Modifying Beginner Template

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Good evening,

My wife has been off and on with exercise the past couple of years. She’s tried F-45, and a personal trainer, but compliance was an issue and ultimately never stuck with either. In talking with her, it felt like she didnt love how they tried to blend cardio and resitance training.

Shes ready to give it another try, and this time is going to let me write her program. I figure the beginner template is a good place to start.

That being said, I know that she hates resistance training and cardio is her preferred form of exercise.

So in my mind, to get her some momentum, Im leaning towards starting with 3, 30 min LISS sessions, and only two resistance training days with a goal of keeping it to an hour or so per session.

One other note, in the past, shes been hesitant to barbell squats and deadlifts, but says she’s open to doing them this go around. For equipment have a full rack, barbell, and dumbells. Also have a pulley system, but its kind of a make shift one, so operating it could be a barrier for her.

With that information, id be curious how you would model block 1 of the beginner template within those paramaters?

2

Matte,

There’s good intel you’ve gathered here, suggesting you’re asking the right questions and listening to your partner. That’s great!

I’d probably have her do the following:

Day 1

  • Squat
  • Chin-up progression or rows
  • Hip thrust
  • Trunk or arm stuff if desired

Day 2

  • Deadlift
  • Bench Press
  • Unilateral squat variant (e.g. split squat, lunge, step ups, etc.)
  • Trunk or arm stuff if desired

I would ask for ~ 3 to 4 weeks of consistency and then look for feedback regarding movement selection (vs her preferences), time considerations, how she’s feeling, etc.

3

Awesome, thanks for the feed back Jordan. Any thoughts on rep schemes and RPE? For Bench, Squat 1, and deadlift, maybe 4@6,4@7,4@8 x2, and for all other movements 8@6,8@7,8@8 X 2 after a low stress week?

4

That seems reasonable to me. You could also do a double progression setup, e.g. 5-8 reps @ RPE 6-7 x 3 sets, so that she has the opportunity to add weight, reps, or both.

5

Sounds like a good idea. Thanks Jordan!!!