Strength-Based Women's Workout Plan Guide - At Home (no HIIT) & At Gym

[adiannon]

Hi Everyone,

I've never posted a question on Reddit before so my apologies if I do anything wrong in advance.

I'm currently 26 years old and would like to work on incorporating exercise back into my life and losing around 15-20 lbs to reduce fat while gaining muscle. (Don't care about scale weight as long as I'm losing fat & toning up)

When I was 17-19, I used to follow Lais De Leon's fitness guides for at home and at the gym, and having a structured plan (what body part to work out, which exercises to do, # sets/reps) was wonderful for me as I have ADHD and it made working out much easier for me. I also liked knowing that I was closer to the finish line and had a sense of accomplishment when completing plans/challenges. These were all strength-based and I loved that. I feel like a badass when lifting and feeling like a badass is what motivates me to work out.

I recently retried one of Lais De Leon's challenges through her app but it's expensive & I felt that it was a bit too much and unrealistic for a single gym sesh. It's also been about 4 years since I've consistently worked out so I've realized that I need to start from the basics again.

I've been looking around and lurking on Reddit posts but it's VERY overwhelming with the amount fitness women and people out there and guides. I've checked out a few guides based on posts from here and most are good but not exactly quite what I'm looking for.

The biggest difficulty that I'm running into most is that many are HIIT-based workouts. I do not enjoy HIIT-based workouts whatsoever and I also cannot physically do them since I have a kidney disease and my kidney doc told me to avoid HIIT & Cross Fit type workouts because of the focus on a fast heartbeat and overload of high-intensity. When I attempt HIIT workouts I get light-headed, get close to passing out, and develop hives. Unrealistic to keep attempting this if I plan to stay consistent with working out, therefore am avoiding these types of workouts.

What I'm looking for:

1. A home-based fitness guide for women: I have access to my apartment gym which has dumbbells, resistance bands, and a cable machine. Strength-based workout focused and can include bodyweight. Not HIIT focused or have it as a minimum if it is in there.
2. A gym-based fitness guide for women: When I join a gym again (In August - after I'm done w/ grad school due to cost) I would like to fully get back to lifting. Squats, DLs, bench, hip thrusts, etc. Looking for a guide to tell me which body part to focus on, which exercises, sets/reps. Low-impact cardio is perfectly fine, just no high-intensity cardio or HIIT style.

Overall: SIMPLE layout/plan, tells me exactly what to do & how much, focus on strength building using a combination of weights & bodyweight, beginner-intermediate, don't care about fast gains/results, something 8-12 weeks or longer if possible (longer the better).

Thank you all for your help in advance!

EDIT: For others that may read this post later looking for help/new recs, I've compiled most of the answers in a manner that would've been helpful for me as a lurker . I'll keep trying to add more as I see them.

Current Recommendations (Dec 2021):

Programs

Name of Program
Who
Link
Cost
Notes

Liftoff: Couch to Barbell
Casey Johnston
[sup]https://www.couchtobarbell.com/[/sup]
$20
Home Based (Phase 1-2), Gym Based (Phase 3)

Fitness Blender - Mass
Fitness Blender
[sup]https://www.fitnessblender.com/plans/fb-mass-4-week-workout-program-to-build-mass-and-increase-strength[/sup]
$14.99


Stronger by the Day
Meg Gallagher (MegSquats)
[sup]https://www.strongstrongfriends.com/product/stronger-by-the-day/[/sup]
$9.99/month
Gym Based, Subscription

Before the Barbell
Meg Gallagher (MegSquats)
[sup]https://www.strongstrongfriends.com/before-the-barbell/[/sup]
$9.99/month (2-month)
Home Based, Waitlist, Subscription

Fat Loss - 6 Week Training Program
Girls Gone Strong
[sup]https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GGS\[/sup]CHFL_Fat-Loss-6-Week-Training-Program.pdf)
Free


SplitStrong 35: 2-Week Workout Program
Nourish Move Love
[sup]https://www.nourishmovelove.com/splitstrong-35-workout-program/[/sup]
Free
New Content Every Two Weeks

EPIC Program
Caroline Girvan
[sup]https://carolinegirvan.com/epic-program.pdf[/sup]
Free
Home Based, Youtube Program

The Female Lean Program
Jeremy Ethier (Built with Science)
[sup]https://builtwithscience.com/programs/female-lean-program/[/sup]
$49
Gym Based

Female Build
Jeremy Ethier (Built with Science)
[sup]https://builtwithscience.com/programs/female-build-program/[/sup]
$49
Gym Based

Strength Method
Natalie Freeman
[sup]https://nataliefreeman.co/strengthmethod/[/sup]
$14/month
Subscription

The Starting Strength Program (Novice)
Starting Strength
[sup]https://startingstrength.com/get-started/programs[/sup]
Free
Gym Based

Strong with Kelly
Kelly
[sup]https://www.strongwithkelly.com/shopprograms[/sup]
$75-100


Lift at Home Program
Sohee Lee
[sup]https://soheefit.com/collections/e-products/products/lift-at-home-program[/sup]
$29
Home Based, 12 Weeks

CUT.
Natacha Oceane
[sup]https://natachaoceane.com/[/sup]
$60
Home Based, 12 Weeks

BUILD.
Natacha Oceane
[sup]https://natachaoceane.com/[/sup]
$60
Gym Based, 12 Weeks

HR12WEEK 2.0
Heather Robertson
[sup]https://heatherrobertson.com/programs/heather-robertson-12-week-workout-program-2/[/sup]
Free
Home Based, Youtube Program, 12 Weeks

Apps: SWEAT, Books: The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess by Cassandra Forsythe & Lou Schuler

People Mentioned: Sarah Olive Bergeson, Tracy Steen, Emi Wong, Heather Robertson, Sohee Lee, Sydney Cummings, Natacha Oceane, Caroline Girvan, Jeremey Ethier, Casey Johnston, Meg Gallagher, Natalie Freeman

 

[baltazaresguerra]

@adiannon Hi there! I know it‘s an old post but if there is anybody out there still reading this: I‘m searching exactly the same but for gym only and completely for free + a plan without barbells as I’m an absolute beginner and have I feeling that machines work better at the start. If anybody has a recommendation, let me know please

 

[perezeduardo78]

@adiannon Hey there! I just wanted to share something really cool with you. I recently started using Hybrid Calisthenics by Hampton and I am absolutely loving it! Hampton is such a wholesome person and I really resonate with his outlook towards fitness and life in general.

The best part is that he provides an app which is super easy to use and has helped me to stay consistent with my workouts. It's perfect for someone like me who struggles to stay motivated.

If you're looking for a fun and effective way to get in shape, then I highly recommend giving Hybrid Calisthenics a try. Trust me, you won't regret it!

 

[anonymosbeliever]

@adiannon What did you end up going with? I have very similar requirements! Couch to Liftoff is what I'm using now but I'm interested in an alternative for when I 'finish' the program. Edited to add - thank you for compiling these for the lurkers!!

 

[lison5]

@adiannon Super helpful! I want to mention the Nike Training App. It's free and has a lot of different training session and program options to try, including basic/getting started programs. I've found it super helpful - that and their running app.