Struggling to develop a workout (for my girlfriend)

[ravnos]

I'll preface this by stating I'm a guy, this is for my girlfriend, who is shy and doesn't want to sign up on the site.

 

I've been working on developing a routine for her so she can start working out as well. She's thin but very unhappy about her strength/physical appearance and know what she wants to improve, but is unsure how to go about it herself.

 

My primary struggle is that my girlfriend was born with a mild form of CP, which drastically affects her balance, making many traditional exercises impossible for her - primarily squats, lunges and anything that requires her to crouch, be on one leg, etc. She is also a natural ectomorph and hasn't worked out legitimately in years, so her strength is very low.

 

Her goals are to:

Increase strength without increasing her size (she likes being a 0/2).

Improve her balance as best as possible - so focusing on her core.

and, to be "svelt" as she puts it.

 

So my question to you, ladies of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion, is thus:

 

What should she be doing to focus on these areas?

Currently she wants to do a lot of cardio, which I won't argue with her on as it will help with certain things she wants to do, but we're trying to work strength training in slowly. I've got her doing leg presses on a machine at about 15 lb., wall push-ups, dumbbell bench rows, planks, leg-lifts, shoulder bridges (hip raises), calf raises and front/side raises. She's currently doing the front/side raises and bench rows with a resistance band, but wants to be able to switch to dumbbells eventually/soon.

 

She also does a stretching routine, but I have mentioned trying yoga out several times to her and she has genuine interest but is scared about signing up for a class and having to explain her physical issues to the instructor.

 

Again, any assistance would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

[Nevica]

Maybe she could ask a yoga-instructor before signing up, an adapted routine should be doable, but might be harder to teach in a big group. In my experience beginner-yoga classes mainly focus on breathing excercises and a couple of easy anansas, so why not give it a try.

Also engaging your core during all excercises (planks for example) usually helps a lot to build some core stability, although you might want to add additional crunches and the likes..Is your girlfriend's cp diplegic or hemiplegic, depending you might want to balance out the exercises , so as not overtrain one side and then deal with muscular-dysbalance..also working against her higher muscular tonus (if her cp is spastic?) might tire her out more easily .. so keep that in mind when composing her routine..

[Nevica]

Also, I believe you routine is already pretty great.Tell your gf she shouldn't worry about her size or too much cardio.. at her size, while gradually building muscle she should get a 'toned' look, without getting bulky..plus good muscle tissue can burn as many calories as a steady state cardio workout. .

[JessFit]

I'm going to throw this out there, I eat a LOT (of junk) to keep my body fat % over 20% and was always a size 2ish so I can relate. Now I've gained 20+ pounds from lifting (I also do yoga and zumbda and dancing and hiking and running so I'm getting cardio in) and gained a pants size (and I have to eat even more junk to keep my body fat at a healthy 20%+). However, I'm healthier than I've ever been, so tell her not to worry about size or weight, because most of my size gain was from butt muscles and I'm told by a number of my male friends that I look much better (I don't notice the changes as much). She won't get bulky, trust someone of a similar build.

 

As a group instructor I can honestly say that we deal with a lot and are usually as accomodating as we can be. If she asks to talk to the instructor before signing up she can ask any questions and do some explaining and the instructor can offer a better alternative if their class isn't right for her or they can reassure her that it is. I'm sure it is hard for her but she has to remeber not to get defeated because there are ways she can do this.

 

Also your weight training plan sounds good, but I can honestly say that women tend to have stronger lower bodies than upper. I'm not sure exactly her case but only 15 pounds on the leg press caught me by surprise since most super-beginner women can handle more than that. Most guys don't take that into consideration because thier upper bodies tend to be where they focus and tend to be very powerful so see if she can step it up a bit. If not, cool, have her work until she can of course but stronger leg muscles will help with balance too.

[ravnos]

Maybe she could ask a yoga-instructor before signing up, an adapted routine should be doable, but might be harder to teach in a big group. In my experience beginner-yoga classes mainly focus on breathing excercises and a couple of easy anansas, so why not give it a try.

Also engaging your core during all excercises (planks for example) usually helps a lot to build some core stability, although you might want to add additional crunches and the likes..Is your girlfriend's cp diplegic or hemiplegic, depending you might want to balance out the exercises , so as not overtrain one side and then deal with muscular-dysbalance..also working against her higher muscular tonus (if her cp is spastic?) might tire her out more easily .. so keep that in mind when composing her routine..

 

Thanks for the info! She's a spastic diplegic in the legs, so if you have any specific advice to offer there I'd appreciate it.

 

I'm going to throw this out there, I eat a LOT (of junk) to keep my body fat % over 20% and was always a size 2ish so I can relate. Now I've gained 20+ pounds from lifting (I also do yoga and zumbda and dancing and hiking and running so I'm getting cardio in) and gained a pants size (and I have to eat even more junk to keep my body fat at a healthy 20%+). However, I'm healthier than I've ever been, so tell her not to worry about size or weight, because most of my size gain was from butt muscles and I'm told by a number of my male friends that I look much better (I don't notice the changes as much). She won't get bulky, trust someone of a similar build.

 

As a group instructor I can honestly say that we deal with a lot and are usually as accomodating as we can be. If she asks to talk to the instructor before signing up she can ask any questions and do some explaining and the instructor can offer a better alternative if their class isn't right for her or they can reassure her that it is. I'm sure it is hard for her but she has to remeber not to get defeated because there are ways she can do this.

 

Also your weight training plan sounds good, but I can honestly say that women tend to have stronger lower bodies than upper. I'm not sure exactly her case but only 15 pounds on the leg press caught me by surprise since most super-beginner women can handle more than that. Most guys don't take that into consideration because thier upper bodies tend to be where they focus and tend to be very powerful so see if she can step it up a bit. If not, cool, have her work until she can of course but stronger leg muscles will help with balance too.

 

Thanks as well. Yeah we were both surprised that she couldn't go higher with her legs as well, we started her at 45lb and she got very frustrated not even being able to push that. Most of my strength is actually in my lower body as well from a childhood of soccer, biking and snowboarding and very little focus on my upper body strength until I got to college and started doing Parkour, so I definitely understand the difference there. I explained to her that everyone has to start somewhere, and while she was upset then she's already ready to get back in there and give it another go. Her goal on leg press is to hit 45 lb. in 2-3 months from the current 15, so we'll see how that goes.

[Nevica]

With spastic diplegia, muscular dysbalances shouldn't be an extra problem...but it probably explains why her leg-presses are so low in lbs, as the weight can't be worked without 'bodily'/muscular resistance (like you have to go over a mountain before you can walk up the hill)..just start from where she can and go from there..my boyfriend has spastic dp, too.. he's really well trained but i can do the same leg-press weight as him.. in his experience what helped him the most (although very tiring for him) was incline walks on the treadmill+ lots of walking in general...

Maybe you should look into swimming, too..as it works a lot of small muscles, is less tiring and easy on the joints..

[Cindy-Loo]

When I started working out I was so nervous and even had a few meltdowns at the gym

 

The thing that I found helped me the most was working out with my fiance! We actually have been doing the same program for the last couple years and it's been great! I work with the weights I can and he helps encourage me and push me to my limits!