T Nation

Help me Convince my GF About a Training Program i Made Her

Bodybuilding
#1

Allright, I made my girlfriend a new training program since she has been doing the last one i made her for over a month now. She is going to be a freshman in college next year and plans on doing either track or cheerleading (hopefully track). she is in very good shape, very low bf level, has a good amount of muscle from formerly being a gymnast, but not too much. anyways, she is very hard headed and does not want to do the program i made her because “it is stupid”. her reasons for not liking the program that she gave me are the following: 1. Some of the exercises are “guy” exercises and she doesn’t see any girls in the gym doing them. and what the hell are you thinking by not putting leg abduction machine on there.
2. this is not enough! i did gymnastics for 4 hours a day every day for 10 years.
3. i need more endurance if i do cheerleading or track so the cardio should be longer than 30 minutes.
now that you know why she doesn’t like the program let me explain my reasoning and see if you T-men and T-vixens agree with me. First of all, i realize that any workout is better than no workout and that when trying to get your gf to workout you should start them out with stuff they like so they stick with it. well, my gf doesn’t mind doing hard stuff, she actually prefers more work, and if it was up to her she would be working out 4 hours a day and end up seriously overtraining. i just need help convincing her against the things i mentioned above. with that being said, here is my reasoniong:

  1. Regarless of whether you are a guy or a girl, an exercise still does the same thing. By doing squats and deadlifts as opposed to leg presses it is more functional for a sport. most college level female athletes do “guy” exercises (lots of power cleans and snatches for track). If you can do chinups then it is better to do them as opposed to lat pull downs regardless of gender. free weights will also help you more than machines, whether you are a girl or not.
  2. More is not better. until you start paying attention to important recovery methods and actually have a good diet where you take in more than 700 calories a day from bagels and candy, then anything more than 4 days a week weight training in addition to a couple of hours of cardio will most likely lead to overtraining. this is not gymnastics. in gymnastics you are working on skill a lot and by repeatedly doing movements you learn them so that much time may be necessary to get good at gymnastics. to simply get stronger and stay in excellent shape, 4 hours a day is definately too much. if you want to practice a skill for cheerleading such as tumbling or stunting each day in addition to the workouts that would be fine, but it is different than actually working out in the gym the entire time because it will not take as big of a toll on your body.
  3. when doing cheerleading competitions that are 90 seconds or doing a track event that only takes a couple of minutes, you are using a totally different energy system. mostly gycolitic, not oxidative (like doing a cardio machine). so how would doing an hour as opposed to 30 minutes not be building enough endurance for those events. what is the benefit of doing an hour on cardio days as opposed to 30 minutes when you don’t even take in enough calories in the first place. all that is going to do is negate some of the effects of the weight training. So what do you think? do you guys/girls agree with my reasoning? also i would like to hear from some of the girls on this board about doing “guy” exercises.
#2

So let her think it. When she does lousy she’ll wonder why her girl exercises & candy aren’t working out for her. She’ll come around. It’s kind of like this thing I read about what to do if your kids wo’t wear mittens when it’s cold outside. Let them freeze their hands one day & they’ll decide on their own to wear their mitts. Same sort of thing with your girlfriend.

#3

As a girl, I’d say that doing squats and deadlifts are more fun than doing lame abductor adductor thingies. I call them “yes, no machines”. And if she can do chinups (and she should be able to do perfect chin ups since she was a gymnast), she should do chin ups.

There’s no benefit to doing extra cardio if she’s going to join track or cheerleading. She’ll move around enough doing either.

Frankly, from what you wrote, I think your workout plan may be better for her than what she designs.

#4

Hmmm, my routine? Consists of squats, deadlifts, benches, barbell shoulder presses, incline DB presses, ab work, etc. I work right alongside my boyfriend and am stronger than he in some of these lifts. And there is ABSOLUTELY no denying my feminine qualities batting eyelashes demurely. And I also drink as much beer and whisky. AND have not, I repeat, have NOT grown a dick. So, she will NOT become a guy by doing these exercises. whew. thank god.

The best thing right now, is to challenge your GF to do your routine for at least one month. Just four weeks. That's it. ONE measely month. And see what happens.

Geez, where do these chicks come up with these insane ideas?

#5

Nic, your reasoning sounds pretty good to me. But good luck trying to get your GF to see things your way…

#6

Dude, let her work out however she wants. It’s her training, not yours!

#7

i told her if she didn’t like the program i made her she could keep doing the one shes been doing or make her own. it’s not like i’m forcing her to do it. i am just trying to help her out so she actually benefits from what she does in the gym, which is what she wants. she just can’t comprehind the things i mentioned above and says that i don’t know how to train girls and that girls should work out much differently.

#8

Do her, tell her you love her, then do her some more.

#9

Just wanted to comment on the cardio. IMO, cardio should be intense. Productive cardio should consist of intervals, wind sprints, etc. No 60 min of moderate, half ass jogging. If done correctly, 30 min of intense interval cardio (and sprints can be done on any form of cardio - machine or other wise) is way more productive and beneficial to 60 min or more of low intensity, typical plodding along. Convince her of the truth - that you will burn more fat and get in far better condition by doing 30 min of high intensity interval sprints than 60 min of half speed plodding. Experiencing is believing.

#10

If she’s serious about running track or cheerleading, then she should contact the coaches for her sport and the strength and conditioning coach at whatever school she’s going to attend to introduce herself get a hold of the strength and conditioning program that they are doing right now. I’ve been a S&C coach at a D1 school off and on for the last 5 years and our cheerleaders even had their own program. If she really wants to make the team(s) she needs to get in touch with the coaches before she gets to school. It’s common practice for my school to give incoming recruits a summer workout program to follow.

#11

Your girlfriend is clearly one of the those over-zealous types. Her past has influenced her thinking that more is better. You always hear about those college and profession athletes training 6 hours daily but most don’t realize that 75% of that is stretching, skill drills, low-intensity cardio, massaging, ice & hot pads, etc. The real intense work never is longer than 1.5 hours because no human being can do that day in and day out for too long, of course drugs can help but they will only mask the overtraining that is occurring. It’s tough, almost impossible to “convince” people like her what is actually right through words. You must show her results for her to believe. If she isn’t eating enough, then more cardio will be counterproductive. If she does track, doing low-intensity cardio should not be a priority. As Heb said, high-intensity would be better suited, however it cannot be done as often. Low-intensity is better for buring fat, not high-intensity as Heb said, because it can be repeated and done for a longer duration. Your girlfriend already has a low-bodyfat so sprints might be in order and that would make a tough workout. Good luck with her!

#12

Perhaps you should just put her in touch with some women in the gym who seem to follow the approach you have formulated for her. The problem may be that you are too close to her and she finds it difficult to not show her individuality. I think your program sounds good, but if she wants to do leg machine stuff, just throw it in–it can’t hurt. Also include the stuff you want to do. Soon enough she will let go of the machine stuff because her results without will be greater. Or just put her in touch with some women whose physiques she may admire and have her talk to them. Either way, she is working out and so you should be happy.