T Nation

T-Vixen help

#1

Hello,
My girlfriend has expressed some interest of late in getting into the iron game. I want to help her but I?m not really sure where to start. Her goals are pretty simple ? she would like to ?tone up? ie loose fat without gaining any bulk (I have managed to dissuade her from the myth that hitting the iron automatically causes bulk - in fact the quite the opposite).
I can and have helped help her with her diet (thanks to t-mag) but what kind of program should I get her on?

I think she would be willing to do 3 times a week and perhaps more in the future but I don?t think GVT is for her.... LOL

I would love to help her out as I think it would greatly improve her self esteem etc. - no to mention show off some off that sexy muscle that she already has!!

Any suggestions?

#2

Kieran:

First of all, please discontinue using the word "tone". Even have your gf drop it from her vocabulary. "Tone" is a PC way of saying: gain LBM while losing excess BF.

Women can train pretty much the same as men. I do; I always have. And I don't resemble a "bulked up gorilla". Heh, neither does my boyfriend.

The first place to begin would be the FAQ. Here is where you will fine unlimited resources for the newbie and the experienced. For the newbie, take a read at Christian Thibaudeau's article, "Fun with Women". Another article is "Dawg School: The Beginner Blast Off Progam" by Chris Shugart. "How to Build a T-Vixen" by Sandy should be read.

If your gal has never trained before, begin with simple, basic exercises. This is explained well in Chris Shugart's article. You know, the dude does know his stuff smirk.

Along with training, you should take a look at her nutrition/diet. If she ain't eating the proper foods to fuel her workouts, she's gonna experience some issues. Like lack of energy and/or losing LBM. I would suggest also to not jump into a full regimen of supplements. Have her begin a food log. In a couple of weeks, take a look-see to get an idea of what changes need to be made.

This brings to mind another good article to read: "Dawg School: The Bodybuilders Heirarchy of Needs" by Chris Shugart. Also, read up on any/all article by John Berardi. Food is the best thing right now. As well as water. Plenty of water.

I'm just assuming that your gf may need some type of direction for her diet as well. And when I say "diet" I'm referring to what she's eating - I don't believe in making drastic changes to a newbie's diet in the beginning. Let's see what happens after a few weeks of consistent training and just eating "clean" foods will do.

Does this help?

#3

Is she new to working out or has she been working out for awhile and just need a change? A modified version of meltdown training may be a good intro to start her on. You'll want to lower the intensity a lot if she is just starting out, but those are great exercises for her to learn how to perform properly regardless.

#4

Also, read this: http://www.t-mag.com/articles/199vixen2.html

#5

I'll await Kieran's clarification on whether or not if his gf is a newbie; however, I'm leaning towards that she is. From his statement that his gf has "expressed interest" in lifting.

Sooooo....as a newbie to the "iron game" there are benefits. The phenomena of gaining LBM while losing BF especially. Therefore, I wouldn't even recommend a modified version of "Meltdown Training". A straightforward, simple 3-day a week program should suffice for her to see gains.

#6

I agree with Patricia wholeheartedly. Doing any version of Meltdown is a bad idea for a beginner. If you modify the program to where they can handle it, you lose the impact. And if you don't, I can't think of a better way to turn someone off of weight training. Meltdown is damn difficult, and even experienced lifters have to psyche themselves up before they do the program. Whole lotta pain there...

I do agree that the exercises would be good for your GF to learn. But she can do that without ever hearing the term "Meltdown" and will be better off for it.