

Exactly. TBT is total body training, the idea being that you hit each body part once per session. That way you get a really solid workout and it'll rev up your metabolism nicely.

The bench, squat and deadlift are all very 'full-body' lifts in themselves, and so you'd usually do them on spearate days - they can be quite taxing done in one day. As a very simple starting point you do three days a week, 6 lifts per sessions, 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

AM13

Thanks g'em your a great help!!!

Just to get it right then, I do six lifts per session (8-12 reps) per body part? I've been told before to alternate them, like do one lift at at time per body part (8-12 reps) x 3. So I'd be basically doing them all three times?? I thought it seemed like at lot???

AM13

sorry i'm loosing the plot ha, just seen you said 3-4 sets of (8-12 reps).... sorry get you now.. thanks

g'em

AM13 wrote:

sorry i'm loosing the plot ha, just seen you said 3-4 sets of (8-12 reps).... sorry get you now.. thanks

no worries, it's a fairly basic format, but it's simple and effective. Generally speaking the lifts outlined are the ones that you get the most bang for your buck, and they're a great way to build your strength base. Then as you discover what your strengths and weaknesses are you can tailor your programme accordingly.

So say for example you could have day one as:
Deadlift: 3 sets, 8 reps for each set *
Walking lunges: 4 sets, 8 reps per side
Push-ups: 3 sets of 10-12
Seated DB Press: 4 sets of 10
DB curls: 3 sets of 10
Dips: 3 sets of 10

* I'd be inclined to keep deadlift reps lower, possibly even in the 6-8 range, especially as you get used to the lift itself, and be sure to get advise froma gym instructor on correct form. But once you can do it, it's a *brilliant* back strengthener!

AM13

thanks g'em i'll be an expert in no time ha

olaola

I split mine into weights days and cardio days.
Weights -

Chest fly - 5kg dumbells - 3 reps of 15
French curl - 2*5kg dumbells - 3 of 15
Bicep curl - 2*5kg dbs - 3 of 15
Shoulder press - 2*7.5kg dbs - 3 of 10
Lateral raise 2*3kg dbs - 3 of 15
Pullover - 12.5kg (one) 3 of 10
Squat - 2*7.5kg 3 of 15
Walking lunge - 2*7.5kg 3 of 20
Press ups - 3 sets of 10
plank (front & both sides) - (try!) 1 min
Swiss ball crunches - 3 sets of 15

Cardio days I usually hit the treadmill/bike/crosstrainer/rowing machine.

There are some weights that I should increase, but I was talking to my instructor and she advised me to wait until she came back (she's out at the moment) to look at the program.

justsomebloke

olaola wrote:

There are some weights that I should increase, but I was talking to my instructor and she advised me to wait until she came back (she's out at the moment) to look at the program.

eh just go ahead and up the weights on the exercises that you know you can

JM MARCONI

Im so glad this thread was started. My girlfriend is finding it hard to lose a few pounds, so I have suggested numerous times to switch from cardio to weights. But no she is convinced she will look like Arny with long hair. Im going to get her to read this and hopefully she will pick up the weights tomorrow.

Once she cant lift more than me il be happy.

Hanley

Tingle wrote:

My wife says if freaked the bejaysus out of guys when she was in the gym and she would ask a guy can she work in on the bench he is working on. Many a time they wouldn't understand what she meant and she would have to explain. At least once a week I would have to listen to her complain about such and such a guy who did this or hogged that or was looking at her as if she shouldn't be there until she'd put him back in his box by using his squat bar after him and squatting the same as he just did even though half the size. Think it was a major motivator for her!

Sounds like my girlfriend too. Great, isn't it?

AM, check out "Someday I Will". It's malteaser's log on here and it basically documents the beginngs of someone who'd never lifted a weight in their life to someone who can deadlift 1.5x bodyweight in about 10-12 weeks. There's progress pics as well and in my humble opinion she still looks incredibly feminine.

A great poster girl for what a small change in eating habits and some training can do.

Xaniaj

Hanley wrote:

AM, check out "Someday I Will". It's malteaser's log on here and it basically documents the beginngs of someone who'd never lifted a weight in their life to someone who can deadlift 1.5x bodyweight in about 10-12 weeks. There's progress pics as well and in my humble opinion she still looks incredibly feminine.

A great poster girl for what a small change in eating habits and some training can do.

Hi there, just gave a search for that thread but unable to see it, anyone have a link handy? Thanks all, some great ideas in this thread. I need to lose a couple of stone (preferably all from the belly area!) and have only recently started thinking about applying myself "seriously" to this, great tips in this forum...

Edit: Found the log, nevermind!

ali.c

JM MARCONI wrote:

Im so glad this thread was started. My girlfriend is finding it hard to lose a few pounds, so I have suggested numerous times to switch from cardio to weights. But no she is convinced she will look like Arny with long hair. Im going to get her to read this and hopefully she will pick up the weights tomorrow.

Once she cant lift more than me il be happy.

lol if it helps you can assure her that changes are not going to happen overnight at if at any point she thinks she is getting to muscular she can always drop the weights?
If fat lose is her goal though, i'd recommend doing both cardio and weight training.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

ali.c wrote:

I pretty train like a guy too, I either do a Total body session or some of the crossfit circuit workouts or sometimes a mixture of both. I do some cardio but rarely in the gym as i find gym cardio quite boring tbh. The tbt i use is still pretty much based on the one g'em gave me when i first started

I pick one excercise per body part per session.
Back:
Deadlift
Seated Row
Pull-ups/ chins

Legs:
Squat
Walking lunges
Leg Press

Chest:
Push-ups
Bench Press
Incline Press

Shoulders:
Seated Military DB press
Lat raises
Front raises

Triceps:
Dips
Dumbell extensions
Push-downs

Biceps:
DB Curls
Hammer Curls
Incline Curls

I thought that sounded familiar, again thanks to g'em, and really am beginning to notice the difference