trying to workout wth a girl

chaos5446 · 05-22-2009, 02:45 PM

my friend is terrified of weights. she gained some weight and wants to drop it. how should i go about helping her? wthout making her cry

goofeegrrl · 05-22-2009, 08:17 PM

is she terrified of the weight room itself, or the thought of weight training in general? i used to be intimidated to train in the gym with all the big burly guys around me, but i got over it really quickly. i realized it was fun to lift weights. my husband and i workout together which is awesome. eating a strict diet and lifting weights five days a week is what has helped me to lose nearly 25 pounds in the last four months. i don't do tons of cardio either, just walking after training. tell her to give it a try for a month and see how she likes it.

ophelia53 · 05-23-2009, 11:16 AM

if she's asked for your help, just be a friend to her. help her out with your knowledge, get her started. thats how i got started, actually. a guy i was deployed with on '05 took me into the weight room and was really patient, showed me how to break down bodyparts, what's good for those, isolation, compound, he talked of cardio and eating right. so just start her off easy. find out why she is so scared of weights. if it's the usual "i dont' wanna look like a man" thing, debunk the myth we all know it is! but if she has some sort of injury or is worried about hurting herself, talk to her about that stuff. show her the importance of proper form.

L12ARD · 05-23-2009, 12:32 PM

Is she worried about the weight she put on? Tell her that muscle weighs more than fat and looks better too. There is such a thing as skinny fat. You know, where you're skinny but have no muscle tone and just look a little weak.
Just keep encouraging her to lift and hope she sticks with it.

goofeegrrl · 05-23-2009, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L12ARD

Is she worried about the weight she put on? Tell her that muscle weighs more than fat and looks better too. There is such a thing as skinny fat. You know, where you're skinny but have no muscle tone and just look a little weak.
Just keep encouraging her to lift and hope she sticks with it.

just a little clarification here, actually muscle is more *dense* than fat. (1 pound = 1 pound)

CourtneyBlair · 05-23-2009, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaos5446

my friend is terrified of weights. she gained some weight and wants to drop it. how should i go about helping her? wthout making her cry

The gym definitely can be intimidating when you're first starting out. That said, keep it simple for her. Show her some basic machines and exercises to give her an idea of what she should do each workout.

Also, let her know that weight loss and weight training go hand in hand. I hate to see ladies pop up in the gym and JUST do cardio. Muscle increases your resting metabolic rate. If she regularly throws around some weights, she'll be burning away calories while she snores!

ooooLISAoooo · 05-23-2009, 11:43 PM

The best thing you can do is to encourage her to go to the gym with you and to teach her all about the weights - and all the myths and what not. Explain to her about clean eating and even get her to come on this website to learn some more.

When people fear something you usually find it's because they're fearing the unknown. Once you show her the correct form to lift weights and all the machines she'll feel confident going into the gym on her own and getting stuck into a weights session.

At the end of the day though it is ultimately up to her if she wants to shift the weight. You know the saying... you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

Good luck & I hope it all works out for your friend : )

chaos5446 · 10-24-2009, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ooooLISAoooo

The best thing you can do is to encourage her to go to the gym with you and to teach her all about the weights - and all the myths and what not. Explain to her about clean eating and even get her to come on this website to learn some more.

When people fear something you usually find it's because they're fearing the unknown. Once you show her the correct form to lift weights and all the machines she'll feel confident going into the gym on her own and getting stuck into a weights session.

At the end of the day though it is ultimately up to her if she wants to shift the weight. You know the saying... you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

Good luck & I hope it all works out for your friend : )

5 months later lol. its the same thing i always hear "i dont want to look like a man" i always tell her that wont happen unless you pump yourself full of testosterone. ive shown her articles and even tried to get her on here. she is fine with her aqua blue 3 lbs weights and tae bo but looks the same.

princessTiffany · 10-24-2009, 10:02 PM

I wish I had a dude friend to help me out in the gym.

Your friend may come around. ...it might take a long time. Most girls seriously believe any hint of muscle is "manly' and will be skinny-fat forever while "toning" with tiny weight.

Lector606 · 10-25-2009, 01:25 AM

I think all you need to do is be encouraging, make sure she's comfortable asking you questions, and give her a little push. If she's concerned about "getting big" etc you could send her some info (see below).

http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/wom...womenmyths.htm

http://www.defrancostraining.com/art...han-males.html

Euqinom · 10-25-2009, 03:49 AM

I totally agree with lector. I noticed that most women feel uncomfortable because they do not have a good sense of WHY and HOW to do stuff. Just be supportive, and give her enough info to boost er confidence with respect to her workout.