Train
With Your Girlfriend... And Show Her the "Magic
Bullet"!
By Pete Sisco - Developer of Static Contraction Training
The fact is most women are pretty intimidated by
the weightlifting area of the gym. They see a bunch
of guys in there sweating and grunting... and some
of them are even lifting weights. So women view weight
training as a "guy thing" for people who
want big, masculine muscles. By contrast, for the
most part, women go to the gym to lose fat and to
"tone" their muscles into a tight, firm
look.
To make matters worse, popular women's magazine
totally mislead readers into thinking they can have
the body of Brooke Burke by doing arm curls with one
pound dumbbells or pressing on their desktop with
their fingertips. Please!
The truth is you can do your girlfriend or wife (Or
both! Yuk, yuk.) a huge favor by taking her into the
gym and showing her the benefits of a high intensity
weightlifting workout. And please remember that "intensity"
is a relative term. While you might hoist 300 pounds
on the bench press, a beginner woman might get equal
muscle growth stimulation from lifting just 75 pounds.
Magic Bullet
But here is the real "magic bullet" that
women are missing by staying on the aerobics mats
instead of pumping iron: body transformation through
new muscle growth. Take a look at this chart that
shows the body composition of two women who both weigh
140 pounds
A
B
Difference
Weight
140
140
0
Bodyfat
%
28%
18%
10%
Lean
(lb.)
100.8
114.8
+14.0
Fat
(lb.)
39.2
25.2
-14.0
Subject
A has 14 pounds less muscle and 14 pounds more fat
than B, yet they weight exactly the same. So one of
them looks a bit flabby and out of shape and the other
one looks lean, firm and fit.
And the news gets even better!
Muscle is called "active tissue" because
it has higher energy requirements than fat. In fact
every extra pound of muscle burns about 60 calories
per day. That means that Subject B, above, burns a
whopping 840 calories per day more than Subject A.
So she can eat a lot more than Ms. A and not gain
any weight... or she can eat the same number of
calories as Ms. A and lose about 7 pounds of fat in
a month! How cool is that?
Be Gentle The First Time
So you're doing your girlfriend a huge favor
by getting her into the gym to pump some iron. By
showing her this "magic" method of transforming
her body, it could change her life permanently! You're
giving her a lean, hard body and the ability to eat
more without gaining weight!
This workout is designed to target key areas that
many women want to improve. I've stayed away
from really heavy, intimidating exercises in favor
of some easier ones that will build confidence and
feel good. It's intense enough to deliver results
for beginners yet gentle enough to keep her coming
back. If you follow it to the letter your friend will
enjoy it and want more. If you insist on that "20
sets per bodypart" macho crap it'll be
the last time she sees the gym... and maybe you.
For ALL of these exercises you can increase intensity
by performing a 5 second static hold instead of doing
multiple reps. If you are familiar with SCT, that
is definitely the way to go.
Arms: Women enjoy having good definition
in their upper arms; they hate that flabby, flaccid
look. Women also wear clothing that exposes their
entire arm much more frequently than men do.
Preacher curls: Perform one set
of 8 to 12 partial reps in the strongest range of
motion only. Act as a spotter to prevent the barbell
or machine from moving into the weak range of motion.
Use a weight that she can only lift 8 to 12 times.
If she can do more than that the weight is too light.
Don't be gallant and give her a puny weight... you'll
be wasting her time. After her set load up the bar
and do a single set for yourself with a weight you
can only hoist 8 times.
Triceps press downs: Use the high
pulley and perform one set of 8 to 12 partial reps
in the strongest range of motion only. Pull the bar
down for her so she only has to move the weight a
quarter rep in her strongest range. Again, after her
set is done select a heavier weight and do a single
set for you with a weight you can only hoist 8 times.
Upper back: Again, women wear clothing
that exposes their back and, in my opinion, the upper
back is one of the most beautiful and overlooked parts
of a women's body.
Lat pulldowns: While you're
at the high pulley, sit down and adjust the seat so
the lat pulldown bar rests at her upper reach. Using
a wide grip, pull the bar down one quarter of the
way for 8 to 12 reps. Then do a heavy set for yourself.
Chest: Improving the muscle tone
in the area of the chest behind the breasts is a great
way to improve the look of the bust. It is essentially
a "lift" without resorting to using a
scalpel.
Bench press: Do one set of quarter
range reps in the strongest range of motion. Use a
weight she can only press 8 to 12 times. After her
set, load up the bar and impress her with your power... .8
times.
Legs: Strong legs make a woman look
great in a pair of jeans. Working the legs has an
added benefit of stimulating the entire Central Nervous
System, which triggers all muscle growth. So this
is one exercise where you never want to go too easy
on yourself. Or your girlfriend.
Leg press: Sit in a leg press machine
and slide the sled to its upper limit and engage the
safely stops. Adjust the seat so her legs are about
4 inches from lock out. Load the sled with enough
weight to limit reps to 8 to 12. do not remove the
safety stops!.
Calves: Leave the leg press set
up as it is and perform a set of toe presses. Place
the balls of her feet on the bottom of the sled with
heels not touching the sled. Press the toes forward
to move the sled a couple of inches. Most people can
perform this exercise with the same with they leg
pressed. When your friend is finished just load a
few hundred more pounds on the sled and do your leg
press and toe press set. You're done!
This beginner's workout is simple and invigorating.
Best of all, it will introduce your girlfriend or
wife to the enormous benefits of strength training.
It simultaneously works to build lean, firm muscles
and to remove excess fat. Truly "magic"!
Q. If I were to work out
once every nine days would I really gain more muscle
mass than if I worked out three times a week?
A. The thing to remember is that
your optimum training frequency is changing all the
time. When you first start training you can probably
work out three times per week and fully recover between
workouts. But as you get stronger you begin to hoist
some really heavy iron and it takes longer to recover
from those workouts.
So the answer to your questions is "yes".
After training a few weeks the guy who sticks with
three times per week is going to make zero progress
while the guy taking time off to fully recover is
going to make steady progress. I work with advanced
trainees who work out once every six weeks and they
show progress on every exercise every workout. They
also hoist fantastically heavy weights and have never
been so strong in their lives. Reason is a powerful
tool.
