Calling all female lifters.....

bcf7683

Had a debate with someone over the weekend about the way I've structured my diet/workout routine (I've been lifting for about 9 months now with decent results), so I'm just curious here- I'm taking a survey of sorts, I guess you could say.

I'm curious as to what the ladies out there do each day for their workout (goals, duration, rest days, cardio/no cardio, etc) and what their diet looks like (cals/day, what types of protein/carbs/fats you tend to eat on a daily basis, frequency of meals/snacks).

Thanks! :flowerforyou:

Matt_Wild

Simply depends on your goals...

bcf7683

Simply depends on your goals...

Yes, which is why I asked for them to share their goal as well. But thanks.

Honeybea86

Matt said it right. I usually do 30-40 min of lifting following by 30 min of running. I still in corporate cardio because I still would like to look more defined. I have friend who only lifts and she looks great. For my diet I focus on protein because it keeps me fuller longer and helps with providing nutrients to the muscles I just broke down. A few of my fitness goals are.....leg press 350lbs, run the Disney half marathon, do 20 pull ups, and a few others. I have found that unless your friends are experienced trainers or nutritionists then take their advice with a grain if salt. Follow what works for you and adjust when needed

Tdk4685

I do cardio 30 min a day Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri. I do weight lifiting 30 min on Wed and at least one hour Sat and Sun. I was at 12 cal a day but now I am eating 1400 cal a day plus what I get from the exercise. I am not much for rest days but I do take one about once a month. I am so glad I started the weight lifting at the same time I did the cardio.

beautifulbeast11

Had a debate with someone over the weekend about the way I've structured my diet/workout routine (I've been lifting for about 9 months now with decent results), so I'm just curious here- I'm taking a survey of sorts, I guess you could say.

I'm curious as to what the ladies out there do each day for their workout (goals, duration, rest days, cardio/no cardio, etc) and what their diet looks like (cals/day, what types of protein/carbs/fats you tend to eat on a daily basis, frequency of meals/snacks).

Thanks! :flowerforyou:

Right now I'm bulking to build more muscle... so right now I do heavy lifting 6 days a week... 2 of those days are resistance training as well... and another 2 days of those are boxing for cardio. I'll keep this up for the next month or 2. My diet is cleaner and lighter than my guy friends who are bulking... lots of protein and veggies... some carbs. I eat 6 times a day. 1200-1400 calories.

During cut phase I'll be doing 2 a days... lifting in the AM, cardio either right after or in the PM. Carb fluctuations.

neandermagnon

I'm currently not allowed to do anything strenuous as I'm recovering from surgery (not exercise related) so I'm just eating for health and maintenance right now

my most recent routine (I change it up frequently)

3 day cycle:

day 1: lower body
day 2: upper body
day 3: rest

I also alternate between bulking and cutting phases. And the exact exercises I do each time varies, although I include all the big compound lifts like bench press, full squats, deadlifts, etc on the relevent day. And I go 5-12 reps to failure on them, i.e. when I can do 12 with good form, I add more weight for the next set or the next day I do that exercise. Apart from for deadlifts as I currently don't have enough weights, but seeing as when I get back into it after surgery it'll take a while before I get back to my previous level, that's not such a big problem right now.

heatherloveslifting

Still pretty new- lifting maybe 4 months.
I lift 40-90 min (still doing NROLW), 2-3x a week. Usually 15-20 min HIIT cardio after.
Goals: lose 5% body fat, do a pull up!
Non lift days I usually dance 1-2 hrs. I do not plan rest days since life usually throws me more than I need
Food: my diary is open, set to maintenance for 2weeks, then will go back to TDEE minus 20%. I don't have a lot of room between BMR and that number so lose pretty slowly. I shoot for 30% cals from protein, 30% fat, 40% carbs, but since I find supplements vile my real protein often comes up less (probably average 25 %) I eat when I get hungry, so usually 3 meals plus 2-3 snacks.

amy1612

I lift heavy, a mix of squats, deadlifts, bench, OHP etc and Olympic lifts (clean, jerk, snatch). I also do pole dancing for strength and stamina and some HIIT. I usually train 3-5 days a week. My diet looks like this Sun-Fri, On Fri night and Sat night I have a drink, and dessert if I want it.

2 eggs, bacon/smoked salmon and spinach (scrambled, omelette)
Mid morning snack-turkey, nuts,a spoon of almond butter
Lunch is usually a salad made up of...avocado, chicken/tuna/mackerel, sweet potato/eggs and leaves,gherkins and cucumber.
Mid afternoon snack- protein shake, or same as morning.
Dinner is meat, lots of veg, sometimes some sweet potato or rice, for instance, last night was steak, ratatouille and roasted cauliflower.

mareeee1234

After being a cardio bunny and not progressing any further I've started a new routine:

I'm currently 3rd week into Stronglifts 5x5 (weight-lifting program, 3 times a week)

I do cardio twice a week (sometimes after my weights sesh, or on an alternate day). Either walking/running or elliptical. I aim for some HIIT too !

My goal is to lose BODY FAT (not necessarily body weight) and I don't even weigh myself. My goal is to get fit-looking, slim, lean, strong, and toned... in healthy and SUSTAINABLE way that I can maintain forever! I want to get the best version of MY body and MY shape!

I've upped my calories alooot (1900) since changing my routine, as I was in the 1200 trap before. Eventually I will cut down to 1700-1800 cals.

I eat a variety of foods.. lots of fruit with natural greek yoghurt.. oats...rye/wholegrain toast...lootttss of vegies.. I love smoked salmon.. I make omelettes using whole eggs and egg whites... love poached eggs.. enjoy lean meat!
I always make sure I eat these kinds of foods, especially after my weights for protein!
I do eat carbs, definitely (I get hungry without them!), but they're good carbs.
I also eat healthy fats like avocado and some cheese (as long as they're in my calories for that day)
I aim to eat healthy 80% of the time.
I avoid processed sugar, but don't cut it out completely
During the week especially, I try to eat kinda 'clean' , and I am pretty good at it, but I'm not a strict "clean eater".
I don't have planned cheat days or cheat meals.. I try to avoid them.. but they happen with events or whatever..Its better not to plan them out in case it doesn't go to plan!
I eat 3 meals a day with 2 snacks in between! I don't go more than 2.5-3 hours without eating!

Hope this answers well! :flowerforyou:

Rum_Runner

I've been told I'm a "Cardio Bunny".... but I do lift.

Usually:

Mon - Run 5 miles
Tues - Arms and 20 min cardio
Wed - Legs and abs
Thurs - Arms/shoulders and 20 min cardio
Fri - Run 5 miles
Sat - Circuit training
Sun - Rest day

I eat about 1600-1800 cal a day (net at least 1300) and have my macros set at 40/30/30. I aim for at least 120g protein and under 150g carbs. I also really watch sodium and keep it around 2000mg.

Im pretty much in maintenance mode now. I lost about 20lbs and about 5% BF in the last year (March will be one year).

Makeda1211

Had a debate with someone over the weekend about the way I've structured my diet/workout routine (I've been lifting for about 9 months now with decent results), so I'm just curious here- I'm taking a survey of sorts, I guess you could say.

I'm curious as to what the ladies out there do each day for their workout (goals, duration, rest days, cardio/no cardio, etc) and what their diet looks like (cals/day, what types of protein/carbs/fats you tend to eat on a daily basis, frequency of meals/snacks).

Thanks! :flowerforyou:

I've noticed that my body responds well to lifting. My goal is to shred body fat and general weight loss. I follow the body for life weights routine. I like it because it allows you to grow with your workout as you all you need to do is add more weight.

I either do upper body or lower body and alternate the days every other day. When working a body part (i.e. biceps) I would start at a moderate weight and do 12 reps. rest for 60 seconds, follow up with the next set at a slightly higher weight for 10 reps. Rest for 60 seconds. Next set at a higher weight for 8 reps. Rest for 60 seconds. Next set at the highest weight for 6 reps. Rest for 60 seconds. Drop to the next lower weight for 12 reps and then superset with another exercise for the same body part with the same weight for 12 reps. The upper body workout takes the longest at 45 minutes. The lower body, as it only has three major areas to work, is shorter. I also do my abs on my cardio only days.

I promise you, it is challenging. And it also turns into cardio if you follow that schedule as well. I have seen excellent gains from this system. The website is www.bodyforlife.com. I then immediately go for an hour of Zumba, which really loosens up my musles and stretches them out as well.

I can now tell that I am under eating and will be changing that. I am getting in about 1600 a day but that is gross and not net. I had a gastric bypass some years ago and it is a little harder to get in all of the calories but I working on it.

savlyon

I am following a plan that is for muscle building and fat loss.

I do 4-5 circuits a week which includes lifting and some plyos. Then I do either HIIT or a tough cardio of my choice.

My ratios are 40% carbs/35% protein/25% fat.

The way we formulate calories is weightX10+300 and then an additional 400 calories on workout days. I am not up to eating that much yet, so the trainer suggests eating half of exercise calories back (200 instead of 400) or slowly upping calories to that amount. I weigh 185 so I should have 2,150 on rest days and 2,550 on work out days. I typically eat 1700 calories on rest days and 2000-2100 on workout days.

The reason I am doing it is because I want to run another half marathon, do another tri and my first full marathon this year. I need to lose about 30 lbs and I feel like this will help me get stronger and lose fat the best.

Matt_Wild

I ask as I help people diet and bulk up, including women. Asking everyone for their goals will simply confuse. I was trying to be helpful.

Yo Lazarov is my finacee, I'm coaching her for the UKBFF and WBFF this year - I know my stuff, I am trying to be helpful!

sblake204

I ask as I help people diet and bulk up, including women. Asking everyone for their goals will simply confuse. I was trying to be helpful.

Yo Lazarov is my finacee, I'm coaching her for the UKBFF and WBFF this year - I know my stuff, I am trying to be helpful!

I'll take some advise!!

Matt_Wild

Pop a friend request and you'll be able to see Yo's progress as the year goes on and how she develops.

She's also on here as well if you'd like to watch her and ask her any questions - www.myfitnesspal.com/yo_lazarov

EKN1417

When I started, I did a full body routine 3 days/week + 2 days/week of cardio for the first year.

After that, I moved to an upper body/lower body split since I wanted more time to focus on areas that were lagging behind (for me those were my hamstrings and my shoulder.) For that routine I did lower body 2 days/week and upper body 2 days/week and 2 days of cardio (one day HIIT and one day steady state.) No cardio on lifting days.

No, I've been lifting for almost 3 years and I have just recently moved to a new routine to switch things up since I was getting bored and reaching a plateau. My routine now looks like: Sunday Lower Body Monday Upper Body Tuesday Full Body Cardio/weight lifting circuit Wed Lower Body Thurs Upper body Friday OFF Saturday Cardio. I mainly focus on big compound lifts, but also do some isolation work. I know lots of poeple on this stie are against any type of isolation work, but for me, it really helped me see results in some of my lagging body parts. I still isolation work on my calves, tricpes, shoulders, and hamstrings. Not excessive, but I try to isolated at least 2 of those groups in excercises each week. I would recommend not starting isolation work until you have a solid strength foundation first. It is hard to know what is lagging if you don't have enough muscle to begin with.

I usually take 1 rest day per week, but I have taken 2 in the past and do not feel bad skipping a day if my body is telling me it's too tired.

I typically lift for 45 minutes each session. My cardio is the same amount, or shorter (abotu 20 minutes) if I am doing HIIT.

My macro ratio is about 40/30/30 and for my goals I am eating slightly below my maintenence calories. I have a wedding dress to fit into whcih is why I'm currently on a small cut. I have bulked, maintened, and cut all in the past.

Summer_Lunatic

*peaks in to see the women lifters*

megalin9

Goals: I'm kind of new (2-3 months) to the "heavy lifting," so I don't really have anything specific in mind as far as being able to squat my body weight or anything like that. Right now, my goal is to just keep progressing. Keep getting stronger. A few specifics are being able to do 10-20 push-ups on my toes (right now, I can do 5-10) and be able to do at least 1 bodyweight pull-up. I can only do assisted pull-ups.

Duration: I lift for 30-minute sessions 3X/week. These are full-body circuits. I'm only able to work-out on my lunch, so this is the most efficient for me.

Rest Days: Saturday and Sunday, but even these days usually involve some kind of activity with my kids, and I plan on doing at least 1 weekend race a month come spring.

Cardio/No Cardio: Yes. 30-minute spin class on Tuesdays and 30-minute run on Thursdays, plus volleyball 2X/week in the winter and softball 1-2X/week in the spring/summer/fall.

Diet: 1800 calories a day (TDEE minus about 20%) of MOSTLY whole foods. I always aim to meet my 35c/30p/35f goals with the priority being on protein and then fat. I'm also a bit new to this way of thinking, so I'm still working on getting it "right." BUT...it's much better than it was a few weeks ago. My frequency is usually 4-5 meals/day: breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and sometimes a bedtime snack if I have the calories left over.

DrMAvDPhD

I've been lifting for a shorter time than you (about 5 months) so I probably won't be helpful. But here's what I do:

NROL4W (so full body workout) 3 days/week: M/W/F
Cardio-Zumba Dance Fitness 2 days/week: Th/Sat
Yoga 2 days/week :Sat/Sun
Full rest: Tuesday

That's the goal anyway. I usually miss at least one of those at least every other week. I am currently trying to lose about 5 pounds from 131 to 126 (currently estimate that I have about 105# of LBM) so I cut from 2000/2200 on off/lift days to 1750/1950 with eating cardio calories back most of the time (sometimes that's too many calories to bother). I have my Carb/Protein/Fat set to 40/30/30 but I really only aim to hit between 125-150 grams of protein a day. My diary is open so feel free to look at it to see what I typically eat. Not the cleanest lol.

ETA: The main goal is to be totally happy with my body. I think for this to happen I need to have no love handles and at least a hint of abs all of the time (right now they come and go). Hence, the cutting off 5 pounds. I have a unique situation regarding my weight as scoliosis has shrunk me about 3 inches, so my doctor doesn't want me to drop under a healthy BMI for 5'8" even though I am only 5'5". For this reason, if I am not happy with my body at 126 I am going to do a bulk cut cycle to add more LBM and still stay at a 5'8" BMI of over 19.

_Peacebone_

I started lifting a year ago with NROLFW, and I loved it! Right now, I am lifting 3x a week doing heavy compound lifts (squats, rows, deadlifts, and shoulder press). Currently, I'm eating at a deficit as I'm trying to lose body fat, but I eat around 90 grams of protein per day and don't really pay attention to the other stats. I estimate my lean body mass to be around 87# and my body fat percentage to be around 23%. I'm aiming to get down to 19% body fat.

letjog

My plan's a mess at the moment because I'm marathon training and trying to build strength in my legs, and bulk in my arms at the same time! LOL


I work out 5x per week.
I lift 2 of these days - focussing on heavy squats, barbell press, dumbbell curls, deadlifts, ab routine, press ups. I also do 20-25mins HIIT on the bike on these days.
1 day is Body Pump cos I enjoy it...
1 day is long run day : 20-22 miles
1 day is 'other' - either a hill rep run or another body pump or spin class.

I eat very varied number of calories depending on how hungry or fat i feel, ranging from 1100-2500 caories per day. Always high protein.

DrMAvDPhD

1 day is long run day : 20-22 miles high protein.

Holy crap that's impressive lol.

nexangelus

I train 3 days per week, heavy lifting, full body workout with heavy compounds and pullups (so 3 sets of 5). One day per week I add bicep curls and tricep dips at the end. Been doing this two weeks this week and am trying to lose some more fat so on a slight deficit. Macros are 40 % protein, 30 % fat, 30 % carbs. (Protein is 120 plus grammes per day.) I cycle 30 miles plus per week and run 5 miles per week.

My goals are to lose some fat before I begin some vigorous endurance training for triathlon and tough mudder races come the summer and beyond. I have previously completed 12 weeks stronglifts and 12 weeks of Wendler's 5/3/1. My stats are in my profile.

rainbowbow

It depends on the cycles im on.

Bulking-1900 to 2200 calories 130-150 grams protein
M- Legs day- barbell squats, leg press, barbell lunges (or dumbbell if im feelin frisky), calf raises, genie sits, mountain climbers
W-Chest Day- Bench Press, Chest press, Chest flies, Inverted push ups (this is my weakest muscle group, EVER), Bicep Curls
F-Back Day- Deadlifts, Seated rows, Good Mornings, Tricep Push downs



Cutting- 1400-1500 calories 120-130 grams protein
M- Legs day- barbell squats, leg press, barbell lunges (or dumbbell if im feelin frisky), calf raises, genie sits, mountain climbers
W-Chest Day- Bench Press, Chest press, Chest flies, Inverted push ups (this is my weakest muscle group, EVER), Bicep Curls
F-Back Day- Deadlifts, Seated rows, Good Mornings, Tricep Push downs

+ 20 minutes of HIIT after each lifting session

I am rather small right now though. I am 5'3 and 115 pounds (up 6 pounds and 4 weeks into my second bulking phase). I was around 17% body fat when i started and im around 20% now. <-- getting fat as hell over here

Although my lifts are getting significantly better (around 2% every two weeks).

jfang86

I predominantly train for running/triathlon (not saying I'm good, just what I focus on). This is my current routine, which is focused on building race pace and increasing weekly mileage; workouts B and C are doing a periodization thing where one exercise is 3x5 and the other is 5x10 so I can work on both endurance and power:

Workout A (long + vertical):
10K run
pull-ups 5xF (~3-5 right now)
assisted wide-grip pull-ups 3-5x5
triceps dips 3-5x10
standing dumbbell shoulder press 3x10
//stair machine if time, optional

Workout B (HIIT + bike + horizontal):
2.5-3mi (~20-30min) HIIT (5min warm-up, 8-10 40-45s intervals with 1:15 - 1:20 rest, 2-3min cool-down)
20 minutes bike (easy/moderate pace, just getting a little saddle time)
BB bench 3x5 or 5x10
DB row 5x10 or 3x5
//stair machine if time, optional

Workout C (tempo/easy + lower):
4mi tempo
BB squat 3x5 or 5x10
RDL 5x10 or 3x5
DB lunge 3x10
vertical jumps 3x5
//stair machine if time, optional

Rest days are either actual rest days, or I will occasionally hit a yoga class to work on flexibility, which has noticeably deteriorated over the last year. I'm still shopping for yoga classes.

Week: ABCxABx // this is the ideal structure, but I actually usually take rest days by feel because I need my week to be a little adaptable to my schedule. I still hit up the gym about 4-5 days a week.

letjog

1 day is long run day : 20-22 miles high protein.

Holy crap that's impressive lol.

Thanks

nexangelus

Right now I'm bulking to build more muscle... I eat 6 times a day. 1200-1400 calories.

This does not compute!

I eat very varied number of calories depending on how hungry or fat i feel, ranging from 1100-2500 caories per day. Always high protein.

Neither does this!

Matt_Wild

Right now I'm bulking to build more muscle... I eat 6 times a day. 1200-1400 calories.

This does not compute!

I eat very varied number of calories depending on how hungry or fat i feel, ranging from 1100-2500 caories per day. Always high protein.

Neither does this!

Agreed.

How can one build muscle with a deficit in calories?

itsDorian7

I do a 5 day split.
No cardio (currently)
Try to eat over 2000 cal daily

kdiamond

My exact routine is on my profile.

I do 4-5 days in the gym. 3 days of lifting, 2 days of HIIT or 1 day of HIIT and 1 day of random cardio or walking outside or whatever.

5-6 hours total per week.