Advice for the Wife?

[Mighty_Bluff]

Hi,

I'd like to get some help to put together a good training and diet regimine for my wife. She's put on a few pounds since we got married. In my opinion she still looks great, but her self esteem is down and she's getting a little depressed. She is thin, but the little fat that she does have, seems to center around her stomach and hips. Here are he stats:
22 yrs old
5'5"
124 lbs
29" waist
36" hips

She's starting to develop a little gut, which is driving her crazy. She wants to have a six-pack, but doesn't want to use any AAS or diet pills. Her diet is also not the best. She doesn't eat much during the morning and afternoon hours, and then eats at night. Also, like all women she loves chocolate.

I'm trying to put together a training and diet plan that will get her close to her goal by bikini season. Any help that you guys can provide is much appreciated.

Thanks
MB

 

[Bob Smith]

It sounds like a simple clean up of her eating will solve the majority of her problem. That and 3-4 workouts per week will have her back in shape.

 

[road warrior]

bump

Bump

 

[Grizzly]

She's starting to develop a little gut, which is driving her crazy. She wants to have a six-pack, but doesn't want to use any AAS or diet pills. Her diet is also not the best. She doesn't eat much during the morning and afternoon hours, and then eats at night. Also, like all women she loves chocolate.

And she's confused as to what her problem is? Like Bob said, a simple cleaning up of the diet and some exercise will have her back in shape in no time. Of course, if she's serious about having a legit six pack, then let her know it won't be a little cleaning up. It will be an enormous overhaul of her entire life.

 

[Mighty_Bluff]

Thanks guys.
She does realize what her problem is, as far as eating habits. The reason I'm asking for help... I have no idea what works for women, especially her size. I've been on a version of Atkins since 2001, and I train for growth vs. toning. I'm 6'1", 240lbs and have no idea what type of diet or training program to put her on. Could you guys suggest certain workouts and diets that will help get her to that next level?

Thanks
MB

 

[Grizzly]

The trick will be getting her to do it "right". She will, most likely, rebel against a routine that is actually worth a fuck. Basically, you'd train her exactly like you would train a man. Have her squat and deadlift. For all the bitching women do about their hips and asses, they certainly sqwak an afwul lot when you try to get them to do an exercise that would actually benefit them in that area.

Diet is realy simple, if you ask me. Most important to the success of the diet is keeping a nutrition log. Have her log calories, protein, fat and carbs eaten during the day along with the name of the food and the serving size. I'd guess a good caloric level to be about 1400-1600 calories. 50-60% protein, 20-30% carbs and around 15-20% fat. That shoudl be a good base to start from.

Bob might suggest some off the wall, fad diet() but I don't think that is a good idea. She'll be lean then fat lean then fat lean then fat because she won't ever get into the habit of eating properly to maintain a lean body.

 

[Bob Smith]

Since she is a "normal" chick, a balanced low calorie diet like Grizz suggested would be the way to go. Keeping a food journal is key and can be done in something like Excel or online at fitday.com. I would probably start calories a little lower than what Grizz suggested, but its not like she couldnt adjust down after seeing how she responds in 2-3 weeks.

For most chicks to have a real 6-pack, their bodyfat usually needs to be around 14-16% or lower. If she is naturally a little on the soft side, if she does hit that level she may find it quite difficult to maintain it. But shell never know if she doesnt try.

 

[Grizzly]

Yeah, you think less? I know it's pretty generic and all, but I usually use the 10-12 cal/lb of bw to figure diet level calories. Seems to work pretty well usually. Maybe because she's a soft-bodied, no muscled chick it's different.

 

[Mighty_Bluff]

Thanks again,

We actually had her body fat measured last week. She is at 22.5%. Not that bad in my opinion. To get her down to that 15% level would optimal. I will have her write down what she eats for the next week, and then try to put together a well balanced lower-fat diet for her to follow. 4 - 6 meals per day.

As far as exercise. 3-4 times a week sounds good, plus 20-30 minutes on the treadmill.

I see all these women at the gym working out with those huge medicine balls, doing 1-legged dumbell squats, and using those upper-thigh machines. These are the types of things I stay away from. I split my body up into 4 sections, and really only work a body part once a week. I don't feel like that is the right workout for her. I was thinking she should be doing more of a circuit training type of workout, like what I see those Triathlon guys doing. What do you guys think of that?

 

[Bob Smith]

I think the vast majority of people (men and women) should be hitting each bodypart 2-3x week. Keep her working on the big movements and do your best to keep her away from crap that the other women use - adductor machine, the hip/butt machine, etc. Squats, DLs, bench and row are just as important for women as they are for guys.

 

[kal-el66]

I hate doing this myself, but it works
Cardio,Cardio,Cardio!
You could also have her lift every muscle group once a week,high reps low weight for toning.

 

[Sphinx]

My ex gf was heavy after being with her for over a year...Bleh! She went from 5'3" @ 115 to 165! WOW! Granted she was solid and had lots of muscle! Which helped me get back into shape.

I started out with small steps, I just had her start some cardio and write down what she ate for a week or so. Then we took a look at what she ate and I let her know what was bad and what was preffered. I took her grocery shopping and showed her how to prepare the food so it was still tastey, this helped alot, since I didnt want to have to cook for her ass.

Then I had her get more strict on her cardio, I had her do it early in the morn' before she ate but with a supplement and mass water. She would then get ready for the day and eat afterwards. If morning cardio wasnt an option that day she would do it after work for a longer amount of time. What ever was challenging to her.

She didnt have access to much resistance training due to our budget, but I did have her do push ups, lunges, squats, and what not.
Once she got used to the 'program', which took about two to three weeks, she started dropping of the fat like crazy! She started looking good again! I was like Wow, cool!
Then the bitch cheated on me with a married dude from walmart!! LOL Yeah, that was worth it! LOL Thats what I get for dating a hick!

In any case, like has been mentioned, clean up her diet, and put her ass to work in the gym. Compound movements and cardio, dont have her worry about iso shit. The only thing I think hasnt been mentioned that I think would be a benifit would be to have her take small steps, dont overwhelm with everything at once. Start her off with one or two things, not strict, then add more and revize what she is currently doing. This will help, IMO, her stick with it and enjoy it more.
Peace, Sphinx.