T Nation

Overweight Wife Workout, Limited Equipment?

#1

I try and get my overweight wife to start lifting. she also have a really bad shoulder. a lot of body weight exercises are thus ruled out as she is too heavy for her bad shoulder. she also wants to feel like she accomplished something at the end of the training. she has also no understanding for the importance of form and no patience for practicing form. she is actually mostly interested in burning fat, whereas i however want her to build strength and muscle. i thought of the following workout to get her to think she is torching fat while at the same time sneaking in some strength and hypertrophy without too much form to master:

  1. 6 reps of dumb bell or kettle bell 1-leg dead lift
  2. 12 reps of back step lunges per side
  3. 6 reps of dumb bell or kettle bell dead lift
  4. 6 reps goblet or body weight squat
  5. 6 reps of split squats per side
  6. 20 sec plank or pushup position (will see what her shoulder allows for here)
  7. 20 reps of dumb bell curls
  8. 20 reps of dumb bell shoulder presses (again, shoulder issue)
  9. 20 reps of lateral raises (can’t believe this one is torching fat, but it might be good for her shoulder)
  10. 20 crunches (or maybe start with the crunches?)

very little rest between the items above, about 90 sec of rest after sequence is completed and then go again until a feeling of accomplishment is obtained.

so guys, what do you think? is this pure crap or can it be improved with small tweaks?

#2

To put it in Scottish terms: that’s pure pish by the way.

Ditch the single leg deadlift.

Ditch the curls

Ditch the laterals

Ditch the sets of 6 for everything.

Keep the reps high for everything and rest periods at 60 seconds. Treat it more like circuit training than strength training. Something tells me your wife wants to lose weight more than she wants to increase her 6RM on her deadlift, so train her accordingly…

#3

i had her perform 2 rounds of the original workout. i have no idea if she burned fat. she felt accomplishment though and her shoulder didn’t get cranky.

in light of suggestions, workout 2 to be performed in 2 days:

  1. 12 reps of back step lunges per side
  2. 12 reps of dumb bell or kettle bell dead lift
  3. 12 reps goblet or body weight squat
  4. 12 reps of split squats per side
  5. 25 sec pushup position
  6. 20 reps of dumb bell shoulder presses
  7. 20 reps of lateral raises (against advice, because it might be good for her shoulder)
  8. 20 crunches
    60 sec of rest between items and repeat sequence
#4

I appreciate your willingness to accept criticism. It’s quite the rarity in these parts.

I much prefer this new routine although there are still one or two changes I would make:

-I would take the push up hold out or do it as a standalone exercise outwith the sequence. So have her do the whole sequence as many times as you guys want, then do a few sets of holds afterwards. My reasoning is it’s not really a get your blood pumpin’ kind of exercise, and so will disrupt the flow of the sequence. Some light core/stretching can be a good cool down that still has a training effect after hard circuits.

-Rear delt flyes are a better choice for shoulder health than laterals. Depending on the nature of her cranky shoulders laterals could be contraindicated (although admittedly the light load used means it’s not a huge deal).

Other than that, looks like a fairly solid home routine to me.

#5

Not a lot to add to yogi…

Loads of band pull aparts, lat pull down movements also

HIIT on the bike once or twice a week 25 mins+ will get her feeling it and is wimmenz friendly

#6

Go for a nice walk.
Stretch.
Eat clean.

Start there.

#7

well, second session completed on day 3 instead of day 2, as she had a lot of DOMS and also skipped carbs on day 2. the advice about a nice walk i had already thought of, but she hates walking and refuses.

the final outcome of the second session:

2x25 sec push up position (this is kind of a strength move for her so i put it first)

2 rounds of:

  1. 12 reps of back step lunges per side
  2. 12 reps of dumb bell or kettle bell dead lift
  3. 12 reps goblet or body weight squat
  4. 12 reps of split squats per side
  5. 20 reps of dumb bell shoulder presses
  6. 20 reps of rear delt flies
  7. 20 band pull apart
  8. 20 band face pulls
  9. 20 curls (wifey insisted on doing curls, i had ditched them)
  10. 30 crunches
    60 sec of rest between items
#8

3rd session completed on day 6

2x25 sec push up position
2x15 sec band pallof press

2 rounds of:

  1. 12 reps of band pull through
  2. 12 reps of back step lunges per side
  3. 12 reps of dumb bell or kettle bell dead lift
  4. 12 reps goblet or body weight squat
  5. 12 reps of split squats per side
  6. 20 reps of dumb bell shoulder presses
  7. 20 reps of rear delt flies
  8. 20 band pull apart
  9. 20 band face pulls
    60 sec of rest between items
#9

If she decides she has had enough of the circuits, may I suggest an approach that works with her a bit more?

You will need one sandbag, a tyre, a rope (tie the rope around the tyre for some of these, you may be able to get away with a band) and some way to mark height (eg a line or band tied across two trees). You should be able to make these pretty cheaply.

Circuit 1:

  • Run the sandbag from the height marker to some distance and back then throw it over the heigh marker
  • pick up the tyre, repeat with the tyre
    Repeat a bunch of times

Circuit 2:

  • Lunge the bag some distance
  • throw the bag down, pick up and press overhead x5
    repeat a bunch of times

Circuit 3:

  • carry the bag overhead to the tyre
  • throw it on the tyre
  • drag the tyre backwards to the start point
    Repeat

Circuit 4

  • toss the bag as high as possible 5 times
  • tie tyre around yourself sprint away
  • get rid of the tyre and run back
    Repeat a bunch of times

You can do lots of variations (set goals, eg shave 10% off your time in 4 weeks or add 3 “sets” in 6 weeks), can use multiple bags, pick up a keg or even a tyre you can flip to make it more interesting.

This will burn a bunch of fat and if you go heavy enough will build muscle. Also, people, especially women, tend to love this kind of training… even if they hate it while doing it.

#10

ok, i havent managed to get my wife to train, except for one 7 km walk in 25 days. i think she has gained a lil weight lately. sigh she talks about doing some diet, not superexpensive, but still. maybe i should by a whip?

#11

Divorce her. She’ll magically become a weight loss expert to get back at you.

Or go for short walks with her everyday.
Who would wanna go from doing nothing to your ridiculous workout program?

One, step, at a time.

If she still won’t budge, let her be free to be fat. It’s her right and God given free will to be lazy and be fat.

#12

Do the grocery shopping and do the cooking.

#13

naaah, i have promised to be faithful and try to love her through good times and bad times, so thats not an option.

i tell her everyday, she says she hates walking

i think ill go for this last resort. actually, i have tried to make a deal with her. she will get 50 000 SEK if she manages to reduce to 63 kg and keep the weight for a month before a date, but if she fails, she has to pay me 25000 SEK. i reckon this will be the easiest 25000 SEK i ever earned. i plan to buy supplements for myself for the money.

#14

we will both become slim for sure.

#15

Stop bothering her. Set a good example and have a plan for when she is ready to get on board. It’s probably best if you can point her where to get help rather than doing it yourself.

#16

It also sounds like you are trying to give her stuff you like to do, or modifying stuff you like to do. This is a really bad approach.

#17

i think you.are on to something there. i will just let her be and cash in

#18

What’s wrong with having a fat wife?

#19

What is your own lifestyle like?

#20

she complains of being fat