Author Topic: From BB to fitness - how is it done?  (Read 4010 times)

gh2

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From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« on: May 28, 2008, 02:22:51 AM »
I need some help with my girlfriends training. She trains BB and has real talent, she is 5'7 and 165lbs with visible abs. She does however not compete but loves the lifestyle. She wants to keep the mass in her lower body but wants to trim down her upper body to get that slimmer fitness look for her upper body.

I have suggested she keeps going heavy on her legs and starts going lighter for her upper body workouts. I would like to hear from the more experienced girls here who could give some tips as to how to achieve this? How should the training for her upper body look like (sets/reps)? What about cardio? How much is too much?...and is Body Pump an option?

Just want to get this right for her so I thought other womens thoughts/tips on the subject would be very valuable to her. :)

davidpaul

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #1 on: May 28, 2008, 04:22:02 AM »
I need some help with my girlfriends training. She trains BB and has real talent, she is 5'7 and 165lbs with visible abs. She does however not compete but loves the lifestyle. She wants to keep the mass in her lower body but wants to trim down her upper body to get that slimmer fitness look for her upper body.

I have suggested she keeps going heavy on her legs and starts going lighter for her upper body workouts. I would like to hear from the more experienced girls here who could give some tips as to how to achieve this? How should the training for her upper body look like (sets/reps)? What about cardio? How much is too much?...and is Body Pump an option?

Just want to get this right for her so I thought other womens thoughts/tips on the subject would be very valuable to her. :)

Visible abs are much more desirable than invisible ones,

Just ask Chevy Chase.

ripitupbaby

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2008, 04:24:57 AM »
Interesting.... is she really top heavy?  Most women struggle with getting their lower body small enough/lean enough for the "fitness" look.  Is her lower body cut and her upper body soft?  5-7" and 165 sounds pretty solid, but not really fat.  How is her muscle mass distributed?

The general way to re-shape is to adjust the weight training and the diet, but I'd like to hear more about her body composition and what it is specifically that she wants/needs to do.  

Body Pump is a great full-body circuit-type cardio workout btw.  

:)

gh2

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2008, 05:21:11 AM »
Thanks for the reply ripitupbaby, I was hoping you would! :)

Her muscle mass is very evenly distributed, she was once going to compete and eveybody said she should compete internationally but a lot of s*** happened and now she just wants to work out and enjoy the lifestyle. She is not top heavy, she is actually quite complete from head to toe.

I would say that her upper body is more cut then her lower body. She is now happy with the size of her legs and at this moment her upper body matches her legs in size but she is wondering if it is possible to keep the size in her legs whilst simultaneously slimming down her upper body (= getting slimmer muscles)? Don't know if this is possible though.....

Sorry if there is a confusion here but when I said she wants to slim down her upper body I meant she wants to slim down her muscle bulk in her upper body!

Luv2Hurt

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #4 on: May 28, 2008, 05:49:14 AM »
She has never competed but people are telling her she should compete "internationally"?  Who are these people?

Maybe some pics would help for people giving advice here?

gh2

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2008, 05:57:56 AM »
Don't think she wants me to post any pics here, I will try though..... ;)

It does'nt really matter how good or bad she is, the question is: is it possible to reduce the size of your muscles in your upper body whilst maintaining the muscle size in the legs?

I would just say train heavy for legs and light for upper body. She just wants a second opinion.

ripitupbaby

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2008, 07:01:37 AM »
I suppose it's possible to reduce the size of your upper body while maintaining the muscle size in your legs.  Usually when women diet down, their upper body gets smaller and leaner than the lower body.  The lower body can be stubborn in terms of sizing down, while the upper body usually sizes down quickly. 

I would suggest, as you have, to reduce the volume and intensity of the upper body training.  Definitely still train everything in the upper body, but gear the workouts more towards toning than muscle-building... higher reps, more variety in exercises.  Keep the lower body workouts as they are, and tighten up the diet. 
One way to reduce upper body size and to get more definition is to diet down a little.  Best approach is probably to diet down and see what happens to the entire physique.  If she's like most women, she'll lose size in her upper body before her lower body just from dieting. 
Is she dieting now?  And how much cardio is she doing?

:)

gh2

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2008, 07:24:35 AM »
Ok, sounds good!

She always eats clean, she is not on a reduced diet, but she eats clean - except saturdays.

Cardio I have to hold her back on! I have told her to restrict her cardio to walking 30-45min 2-3 times a week and swim 30min 1-2 times. I also told her to lay off the Body Pump if she wanted to pack some size on her legs, which she has now done. Guess it's ok for her to do some Body Pump again as long as it's not the day after leg day so as not to hinder recovery!?

She lost a bit of size the last couple of years in her legs because she would walk for several hours every day and eat practically nothing. I know she will get in excellent shape as soon as she starts to restrict her diet.

Ok, thanks for the help ripitupbaby I will show her this thread so she can read your replies!  :)

ripitupbaby

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #8 on: May 28, 2008, 07:41:12 AM »
It's just really interesting to me that she sizes down from the bottom up.  I have the total opposite problem LOL.

Swimming is a great option for cardio if she wants to keep toning the upper body without over-working the lower body.  See what happens if you adjust the training a little bit and she gets on a diet.  Based on what you've described, she's going to have to diet down if she wants to trim down the upper body, which may likely result in at least some loss in lower body size.  You can minimize the loss in lower body muscle mass, I think, by adjusting the training properly and focusing cardio on lower-impact stuff like swimming and walking.   :)


:)

gh2

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #9 on: May 28, 2008, 07:54:02 AM »
Got it; diet down, keep going heavy for legs, go lighter on upper body and switch exercises, swim and walk and make a new asessment!

It's great to have a knowledgable woman like yourself to advise her, this is valuable info for her! :)

If she has more questions after reading your replies we will get back to you!

Thanks again!  :)

ripitupbaby

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Re: From BB to fitness - how is it done?
« Reply #10 on: May 28, 2008, 08:05:16 AM »
Got it; diet down, keep going heavy for legs, go lighter on upper body and switch exercises, swim and walk and make a new asessment!

It's great to have a knowledgable woman like yourself to advise her, this is valuable info for her! :)

If she has more questions after reading your replies we will get back to you!

Thanks again!  :)


No problem.  You should get her to post here.  We need more girls posting on this board.

:)