Help with lifting program

[Fire Me Boy!]

This is for my wife. She really wants to improve her upper body strength, which is currently pretty bad.

What kind of lifting would be most beneficial for push-ups and pull-ups, and is there any kind of lifting exercise that would improve quickness and power for sit ups?

[Smed1065]

12 ounce curls?


OK then 40 ounce curls.

[Brock]

What equipment do you have access to?

[Fire Me Boy!]

What equipment do you have access to?

She works at a fitness center, which gives her free access to anything there. They have free weights and machines, in addition to the rowing machines, stair steppers, ellipticals and treadmills.

[stlchiefs]

I would start with push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups. Seriously, not trying to be sarcastic, but if that's all she wants to improve, concentrate on those lifts. That's not to say concentrating on those 3 things is a complete workout though either.

[Brock]

She works at a fitness center, which gives her free access to anything there. They have free weights and machines, in addition to the rowing machines, stair steppers, ellipticals and treadmills.

Well, hell. she just needs to start hitting those machines. An intense 30 or 40 minute lifting workout 3 times per week. I wouldn't bother with the cardio machines much.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I would start with push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups. Seriously, not trying to be sarcastic, but if that's all she wants to improve, concentrate on those lifts. That's not to say concentrating on those 3 things is a complete workout though either.

Right now, she can't do any pull-ups or push-ups... and neither of us is very knowledgeable when it comes to weights. For push-ups, would she just want to focus primarily on bench press, or what? Same for pull-ups... just find the machine that seems to mimic that motion/exercise?

What else should she be working on that would help in these key areas?

Sorry, I'm just pretty ignorant here. I told her I'd ask the board, since there seems to be a lot of guys around here that know what they're doing in this regard.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Well, hell. she just needs to start hitting those machines. An intense 30 or 40 minute lifting workout 3 times per week. I wouldn't bother with the cardio machines much.

We know it's not an everyday thing, but should she rotate what she works on, or just work on everything all three days?

[Brock]

I'm not sure what the fixation is with those 3 particular movements. Building upper body strength is what she's trying to do, so yes, bench press, lat pulls, and overhead press are going to be key, but I wouldn't stop there. If you're going to do it, work on the whole package.

[Brock]

We know it's not an everyday thing, but should she rotate what she works on, or just work on everything all three days?

What I advise people is to listen to their body. If you're still sore from a workout a couple of days ago (and she will be), you need another day of rest. To begin, I don't think you need to worry about rotating your workout or anything. Just begin by getting into the routine of going to the gym and lifting. Later on, she can start breaking up the routine by doing legs one day and upper body the next, but the key thing is just to get started doing it and keep doing it.

[Fire Me Boy!]

I'm not sure what the fixation is with those 3 particular movements. Building upper body strength is what she's trying to do, so yes, bench press, lat pulls, and overhead press are going to be key, but I wouldn't stop there. If you're going to do it, work on the whole package.

PM sent.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Tell her that you've been advised to explore new sexual positions.

[googlegoogle]

calories = strength and energy

Secret of P90x.

[Skip Towne]

Be careful. She is just going to bulk up and kick your ass.

[Bowser]

This works...

http://bodyforlife.com/exercise/weighttraining.asp

[Buehler445]

Are there any fitness consultants or trainers at the fitness center? Sometimes they will put together a customized workout for you.

Do benchpress, bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, lat pulldowns and about everything you can do with a dumbell.

I would suggest she does very light weights with a lot of reps. If she tries to do a bunch of weight for a small number of reps, it will likely hurt her joints.

Also suggest that she gets some coaching on proper form. Using improper form will not get you any stronger and will likely just get her hurt.

I'd ask the people at the fitness center for help. Hands on help is typically the best way to go.

[eazyb81]

How does she work at a fitness center and not know what to do?

Anyways, have her focus on compound exercises, and use a barbell and dumbbells instead of the machines.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Probably the best thing for her to do are compound exercises and assisted body weight exercises.

Have her do assisted dips and pullups. For her chest, have her do bench or dumbell presses, incline DB presses, and shoulder presses w/ DBs.

For her back, have her do cable rows, barbell rows (or T-bar rows), and reverse flies. I'd avoid the lat pulldown machine.

[Fire Me Boy!]

How does she work at a fitness center and not know what to do?

Anyways, have her focus on compound exercises, and use a barbell and dumbbells instead of the machines.

She's a massage therapist.

[kstater]

FMB, I'd have her go talk to one of the trainers. Ask them if they'll help her get started. Make sure she's doing it right, etc. Better than advice from random(albeit sometimes knowledgeable) internet posters.

[ncCHIEFfan]

FMB, I'd have her go talk to one of the trainers. Ask them if they'll help her get started. Make sure she's doing it right, etc. Better than advice from random(albeit sometimes knowledgeable) internet posters.

absolutly

[Fire Me Boy!]

FMB, I'd have her go talk to one of the trainers. Ask them if they'll help her get started. Make sure she's doing it right, etc. Better than advice from random(albeit sometimes knowledgeable) internet posters.

She'd already planned to ask for help to make sure she's got the right form and such. Just thought this would be a starting place, so she wasn't completely ignorant walking in.

[Buehler445]

Are there any fitness consultants or trainers at the fitness center? Sometimes they will put together a customized workout for you.

Do benchpress, bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, lat pulldowns and about everything you can do with a dumbell.

I would suggest she does very light weights with a lot of reps. If she tries to do a bunch of weight for a small number of reps, it will likely hurt her joints.

Also suggest that she gets some coaching on proper form. Using improper form will not get you any stronger and will likely just get her hurt.

I'd ask the people at the fitness center for help. Hands on help is typically the best way to go.

FMB, I'd have her go talk to one of the trainers. Ask them if they'll help her get started. Make sure she's doing it right, etc. Better than advice from random(albeit sometimes knowledgeable) internet posters.

Repost :D

Kidding dude. Don't flame...

[NewChief]

All the fit chicks I see at the gym these days are doing kettle ball training. Not sure if it's just a fad, but it definitely leads to hard body. Works multiple muscle groups in conjunction and appears to give a serious cardio. Been considering doing a session or two with a kettle ball trainer, but I'm pretty pleased with my current progress since I've moved to heavier weights and stopped diddling around with high rep, low weight workouts.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

She'd already planned to ask for help to make sure she's got the right form and such. Just thought this would be a starting place, so she wasn't completely ignorant walking in.

Hopefully her session doesn't end up on TheRealWorkout.com