Can anybody suggest a workout for a 15yo girl?

[sliver1]

I have a female relative who is interested in getting in shape. She is 15 and healthy. Not overweight (I don't know her height and weight). Of course she is interested in abs and a flat stomach.

She has access to a power rack, elliptical machine, and stationary bike. However, I can't seem to find much information on routines for teenage girls. Would it be better to suggest more in the way of body weight exercises?

I think any routine for her should be relatively simple and fun so she sticks with it. I've told her consistency is the key. I've also explained how diet will have more effect on her abs and bodyfat in general.

Can anybody offer up any tips? She's looking to me for advice and I would like to steer her in the right direction.

[chris mason]

Check out http://www.girlsgonestrong.com.

You can get e-books and all sorts of suggestions for strength training for women.

[Alex.V]

I have a female relative who is interested in getting in shape. She is 15 and healthy. Not overweight (I don't know her height and weight). Of course she is interested in abs and a flat stomach.

She has access to a power rack, elliptical machine, and stationary bike. However, I can't seem to find much information on routines for teenage girls. Would it be better to suggest more in the way of body weight exercises?

I think any routine for her should be relatively simple and fun so she sticks with it. I've told her consistency is the key. I've also explained how diet will have more effect on her abs and bodyfat in general.

Can anybody offer up any tips? She's looking to me for advice and I would like to steer her in the right direction.

She just wants to get in shape? Is she at all interested in any sports? Quite frankly, by 15, there's no reason to choose a routine specifically for youth or for women- get her engaged in something she wants to do, and most importantly, help her with some concrete goals- something to train for.

[sliver1]

Chris, thanks for the link. I think it might help her out and give her some motivation.

Alex, she's not really interested in sports as far as I know. On the outside, I think her interest is easy to pin on wanting a flat stomach and looking better. On the other hand, I think she might be looking for something, anything, to better herself. I'm hoping she's serious. That she wants to follow through with this. Like I said, she's looking to me for advice and I want to help her out as much as I can.

[tmor6]

for me my favorite is workout i do my workout every 2 days i lose some lbs and now i work for my 6 packs

good luck

Oh, yeah, that's deep. I'm sure that'll help OP...stupid bots...

OP: I have no insight in this but I think it's great you are trying to help her - many props to you.

[Judas]

If its possible, look into an olympic weightlifting club. Lots ov peers there, not usually a lot ov 'beasts' (something that tends to turn off many younger girls from training), good coaching and instruction at almost every turn, good environment and atmosphere and quite honestly you cannot find a better sport for her to do. A nice bonus with these is that if you can find one, they are typically (but not always) free to join, and are always looking for members..

If she (or her parents) are bucks-up, try a Crossfit. One look into a decent CF joint with the type ov chicks you usually see there and she may be sold. They look good and they are wicked-fit. If thats too spendy then perhaps replicate it on your own... which is easy to do. Also, any non-gear oriented (raw) powerlifting type ov programming will produce good results if done with an eye towards her particular goals.

[Falcon63]

Diet.

[RichMcGuire]

Diet.

Wtf?

[Falcon63]

Wtf?

She wants abs. That's (almost) all diet.

[RichMcGuire]

She wants abs. That's (almost) all diet.

I completely agree..but it looks like the op was looking for a workout.

[Falcon63]

I completely agree..but it looks like the op was looking for a workout.

I know. I was just trying to make a point that no matter how good/bad a workout you have, it won't do anything if the diet isn't in check (unless you're looking for only strength and you're dirty bulking).

[sliver1]

I just want to say thanks to everyone for their input so far. I have explained to her about diet being more important for abs. I get the impression that she is genuinely interested in working out. She seems to be on a "self improvement" mission.

I can pretty much say that going to a gym is out of the question at this point, for various reasons. However, with a power rack and plenty of weights I figure something could be done at home. Do I just suggest Baby Got Back? HCT-12? I worry that the big lifts (deads, squats, etc) will intimidate her. Plus, I am not local enough to be able to help her in person with form and the like. That's why I was wondering if I should suggest more body weight exercises.

I'm excited that she's interested in working out. But fearful that she'll get intimidated and give up because "it seems too much like a guys routine to get huge and buff".

[Judas]

I just want to say thanks to everyone for their input so far. I have explained to her about diet being more important for abs. I get the impression that she is genuinely interested in working out. She seems to be on a "self improvement" mission.

Very good to hear. I wish more kids would have some goddamn self-pride these days.

I can pretty much say that going to a gym is out of the question at this point, for various reasons. However, with a power rack and plenty of weights I figure something could be done at home. Do I just suggest Baby Got Back? HCT-12? I worry that the big lifts (deads, squats, etc) will intimidate her. Plus, I am not local enough to be able to help her in person with form and the like. That's why I was wondering if I should suggest more body weight exercises.

I'm excited that she's interested in working out. But fearful that she'll become intimidated and give up because "it seems too much like a guys routine to get huge and buff."

How can squatting the bar, and benching the bar, hell, even deadlifting the bar be intimidating? NUMBER ONE thing YOU need to do... is learn how to properly warm someone up. That means if she can deadlift 135lbs, start with the bar, then go to 75lbs, then 95lbs, small increments. That means when benching, starting with something less than the bar, and working up. When it comes to women (especially women and especially on bench!) you gotta sneak up the weight on them. Further... do some homework... if you care, find pictures... a LOT ov pictures... ov hot olympic lifters, powerlifters, Crossfitters... any sport that involves women and a barbell. Skip the pics ov the 250lb female world champion powerlifter looking like her heads about to pop in full multi-ply gear... and the IFBB pro bodybuilder, hell... dont even show her the fitness pro. There is a TON ov good material out there. Show her what a woman ACTUALLY looks like when she trains properly. There is NOTHING for a chick to be intimidated by... and 99% ov the time if someone gets freaked out its because she got bad information, or had a bad trainer.

[Yosh86]

I think bodyweight exercises are a good place to start for a guy or girl if they have zero experience. Bodyweight exercises are simple and effective. Then after a few weeks, get her to start lifting. If she has a power rack, have her start doing the basic barbell lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, OHP) in a beginners program. Keep in mind that women can do more more submaximal reps comparatively to guys (A woman's 3RM might be only 5lbs away from her 1RM while a guy's 3RM is way different than his 1RM) so keep that in mind if your program uses percents of maxes. You will have to tweak the set/rep scheme. Women don't need to do drastically different exercises though...squats, bench press, deadlift, and OHP work if you have a penis or don't.