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Thread: Program for Women

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
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    3

    Default Program for Women

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    I was curious if you can suggest resourceful info for female weight training.

    There is a lot of information/forums on weight training for men but not much for women. I am having a hard time finding information that is designed specifically for women depending on their goals.

    I am 35, weight 145lbs body fat 29%
    I have been weight training for about 8 months. I see results where my body has slimmed though there is no weight or body fat change.

    My goal is to reduce my body fat but I've been unsuccessful in doing so. I eat healthy and watch my calories/macros. I'm a bit confused what those should be and what my focus should be here, how much protein do I need to intake in order to lean out but not bulk?

    Need I be focusing on growing in strength with more weight lifting or more cardio? Currently I workout 4-5 days a week. My routine is upper body 2x a week, legs 2x a week for 30m followed by 30-45 min of cardio in my cardio zone. My goal is to look lean not bulky but I like the challenge of a weight.

    I've been getting a bit bored lately so motivation has been lacking. When I try to research more on weightlifting for women there's lots of conflicting info as most of of is designed for body builders.

    Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    North Texas
    Posts
    53,557

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    You seem to be confused about several significant issues regarding both training and diet. You haven't read either the books or this website's resources. Do so, and get back to us. Good luck.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    764

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    You seem to be confused about several significant issues regarding both training and diet. You haven't read either the books or this website's resources. Do so, and get back to us. Good luck.
    --Agreed. Start with the book. If you can't/won't read the book, then find an SS coach.

    --Come back. There's a lovely group of women who lift and log on this forum. I have been much encouraged by them. They range in age, height, and goals. I am 35, 5'4. I am now nearly 20lbs heavier (~155-160) than my adult weight (140), yet more pleased with my figure than I've ever been while stronger than I ever believed I could be. Starting Strength the lifting method and Starting Strength the lifting program are both well worth the time and effort to learn and experience.
    Last edited by Nick Delgadillo; 09-11-2018 at 07:27 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Wichita Falls, Texas
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    2,414

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    Quote Originally Posted by marina2015 View Post
    My goal is to look lean not bulky but I like the challenge of a weight.
    I can assure you, it is virtually impossible for someone without toxic levels of testosterone in their body to achieve large, bulky muscular development. If it were so easy to do with minimal amounts of testosterone, I'd be a huge sumbitch.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    47

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    The avoidance of meaningful strength training for women for fear of "bulking up" is really a shame. Light weights, ie. easy is the message for "toning". Older women are more susceptible to a wide range of disease and disability due to sarcopenia than men due to their disadvantage of much lower levels of androgens. Bone density increase with squats, deads, etc. work much better than any medication for osteoporosis. I could argue that SS is more important for the female population from a population based health standpoint. Come to Sarasota Florida and take a look around.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
    Posts
    199

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    Quote Originally Posted by marina2015 View Post
    I was curious if you can suggest resourceful info for female weight training.

    There is a lot of information/forums on weight training for men but not much for women. I am having a hard time finding information that is designed specifically for women depending on their goals.

    I am 35, weight 145lbs body fat 29%
    I have been weight training for about 8 months. I see results where my body has slimmed though there is no weight or body fat change.

    My goal is to reduce my body fat but I've been unsuccessful in doing so. I eat healthy and watch my calories/macros. I'm a bit confused what those should be and what my focus should be here, how much protein do I need to intake in order to lean out but not bulk?

    Need I be focusing on growing in strength with more weight lifting or more cardio? Currently I workout 4-5 days a week. My routine is upper body 2x a week, legs 2x a week for 30m followed by 30-45 min of cardio in my cardio zone. My goal is to look lean not bulky but I like the challenge of a weight.

    I've been getting a bit bored lately so motivation has been lacking. When I try to research more on weightlifting for women there's lots of conflicting info as most of of is designed for body builders.

    Thanks in advance!
    You should read Basic Barbell training and Practical Programming. They will explain the answers to many of your questions. They are worth every penny.

    Then, get started on the program detailed in the books. There is no female-specific program. We need the same program, with whole body exercises, because it is the most effective, efficient way to increase strength. And increasing strength improves sugar metabolism, appearance, bone density, confidence, sport performance, balance... In fact, you could argue we need the same program even more. With a tenth of the testosterone of men, body part splits and steady state cardio? Ain't nobody got time for dat! We're starting from a handicap here! Upper/lower splits work at the start, but then, progress slows. So, you try cutting calories even more, until you mathematically can't, without being very tired and getting that skinny-fat look going on...

    Which ties in to your stated goal- to lose body fat. This will be mostly determined by the composition of your diet. I agree with bluebuttons recommendation- read and understand why you can and should eat lots of protein, and fat, to fuel your squatting, pressing, benching and deadlifting. You won't bulk up (not enough testosterone.) You're providing your body with what it needs to make more muscle. Which, at rest, burns body fat anyway. And, after increasing your strength, if you decide that you'd like to drop a bit of fat weight, it's so much easier to do. Just a bit of tinkering with carbohydrate intake and it will surprise you how much easier it is compared to previous attempts with inefficient approaches. Females are being set up to fail on never-ending cycles of counting calories, low fat diets, upper/lower training, high-rep sets and jogging. Jump off the mouse wheel and you won't look back. Good luck

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Posts
    3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe View Post
    You seem to be confused about several significant issues regarding both training and diet. You haven't read either the books or this website's resources. Do so, and get back to us. Good luck.
    I have not read much ab SS as I've just discovered you guys. I will do so. Thanks everyone for your advice.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    506

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    Quote Originally Posted by Emily View Post
    You should read Basic Barbell training and Practical Programming. They will explain the answers to many of your questions. They are worth every penny.

    Then, get started on the program detailed in the books. There is no female-specific program. We need the same program, with whole body exercises, because it is the most effective, efficient way to increase strength. And increasing strength improves sugar metabolism, appearance, bone density, confidence, sport performance, balance... In fact, you could argue we need the same program even more. With a tenth of the testosterone of men, body part splits and steady state cardio? Ain't nobody got time for dat! We're starting from a handicap here! Upper/lower splits work at the start, but then, progress slows. So, you try cutting calories even more, until you mathematically can't, without being very tired and getting that skinny-fat look going on...

    Which ties in to your stated goal- to lose body fat. This will be mostly determined by the composition of your diet. I agree with bluebuttons recommendation- read and understand why you can and should eat lots of protein, and fat, to fuel your squatting, pressing, benching and deadlifting. You won't bulk up (not enough testosterone.) You're providing your body with what it needs to make more muscle. Which, at rest, burns body fat anyway. And, after increasing your strength, if you decide that you'd like to drop a bit of fat weight, it's so much easier to do. Just a bit of tinkering with carbohydrate intake and it will surprise you how much easier it is compared to previous attempts with inefficient approaches. Females are being set up to fail on never-ending cycles of counting calories, low fat diets, upper/lower training, high-rep sets and jogging. Jump off the mouse wheel and you won't look back. Good luck
    I want to cast a vote for a Women's thread. My wife has gotten curious enough to start training and it would help her by providing more tailored support and thoughtful responses like the one above. I like tge Elderly thread for the same reason. My well-intended encouragement is always a bit too coarse, and women listen to other women more than men when it come to their doubts and concerns. Men would read the thread and get some useful knowledge, and more women would be likely to start this great pursuit. Plenty of women are capable of contributing to the entertaining free for all so I dont think that aspect of the forum would suffer. My 2 cents.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    123

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    I'm sure it has been suggested before but if there was a starting strength for women and a starting strength for the grey haired I would buy them for my girlfriend/parents. Could be basically the same book but with an additional chapter from sully/Gillian/ couple of your pj media articles and a different cover. Not sure if you don't want to dilute the brand/look like you're selling out/ publishing costs are prohibitive but I think it really would help spread the word and get more people into the squat rack. My experience trying to get older/femaler people to read the books is that they are too intimidated to give it a go

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    CA
    Posts
    878

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    starting strength coach development program
    There's a Starting Strength women's offshoot on Facebook:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/star...ngthbarbelles/

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