My wife is about 5-11 at maybe 240 pounds, the good thing is that she carries her weight well. What type of lifting routine should she be on? Not sure if I want her to do a total body routine or split things up. Also, what type of cardio? She has a lot of potential but I want to make some wise decisions for her. This is the best gift I could ever give her.
Cardio? At her weight, you may want to start with the bike or an elliptical machine to protect her joints. As for lifting, women can lift exactly the same as men. Any basic routine will be fine, but start VERY light and work on form first, then add weight weekly until she is really working. The most important thing you can do for her is keep a log. Record every weight and every rep, it is great to see the progress…especially in the first few months. It will help keep her motivated - that sure worked for me!!! You said nothing about her diet??
The ‘beginners blast off program’ should work great. It’s in one of the Dawg School articles. Just ease her into the diet and training thing. Once she starts seeing results she’ll be self-motivated. What kind of diet will she be using? My advice: don’t use anything extreme, just good food, no junk, controlled calories and carbs, adequate fat and protein, nothing painful or crazy (yet), maybe a free meal once a month etc. Good luck to her.
Hey! been there, done that. I’m 5’11 and I was 210 two and a half years ago. I fluctuate between 135 and 140 now. Here’s my suggestion - pick any split you want, what ever keeps her interested. You can get more complicated later, when she’s hooked on the BB lifestyle, for now don’t overwhelm her. Start out slow, but get her doing all the big basic movements. If she wants to do leg curls, not squats, remind her that squats burn more calories. Even though that’s a very minor reason to do them, we have better ones, that reason will probably be what she needs to hear right now. For cardio, that depends on her condition. I was weak as heck when I was 210 (came from two difficult pregnancies back to back) so do what she can. I’d try to get her doing aerobic about three times a week, the duration depending on what she can handle. Once she starts to feel her muscles, and sees her strength increase, she’ll be hooked. As for diet, you know you’ve got to get her on six small meals, decent amount of protein and easy on the carbs. John Berardi thinks that people who are pretty overweight can handle going pretty low on calories and still not lose much muscle, and since she’s just starting, I’d bet she can put on muscle, lose fat, and do it all with low calories, lower than some of us might use. The biggest and best thing you can do is encourage her, she probably feels like she has an insurmountable task - I did. If you can keep her hopes up and her spirits high, she’s much more likely to succeed. I wish you all the best - I know you probably wanted more details, but the truth is, she’s going to change well right now as long as she is exercising (including weights)and has her diet under control. I don’t think splits make that much difference right now IMHO.
Thanks, her diet needs work. We both like to eat,but I work out and have been most of my life. We have just begun, and I have her only doing compound movements. She will be functional as well as lean. 6 meals is tough, especially for her. I think we will just try to eat “clean.” She is a beutiful woman but she could even be better.
CWB: Can’t add much to what “The Babe” said, but a couple of thoughts. Usually when a person “carries their weight well” it means that they have an excellent foundation of lean body mass. That’s DEFINITELY a plus. Also, you’ve given her the tools she needs to succeed; unconditional love and support…she’ll do JUST FINE!!!
Divorce her. No, I’m serious. You cannot force the bodybuilding lifestyle on your spouse/partner, and any attempt to do so will only result in her intentionally going the other way – going from grossly overweight to obese (oops, she’s already obese – anyone know what comes after that???).