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?
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.
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?
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.
Sounds like a good idea. Thanks Jordan!!!
Thanks Jordan, 1st workout for my wofe is in the books. She wasnt a fan of Hip Thursts, so we went with Dumbell RDL instead.
A few follow up questions, for some situations that came up during the workout. Im hoping I handled them well.
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squat mobility/depth was poor, probably about half way down. I didnt want it to turn into a barrier, so just said go as low as you can and mobility will increase over time. Is this an appropriate approsch. As a side note, I had her open her stance a little to help with mobility and she was hesitant since all previous trainers told her feet have to point straight forward. I just tried reassuring her that it should be comfortable and opening her feet a little might be more comfortable and help with mobility. Used this as a small opportunity to introduce her to the idea that movements are not dangerous, load management potentially can be, but again, tried to not get bogged down to much.
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In watching her warms up at boddy weight, I could tell the bar was likely optimistic, so she did dumbell squats and we worked up to an RPE 7 to 8, in the 4 to 6 rep range. My personal opinion is that it was more like an RPE 5 or 6, but I felt like her rating meant more than mine and just went with it. I never mentioned i thiught she had more in the tank. Thoughts?
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My final thought, is I think work capacity is a challenge, and probably contributed to her underating RPE a little bit. Were going to do cardio 3 times a week, so hopefully that helps. That being said I felt like its week one and consistency means more than this workout. Im leaning towards for the forseeable future never mentioning that i think shes undershooting RPE and just see how she progresses. Is there a point where you would encourage maybe reaching a little more?
Thoughts, suggestions? Im really excited that she’s giving this ago and I just want to help facilitate it the best I can and not become a barrier.
Matte,
Thanks for the follow up.
Regarding the squat cueing, I think this is fine, though it’s challenging to coach by proxy 
Generally speaking, if someone cannot attain around a parallel squat with body weight only, I will typically select a different squat variant than a regular barbell squat. Options include box squats, leg press, hack squat, or similar, alongside doing some sort of BW squat progression to depth. I typically start with an assisted squat to depth. Regarding stance and toe angle, I think the conversation was reasonable, though I would’ve likely pushed back gently that the toes have to be in a certain position. Instead, various aspects of the squat such as stance width, toe angle, amount of lean, and so on emerge as a function of anthropometry and preferences. When the toes are pointed out to some degree, we can externally rotate the femurs and create space for increased mobility and strength (for most), whereas this is challenging to with the toes straight ahead. Virtually no experienced lifters squat with the toes perfectly straight.
I don’t have many thoughts on the loading. I likely would’ve figured out if she could squat to depth with bodyweight alone prior to adding load. If not, I may have selected a different variant or moved onto a goblet squat. I am not concerned with the accuracy of her RPE rating on session number #1, but rather that she appreciates what RPE is measuring and that she gave it a try. I agree that her rating should supersede yours. Each session, I would be clear about the target RPE and rep scheme, and what that should feel like. For example, RPE 7-8 should feel like you could do 2 to 3 more reps, but definitely not 4 or 5. It should be hard, but not maximal. If she can use that as an anchor to refine her rating while getting used to exercising, that’s a win.
I would focus on all the things she’s doing well, offering little refinements here and there as she goes along.
Awesome, thanks Jordan. Very helpful. Really appreciate the detailed responses.
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Update,
We did assisted squats (I sat up a barbell on the rack for her to hold onto as she squats) and she was able to hit depth. She also opened her toes a little more after I pushed back a little and she said it felt much more natural. I think the goal there is going to be able to work up to unassisted body squats, then a training barbell.
I also echoed all of your comments above, and i think that helped reassure her a little bit. Cant say she loves squatting yet, or even training, but it does feel like we’re wearing away a little bit at her resistance to training, and im encouraged.
Shes also very appreciative of your detailed responses, and I think your expertise gives her a little more confidence in the process. She even asked, okay eplain to me again about RPE, which I took as a good sign, to mee it showed interest.
Thats a lot to say, its really appreciated Jordan. BBM has been a phenomenal resource for my training, but to be able to help my wife start training is just amazing. Thanks again. We both think its so cool how available you are on here to help.
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Love to hear it! Keep us posted on how she does. Looking forward to seeing continued success for the both of you!