Need Tips - Workout Advice for a Girl

[durron597]

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I think I'm going to find a girl when school starts up again and get her to come to the gym with me every time I go. I'd have her doing the same workouts as me, and wouldn't be too worried about her getting too big. Of course I wouldn't want her taking in 4000cals a day either, but a body composition change is nice.


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now THIS is interesting. this brings the conversation back to my dichotomy thread... if a girl doesn't eat enough calories to build too much muscle yet does the same type of workouts as men i would imagine they would get very lean and fit but NOT big?

[Fast Food Knight]

Snafu'd,

Thanks! That is just the sort of information I was hoping to get with this thread.

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if a girl doesn't eat enough calories to build too much muscle yet does the same type of workouts as men i would imagine they would get very lean and fit but NOT big?

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This is exactly my aim.

[maniacut]

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I think I'm going to find a girl when school starts up again and get her to come to the gym with me every time I go. I'd have her doing the same workouts as me, and wouldn't be too worried about her getting too big. Of course I wouldn't want her taking in 4000cals a day either, but a body composition change is nice.


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now THIS is interesting. this brings the conversation back to my dichotomy thread... if a girl doesn't eat enough calories to build too much muscle yet does the same type of workouts as men i would imagine they would get very lean and fit but NOT big?

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That's right. The actual workout is what we're trying to figure out here. Personally, I'd recommend starting strength which you could do from home if you have a room you could use, barbell + plates + bench.

[thirddan]

she could also substitute dumbbell versions for all those exercises if she doesn't want to buy a bench and barbell (for space reasons or whatever)

[Fast Food Knight]

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she could also substitute dumbbell versions for all those exercises if she doesn't want to buy a bench and barbell (for space reasons or whatever)

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Yeah, at the moment I am in a small 2 bedroom apartment with 2 roommates and not a ton of extra room. We will be buying a house soon where I can hopefully use more room for workout purposes, but until then, what lb dumbbells would you guys recommend? I am REALLY REALLY weak - but hopefully not for long. Do you guys have any particular brands you recommend or retailers that have especially good deals?

[slickpoppa]

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I've never posted in this forum before. I'm hoping some of you guys can give me advice. Size-wise, I'm small enough - let's say goal weight, and I'm pretty short as well, 5'3. I'm interested in becoming stronger, for two main reasons: to look better naked and to burn more calories. I also just want to be healthier and have more endurance in general.

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Your goals aren't quite clear to me.

Being stronger won't necessarily make you burn more calories or look better naked. Getting stronger is a function of your central nervous system becoming more efficient. Getting stronger will not make you burn more calories unless you also gain muscle mass. That's why body builders can eat 5,000 calories a day and still have ridiculously low bodyfat. Someone who lifts purely for strength, like a powerlifter, does not burn many calories during their lifts or while resting. I find it weird that you list burning more calories as a goal in and of itself. Is maybe that another way of saying that you want to lower your body fat? Also when you that you want to get stronger so that you look better naked, do you actually mean that you want to look a little more muscular? Being stronger does not necessarily correlate with being more muscular or looking better naked. In fact, someone can greatly increase their strength while looking virtually identical on the outside.

So if you explain a little bit better about what your looking for, I can give you better advice about what to do.

[Thremp]

slick,

Its very hard to get get stronger without getting bigger.

[slickpoppa]

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Snafu'd,

Thanks! That is just the sort of information I was hoping to get with this thread.

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if a girl doesn't eat enough calories to build too much muscle yet does the same type of workouts as men i would imagine they would get very lean and fit but NOT big?

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This is exactly my aim.

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First of all, from your pictures, you already look pretty lean. Second of all, if you lift weights but don't eat well (and I'm not talking about eating like a dude who wants to get huge) your outward appearance will not change much.

I think I'm starting to get the picture of what you want to accomplish. Correct me if I'm wrong: you want to lose maybe a little bit of body fat while also gaining a little bit of muscle. IE you're going for an Anna Kournikova look as opposed to an anorexic model look? If thats true, I can give you some advice on how to lose a little bodyfat and gain a little bit of muscle.

[slickpoppa]

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slick,

Its very hard to get get stronger without getting bigger.

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Not necessarily, especially for a girl, who obvi has much lower testosterone and is more likely to have undereating habits. Many years ago I was a chronic undereater (still am to some extent), but lifted like an animal and got twice as strong while only gaining maybe 5-10 pounds. Most people will get bigger as they get stronger, but my point really is that if FFK's main goal is to improve her outward appearance, getting stronger is not necessarily the optimal way of achieving that. Now maybe she wants to get stronger just for the hell of it, but that would be unusual for a girl who isn't playing a sport, as far as I can tell.

[FlyWf]

"Yeah, at the moment I am in a small 2 bedroom apartment with 2 roommates"

That's an interesting arrangement. Need gender(and pics!) to determine how interesting.

You can buy adjustable weight dumbbells pretty much anywhere. The "right" weight of dumbbell is going to be by exercise, not total.

You aren't going to be able to do any of the good compound movements without a barbell and bench and a ton of different weights, though, and that isn't going to work without a spare bedroom or something.


If you're doing bodyweight squats, real pushups, and get a range of reasonable dumbbells for raises, rows, and curls you could do alright. Quick googling shows that walmart sells a 40 lb adjustable dumbbell set for $30.