Reddly9007

either your girlfriend, wife, or just girl friend? who here has done it? what do you think?

normally I would never but lately with becoming bored of the gym its actually a nice change (working out with my wife to be). Plus I can keep her in shape too so it kills two birds with one stone. Although she does not like to do all the exercises I do she still tries and I still work out hard.

By the way had an amazing Tri and legs work out last night, I could hardly walk out of the gym. oooohhh yeahhhhhhhh

is300eater

Working out with a your wife or girlfriend is fine... but just keep one thing in mind... you guys have different needs... As a trainer... I hate it when I see couples doing the exact same thing... it's cute and all... but you may start bulking her up... I don't know about you... but to me... women that are all buffed out isn't attractive... just think of it like cars... suppose if you're an Acura, and she's a VW Beetle... would you work on'em the exact same way?

Reddly9007

I definitely see what your saying but I hardly doubt she is going to bulk up. Maybe tone up but I hardly see how she would bulk up, I keep the work outs interesting and mix up the exercises. When it comes to legs she'll do more of the "woman exercises" and I'll stick to the heavy leg presses and crap like that. When it comes to chest we can do many of the same exercises. I can still go heavy and she can do high reps. Its not like i'm putting her on my work out program. Two people can do the same exact routine and achieve totally different goals. I have been working out for long enough to understand that. Never the less thanks for the advice. Always good to hear some feedback.

quantmonkey

Just don't start moaning and groaning when you're lifting heavy weights so that everyone in the gym turns around to look at you. I've seen people who do that on each rep when they go heavy - especially if a chick is spotting them. To me that makes you come off like a huge attention seeking whore.

youngTL

I hate working out with women. All my female friends either go too short or too long. Like my friend Megan. I can't keep up with her. She does 45 minutes bike, 45 minutes running, and then 45 minutes weights. I just do weights until I'm done my muscle group for that day, and then I do 30 minutes cardio on 2 of the days.

youngTL

It's hilarious when you see the woman doing that!

Reddly9007

I don't even bother with asking her to spot, I do what I can and usually nothing more. I'm not looking for growth anymore, and yes moaning people at the gym is extremely annoying

GeishaGirl

I work out with my guy friend sometimes and he seems okay with it. We usually do cardio side by side but since I go longer than he does he'll go do weights and then we'll meet somewhere in the middle. I don't like working out with other chicks though, for some reason it always seems like they are trying to compete.

da_bien1390

sometimes my female friends n i goto the gym together, but we don't do the same workouts...they take kickbox class while i go liftweights or play bball..then after they're done, we meet up and do some light exercises like abs/legs. personally, i don't think i can workout with a girl everytime i goto gym...we're on a different workout plan. It may be weird but when i workout with a girl, i won't lift as much weight as i should be doing, i think it's because she uses light weights and when i see that, i won't push myself as hard...

Doom878

My wife when she goes does the same workout as me but she does much lighter weight and reps it out. Anything wrong with that? I see trainers make women do the same exercises I do.

amisconception

If weight is heavy it helps to yell or groan or whatever. It's hardly for attention.
I've never seen women do it though.

is300eater

Most trainers go through a weekend crash course to get certified (including 24 Hour Fitness trainers)... enough said?

Doom878

But you didn't answer my question. What's wrong with a woman doing the same exercises as me but with lighter weight. Obviously she needs more reps and she needs to keep her heart rate up. What's the big deal?

youngTL

I've seen women do it! Rugby girls all the time!

is300eater

okay, you asked, I'm going to answer with one.... maybe two examples... I don't know what your routine is... but I'm going to tell you what I saw just the other day... I saw this boyfriend/girlfriend senario... they're doing shoulders... starts off with lateral raises... not bad... I usually start my shoulder workout with the same... Did you know that if you raise your arms (holding the dumb bells) to where.... your arms are parallel to the floor... you WILL engage your traps? Well, for "us" guys... there's nothing wrong with that... but personally, I wouldn't want a girlfriend with "manly" traps... When I train my female clients... I don't have'em raise the arms that high, I call it "4 and 8 o' clock"... this helps isolation on the delts and yet little to no contraction of the traps... okay, now.... back to the boyfriend/girlfriend senario... he, then.... proceeds to finish with dumb bell shoulder shrugs... and he had his girlfriend do the same, but of course with less weights... My question is.... "WHY???" Why would he want his g/f to have bigger manly shoulders... I'm sure it doesn't happen overnight... but in the long run... yeah, it'll happen.

Did you know that the anterior delts are involved in almost every "press" movement? When you bench press... you think you're targetting your chest... and a lot of you already know... that the triceps is a secondary... But what a lot of people DON'T know is that the anterior delts gets involved too.... Most people think that dumb bell shoulder press isolates the medial head and some anterior delts... but actually, the anterior delts get worked more than anything else.... why am I tell you all this... because people have a tendency to overtrain the anterior delts... and/or neglect the rear delts at the same time... which is one of the reasons why some people have such bad posture....

Most women workout a lot on their legs... and a lot of guys don't. I mean.... what if the situation was reversed, and she was leading the workout... would YOU do the "butt blaster" machine? and... adductor/abductor machine? Again, I don't know you or what your routine is... but those are examples of machines that are used more by women then men.

The point is... and I've already mentioned... most men and women have different needs... and there comes a time when there're exercises that women either don't need to do or don't need to 'as much'.... and vice versa. Trust me... I've been personal training since 97' and have had near 500 clients... I didn't just go through some weekend crash course... I studied under Michael Thurmond (the trainer on ABC's show "Extreme Makeovers") not over a week, not over a month, but for almost 6 months with hands on training at "the Mecca of Bodybuilding" -Gold's Gym of Venice, Calif., not to mention the experience of the ol' "try and true" method.


....I mean.... do what you want to do... but this is what I do for a living, and I'm telling you... having your g/f or female friend do the same thing but with less weight... isn't all that great... it's not bad... it's just something I wouldn't do with my g/f...

michimonster

I used to workout with my ex bf. It was fine but sometimes I would get self conscious (stupid chick thing to happen, I know) when something wasnt going the way I expected. Like I was pooped and couldnt do cardio anymore etc. I think its fine to go to the gym together but definitely dont follow the same work out.

Doom878

That's a better answer.

I obviously wouldn't have her do the shrugs. I definitely didn't doubt your credentials because I don't know you so I hope you didn't think I was doubting you. I do realize how certain exercises I wouldn't let her do because that is correct that I don't want her man looking. Anyway I can get a basic workout for my wife?

Reddly9007

Honestly I'm just freaking happy my girl goes to the gym. Thats half the battle right there so we are already a step ahead.

Doom878

It's a pain to get mine to go.

ric

my wife and I share a Saturday worksession with a trainer, a very skilled guy who has a varied client list. He also trains my stepson, but on a different schedule. His work with each one of us is radically different, working to suit our individual goals and objectives. His regimens change as we change, and he varies the workout routine about every six weeks, in order to keep the body from getting bored, as he puts it. I know there are some 24-hour "boy wonders" out there proporting to be "trainers", but this guy has made it his life, and he is well worth the expense.

With that as a premise, my wife and I sometimes share time in the exercise room in our condo (we avoid joining a gym) and when we do, we're working on the individual regimen set up by the trainer.

scottiew

I like working out with my girlfriend. It's a good feeling and gets me off my ass and to the gym

All the while something nice to stare at

Doom878

I think I have an idea how my wife can workout since she's just starting. This is what I've gathered through some reading I've done. Men should do more sets focusing on a particular muscle unlike women. Women benefit more from doing various muscles and not doing as many exercises on a particular muscle because it will cause the bulking we all fear. She must do a high amount of reps with 20 seeming to be the favorite. I was thinking about having my wife do something like 2 exercises per muscle, 3 sets each exercise, 20 reps each set.

Day 1
Chest
Back

Day 2
Shoulders
Biceps
Triceps

Day 3
Quads
Hammies
Glutes
Calves

Maybe one exercise per muscle on leg day. Cardio and abs would be done after the weights or on non-lifting days. So obviously I won't be lifting with her since I do 4-5 exercises per muscle. Do you guys think this will be a good workout?

youngTL

Keep in mind it's okay for women to work their legs a little harder, especially the quads, hams, and glutes. These muscles are so huge that when you gain a few pounds of muscle down there, it's hard to notice visually, but it REALLY keeps those cottage cheese thighs, butt, and belly in check for women, because having muscle mass is like burning extra calories for free doing jack shit. It's also okay for women to lift heavy in the chest area, since they've got boobs sitting on top of the pec muscles anyway. As we all know, there is no such thing as "spot reducing" so it's not like her boobs will shrink if her pecs increase in size. It should just make them look bigger in fact. For arms and shoulders she should do more reps at a lighter weight. This will give her firm but not bulky arms. Also keep in mind that women CAN'T gain like men. It's not like she's going to bulk up over night. Just make sure she checks her progress, so that when she thinks she's the right size, to level off the weight and not increase anymore. Abs can and should be done every second day, along with lower back/core strength exercises. Lots of reps will give her endurance, whereas heavy reps will give her strength. For abs it's okay to go heavy for a little bit until she gets up to par and can do crunches with little effort. Then she can start doing lots of reps to give herself endurance.

Doom878

Sounds like you agree with my routine?