Home Blog Is Show and Go Okay for Females? You Tell Me.

Is Show and Go Okay for Females? You Tell Me.

Written on September 23, 2010 at 1:09 pm, by Eric Cressey

I've gotten several inquiries about whether Show and Go will be a good fit for women trying to get fitter and stronger.  I guess it really depends on whether you want to be able to do stuff like this.

My lovely fiancee just showing up and banging out eight pull-ups – in her work attire, without a warm-up.

Or Cressey Performance client Natalie putting on a show of her own with some rope pull-ups.

And a little something for the deadlifters in the crowd…

"At the beginning of this program, I was very out of balance, where my lower body was much stronger than my upper body and I will give Eric the credit for balancing me out. I found incredible strength gains in my chest, back and shoulders and was still gaining at the end of my 4 months. Working with Eric I knew the mobility and stability throughout my body would improve in the areas it needed to; I have never had any shoulder issues, but now my shoulders have never felt healthier, more stable or stronger. By the time I got to the third phase, I found my 1RM for the bench press climbed almost 30 lbs and I was working with weight I have never worked with before. Beginning the program I could not do any pull-ups .. I finished with being able to do 3 complete reps for 4 sets … that's success to me! This program gave my body the perfect base to go in any training direction afterward."

Kelsey Pettengill – Saco, ME

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"My fiance, Mathew, and I completed Eric's 16 week strength program in June. We were both extremely pleased with our results. I increased my squat by 55lb, my deadlift by 33lb, my 3-rep maximum chin-up by 12lb, my bench press by 8lb and my standing jump by 7.5"- great results in just 16 weeks.

"This is the first intensive strength program I have undertaken. The program will produce amazing results if you are completely committed, determined and motivated for the 16 weeks. I even managed to complete my training with international travel and demanding work pressures.

Mathew was an ongoing source of support and this program highlighted the importance and value of a committed and motivated training partner.

"As a female who up to three years ago focused their entire fitness regime on cardio, I highly recommend Eric's program and his strength and conditioning expertise for maximizing strength gains and sculpting a lean physique."

Cassandra Lees – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

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"I have nothing but glowing praise for Eric Cressey's program. I have been a recreational lifter for many years. Eric's program has helped me overcome some sticking points in mobility and strength that I wasn't able to address on my own. Even though I am relatively strong, I have never been able to chin. Now, I can do several sets of chins with various grips.

"Because of all the unilateral work that Eric recommended in this program, my basic lifts (deadlift, squat, bench) have gone up significantly.

"My favorite lift, the deadlift, has gone from 225 to 280 and that's at my body weight of 130 lbs.

"I was always a good conventional squatter, either free squat or box squat, but was never comfortable with the front squat. This program provided me with the tools to finally perform a decent front squat.

"I could go and on and on and tell you about all the other lifts and how they improved. Suffice it to say…THIS PROGRAM WORKS! Thanks, Eric!"

Arlene Robbins  – New York, NY

"I can't say enough to describe the positive experiences I had with the Show and Go Program. Obviously, I gained significant strength across the board and got leaner, which in itself is rewarding, but the amazing part to me is that I did so as a 40 year old female with an office job and not as a younger elite athlete with access to more training resources. And my progressions weren't solely strength oriented as I also made improvements in my flexibility and range of motion in spite of having past issues in these areas. With the enhanced strength and flexibility, I'm now enjoying the best fitness, strength and health I've had at any point in my life. And, it's incredibly empowering to be a strong woman and reach strength levels I never thought were possible for me. There is no question in my mind that I got more than a 16 week training manual from the Show and Go Program. Rather, this program provided a road map for me to be able to continue to optimize my strength and overall health because I experienced the power of mixing of mobility exercises along with innovative strength gaining techniques."

Rebecca Wilson – Fayetteville, Arkansas

If this isn't proof enough that this is a great female fitness option, I don't know what is.  For more information – and a $50 off discount this week only – click here to check out Show and Go: High Performance Training to Look, Feel, and Move Better.

 

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13 Responses to “Is Show and Go Okay for Females? You Tell Me.”

  1. Lindsay Says:

    I know Kelsey! I used to work with her! That’s awesome that she did this! I’m really looking forward to doing this program. When I got pregnant, I did pull ups until I was 28 weeks pregnant! I used to be able to deck out 10 pull ups just fine, now I can only do 1.5, yeah, just a halfer. So I really look forward to gaining upper body strength and a stronger lower body! I’m excited!

  2. Shawn Boylan Says:

    How different is this program compared to Maximum Strength? Thanks

  3. Eric Cressey Says:

    Shawn, this comes directly from the text and should answer your question:

    In the program that follows, I can do a lot more in terms of exercise
    variety, at least within the confines of what “typical” gyms’ equipment
    selections allow. I can build more “on the fly” strength tests into the
    programs on top of the already-challenging loading protocols. I can
    include both 3- and 4-day-a-week training programs to accommodate your
    unique schedule. I can provide exercise alternatives if you lift somewhere
    that doesn’t have all the equipment you’d need to perform the program
    as-written. And, I can create an online video library to make it easier for
    you to see the exercises and learn some of the exact coaching cues we
    use with our athletes at Cressey Performance.

    Additionally, self-publishing affords me several luxuries; most
    notably, I have no restrictions on the length of the text. I can write as
    much or as little as I want – and basically do whatever is required to make
    the program exactly what I want it to be. Exercise descriptions aren’t
    limited to a certain number of sentences, and if I want to include seven
    exercises in a specific day’s session instead of six, for instance, it’s okay. I
    can also include ready-to-use templates that you can print out and take
    with you to the gym to record weights used, whereas traditional books are
    never conducive to this.

    And, on perhaps the most badass note, instead of just exercise
    photos for demonstrations, you’ll find an entire video library where you
    can view the proper technique for every single exercise in the Show and
    Go program. That’s about 175 exercises – which constitutes just enough
    on-camera time to qualify me for an Oscar in the “Best Performance by a
    Balding Meathead Strength Coach” category. Assuming an average of 12-
    15 seconds per video, you’ve essentially gotten yourself the equivalent of a
    35-45 minute DVD on top of all this programming and my charming wit
    and personality.
    This, of course, is why the price was higher on this manual than it
    was with Maximum Strength. Obviously, you get more. To take it a step
    further, though, I certainly don’t expect it to appeal to as many people as
    in the first go-round, but I still felt it had to be written for those of you
    who do want to take things to the next level.
    To be honest, I think I sometimes become a bit desensitized to what
    we do every day; writing programs like these is what I do on a daily basis.
    Not everyone has a training facility like Cressey Performance at their
    fingertips, so they generally don’t have the caliber of programming
    required to take mediocre or even good gains to the optimal or
    outstanding level. I was thrilled to get as much positive, unsolicited
    feedback on Maximum Strength, so I was all for pulling together a manual
    to enable these folks to continue in their gains.

  4. NAT Says:

    Training at CP with EC and crew is such a privilege!! It may be against the mainstream mentalitity for women…but lifting heavy weights with good form goes a LONG way for women!! More results than I could have imagined. I’d encourage everyone to at the very least give it a shot – it’s fun. it’s empowering. and it gets RESULTS!

  5. Alice Bellia Says:

    Hi Eric,

    I’ve started lifting in April, following Alwyn’s book New rules of lifting for women. I’m at stage 6 and in a lifting pause of two weeks due to hand tendinitis :/

    When I’m healed and done with Alwyn’s program, I thought to finish first your Maximum Strenght book and then move on to this, would you recommend that?

    Thanks!

  6. Eric Cressey Says:

    Hi Alice,

    You could do that – or just skip right over Maximum Strength and go to S&G. Your call completely!

    Best,

    EC

  7. Anjuli Says:

    Hi Eric,

    Thank you for this post. I had the same Question whether it would be good for someone like me – who is (a) a woman (b) not an athelete (c) fairly new to lifting (10 months) (d) still has some fat to lose and, (e) works out from home. And, I’m assuming the answer is Yes to all of my concerns 🙂

    I completely understand it is very hard to write a program that is meant for everyone. But, S&G seems something I can do. I love it that you have made it 2x,3x and 4x a week option for folks with time constraints and that you have videos available. That is huge! I’m a visual learner.

    I’m currently on Phase 2 of Max Strength and as always thinking ahead what to do next? Like the previous poster, I also did NROL4W first, then moved on to Max Strength. I do have to say one thing – I can do GHR now! I remember emailing you and asking for an alternate exercise (which you kindly responded – Thanks) cuz I couldn’t perform it prior to starting Max Strength. I was shocked! So, Thank you! 🙂

    I just bought S&G. Looking forward to it.

    Thank you

  8. Eric Cressey Says:

    Anjuli – Yes to everything! 🙂 And, you’ll be golden going to S&G either now or at the end of Maximum Strength. Great job on the GHR!

    Thanks for your order – and have a great weekend!

  9. Fredrik Gyllensten Says:

    Haha, your fiancee is strong! And really cute 🙂

  10. Patti Says:

    Eric,
    That is awesome!! I’ve been on your blog now 3 weeks, from Big Chis..I’m with Bedros’ group. I wrote in on the contest…you selected some excellent winners! I just liquidated my gym, moving to vegas, starting new fitness business, and want a personal coaching program that’s effective… I’m in! That video and her strength was great!!! Thanks Eric. I’ll be following your adventures!

  11. bryan Says:

    Eric,

    By posting the videos you have given me more motivation. To see these woman doing haning pull ups, I better get my but in gear.

  12. Michael Young Says:

    Eric, never really got to tell you thanks. ME and my fiance Amara have never had the gains that we had from Maximum Strength. We are on our second go around and can’t wait to start Show and Go. Just an FYI Im rack-pulling over 300 pounds perfect form, and she did sets of 5 with 205 and is only 130!! Your program is amazing..

  13. Lisa Says:

    I recently completed Eric’s program “Maximum Strength” and saw some serious gains in strength and performance. I just purchased “Show and Go” and I am confident it will bring about better results.


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