Strong Curves newbie

Rbot_ov3rl04d · 2018-10-11T18:24:04+00:00

For building muscle you need a calorie surplus. Burning fat requires a calorie deficit, no getting around that no matter what diet you use.

My fitness pal is awesome, I use it and log every meal. The pro version lets you search for food based on nutrient content.

If you are focused on building muscle, lift heavy, 3-4 sets 6-8 reps. On your off days cardio is fine, just don't let yourself go into a calorie deficit doing so.

What is it with women and buying workout books? I've had 3 gfs buy a book before beginning to work out. Is this common? I've never known a guy to do this.

MJwitTheThrowaway · 2018-10-11T19:25:03+00:00

Check out the subreddit r/strongcurves

jduong219 · 2018-10-12T03:19:06+00:00

I’m currently doing strong curves(BB wk8) and love it. My stats are very similar to yours and I had never regularly worked out before strong curves. Knew nothing about how to use gym equipment and was so nervous about people judging me in the gym because of how clueless I was. Now, I absolutely love going to the gym, look forward to it every day and actually dread my rest days. I’m already seeing great results and feel great! I love how it forced me to use a new machine every day for the first week of every month and then get really comfortable with each exercise.

I supplement with cardio: either LISS(walking fast at an incline and trying to keep my heart rate at 140)...or the C25k program 3x a week, but I’m only on week 3 of that.

As for calories, I would just try eating at maintenance if you’re happy with your weight and add/subtract 100 calories every week or so until you find your true maintenance calories.

I hope you love it as much as I do! And definitely check out r/strongcurves!

Whisper · 2018-10-11T18:57:55+00:00

I would avoid any popular program targeted specifically at women. Such programs tend to focus on "toning", using high repetition counts of light resistance. Women find this less intimidating, and the programs sell well.

Problem is, that's a total waste of time. There's no such thing as "toning", and muscles don't become stronger, denser, or larger by moving a lot. If they did, your heart would be huge.

What muscles do is adapt to the maximum strain placed on them. That means, if you want muscle growth, you must lift a heavy thing. A really heavy thing. The heaviest thing you can lift.

But Whisper, I'm a giiiiiiiiiiiiiirl. I want to be shapely! I don't want to get big muscles!

You just said the same thing twice. Muscles have defined shapes, and give shape to the body as a whole. Adipose (fatty) tissue just hangs there in a blob, creating a softening or blurring effect. While you need some of that, your female hormones will attend to that quite nicely, and stopping them would require conscious effort on your part. The same is true of getting big and bulky. Not going to happen without a lot of hard and conscious effort.

If you are afraid of looking like a female Olympic lifter, then you haven't been looking at them too carefully.

Wanna look like that?

Thought so.

Lift heavy.

anocratic · 2018-10-11T19:47:19+00:00

Could you please share what Reddit you use for fitness?

cocodecoca · 2018-10-11T20:45:59+00:00

I do cardio for the basic necessity of keeping myself a healthy person. Excessive cardio (which is subjective to everyone) just made me weedy. I'm in the gym now doing a lot of squats, deadlifts and ab crunches and am eating whatever I want. I'm getting bigger but I feel like I look good. I don't weigh myself, I just measure my waist. It's getting smaller. When you're seriously sore from the gym it feels good to rest and eat properly. But I have a skinny body type so I find it hard to keep weight on. If you're more curvy I guess you might want to count calories or something. I do no cardio except for walking around my town with a push chair. That's enough cardio for me. I don't really like yoga much, but I've done years of pilates which has really helped me with lifting because it teaches you how to maintain the right posture while your body is under strain, and also teaches you how to push through physical pain and differentiate ok pain from bad pain. The transition from Pilates to deadlifts was not that hard, I got it on the first couple of tries and I account that to Pilates. Pilates helps you to detect those little, underworked muscles and give them a proper push.

snacksarelife · 2018-10-11T21:44:58+00:00

I powerlift and I did the Strong Curves program for a while to focus on my glutes (since they were holding me back). Imho Bret Contreras knows his stuff and this program is solid, and based on both science and his experience as a trainer. From what I remember the first phase does consist of a looooot of reps with relatively lower weight, mainly to improve mind muscle connection and to get used to the movement patterns. In the later phases he makes you do lower reps with more weight. I did really enjoy the program and I saw some great results. Now I'm back on powerlifting and still implement a lot of exercises from that program into my workouts. I think you chose well and you'll enjoy it! If you really stick to it and follow the program I'm sure you will see some nice results.

RedGunnera · 2018-10-14T08:05:25+00:00

I believe your initial focus should be on enjoying your time in the gym. You can use programs like Strong Curves to draw inspiration for your workouts and learn new movements, but be aware that every person is different and you may get more out of certain exercises and prefer doing those.

The most important thing is that you are consistent in your training and choosing a balanced program of exercises that you prefer/enjoy is a good strategy when starting out.

haven't weighed myself recently

Recording your weight at a consistent time of the day (e.g in the morning when you wake up) is a useful measure for adjusting your calorie intake.

Should I add in cardio (walking on a treadmill on an incline) a couple days a week too? Would adding in walks or yoga help?

If you enjoy cardio and find it relaxing or therapeutic then go ahead. If you intend to lift heavy it is a good idea to do 10 minutes of cardio before a workout to raise your core body temperature, which has been shown in studies to reduce your risk of injury.

Also, I think I should be eating at a calorie surplus.

As a beginner I would recommend just following your regular diet and trying to hit a protein intake goal of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (0.4-0.55 grams protein/kg bodyweight/meal for 4 meals per day). By tracking everything you eat in conjunction with regular weigh ins you will be able to determine your maintenance calorie intake. When you have an idea of what your maintenance calorie intake is (at your new level of activity) I would recommend staying at your maintenance calories or a very slight surplus. As a beginner you will be able to sustain a ‘body recomposition’ period where you gain muscle, lose fat and stay the same weight. Some people will argue that you need to be in a caloric surplus to gain muscle but as a beginner you will likely be able to do both.

Any others tips you have would be awesome for a newbie like myself. I don't have a gym right now besides a treadmill and some dumbbells

If you are serious about getting fit you could consider a gym membership and some personal training sessions. As a beginner who is focused on lifting heavy and building muscle it is very important that you learn the correct form for the movements. A personal trainer can be a useful resource for this as they can check your form and give you pointers.

If a gym membership or a few personal training sessions is too much to begin with or unaffordable, I would recommend watching YouTube videos to learn the correct form. Scott Herman fitness, Athlene X and many other channels have good content showing you the correct form on lots of movements.

Best of luck.

Ari3n3tt3 · 2018-10-11T18:36:34+00:00

peanut butter is great for adding extra calories

Title	Strong Curves newbie
Author	HardRockB
Upvotes	25
Comments	32
Date	October 11, 2018 3:40 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RedPillWomen
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RedPillWomen/comments/9nb2bs/strong_curves_newbie/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RedPillWomen/strong-curves-newbie.67699 https://theredarchive.com/post/67699

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