F1 for body shaping?

Hi,

a friend of mine wants to start working out and ask me if I could help her to desgin a program.

She is looking for a body toning program. She just wants to get in overall better shape. ^^

My first tought was that she should start F1 and combine it with some cardio and the right food. This will be the best body shaping program I could think off.

She also has to deal with backproblems and F1 will get rid of them as a side effect.

But she isn´t "looking" for strength gains in the first place and so F1 doesn´t fit perfectly.

Her friends says she should start the standart Abs, Butt, Thighs aproach in a gym, but I´m abit critical, because it is not really programmed and will not have such good side effects like F1(fixing imbalances).

But the most important thing for a succesful body shape program is the right nutrition, so even this aproach could work.

Now my question is: Is F1 the best way to reach her goal, or will a "Abs,Butt,Thighs" program enough?

I would say she should follow F1 a months or two and see if she is happy with the result.

Maybe some of you have experience with something similiar and could give me some.

I'd say definitely go with F1, simply for the reason that she has back problems, although of course with the caveat that she should get herself checked first to see if the exercises are safe for her to perform.

If she's after tone then its as simple as losing weight and resistance training, so your recommendation is sound. Just don't drop her in the deep end with everything.
Of course convincing her to try the program and getting her to stick with it are totally different issues. For the former I think you should push the fixing imbalances angle whilst stressing that she's not going to get bulky from doing the intensity that foundation requires (apparently this is a common concern).

Sticking with it is hard. In the end the best program is one you actually do and you may be up against the lure of social interaction she would get doing a Abs butt, thighs workout with the other girls. In the end it's her choice and any attempt to force her will backfire. Best of luck

I feel like GST is performance based aesthetics whereas other programs put the emphasis on aesthetics first (which is retarded) so it is a hard sell but definitely worth the work...especially if she is inspired by seeing gymnasts do cool shit.

PhilTaylor said:

Hi,

 

Now my question is: Is F1 the best way to reach her goal, or will a "Abs,Butt,Thighs" program

My wife ha not worked out for 20 years, did F1 and had/has great results. Do it for at least 12 weeks.

Thanks for your fast answers ! =)

She wants to try the program, because of the nice side effects. We will see the results in relative short time and if she doesn´t like it she can still take the Abs, Butt, Thighs aproach. And she is okay with the fact that she isn´t going the "mainstream road", when F1 works even if it´s not that popular. ( One thing I notice is that alot of people think that a fitness program is kinda bad just because it´t not that popular).

And it sounds really great, when I read your comments! =) And it will be a good combination of functional training and astethic training.

But in the end its her decision like you said.

If she's after tone then its as simple as losing weight and resistance training, so your recommendation is sound. Just don't drop her in the deep end with everything.

 

My wife ha not worked out for 20 years, did F1 and had/has great results. Do it for at least 12 weeks.

Okay so this aproach sounds good. Did you think of scaling F1 down abit will be a good idea?

I think some of the first PEs in F1 could be kinda hard, when you start working out.

PhilTaylor said:

I think some of the first PEs in F1 could be kinda hard, when you start working out.

For the most part she should be okay, except maybe for the SL/PE1.  There's a good example of how to regress it here.

If she's really out of shape, allowing the form demonstrated in the video for RC/PE1 may be necessary, but I doubt it.

Oh, and make sure she can squat before she starts on SLS/PE1.

PhilTaylor said:

Okay so this aproach sounds good. Did you think of scaling F1 down abit will be a good idea?

I think some of the first PEs in F1 could be kinda hard, when you start working out.

My wife had to scale back a bit on the first Pe on SLS. Thats about it.

She is not in horrible form, she just never exercised before.

I worried about the first SLS too. I think she should test it and if she finds it to hard, I will scale it back a bit.

Thanks for all the answers! =)

People with back issues need to be very careful starting any kind of exercise program... and F1 is no exception. While the integrated mobility combined with the strength elements will give you a body in balance, some of the early elements can cause injury (I speak from experience).