AndrewS
10-25-2006, 03:56 PM
I just posted this over at t-nation. . .
Alright, I need some input on a program for my wife. She’s been lifting for 3-4 years now with some layoffs, squatting and deadlifting, with some oly lifts, overhead work and various GPP stuff thrown in. She started benching about 4 months ago and joined me on WS4SB. About 6 weeks ago she started extra workouts with 10x5 squats with 60-80% rm1 with double hand kb swings with a 53lb kb for sets of 20 in her rest intervals (less than 90 secs from what I can tell). She’s now complaining of getting thicker and ‘looking like a little bulldog’. While I totally disagree with her on this, she is definitely putting on some muscle, and I need to help her restructure her program. Her goals at this point are dropping body fat, looking feminine, but she also enjoys lifting hard and heavy and has made noises about competing in powerlifting (and has great leverages for squat and bench). I’ve kept her off heavy direct oblique work to preserve her waist the whole time she’s trained, and I think the *main* culprit is the GH release from her extra squat workouts with short rest-intervals. She seems to do much better for strength gains on 3-6 rep programs than singles and doubles- the extra reps and
slightly lower intensity are good practice and better for her psychology.
Here’s what I’m looking at for a program for her:
1). Daily cardio- elliptical for 30min or 1hr walk/jog through hills.
2). 2 main weight sessions
ME upper-
work up to 5 rm on bench variant or oh press variant
A1- Db press 3-5 sets of 4-8 reps, not done unilaterally (as we’ve both been doing them as extra ab work)
1min rest
A2- horizontal row 3-5 sets 4-8 reps
90s rest
I figure dropping the rep range and adding the extra rest will decrease the hypertrophic component, while letting her work her strength.
Rear delt/upper back 2-3 sets 12-15reps, good for structural balance. She’s doing mainly seated DB power cleans these days, I think some bent over trap bar kelso shrugs would be good lower trap and rhomboid work to help prevent back pain and maintain good posture as she has some lovely and sizeable breasts.
Weighted ab work- lose this. I was debating 2x50 for an oblique exercise in hopes of providing a negative stimulus to her obliques- anyone got any ideas?
ME lower
Work up to a 5 rm in squat or deadlift variant
Unilateral leg work- 3-6 sets 4-8 reps, 90+ seconds rest interval
Hamstring/glut work 3-5 sets, 4-8 reps, 90+ seconds rest interval
3). Extra sessions- these are the workouts she does for fun, as she feels like. She usually does 5-10 rounds of a pair or circuit. Some ideas:
Squat/kb workout- I think the 10x5 back box squats with small rest interval w/ kb swings the is a major stimulus to her growing. Hence my suggestion-
#1).
Box squat 3-6 reps or OH squat 3-6 reps
Kb swings- try to get some single arm with the 36lb in, as well as double arm with the 53 and 72. Single arm 5-10 reps with the 36, double arm 3-5 reps with the 72, double arm w/ 53- 20+ reps
Sled drag- 50m
At least 1min rest between exercises, 90 seconds between circuits, so she’ll have 3-5 minutes between rounds of back squats.
No more than 2 weeks of backsquats in a row. Better to alternate back squats and overheads or do overheads at a volume ratio of 2:1 (4wks OH, 2wks back squats).
OH squats seem to make the waist narrower. It may be the lighter load, or how the trunk gets recruited to stabilize the load, but overhead stuff doesn’t seem to thicken her (or my) waist out as much.
#2).
Kb swings- as she likes (usually 20-50 reps double hand with 53lb kb)
Sledge work (90 seconds)
#3).
Figure 8 waiter walks- 30s on a side
Sled-drag
Sledge work (90s)
#4).
Clean and jerk or push press (db, kb, or bb) x3-5 reps
Sled-drag
#5).
Windmills 3-6 reps
RDLs 5-8 reps
Alright, I need some input on a program for my wife. She’s been lifting for 3-4 years now with some layoffs, squatting and deadlifting, with some oly lifts, overhead work and various GPP stuff thrown in. She started benching about 4 months ago and joined me on WS4SB. About 6 weeks ago she started extra workouts with 10x5 squats with 60-80% rm1 with double hand kb swings with a 53lb kb for sets of 20 in her rest intervals (less than 90 secs from what I can tell). She’s now complaining of getting thicker and ‘looking like a little bulldog’. While I totally disagree with her on this, she is definitely putting on some muscle, and I need to help her restructure her program. Her goals at this point are dropping body fat, looking feminine, but she also enjoys lifting hard and heavy and has made noises about competing in powerlifting (and has great leverages for squat and bench). I’ve kept her off heavy direct oblique work to preserve her waist the whole time she’s trained, and I think the *main* culprit is the GH release from her extra squat workouts with short rest-intervals. She seems to do much better for strength gains on 3-6 rep programs than singles and doubles- the extra reps and
slightly lower intensity are good practice and better for her psychology.
Here’s what I’m looking at for a program for her:
1). Daily cardio- elliptical for 30min or 1hr walk/jog through hills.
2). 2 main weight sessions
ME upper-
work up to 5 rm on bench variant or oh press variant
A1- Db press 3-5 sets of 4-8 reps, not done unilaterally (as we’ve both been doing them as extra ab work)
1min rest
A2- horizontal row 3-5 sets 4-8 reps
90s rest
I figure dropping the rep range and adding the extra rest will decrease the hypertrophic component, while letting her work her strength.
Rear delt/upper back 2-3 sets 12-15reps, good for structural balance. She’s doing mainly seated DB power cleans these days, I think some bent over trap bar kelso shrugs would be good lower trap and rhomboid work to help prevent back pain and maintain good posture as she has some lovely and sizeable breasts.
Weighted ab work- lose this. I was debating 2x50 for an oblique exercise in hopes of providing a negative stimulus to her obliques- anyone got any ideas?
ME lower
Work up to a 5 rm in squat or deadlift variant
Unilateral leg work- 3-6 sets 4-8 reps, 90+ seconds rest interval
Hamstring/glut work 3-5 sets, 4-8 reps, 90+ seconds rest interval
3). Extra sessions- these are the workouts she does for fun, as she feels like. She usually does 5-10 rounds of a pair or circuit. Some ideas:
Squat/kb workout- I think the 10x5 back box squats with small rest interval w/ kb swings the is a major stimulus to her growing. Hence my suggestion-
#1).
Box squat 3-6 reps or OH squat 3-6 reps
Kb swings- try to get some single arm with the 36lb in, as well as double arm with the 53 and 72. Single arm 5-10 reps with the 36, double arm 3-5 reps with the 72, double arm w/ 53- 20+ reps
Sled drag- 50m
At least 1min rest between exercises, 90 seconds between circuits, so she’ll have 3-5 minutes between rounds of back squats.
No more than 2 weeks of backsquats in a row. Better to alternate back squats and overheads or do overheads at a volume ratio of 2:1 (4wks OH, 2wks back squats).
OH squats seem to make the waist narrower. It may be the lighter load, or how the trunk gets recruited to stabilize the load, but overhead stuff doesn’t seem to thicken her (or my) waist out as much.
#2).
Kb swings- as she likes (usually 20-50 reps double hand with 53lb kb)
Sledge work (90 seconds)
#3).
Figure 8 waiter walks- 30s on a side
Sled-drag
Sledge work (90s)
#4).
Clean and jerk or push press (db, kb, or bb) x3-5 reps
Sled-drag
#5).
Windmills 3-6 reps
RDLs 5-8 reps