File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Im going to get my gf on a 5x5 routine in a few weeks and put her on a nutritional diet. Problem is she hasn't done any physical activity for a while and is very weak. She more likely than not, will not be able to lift an empty barbell doing squats or bench. So where should she start? dumbells? or bodyweight exercises?

Also what should her diet look like. I'm thinking 2 eggs and oatmeal for breakfast, yogurt for a snack, turkey sandwich on wheat/or chicken breast salad for lunch, fruit for snack, more eggs for dinner, and carrots for a snack before bed.
>> Anonymous
>>dumbells? or bodyweight exercises?

yes and yes.

if your girlfriend lets you put her on that diet, she'll kill you before the end of the week. just saying that's a good diet to really cut hard on.

if she's coming from a place where she has no physical conditioning and you basically put her on a crash diet while trying to put her on a 5x5 plan, you might want to have some body armor around. protip: 5x5 and crash diets don't work all that well together, especially with complete newbs.
>> Anonymous
>>151903
Hmm, thanks for the response, what would you suggest I could do to improve her diet?
>> Anonymous
dont make her go on a diet. just get her into yoga or aerobic or something. if she didnt do anything for a while she should start with something that she enjoys.
>> Anonymous
>>151908
what are her goals? not your goals for her, but her own goals?

what i see there is you have a diet for one goal and an exercise plan for another.

5x5 is a strength plan. it will build bulk and she will get stronger. not xbox hueg, but there would be some gains. i haven't seen diet plans for women on a 5x5 or westside, but male strength plans usually call for a 20-40% increase in daily calories (above a normal 2500 cal/day) to compensate for the extra work and accommodate growth.

the diet plan is a cutting one, and a pretty good cutting one at that. provided there's some thing underneath, a month or two on that, some cardio and light weights to prevent muscular atrophy and there probably 15-20 lb weight loss.

my advice (and it's free, so take it for what it's worth) is, based on her input, add some protein and fats (fish, nuts, etc.) to the diet if she's gonna add strength

or

focus on a more cardio-centric workout plan with a lighter weight plan thrown in if she's dieting to lose.

and as a side note: you're walking a pretty fine line here (i've seen couples who work out together get in some real scraps over training issues like this) so make sure she's happy with what plan you settle on. once you get some basics with together with her, let her go and do it on your own. leading a horse to water and all that...
>> Anonymous
Coaching your SO == HAZARD.
>> Anonymous
>>151923
Shes 5'2" 140lbs, she probably doesn't have much muscle underneath due to her shitty eating habits and lack of exercise. She wants to lose about 15lbs of fat, but I dont know if she should put on some muscle first or what. She really enjoys kickboxing, she use to do it a few years ago and got really lean and was happy with her body, but its quite expensive and she stopped.

I've tried discussing diet plans with her, but its hard because shes kind of a picky eater. So should I put her on the 5x5 and have her put on muscle first? I think she would get un-motivated because it would seem like shes just getting bigger, which she doesnt want.
>> Anonymous
>>151932
I know, I know. We've had countless arguments over exercise. She thinks im obsessed and so does my whole family. I'm trying to lay off a bit on it. She would be FURIOUS if she found out about this. She hates it when im on /fit/. She thinks I enjoy reading about fitness and nutrition more than I enjoy her. Which isn't true, I just find this stuff fascinating. ugh, women...
>> Anonymous
>>151933
ooooh boy. i'm really not sure about women's gains versus losses. take my advice really carefully here and do some research on your own.

here's the good news: #1 she's been active before and had some real strength to do throws and kicks. muscle comes back quick once you get back into it. almost any plan she gets into will be easier than if she'd had no fitness background. plus the addition of some self-confidence and satisfaction go a long way.

#2 women often look more muscular by losing weight from fat than by gaining muscle. the same can be true for men, but it's more pronounced for women (women's bodybuilders not in the heavyweight classes focus more fat loss, not hueg gains)

bad news: women's gains are harder to make w/r/t size and bulk then men.

so, based on that, work carefully with her to get her back into exercising. cardio to work her legs, and then some light dumbbells to regain upperbody strength. and i would work her gradually into a diet similar to what you have in the first post. i would start it by removing the obvious - refined sugars, grains and fats. then if there is success, use that to work towards a more focused cut-diet.
>> sage
i'm sure she'll be able to squat an empty bar
bench press it? maybe
overhead press it? doubt it
>> ­­­­
     File :-(, x)
>>151934
but you do actually enjoy being on /fit/ more than being with her. right? RIGHT???
>> Anonymous
PROTIP: just tell your gf she is perfect the way she is, thats what she is looking for. Trying to push any fitness crap on her will only have negative effects, be helpful if that.
>> Anonymous
>>152069
>>152069
>>152069
>>152069
>>152069
>>152069
>>152069
>>152069
>> Anonymous
>>152069

sure but girls DO want to look better.
even if you tell her that, it's only gonna be temporary rather than making her look better and feeling better with herself on the long term.

most girls need a little push on motivation to do exercise. and it does more good than bad to her.
>> Anonymous
>>152192
Yes.

REAL PROTIP: if you just want your gf for sex, tell her she's fine the way she is. if you genuinely care about her, help her improve herself
>> Anonymous
>>152216
She is fine the way she is. But she has cried before about the way she looks, and wants to look good. She doesnt like having the extra weight. And I have discussed nutrition with her on many occasions. Her grandparents have type 2 diabetes and I dont want her to end up like that when she is older. I want her to live a healthy life, just like me. And she wants to also. She has already given up soda and drinks water 95% of the time. Its just the eating part now. She still lives with her parents, and they go out to eat ALL THE TIME. So they arent helping the situation. Shes moving in with me in a couple weeks, so I think that will fix that problem.

I'm thinking about getting a wii fit also, I know its not going to get her into shape, thats why i have the free weights in the garage, but its still better than her sitting around, and it would make exercising a little more entertaining for her right?

>>152050
I doubt she can squat the empty bar, I was showing her how to do weightless squats before and she had some balance problems, also, her back has a larger curve in it from what a doctor told her. So, im not sure if i should have her put heavy weights on her back just yet, maybe work on core strength first to improve her posture? Bridges, etc?
>> Anonymous
i have my gf on a 5x5 without any real trouble. after about 2 weeks she started to enjoy it.

eating right, on the other hand was impossible. and trying to keep her from going out every night and getting wasted was tough too. we were too different. i dumped her. but i still train her every once in a while
>> Anonymous
>>152684
oh and i had her do bodyweight squats for a while.

first workout she did the empty bar no problem. by the 2nd week she was up to 75lbs
>> Anonymous
>>152696
Thanks for the advice. She doesnt drink or smoke, or go out partying or anything, so I dont think i have to worry about that. Guess ill just start her out on weightless exercising, squats, pushups, maybe assist her in pullups. Until she can do the barbell.
>> Anonymous
Women's bars only weighs 22 lbs. Your girlfriend must be inches away from death if she can't muster the force to lift 22 lbs.
>> Anonymous
>>152707
I only have the 45lb olympic bars...
>> Anonymous
>>152715

She'll be fine once you've had her doing some bodyweight stuff.

After that, stick her on the empty bar until her form is shit hot and away you go.

She's going to have a banging set of legs pretty soon... I'm jealous.
>> Lil Dreamer !UYwMl8CsAs
     File :-(, x)
>>152693
>but i still train her every once in a while

so how many guys are involved in the train?