If you look at Instagram, women’s training seems like another planet. Instead of barbells and dumbbells, some kind of elastic bands, instead of squats, and rows with a bench press - strange movements at half amplitude. In fact, this is more marketing of coaching services. Girls are used to believing that they are very different from boys, so it’s easier for them to sell all this strange activity. In reality, the same strength exercises are effective, and you need to concentrate more on working on technique, and less on “female and male” versions of popular exercises.
There are some peculiarities - they lie in the difficulty of women mastering pressing movements for the upper body, and in the peculiarities of proportions. The long legs and short body of most girls do not allow them to develop good squat technique on their own. Hence a lot of moral suffering about “the growth of the legs and the lack of progress in the buttocks.” What’s also “special” is the attitude - many still believe that women should train easily, and almost practice dancing with a barbell, so that they get a beautiful body. In reality, everything is more prosaic.
Differences between women's training programs
Weight loss and fat reduction
Non-professionals love to talk about the fact that there are no fat-burning workouts, there is only a calorie deficit from nutrition. In fact, “metabolic” or fat-burning workouts do exist. It’s just that most gym goers can withstand about two minutes of such training. The only “fat-burning workout” is the circuit, which consists of compound exercises with a barbell weighing approximately 70 percent of your one-rep maximum. The movements are performed in series of 30-40 seconds without rest, “circles” can be done only 4-5. Such training increases the body's oxygen consumption at rest and speeds up metabolism. And it doesn't practice for beginners.
Regular gym goers must first learn how to do basic exercises and control body position, and only then manipulate oxygen consumption using circuit training. At the start, the classic scheme “2 cardio workouts per week and 3 strength training” is suitable. The plan could be like this:
- Perform strength training on all muscle groups three times a week. Divide the exercises into planes, or work on the principle of “squat and press day” and “deadlift and vertical press day.” Beginners can do the same set of exercises in simulators; the important thing here is frequency and technique, and not a “super-new” exercise plan and their alternation;
- Do cardio 2 times a week. Non-professionals like to include here circuit training with your own body weight, or working on cardio equipment, but for a beginner the first type of activity is more likely to be strength training than cardio. Therefore, those who have been working out for less than six months should understand cardio as either walking, jogging, pedaling a bicycle, or all the same, only in exercise machines. The usual recommendation to “do 20 minutes of cardio on free days” is also not enough for everyone. Here we should focus on the textbook half an hour of physical activity a day, which is recommended by WHO to keep us healthy;
- Seto-repetition “weight loss” regimens should provide a large volume of training activity. To put it simply, the weight of the burden is less. More approaches. Optimally – 4-5 sets of 6-12 repetitions of each exercise with good technique. Do you need circular ones? No, if a person does not have the strength to perform them, or lacks physical fitness;
- Nutrition must meet two requirements - balance, that is, a sufficient amount of fats and proteins with a reduced amount of carbohydrates, and an orientation toward creating an energy deficit. To calculate your diet, use the Fat Secret or any other application.
Training program for gaining muscle mass
“Wishlists” like “make a nut” or “toned legs and athletic shoulders” are nothing more than gaining muscle mass. It sounds creepy for the average person, but the girl has little chance of turning into the Hulk. Even if you remove cardio training, and do weight training in a strength mode, and eat protein, the result will be just an athletic, toned body, and not a monster mass figure.
What to do:
- Train in the gym every other day, no more often;
- Review your diet - at least 3-4 g of carbohydrates per kilo of body weight, and 2 g of protein. If the gastrointestinal tract cannot cope, take enzymes. But you will have to eat, muscles will not grow out of thin air;
- Approaches and repetitions may vary. If a girl cannot gain muscle in any way, working in the usual “bodybuilding” mode of 8-12 repetitions, she is shown low-repetition strength training, in the mode of 4-6 repetitions in 5-6 approaches. For everyone else, the standard 5 approaches, two of which are warm-up.
Workouts for tone
The entire practice of sports denies this direction. Trainers say you can't just "ton up your muscles" without doing some strength training. An entire marketing industry is parasitic on this category of women - selling 20-minute workouts without weights, some strange pants, and fitness classes that look like an entertainment program for a kindergartener. Body-toning workouts are usually referred to as strength training for those who have excess fat but are not overweight. The so-called “skinny fat” should do both cardio and strength training:
- 3 strength training sessions a week will help pump up muscles and get rid of sagging;
- 15-20 minutes of cardio cool-down at the end of the strength workout will increase calorie consumption;
- Approximately 1.8 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight and 3 g of carbohydrates will be enough. Don't forget about fats - you need to eat at least 1 g per day for the sake of women's hormonal health.
Any health problems are a reason to consult a doctor, and the presence of spinal curvature, injuries, joint pain is a reason to find a qualified trainer. Lack of sports experience is also a reason to contact a coach. A few personal training sessions will be useful if the last physical education lesson took place at school, but there is more than enough energy and enthusiasm.
Correct WORKOUTS for WOMEN
Why do folds of fat appear when you sit?
Among those losing weight, these folds, or rollers, often cause concern. Why? You eat right, exercise, and look great while standing, but as soon as you sit down, those wrinkles appear.
However, there is a simple explanation for this. When you stand, your torso is straight and elongated. The spine also straightens out, and excess belly fat or skin is distributed throughout the long torso. By the way, good posture is the easiest and fastest way to look slim. There are special exercises to correct your posture.
Two great workouts to improve your posture:
Fitness Blender Posture Workout
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Training to improve posture - Corrective exercises against slouching from HasFIT
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But when you sit down, your torso shortens. All the skin and fat that was pulled out while standing is now tightly packed into a small space. As a result, you temporarily develop creases. But there is good news. Absolutely everyone has these folds. Even thin people develop thin folds of fat when they sit because this part of the body becomes compressed.
General rules for strength training
Power must be orderly. You can’t just come to the gym and randomly run around the machines, calling it a “circuit”.
- Strength training begins not with a joint warm-up, but with light generalized cardio. We translate - from walking in a stepper, ellipse or pedaling an exercise bike. You only need to exercise for 5 minutes to achieve light sweating, then move on to warming up the joints.
- The joints are kneaded in the anatomical plane - that is, the elbows and knees are bent and extended, the wrists and ankles, as well as the shoulders and hips - are gently rotated. 9 flexions-extensions or rotations in each joint are enough. You also need to gently rotate your head without throwing it up.
You need to start doing strength exercises with warm-up weights. This is a mandatory rule - they usually start with 40-50 percent of the planned working weight, and add 5-10 kg in leg exercises, and 2.5 kg in upper exercises.
Warm-up is required not only in movements with a barbell, but also in exercises for the back, arms, and even the abs. You need to start pumping it with a smaller amplitude, gradually increasing it.
It is important to rest between exercises according to a timer; those losing weight rest for no more than a minute, everyone else – 90-120 seconds. If the goal of training is to develop strength, you can rest for a longer period of time, depending on how you feel. The program below is suitable for any purpose; it is optimal to use those working weights that a girl can lift with good technique. Remember that for most, the success of a training program will be determined not so much by what the program itself provides, but by compliance with nutritional rules.
Workout 1
Ab crunches
Exercise for the rectus abdominis muscle
The exercise is performed from the starting position lying on the floor, the heels are spaced from the buttocks at a distance of 10-12 cm, the feet are literally pressed into the floor. You need to exhale to bring the lower ribs to the pelvic bones and return to the starting position.
Do 3 approaches 15-20 times. Over time, you can add weights - a dumbbell behind your head.
Hyperextension
Long back muscles, hamstrings, buttocks
The starting position is taken face down in the hyperextension machine. The body goes down, the spine is perpendicular to the floor. With exhalation - full extension of the torso, with inhalation - lowering down.
Perform 10-20 repetitions in three approaches; over time, you can increase the load by picking up a barbell plate and placing it behind your head.
Classic squat (barbell on back)
Works the buttocks, thigh muscles and center of the body
The barbell is taken from racks located at the level of the athlete’s collarbones. The bar lies just below the upper trapezius muscles so that the back can remain tense. The grip on the bar is tight; there is no need to bend your wrists back. As you exhale, the barbell is removed from the racks using extension at the knee joints, a step back is performed and the legs are spread to the sides. Next, the pelvis goes down with an exhalation, and the knees move to the sides and bend. The optimal depth of lowering of the pelvis is the one at which the back remains straight and there is no rounding in the lumbar region. You need to stand up with an exhalation, resting your entire foot on the floor.
If your heels come off during a squat, you need to pay attention to the width of your feet, pick up weights on the platform, and stretch your ankle joints. If the main problem is bringing your knees inward, you should work in a narrower stance.
Squatting training begins with calf extension in a machine, then a squat without weights, a goblet squat with an apparatus on the chest, work in a Smith machine, and finally a barbell. The goal of mastering this chain is to develop mobility of the knee, ankle and hip joints, as well as strengthen the muscles.
Block pull to the chest
Back muscles work
Starting position – sitting on a machine bench with your feet fully resting on the floor. Then, while exhaling, you need to begin to pull the shoulder blades towards each other and towards the spine, and by contracting the back muscles, bring the handle of the exercise machine to the chest, and then return it to its original position.
It is important not to start with your biceps, by bending your arms at the elbow.
Hip raises with barbell
Works the buttocks and hamstrings
You need to sit next to the bench, place your shoulder blades on it, and rest your feet on the floor. Then you should lift your buttocks off the floor and get into the “spine parallel to the floor” position. At the same time, the shoulder blades should not “ride” forward along the bench. You can hold the weight with your hands. Beginners sometimes learn this movement without a barbell before starting to use it. If placing the bar on your hips is not comfortable, you need to wrap it with a special pad, or use fitness mats.
Bench press
An assistant delivers the barbell from the racks to avoid injury. Even if it is a 20 kg bar, insurance is still required. The movement begins by tightening the shoulder blades and “pressing” the pelvis into the bench, then the assistant lifts the barbell onto straight, outstretched arms, with a grip slightly wider than the shoulders. Lower the barbell to the chest, in the solar plexus area, until it touches the body and the bar. The forearms are positioned at an angle of 45 degrees to the body. The barbell is pressed out in one powerful movement.
After completing all repetitions, an assistant helps return the bar to the racks. To avoid shoulder injury, you should not press on a “flat” back; your shoulder blades should remain pressed, not your lower back.
Standing Dumbbell Flyes
This is a shoulder exercise. You need to stand up straight, slightly bend your elbows, lean forward slightly, and abduct your forearms to the sides. As soon as the forearm reaches parallel level with the floor, the movement stops and the dumbbells smoothly return to their original position.
TRAINING PROGRAM in the Gym FOR GIRLS. FIRST LEVEL
What exercises can you do to pump up your butt at home in 1 month?
Next, I will tell you which, in my opinion, exercises for the buttocks and thighs are the most effective.
By the way, there is one interesting fact. To make your butt visually higher, you also need to train your lower legs (calves and soleus muscles). Try standing on your toes and you will feel your buttocks tightening and lifting. Therefore, we definitely include an exercise for calves in our training program.
The exercises below can be used as a complex and initial training program to pump up your butt at home. Do them 2-3 times a week. The total duration of the workout should be 40-50 minutes. Rest between sets – 1 minute, between exercises 3 minutes.
In a month, you will see that your butt has become much more toned and beautiful.
Squats
Squats are an effective exercise to quickly pump up your butt at home.
The most effective exercise for the legs, and, of course, for the butt, is squats. A beautiful butt is impossible without beautiful, slender and toned legs. And squats are a complex exercise that trains almost the entire body: legs, buttocks and back.
I recommend squatting with a stick (or mop:) on your shoulders. This technique is used for barbell squats. If in the future you decide to squat not at home, but in the gym, then it will be easier for you to squat with a barbell, since you will master this technique.
A few important rules when doing squats so as not to harm yourself.
- The back should be straight and not bend. Otherwise, you can get an intervertebral hernia.
- The knees should not protrude beyond the toes. Otherwise, you may get a knee injury. Push your butt back as far as possible.
- Don't squat deeply. The thighs should be parallel to the floor, and the butt should not fall below the knees. Squats that are too deep can put dangerous stress on your knees.
If squats at home are too easy for you, you can buy dumbbells and squat with dumbbells. No dumbbells? Take bottles of water, or wear a backpack with books - also an option.
Lunges
How to do lunges to pump up your butt
Lunges are a great exercise for enlarging your hips and buttocks. Lunges are a good way to work your legs and buttocks, making them more elastic, toned and sculpted. There are many variations of lunges, but my favorites are straight lunges in place and walking lunges. The difference between them is that when you lunge on the spot, you step back, and when you lunge up, you return to the starting position. When walking with lunges, on the contrary, you step forward, and when you rise, it turns out that you move one step forward.
Tips on how to do lunges correctly.
- Keep your back straight.
- The knee, as with squats, should not protrude beyond the toe. The thigh should be parallel to the floor.
- Lift your body using the muscles of the buttock of your front leg.
- Inhale as you lower, exhale as you rise.
You can do this exercise with or without dumbbells, depending on your fitness level.
You can start with 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions on each leg. Over time, you will feel the load, and you will be able to adjust the number of approaches and repetitions that are optimal for you.
Swing your legs back
Swing your legs back - an exercise for the buttocks to quickly pump up your butt
If squats and lunges are complex exercises for the legs and butt, then swinging your legs back is a very cool exercise specifically for the buttocks. It also tightens the thighs. There are several variations of swings, but the most effective is swinging your legs from a standing position on your knees and hands or elbows, whichever is more convenient for you (dog pose, on all fours).
How to do swings? Get into the starting position on all fours. Slowly move your leg back. The back should be straight. The leg can be pulled back in a straight position, or bent at a right angle. I recommend combining the straight and bent leg option.
If your buttocks “burn”, it means you’re doing everything right. Do it through “I don’t want”, through “I can’t” and despite the burning sensation.
Do about 3 sets of 20 reps with each leg. In the last approach, you can do the maximum number of repetitions.
If the exercise is too easy for you, buy leg weights.
Lifting the pelvis while lying on your back
The pelvic lift while lying on your back is one of the best exercises for the buttocks to quickly pump up your butt.
The pelvic lift while lying on your back is perhaps the best exercise for the buttocks.
How to do a pelvic lift while lying on your back? Lie on your back, stretch your arms along your body, bend your legs at the knees and place your feet on the floor. As you exhale, slowly lift your buttocks. At the highest point, freeze for a moment, then slowly lower your pelvis. Try to feel how your butt tenses. Do not lower yourself completely, your butt should not touch the floor - you need to maintain tension throughout the entire exercise.
To begin with, I also recommend doing 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions.
If the exercise seems too easy for you, you can use additional weights. Place something heavy on your lower stomach, holding it slightly with your hands. It could be a thick book, a water bottle or something else.
Workout 2
Reverse crunches on a bench
Core muscles
Lie down on a bench, or take a lying position, fixing your hands behind your head (you can grab some kind of support), while exhaling, using the force of your abdominal muscles, bring your legs to the waist line, and slightly twist your pelvis to the lower ribs. As you inhale, lower it back down. The movement should not be carried out due to inertia; you should not swing your legs.
Perform 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions.
Hyperextension
Completely repeats what was done in the first workout.
Lunges with dumbbells in hands
Hips and buttocks
Stand straight, feet under your shoulders, dumbbells in your hands. Take a step back, maintaining the distance between your hips, and lower your body down by bending your knees. At the lowest point, the thigh of the “front” leg is parallel to the floor.
You need to perform the same number of repetitions on each leg.
Bent-over dumbbell row
The body is tilted, the free hand rests on the bench, the working hand is with a dumbbell at the side. By bringing the shoulder blade to the spine, the dumbbell is pulled towards the belt as you exhale. On inhalation, it goes down.
The movement begins with the work of the shoulder blade, and not with a turn of the body.
Classic deadlift
The barbell is placed on the floor, the grip is slightly wider than the shoulders so that the hands are on the outside of the hips. The grip is strong, straight, and you can use straps. At the start, the bar touches the ankle. Then the pelvis lowers slightly, the weight is transferred to the heels, and, resting her feet on the platform, the athlete removes the bar from the floor without relaxing her back. Due to extension in the hip joint, the bar rises to the level of the “trouser pockets”, and then smoothly lowers back.
Lying dumbbell flyes
You can use a straight or incline bench. First, tighten the shoulder blades to the spine and lower them to the pelvis, then lower the arms slightly bent at the elbows until the forearm is parallel to the floor, lowering to the sides. Then – bringing your arms together in front of your chest.
Reverse push-ups on the bench
The exercise can be replaced with dips if you have enough strength training for this. First you need to sit on the bench, lower your buttocks lower, the edges, and bend your elbows. Forearms are parallel to each other. Then push up to the starting position. The legs can be straight (difficult option) or slightly bent at the knees.
The most effective abdominal exercises
A woman's tummy (a photo taken before the start of the transformation process will help to visually evaluate the result of weight loss), in order to acquire an ideal shape, requires its owner not only to adjust the usual diet, but also to regular physical activity. The most effective exercises aimed at tightening the abdominal area are:
| Exercise | Recommendations for its implementation |
| Crunches |
The optimal number of repetitions is 3 sets of 15-20 times. |
| Leg raises from a lying position |
The optimal number of repetitions is 3 sets of 15-20 times. |
| Raising the body from a lying position with a support |
The optimal number of repetitions is 3 sets of 15-20 times. |
| Plank |
The optimal number of repetitions is 3 sets of 60 – 90 seconds. |
Workout 3
Ab crunches
As in the first workout, 15 repetitions in 3 approaches.
Hyperextension
Same as workouts 1 and 2.
Sumo squats with dumbbells
Hips, buttocks, and long back muscles
The movement is mistakenly considered a squat, but in fact it is a deadlift. You need to take the dumbbell in straight, outstretched arms, place your feet on the most comfortable wide stance, and lower your pelvis below your knees, touching the floor with the dumbbell; from this position, place your back at a slightly angle so that your arms are straight and perpendicular to the floor. By straightening your knees and hip joints, you need to fully straighten, returning your spine to a vertical position.
Bent-over barbell row
Back muscles work
The barbell is taken from the racks, the height is at mid-thigh level. Step back and bend forward so that the angle is approximately 45 degrees. Further, the movement resembles the work in all back exercises - the shoulder blades are pulled towards the spine, the barbell is brought to the lower abdomen, then the reverse movement.
Army press
The barbell is taken from the racks to the chest, the grip is slightly wider than the shoulders. Forearms are perpendicular to the floor. The barbell is pressed up behind the head and lowered to the starting position.
Romanian deadlift
The movement is also called the “Romanian thrust”. The barbell is lifted from the racks, as in a bent-over row, but the movement itself resembles a deadlift. Due to flexion at the hip joint, the bar lowers to a comfortable depth and then returns back.
Leg abduction in crossover
An effective exercise for pumping up the buttocks.
Turn your face to the exercise machine, put a special belt on your leg and attach it to the lower block. Take your leg back and return it back.
5 mistakes girls make in the gym
Cardio training
The greater the body weight, the less impact load on the joints should be. Those who are overweight should not perform explosive exercises, but rather pedal an exercise bike, walk on an elliptical machine, or use a rowing machine.
Those who are not overweight and have fairly good training can run; for the rest, brisk walking is enough.
