MoM Wrks Out

[wraggler]

Ok. For my graduation project, I'm gonna help my mother get into shape and loose weight. She's about 41 and her only exercise is cleaning the house. I figured on doing 2 or 3 days wrkout per week, doing a full body wrkout, one exercise per muscle to start off. sets of 2-3 and reps ranging betweeen 12-15. I was thinking of throwing cardio inbetween the wrkout days. For example she would wrkout Mon, Wed, Fri. And do cardio Tues, Thurs. I'm not sure if that is too much. Also like for a woman in her 40's how fast should she start to see results if she wrks out the planned schedule. And is it neccessary to look into those metabolism boosters like hydroxycut?

[hausgrl]

full body routines are usually used for beginners, who are new to the equipment at the gym and helps them with familiarity and comfortability. i would only use the full body routines for the first few weeks, and then perhaps get her working out pairs of muscle groups after that.

also, 12 - 15 reps sounds a little high for a beginner. that be a sure fire way of making her sick of the gym awfully quick! try 8 - 10 for upper, and 10 - 12 for lower.

i would say, considering her age and her [lack of] activity level to keep it simple. more cardio, less working out. you don't want to kill her the first week! why not take some classes together? pilates, yoga, toning & strengthening.

moderation is key and you seem to be putting your mom a little in over her head. i would re-design that schedule if i were you. have you even asked her what she wants? re-map it around the things she enjoys doing. and plan short-term goals.

what about her diet? you haven't even mentioned that.

supplements/thermogenics i think should only be used when one has hit a plateau. until that point, keep the cardio up and the eating sensible and she won't need any of that.

[wraggler]

Yah that is what I thought, it would probably be too much for her. Her desires are to get into shape, loose weight and look better. Theres more planing that needs to go on but right now I'm just figuring out the basics. The goal of this project is for me to act like a personal trainer and she be my trainee. I'm so used to training for a guy and giving advice for a guy, that I'm rusty for a woman that would be just starting to work out. But I do appreciate your input.

Right now she is insecure about going to a gym and doesnt feel like paying gym fees so we will wrk out at home. I have everything for basic muscle exercises but depending on how she feels and when we advance more into training, she might join a gym.

Srry I forgot to mention her diet. Its a basic 3 meal a day, tea and some cereal. Lunch might be a small sandwhich and dinner but she can slide and go for fast foods. throughout the day she drinks tea or soda, which i know is bad. She seriously knows how to eat healthy but doesnt have enough ambition to eat the right thing, same with wrking out. If I help her, she will do it.

[hausgrl]

3 meals a day won't really cut it. surely you know that the more she eats the faster her metabolism works - granted she is eating the right food ;) get her to start eating 5 - 6 meals a day and figure out, with respect to her weight and height, how many calories she should be consuming to lose approximately 1 - 2 lbs per week, and then from that form the ratios for fat, protein and carbohydrates. i'm not sure if she is interested in CKD but that might be an option. why don't you check out the over 35 section of BB and see what those folks say as well :)

considering most women her age, her metabolism is probably really slow as it is, so diet would be most important for her. and water, lots & lots of water.

get her walking, biking, maybe buy her some pilates or aerobic dvd/vhs tapes. keep it simple for her, or else her goals will seem incredibly far away. moderate - intense cardio should be good enough at this point. have you checked out the morning cardio thread? there might be some information you/she would appreciate in there as well. maybe once she gets closer to her goals she will feel more comfortable going to the gym. alot of women feel the way she does about the intimidation factor.

it's really not about a temporary change in old habits. it's gotta be about permanent change in lifestyle.

[Laurie]

Heh, mine is the opposite. I am 51 and managed to talk my daughter into joining my college "Women's Strength" class for the summer. A friend of mine has joined too after discussing this. She will be 40 this year and carries her weight in the classic way. Although she does yardwork too and takes care of animals (chickens, ducks, Dwarf Goats, et.c) it is not enough to lose what she wants. Athough it keeps her strong otherwise.

But she had reservations and was self conscious about going because of body image. She had visions of being surrounded by lithe, athletic women as she is more "womanly" endowed. Far from being the case, she found out after her first class. The class has a sprinkling of all body types and the atmosphere is very friendly. Now she looks forward to coming.

Your mother may feel much the same way and why she may be shy about going.