designing a work out program

[John B.]

So a friend of mine asked me to help her work out. She is trying to lose weight, now I know high intense cardio, and proper diet helps but do you guys have any ideas? I am trying to research as much as possible so I can design a plan that I can help her with.

[Curt]

I am actually doing the opposite at the moment, putting on an additional 20-30 pounds... then cutting after that, retaining muscle but getting rid of excess fat.

I would say that finding a way to keep track of her calorie intake and nutrients is a good start. I use an app called Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by myfitnesspal.com. I find it really helps make sure I am consistant with my goals and reach them every day. For myself, I try to eat at least 500 calories more per day than I would burn (even with strength training at the gym), so I guess for her, making sure her calories do not go over what she burns per day as well as just trying to keep an overall balanced diet would a pretty healthy way of going about it.

For going to the gym, consistency is the key and I would guess it somewhat depends on her level of activity now... because if she currently is doing much in the way of exercise, than just lowering calorie intake and going for a walk a few times a week will be enough to lose a bit of weight. 

[John B.]

She is doing none at the moment. She wants me to help her. so just working out and lowering calorie intake. sounds simple enough.

[Curt]

Use an online calculator to try to figure out how many calories her body burns each day, then you can base the diet off of that.

If she wants motivation... this is a good sub reddit http://www.reddit.com/r/progresspics and so is http://www.reddit.com/r/loseit

[John B.]

Thanks that should definitely help.

[Joshua Robinson]

I am on the same page with her and I went to a personal trainer to get a routine made up. I could email it to you if you like John

[Don Boyer]

About six years ago, I went on a strict 1,200-calorie-a-day, medically-managed diet, and after I shed maybe fifteen pounds, I joined a martial arts studio and started learning aikido.

I went from 225 to 169.  It took about six months.

I've put some of the weight back on, but more of it is muscle than before.

The thing about taking up a martial art is that it's very different from other exercise programs.  Using stationary bikes and other gym hardware get boring, fast!  There's stuff like spinning classes, aerobics classes, etc., but that's one instructor standing in front of a room full of people, like a college lecture - also boring.

When you're learning a martial art, you're actually LEARNING something, a new skill.  There's an instructor, but you're also working one-on-one with the other members of your school.  There's a more social aspect, it engages your brain more and it can do wonders for your self-confidence.  I recommend it to anyone looking to make a positive change in their lives.  Aikido in particular, because it's strongly grounded in Zen Buddhist principles - you actually treat your opponent with care and love as opposed to seeking to inflict maximum damage.

[John B.]

I am on the same page with her and I went to a personal trainer to get a routine made up. I could email it to you if you like John

Wont work, she is a girl, your work out and the one that would work for her are different. If you don't know the difference between male bodies and girl bodies ask your mum.

[shutupdangit]

Depending on how much weight she wants to lose and how fast, you could keep it simple by counting calories and pick up on running. MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper are two mobile apps I used heavily when I wanted to shed some pounds last summer.

[John B.]

she wants to lose a lot fun. Like an un healthy amount. lol I am going to try to keep her healthy through this. she wants to lose 90 lbs in 6 months.

[Joshua Robinson]

mine isn't specifically for me, it is a usual plan made up of different things

[John B.]

Yes but what I mean is they gave you a work out for men. they way a men work outs is different then what a womens should look like. as a man your metabolism weight is faster then a woman at your weight.also guys workouts normally have a lot of weight training for muscle, which is not inherently bad for women but if you include chest work outs, its not always the best.

[Curt]

Don't worry too much about strength training, just focus on cardio. Once she starts to lose some weight and become more comfortable with the whole working out thing, then you can transition to some strength to tone different muscles.

[John B.]

Yea thanks curt, thats what I was thinking which is what I was telling Josh.

[sway]

I'd suggest you to come up with a high protein low caloric diet for her. Try to aim for something which is doable and not extremely restrictive. You know, the most important thing for a successful diet is to be consistent and, ultimately, change habits.

When developing a diet, keep in mind that a caloric intake of less than 1200kcal/day (for women) can lead to lean tissue losses and lower metabolism, things you definitely want to avoid.

I'd also suggest you to disregard cardio, unless it's something you or her really enjoy doing. People who do cardio tend to eat more after exercising. And in order to lose weight, the one thing that matters is a caloric deficit by the end of the day.

Weight/strenght training is a great choice for changing body composition as well. When creating a program, try to focus on the main composite movements: squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-up... Look up every movement closely so you can learn how to perform them correctly and with good shape.

If you want to look further into the diet/workout subject, I'd recommend you to look up articles from Alan Aragon, Martin Berkhan or Lyle McDonald. Or you could just check Ian McCarthy's videos at youtube

[John B.]

I do a lot of cardio, and it a little bit of carbs afterwards. I was planning on having her do the same. We won't be using a gym, just using the body as a natural weights so some of what you mentioned won't work.