# What is a good girls beginner routine?



## puurboi (Feb 16, 2011)

Ok so my cousin has been going to the gym for around 6-8 months now and lost a stone and a half with diet and good exercise but wants to "tone" up. I told her i will be happy to put a 2-3 day a week weight training program together for her if she would like a nice toned bod and she wants me to help her so i will.

Is a standard mens training going to do the same thing as a girls one? So i can just start her out with lower weights in the form of dumb bells for stuff like bench/ohp and then use an empty barbell for stuff like squats and deads?

I'm going to get her started with something in the 10-15 rep range to make it easier at first but just need a bit of advice from anyone in the know.... are the routines the same for men and women in beginner programs or should i modify it?

Cheers guys


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## scorpio_biker (Apr 16, 2008)

Yeah, it's all the same exercises for men and women. The only difference I think I've ever read about is for the squat,



> In general many women have stronger quads relative to hamstrings and would thus benefit from wider-stance squats as well as specific glute/ham recruitment work and/or strengthening of the external hip rotators.


from http://www.stumptuous.com/learning-the-squat-4-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting

but apart from that, and obviously the amount of weight that can be lifted, it's all the same.


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## Beklet (May 13, 2005)

Women should train same way as men, IMO. No need for any stupid stuff, just the basics..and none of that 'hundreds of reps for toning' rubbish either - heavy weights, lower reps will do the job far quicker


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## marc2001dj (Feb 18, 2011)

Came in here expecting a new female member looking for pointers, left extremely disappointed.


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

if she is worried about the whole bulking up thing.. which won't happen as we girls have less testosterone than you fella  . then point her in the direction of a book called 'New Rules of Lifting for Women' It'll back up the plan you give her, and make her realise she won't become a musclebound girl.

Also the Stronglifts 5x5 is used alot.. and I'm reading that along with Starting strength by Rippetoe.

But.. I totally agree same process for men as women, never heard that about squatting though.. not saying it's not true.. just never heard it.

As for low weight / high rep drum it through to her that that is cardio.  Good luck to your cousin, hope she comes along here! lol We need more girls and you guys are lovely to us so nothing scary.


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

p.s. the lovely Ewen has recommended the Push, Pull, Legs to me..  Loving it so far (1 week in) I'm after strength though..


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

The only main difference between men and women is that women tend to show a slightly better response to higher reps than men, due to having a slightly higher percentage of slower twitch muscle fibres... the difference is only marginal though.

A good outline here explaining how the small differences between men and women express themselves - http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting/Women.html

A good starter routine is a full body workout performed three times per week, six-eight exercises per session (mostly compound exercises) to cover the whole body of 3 working sets each. Sets intense but not to failure except possibly the last set and performed in the 8-15 reps range.

If a female wants to focus on strength then they should do the same as a man and switch to a starter PL routine after three-six months or so of basic grounding, if they want to continue to body build then maybe switch to an upper/lower split, or a ppl or remain with the full body... after a while it should be obvious which direction to take things dependent upon goals.


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

PS, moved thread to the ladies section


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

puurboi said:


> Ok so my cousin has been going to the gym for around 6-8 months now and lost a stone and a half with diet and good exercise but wants to "tone" up. I told her i will be happy to put a 2-3 day a week weight training program together for her if she would like a nice toned bod and she wants me to help her so i will.
> 
> Is a standard mens training going to do the same thing as a girls one? So i can just start her out with lower weights in the form of dumb bells for stuff like bench/ohp and then use an empty barbell for stuff like squats and deads?
> 
> ...


being mechanically almost identical then there is no difference in a routine for men or women and imo women execute a routine much better .

i would do a standard p/p/l as jane has suggested , you can increase reps/sets to suit or indeed decrease .

however the most important thing is form from the start once this is nailed then lifts soon start progressing .

knock something up im interested in your choices .


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## scorpio_biker (Apr 16, 2008)

JaneN40 said:


> But.. I totally agree same process for men as women, never heard that about squatting though.. not saying it's not true.. just never heard it.


I've only seen it on the one site. Originally (I think) it was a comment relating to hips, having a wider stance suited her and she suggested trying it. I did and found it was more stable for me.

It's the only thing I've ever found that genuinely suggests a difference between men and women when working out.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

women can slightly hyper extend their forearms at the elbow more than men that is the only muscular difference


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## Beklet (May 13, 2005)

ewen said:


> women can slightly hyper extend their forearms at the elbow more than men that is the only muscular difference


True, but doesn't the wider pelvis put different strains on the knees etc? I think that's probably the reasoning for it...


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Beklet said:


> True, but doesn't the wider pelvis put different strains on the knees etc? I think that's probably the reasoning for it...


why would it ?

a wider squat is a better squat in terms of moving more weight .


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## defo (Nov 13, 2011)

Push/pull/legs. Building muscle is the same for everyone.


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## puurboi (Feb 16, 2011)

Thanks for all the help fellas and ladies - ill get her on a stronglifts asap then, with some extra exercises thrown in that i feel help. Thanks again guys an gals


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## Asouf (Jul 10, 2010)

Glad I found this thread as I was going to post the same - Convinced the better half to join a gym @ weekend and as she wants to get leaner for the wedding in February..

Claire had her PT session last night and he recommended the following (to be done 3 times a week)

Swissball squats (roll up against a wall 20 reps)

Swissball crunches (3 x 15)

standing overhead DB tricep extensions (3x10)

Lat pull down cable plate machine (2x10)

10mins Xtrainer

10mins Treadmill

Doesnt seem the right routine for her to tone up and lose fat so I suggested I post on here.

She is 6' 181lb and has a dodgy knee so limits pressure being applied to it.. but her physio has said she needs to strengthen it..


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## puurboi (Feb 16, 2011)

Get her into real routine but go easy on stuff like squats and leg press at first, get her to strengthen the knee by going SLOW at first


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