NEWBIE! To the site, and weight training! Helpful tips? :)

[Kosborn12]

Hi all! I just graduated high school and started college at a community college this fall. In school, I played sports year round ALL the time! And I loved it, just decided it was time to move on from sports after that. I always had such a high metabolism, and loved my level of activity being high. But since I have graduated, both have dropped tremendously. I can't stand it! My boyfriend of 3 years has always been big time into bodybuilding, so I have always been around it just never really got into. This week I bought a membership at the gym and have decided to start! He is gone 5 days a week for school now, so I'm looking for help from you guys! I am wanting to start on some protein supplements for sure, but I'm not sure what a good daily routine would be as to pre and post workout supplements. And what types of proteins etc. I have my workouts taken care of as far as weight training, but I want to truly build muscle and look good! I'm 5,7" and I weigh 146. Have gained almost 20 pounds, and I don't want to wait until its out of hand to start doing something about it, even if I am the only serious girl in our gym! I'm determined! Hoping to hear some ladies' daily routines as far as supplements, and recommendations. Anything would be appreciated! Can't wait to really get started! Thanks!

 

[mls51112]

I'm about the same as you.. 5'7" and 150lbs.

I don't take supplements but I do ab workouts at home with hubby 5x a week and that has already helped a ton.

What is right for someone else might not be right for you.. it's trial and error for the most part when you start out.

I'm not much help, but thought I'd bump this for you so you can get the answers you're looking for.

Take care & good luck!

 

[crispycrown]

I help my gf train as well here's the best advice I can give.

Lift heavy and eat plenty of protein rich foods
Cut down on carbs past 3/4 day mark to help keep fat down and you can have a protein dense meal before or around bed
Never skip breakfast obviously!
Not a big fan of fasted cardio myself but to each his/her own

Keep long distance cardio to a minimum.
Try Tabata (Tabata Burpees are great) anything under 30 minutes won't hinder growth and can still help you tone and even gain some muscle of you make it a full body cardio and not just treadmill or bike.

And again push those heavy weights! My gf is all natty and can press more than most guys at my gym now. Always gives me a good chuckle

 

[AaronJP1]

I help my gf train as well here's the best advice I can give.

Lift heavy and eat plenty of protein rich foods
Cut down on carbs past 3/4 day mark to help keep fat down and you can have a protein dense meal before or around bed
Never skip breakfast obviously!
Not a big fan of fasted cardio myself but to each his/her own

Keep long distance cardio to a minimum.
Try Tabata (Tabata Burpees are great) anything under 30 minutes won't hinder growth and can still help you tone and even gain some muscle of you make it a full body cardio and not just treadmill or bike.

And again push those heavy weights! My gf is all natty and can press more than most guys at my gym now. Always gives me a good chuckle

Solid advice. :bigok:

 

[PROness]

Rippetoe's Starting Strength

I just summed up the last posters paragraph into 3 words.

/ thread.

 

[Jiigzz]

I help my gf train as well here's the best advice I can give.

Lift heavy and eat plenty of protein rich foods
Cut down on carbs past 3/4 day mark to help keep fat down and you can have a protein dense meal before or around bed
Never skip breakfast obviously!
Not a big fan of fasted cardio myself but to each his/her own

Keep long distance cardio to a minimum.
Try Tabata (Tabata Burpees are great) anything under 30 minutes won't hinder growth and can still help you tone and even gain some muscle of you make it a full body cardio and not just treadmill or bike.

And again push those heavy weights! My gf is all natty and can press more than most guys at my gym now. Always gives me a good chuckle

Why? I run 6 miles 3 days per week at 207lbs and still gain. Doesn't hinder muscle growth unless youdont feed towards your goal.

 

[crispycrown]

Why? I run 6 miles 3 days per week at 207lbs and still gain. Doesn't hinder muscle growth unless youdont feed towards your goal.

Nothing against long distance but for muscle gain study after study shows that short length(time not distance necessarily) works much better.

When running long distances you'll work more slow twitch type 1 muscles and your aerobic system
In Tabata , especially Tabata sprints you're going to use your phosphagen and glycogen systems(depending on how much and how fast you go) which will train your type IIa and b fast twitch muscle fibers which is much better to bring oxygen to your muscles and use then for strength and even building a mind muscle connection.

A good example is sprinters vs marathon runners. Sprinters legs are much bigger because they use fast twitch muscle fibers whereas marathoners use the slow twitch(which won't add strength or mass just muscular endurance)

So for her goals of adding strength and toning I just recommended quicker intensive cardio. Not that a good plan can't have both

 

[GoHard818]

Nothing against long distance but for muscle gain study after study shows that short length(time not distance necessarily) works much better.

When running long distances you'll work more slow twitch type 1 muscles and your aerobic system
In Tabata , especially Tabata sprints you're going to use your phosphagen and glycogen systems(depending on how much and how fast you go) which will train your type IIa and b fast twitch muscle fibers which is much better to bring oxygen to your muscles and use then for strength and even building a mind muscle connection.

A good example is sprinters vs marathon runners. Sprinters legs are much bigger because they use fast twitch muscle fibers whereas marathoners use the slow twitch(which won't add strength or mass just muscular endurance)

So for her goals of adding strength and toning I just recommended quicker intensive cardio. Not that a good plan can't have both

agreed. And big part of shedding fat is diet. Once I started eating clean and training hard I dropped more than 50% of my bf,

 

[PROness]

agreed. And big part of shedding fat is diet. Once I started eating clean and training hard I dropped more than 50% of my bf,

I think it was Flex Wheeler who said training is 90% diet and 10% actually training. I couldn't agree more, so many fail to realize this.

 

[GoHard818]

I think it was Flex Wheeler who said training is 90% diet and 10% actually training. I couldn't agree more, so many fail to realize this.

Took me awhile to realize it.

 

[Jiigzz]

Nothing against long distance but for muscle gain study after study shows that short length(time not distance necessarily) works much better.

When running long distances you'll work more slow twitch type 1 muscles and your aerobic system
In Tabata , especially Tabata sprints you're going to use your phosphagen and glycogen systems(depending on how much and how fast you go) which will train your type IIa and b fast twitch muscle fibers which is much better to bring oxygen to your muscles and use then for strength and even building a mind muscle connection.

A good example is sprinters vs marathon runners. Sprinters legs are much bigger because they use fast twitch muscle fibers whereas marathoners use the slow twitch(which won't add strength or mass just muscular endurance)

So for her goals of adding strength and toning I just recommended quicker intensive cardio. Not that a good plan can't have both

Oohh I see what you mean now. I just thought you meant in general to avoid it. But for GAINING muscle from LISS will not happen, but from HIIT it will. I personally prefer LISS over HIIT just because I find it more enjoyable when I can just run and listen to music on the beach with my dogs

My bad, I miss interpreted where you were coming from. T

ype II muscle fibres dont have many myoglobin or mitochondria, hence why they have little oxidative properties and use primarily anaerobic glycolytic and the phosphocreatine systems to supply fuel for the muscles.

 

[crispycrown]

ype II muscles dont have many myoglobin or mitochondria, hence why they have little oxidative properties and use primarily anaerobic glycolytic and the phosphocreatine systems to supply fuel for the muscles.

Totally agree I feel like some of my greatest cardio sessions are those really long ones where you can just see how long your will lasts ^_^

And also this^ to the OP pretty much he's saying that you'll oxidize fat from steady state cardio and not HIIT(it just uses glycogen stores from food, etc) so if you're looking to drop some fat Jiigzz is right on the money $$

 

[Jiigzz]

Totally agree I feel like some of my greatest cardio sessions are those really long ones where you can just see how long your will lasts ^_^

And also this^ to the OP pretty much he's saying that you'll oxidize fat from steady state cardio and not HIIT(it just uses glycogen stores from food, etc) so if you're looking to drop some fat Jiigzz is right on the money $$

Haha thanks, but HIIT is far more effecient for burning fat than LISS. LISS uses a greater ratio of fat:carbohydrate for fuel (hence because it relies on type I muscle fibers) and HIIT uses a higher carbohydrate:fat ratio. BUT HIIT burns a higher total VOLUME of fat and creates a metabolic 'afterburn' which increases the metabolic rate of all cells (i.e. they consume more calories at rest) which LISS doesnt do.

LISS is just more enjoyable for me.

 

[AaronJP1]

HIIT for me.