6ft woman to add muscle/lose fat

Angel Rising

New Member
Hi everyone.

I have been lifting on and off for a couple of years, changing my routine here and there but never getting the results i want.

What I want to do is gain some lean muscle and lose some body fat. I am 6ft and lean (with fat on hips and butt...too much sugar!LOL) so i need more muscle.

I have found that fullbody workouts work the best for me (from past experience) so will be changing from an upper/lower split to HST...and looking forward to it...although i have only ever done 2 fullbody per week so adding the thrid is a little daunting. i don't want to compromise my muscle, but I still want to lose fat.

Are there any other women who have gained muscle and lost fat on HST, and came from a similar place as i did?
 
Angel

Difficult to say as there is not many women posting on the site, but yes, the case is that HST is not gender specific and will definitely work for you or anyone else for that matter.

You need to go and see which are you 15's, 10's and % rep maximums and then design a suitable program.

Let me start by saying that both deadlifts and squats are the best muscle adding, butt reducing exercises you will get, so they are a must to include, deadlifts specifically should be kept to once p/week as they can get tough on the lower back, so alternate the two p/workout and you'll be fine!

Dips and bench presses (slightly inclined), Chin-ups and rows and military presses are the rest to complete the staple of the workout, do not add much more as it will be quite unnecessary.

You will only start growing once you diet is above your basic metabolic requirements, so if you keep to maintenance you will probably end up loosing a little fat (right up your alley I believe
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).

Anyway this is enough to get you going.

Cheers
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Thanks Fausto.

There is probably a link here but i wondered about DOMS. What happens if i am still sore from previous workout. As in, when i am doing the exercises it still really hurts. What then?


With my diet, I think that I will stay close to maintenance and maybe a little lower on off days and see how i go. If i am hungry or need to add calories i will adjust then. My diet is one thing I am not good at. I have increased calories to bulk but have gained too much fat too quickly.

I always include squats and deadlifts in my program. I love lunges too and will be keeping those. Since i workout at home I can go heavier on lunges if i need to because i can hold bar between legs rather then on shoulders (good for 5's) . i will see how that fits in to this program.

I don't have a chinup bar or anything I can use at the moment so will stick to barbell and dumbbell rows for back. Everything else i can do with a bench, barbell, dbell etc.

Next week will probably be my 'testing week' so looking forward to it.
 
No probs, Angel.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">There is probably a link here but i wondered about DOMS. What happens if i am still sore from previous workout. As in, when i am doing the exercises it still really hurts. What then?
</div>

Well, Ok, when you get a chin-up bar, then you can start rows are fine in the mean-time.

Most women are more interested in toning up rather than &quot;muscling up&quot; so you will not have too much of a problem.
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Your best bet is to saty at maintenance right thorugh, even on off days, but rather use cardio like Tabata or HIIT (both very effective) on off days to speed up fat loss.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I always include squats and deadlifts in my program. I love lunges too and will be keeping those. Since i workout at home I can go heavier on lunges if i need to because i can hold bar between legs rather then on shoulders (good for 5's) . i will see how that fits in to this program.</div>

I also enjoy lunges, but you'd be better off forgetting about it at least for the first cycle and see how you do then.




You just carry on, DOMS is normal when starting but with HST you will notice that it kida disappears, you will probably get an almost indistiguishable feeling in your muscles, a kinda reminder that you have worked out but nothing like DOMS.
 
Thankyou. I think I just need to trust in this. It will do my body good to get back to basics.

For future reference...what do you think of stepups.

As for 'toning' I'm not one of these girls who is afraid to add muscle and kinda believes that you can't tone a muscle....just build it. And I do want to build some muscle as i can get very thin...but unfortunatly still carry body fat.
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Just a thought. When i do my squats..getting to the 5's. It may be difficult for me to use the barbell as i don't have a rack.
Is it suitable to put weights in a back pack and do it that way.

(have tried this a few times and it seems ok)

What do you think.

And what sort of deadlifts do you do. i read somewhere that they should only be done once a week as they put strain on back.
 
Hi Angel-
Welcome to the Forum! Re: step-ups... personally, I love these, and I think they can get pretty good results. Not as good as squats, IMO, but they can be made pretty aerobic- I've worked them into a Tabata routine in the past. BTW, Fausto's right (as always
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) about cals- I'd stay at maintenance and add in HIIT in some form or other.
As to your question about heavy squats- Fausto suggested to another poster with a similar issue to try hack squats- this is a good idea for those without a rack or cage. I think it's a better, safer lift than something like DB squats, which one can hardly ever go heavy enough.
As to deads, I would do them- alternate with squats as you go heavy, but pay really, really strict attention to form and you shouldn't kill your back. One thing I've found helpful is to concentrate on looking &quot;out&quot; at an imaginary distant object throughout the lift. Some people recommend that you look &quot;up,&quot; which might work for somee, but I think it puts a lot of strain on the c-spine, plus it can contribute to rounding the back/shoulders.
HTH!
 
Angel

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">As for 'toning' I'm not one of these girls who is afraid to add muscle and kinda believes that you can't tone a muscle....just build it. And I do want to build some muscle as i can get very thin...but unfortunatly still carry body fat.</div>

Ah...ah, good for you! The one and only problem being that you are carrying fat in the wrong places, don't worry us men also have that problem, just in different places!
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So...to take care of the fat...intense short aerobics on off days, there are threads here with Tabata and HIIT for guidance sake.

To take care of the muscle however you are going to have to start eating up pretty good, but as you have a problem with getting fat too quick, do a slow bulk with the aerobics mixed in and you should be ok.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">For future reference...what do you think of stepups?</div>

They're Ok, but for HST purposes do not offer much...squats is where its at, that is what's gonna take care of your butt and thighs girl, nothing else will work as well.

And if you do some nice and heavy squats (Olympic style - that means literally &quot;ass to the grass&quot;
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) you'll be rewarded with overall growth and well toned and hopefully muscled legs, now that's what a girl wants from the what I can recall!
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Here's a link with all the guidance you would need Full squat

It is a good site and has an extensive list of exercises to choose from Exercise and muscle directory

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Just a thought. When i do my squats..getting to the 5's. It may be difficult for me to use the barbell as i don't have a rack.
Is it suitable to put weights in a back pack and do it that way.</div>

Yes, but you should try and get yourself a safety cage soon, it is a darn good investment IMO
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You must be aiming at squating 1.5 - 2x your body weight, by then your legs will look supercool, believe me!

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">And what sort of deadlifts do you do.</div>

BB Deadlift

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I read somewhere that they should only be done once a week as they put strain on back. </div>

True, I mentioned that on my first response, they are tough as hell, specially when you get to the 5's, the target there is even more than the squats or should be.

Hope this helps out!
 
Thanks guys that helps a lot.

I always go deep on squats, but since my legs are so long i have to have them far apart...ha ha...not in that way!

Don't know what tabata is but will check it out.

Looking forward to starting.

Will let you know my progress.
 
I'm female and I know what you mean about adding muscle &amp; losing fat. Beginners can do it but if you're a seasoned lifter, it won't happen easily. I would pick adding muscle first because it will keep your metabolism up.

We don't gain muscle as easily as men. Diet is extremely important. Quality protein and no junk is essential. Except, of course, for that very small piece of extremely good dark chocolate at night. That's medicinal.
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Ok guys step in and correct me if I am wrong here...b/c I have not read any scientific evidence on this.

However I have read more than once that women respond better to a slightly higher rep range than men.

So hst for women could be maybe more like 18-12-8 rep maxes.

Just a thought...maybe some others could fine some studies on this?
 
I thought muscle was muscle so that the response to load is relatively the same except that testosterone helps create quicker (and larger?) gains. I hate too much high rep stuff, doesn't work for me....at least in the past.

I think I will stick to what HST has outlined, but I don't expect my gains to be as great as a mans.

Thanks dogmama...I was hoping a woman would jump in soon. I have been reviewing my diet over the last couple of months and have realised although i thought I was taking in enough protein when i worked it all out I really wasn't. So i have increased that a lot. I am sticking to my carb intake but adding extra amounts of fruit and vegies when i need more food. I'm hoping this is gonna work.

How are you going with your workouts. Do you do HST? What are your goals?
 
I'm not altogether sure reps matter that much, I believe its the progressive load that is the basis of HST, the decreasing reps are just to facilitate increased load safely, as Fausto said HST is not gender specific, male and female muscles and hormones are exactly the same, its just men have more of it (namely naturally more muscle and testosterone).

I think its Diet that is more important, if she doesn't want to bulk up and put on weight, stick to just above maintainance for the day, and concentrate your protein intake before and after workouts for maximum benefit.
 
Hows this for a training routine. Just the basics.

Squats
Deadlifts (at end of workout)
Bench press (dbell i think)
Bent over rows
Dips (triceps)
Shoulder press

Not sure if I should include some delt work. Not including biceps as they seem to grow fine without extra work.

Is this ok? How many sets should I do?
 
I would say do deadlifts OR squats, alternate between them each workout.

Dips work the chest as well so either alternate these each workout or do 1 set of each if your doing 2 sets of everything. Do wide and narrow grip rows, wide for between shoulder-blades, narrow for lats (1 set of each).

Shoulder Press will work the middle and front deltoid depending on technique. Add in a twist (from palms facing away from you at bottom of ROM to to palms facing each other at top of ROM) to work more of the front delt. Or you could add lat/front raises to isolate the medial/front delt respectively if you want, not necessary though.

Hope that helps
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Oh and Joe, I just had a thought, you would have heard that women respond better to higher reps because they have lower muscular strength-endurance ratios, which means if you give them 5kg DBs they can do heaps of reps, but if you give them 6kg DBs they can't lift them at all. As a PT I've found this many times, so after a few weeks of 2/12 I'll push them to 2/15 or even 2/20, then go up in weight. This was before I knew about HST. These were unconditioned women as well, a trained woman shouldn't have that problem.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">BTW, Fausto's right (as always) about cals- I'd stay at maintenance and add in HIIT in some form or other. </div>

There are times when I'm not but thanks for the encouragement
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I forgot about the hack squats, it is an option of course, just be careful with form so start light and get the form right first, before attempting to go heavy! It has a bit of an awkward position.

Angel

Squats
Deadlifts (at end of workout) - rather not do these on the same day as squats (leave them for wednesday only and don't do squats then just deads)
Bench press (dbell i think)
Bent over rows (alternate with chins)
Dips (triceps) can also be used for chest
Shoulder press - that is enough delt work IMO

Peak power has some intersting pointers.
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I've never made gains with high reps. I use them for deconditioning workouts (3X15) and keep the rest between sets at 30 seconds, so it becomes a bit aerobic.

All of these are great suggestions. Personally, I don't do front delt raises because my front delts get hit with bench presses. I do overhead presses for delts because larger delts = smaller hips.
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Oh, and I do squats &amp; deads on the same w/o but often my deads are romanian dead lifts to hit hamstrings (a trouble spot.)
 
I forgot -

For me, it is important to stick with a routine. So, pick one that you like and hang in there. If I'm going from HST to splits to HIIT, I don't make gains and just end up tired and frustrated. Give a routine at least a month, or even longer if you are not a seasoned lifter.
 
Ladies, do you feel that HST 3x a week is a more effective fat loss tool than 3x weekly sessions of cardio?

My friends mother is overweight and she has hired a personal trainer who has her doing all sorts of aerobic stuff, I advised her that she would lose more fat with a very simple compound HST routine, providied calories were the same.

What do you think?

C
 
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