looking for some advice on my routine

[ShockCollar]

well, not my routine, but my girlfriend's anyways. She and I have been working out and holding each other accountable on dieting etc... So far, its goin well, but we have hit a few hurdles ill lay out here.

as for her
height: 5' 3.5"
weight: 117
age: 21

current diet:
breakfast: quaker oats granola bar "fiber and omega-3 peanutbutter"

lunch: turkey sandwich on whole grain oat bread, apple, cheezits

dinner: 1/2 baked fish fillet, brown rice (1/8cup), 1/3 can vegetables

daily workout:
lunges: 10/12/15/12/10 (reps)
squats: 10/15/20/15/10
calf raises: 15/20/30/20/15
pushups: 10/10/10
crunches: 2 sets until failure

she is in really good shape but wants a little more tone. I thought this looked good for her, but she says she hasnt been seeing any improvements.
we went over what could generate more muscle growth and fat loss but she is set on the calorie level and carbohydrate level. any advice? should she change her workout? diet?

 

[Rosie Chee]

well, not my routine, but my girlfriend's anyways. She and I have been working out and holding each other accountable on dieting etc... So far, its goin well, but we have hit a few hurdles ill lay out here.

as for her
height: 5' 3.5"
weight: 117
age: 21

current diet:
breakfast: quaker oats granola bar "fiber and omega-3 peanutbutter"

lunch: turkey sandwich on whole grain oat bread, apple, cheezits

dinner: 1/2 baked fish fillet, brown rice (1/8cup), 1/3 can vegetables

daily workout:
lunges: 10/12/15/12/10 (reps)
squats: 10/15/20/15/10
calf raises: 15/20/30/20/15
pushups: 10/10/10
crunches: 2 sets until failure

she is in really good shape but wants a little more tone. I thought this looked good for her, but she says she hasnt been seeing any improvements.
we went over what could generate more muscle growth and fat loss but she is set on the calorie level and carbohydrate level. any advice? should she change her workout? diet?

For starters, there's no such thing as "toning". "Toning" is either a. losing bodyfat, b. gaining muscle, or c. losing bodyfat and gaining muscle mass simultaneously. From what you say she wants option c, also known as recomping.

No wonder she hasn't seen any improvements. She hasn't got the two most important ingredients to achieving any body goal down at all. SH needs to learn about these and just how they contribute to changing her body.

Re her diet, she's not eating a lot. She should be having more than three meals daily. She needs to learn to CHANGE her calorie AND carbohydrate level (and get rid of the "diet" mindset; a "diet" should be something you can live on all year, and only change re calories - without being stupid if you want to lose bodyfat - to suit your goal). Otherwise she's pretty much NOT going to get the results she wants. Since she wants to recomp this is primarily manipulated by her NUTRITION, so she needs to get THAT in order before anything else!

re training, if she does THAT training schedule DAILY - and she shouldn't be training DAILY as it is; time off is required for recovery. She's only working LEGS pretty much. There's NO variation. There's also no cardio - even HIIT 2-3 times a week would be good.

I'd suggest getting her a trainer that knows what they're doing. Or get her to look around and find a BALANCED training routine that she can be consistent with.


~Rosie
Team APPNUT

 

[BMCLouzee]

I agree. "Toning" gets such a romanticized view and I admit I threw that word around the first time I got curious about shaping up. I later realized that I needed to GAIN muscle and stop hurting my appetite by starving myself and either eating purely Carbs or purely protein. I went on a meat and nuts diet which gave me LITTLE energy and then on a vegetarian diet which was super retarded because I ended up losing weight and not fat. I'm no expert and I'm completely self taught, but I do agree with Rosie in that she need to reassess her nutrition. I don't think it's necessary to go as far as finding a trainer because there are plenty of books and sites that can help her. I will suggest that she eat more meals in the day. I eat about 5-6 times a day, every 3 hours. I'm fortunate to have developed this habit early (thanks to the boyfriend) and it will keep her from 1) going hungry and 2) harboring calories that aren't getting used.

I agree with Rosie. SHE NEEDS TO EAT MORE! Get her to eat. Like more. Seriously. Eating less food is the biggest misconception about proper weight loss. Tell me....is she skinny fat? You know, like she's little, but still really smooth? Because if she is, then she's not getting enough protein to build the muscles and not enough carbs to serve as building materials for the protein to use. It's a hard mindset to break especially for a female, trust me, but if you can get her to do that, it will work.

She shouldn't be doing that routine everyday. Parts of your body need to rest in order for the muscle to heal AND grow. She does need variation. A routine I started off with was this

S: Rest
M: Back and Biceps
T: Cardio and Abs
W: Shoulders and Triceps
T: Cardio and Abs
F: Legs
S: Cardio and Abs

This routine gave me ample rest between muscle groups and I found that my numbers went up as the weeks progressed. She really shouldn't just concentrate on abs and legs, though I understand because that's what ladies want (just as guys have this obsession with their chest, shoulders, arms, and back). It's not healthy, in my opinion, and she'll end up having rockin legs and abs, but a weak looking upper body. It's not flattering and I'm sure that's not what she wants. I can't specify any workouts because that's really up to her level of dedication. I WANT the fitness/bodybuilder body so I dedicate 6 days out of the week at the gym to get it. I'm down to 1900 calories for my cut with a cheat meal every 2 weeks. I'm far from my goal, but I have the support of my boyfriend that's dragging me to the gym at my FTW days. Being a woman, I can understand if she takes this information badly. NO WOMAN wants to hear that she's doing something wrong especially from strangers. So keep her motivated and if she doesn't listen (because I know I didn't when I started) gently remind her that the process is not easy. Hope this helps!