Yes - look in the training logs section of the forum for me, TonyaB, Gwynn, tennies, kmv, LiftingLiz, applescruffette.
Yes - look in the training logs section of the forum for me, TonyaB, Gwynn, tennies, kmv, LiftingLiz, applescruffette.
Isis, even though I do check out the logs of the women on the board, maybe this thread would be a good place to get some of your (and others) comments and advice on the program. My girlfriend has recently started the Wichita Falls Conditioning Program, which is a derivative of the novice program, and I'd love to get some condensed feedback from the other women here. And here is the Wichita Falls Conditioning Program if you aren't familiar with it:
http://www.70sbig.com/?p=999
Monday — Squat, Press, Power Clean
Tuesday — Chin-ups, Conditioning
Wednesday — OFF
Thursday — Squat, Bench, Deadlift
Friday — Conditioning
Let me know if you have any advice or general comments.
It's hard to know what to say without more information - age, height/weight, goals, does she do other physical stuff, etc.
In general, I would simply say two things:
1. Yay, another woman lifter! The world needs more strong women.
2. It's lonely sometimes to be the only woman lifting heavy. If she can find
a female training partner, great. If not, she is more than welcome here.
Is there anything you would change about the SS program? Do women generally see the same results as men?
I am interested in getting stronger, especially with my lower body, but don't want to put on too much fat. Is this possible?
Well, Rip has trained a pretty wide variety of folks, including women, and has spent 25+ years accumulating the knowledge that became the book Starting Strength. There's a section in the book that answers your first question quite thoroughly.
As to putting on fat, different people have different results. If you're not Skinny Guy, then you don't need 7,000 calories a day plus a gallon of milk. However, you won't see any results except frustration if you restrict your calories lower than maintenance, whatever that is for you. In fact, you need to be willing to eat above maintenance by about 500 calories.
I haven't heard from anyone female yet that they were bummed because they gained fat on Starting Strength. I wouldn't worry about it.
Yes, although drinking a gallon of milk a day is probably not what you want to do. I worked with a woman trainee who tipped the scales at 113 lbs. She was close to 30 when I worked with her. We took her low bar squat from 85 lbs to 135lbs for 3x5 over the course of a few weeks. She slept about 4 to 5 hours a night and her diet was pretty awful. We could have gone a lot further had she been able to dedicate more time and recovery efforts to lifting. Women will respond much the same way men do, although loading must be appropriately chosen.