The Internet pays little attention to what exactly a girl who wants to improve her shape should do in the gym. There is especially little information for beginner girls just planning to start visiting the gym. Now we will fill this moment by dividing the exercises into “correct” - helping to create an ideal figure, and “incorrect” - weakly effective.
After reading this material, you will understand why it is worth doing certain exercises, which will help save a lot of time and bring best results. It is often awkward for beginners to ask a trainer or more experienced visitors about the purpose of each simulator and the exercises for which it is created.
And this needs to be done, because in order to properly deal with possible problem areas or simply proportionally improve your shape, you need to use the right equipment.
Features of the female body
Before going to the gym, every girl should understand the main differences in the male and female body, as well as the peculiarities of the influence of physical activity.
Low testosterone levels
Compared to the male body, women have significantly lower testosterone levels. Namely, he is responsible for muscle building, so it is extremely difficult for a girl to achieve male muscle volume. Even if you constantly use free weights, it will be difficult to get closer to male parameters. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid of decent weights, masculinization in normal conditions the girl can't achieve it.
More fat mass
The figure of the fair sex “by default” has 7-10 percent more body fat when compared with male figures. This entails the need to increase the volume of cardio training. Supersets and circuit training, which quickly eliminate excess fat, have a good effect on girls. body fat and giving spectacular shapes.
High estrogen levels
Compared to men, women have more estrogen in their bodies. This is what leads to the appearance of extra pounds. Anaerobic exercise aimed at increasing muscle mass can support metabolism in the female body and prevent the figure from “blurring”.
Higher endurance
Women are tougher than men and have a low pain threshold. To put it simply, girls whine less and are better able to tolerate pain. This means that long-term training tires the fair sex less than a man.
Physiological features
Critical days or disrupted menstruation can negatively affect training. During these periods, the girl usually rolls back a little in the progress of her training.
This is exactly what every girl who plans to visit the gym should take into account. Now, in order to determine the direction of further discussion, you need to understand the reasons why girls often want to get into the gym. There are the most common reasons that most girls will confirm:
- elastic and strong buttocks,
- toned arms (often skin underneath),
- shaped breasts,
- flat stomach
For approximately these reasons, most often a girl strives to take up fitness in order to give her figure better shape. This means that exercises and simulators need to be chosen exactly those that will have the maximum impact on the specified zones, or rather, influence exactly the factor that can correct the problem. There is a list of the best exercises, and there are exercises that are not recommended for use in your program.
The best exercises for girls in the gym
No matter how many questions you ask a girl in the gym, best exercises she will never say free weights. It is not known why, but many are afraid of barbells, dumbbells, plates and barbells. But without them, quality training is nowhere, because this is the only way to have the proper effect on muscle tissue.
For optimal results, a girl is recommended to combine free weights in general strength exercises and isolated effects on muscles in exercise machines (read about basic and isolated exercises in this article). Now let's look at the recommendations individually.
Strength exercises for girls
1. Squats with a barbell. This is the most effective activity for developing legs. This means that if a girl wants to attract the attention of every man to her legs, her program must include squats with a barbell. Initially, you need to learn the correct technique and apply it no more than 2 times a week.
2. Deadlift.General exercise, capable of stimulating every muscle. The technique is difficult to perform, so you definitely need to master it in detail before moving on to regular classes. It is better to start with an empty bar and under the supervision of a professional trainer. If your arms get tired earlier than other muscles, you can use plinths or do deadlifts in a rack. It is advisable for girls to do the exercise no more than once every 2 weeks .
3. Pull-ups. Only a few girls are able to lift their weight to the second floor, so we use a crossbar. First, we study the correct pull-up technique, and if even after that it doesn’t work out, then an alternative would be graviton, a special simulator.
4. Lunges. Great exercise to form an elastic butt, regardless of whether a barbell or dumbbells are used. Regular strength training will give you rounded shape buttocks and tightens your legs. It is recommended for girls to perform lunges no more than 1 time per week.
5. Plank. A universal exercise that promotes the formation of a strong corset from muscle tissue(lower back + abs). This muscle group is involved in many movements, so the progress of all other free weight exercises depends on their level of development. Bars. An effective technique for developing the entire upper body, in particular, the shoulders and triceps are well developed. If your arms are very weak, you can use a separate exercise machine with a counterweight. Push-ups from a bench have a similar effect.
6. Dumbbell flyes, barbell presses, push-ups. In fact, in the gym it is difficult to see a girl performing the listed exercises. Many people consider this an exclusively male activity, but if you need to strengthen your chest muscles, then more effective exercises does not exist. Therefore, if your breasts are sagging, you should use these options, but no more than once a week.
That's all for free weight exercises; all that remains is to consider machines that can also have a significant effect on certain muscle groups.
Exercises on simulators for girls
- Buttocks. Surely, firm buttocks always attract men’s gaze, so isolating exercises for these muscle groups is indispensable. By the way, girls with pear and hourglass figures are the most popular among men. To obtain the ideal shape of the buttocks, we use special exercises on simulators.
- Breast. The second part of the girl’s body participating in the “bride”. Nowadays, every representative of the stronger sex is able to practically “see through clothes,” so corrective and supportive underwear can already provide reliable coverage. This means we use exercise machines that can tighten and correct the shape.
- Stomach. A flat stomach is simply an uncontrollable dream for many girls. Everyone is ready to show it off on the beach, so to make your dream come true, we use basic exercises using simulators and admire the result.
- Hands. Flabby arms are not able to attract anyone, and the problem becomes a common phenomenon when, when raising the arms, the skin hangs from below. It is difficult to correct this, but it is quite possible, for which you need to use isolating exercises on the forearm, triceps and biceps.
These are the basic recommendations when going to the gym, but there are common mistakes that many girls make. Often the wrong equipment and exercises are chosen, which does not bring any benefit, and sometimes can cause harm. Therefore, let’s consider them, because only correct information can protect you from similar behavior.
The goals of going to the gym are also different for men and women. If the first ones strive to get more muscle mass, then the latter want to ensure a toned shape and remove fat deposits. Therefore, everyone has their own training programs, which needs to be taken into account. There are several erroneous exercises that slow down progress for girls.
Abdominal trainers
Any girl is just delusional flat stomach. Therefore, the first thing that the fair sex is looking for is an abdominal exercise machine that makes it possible to do crunches with weights. But they are not able to give such exercises good effect, because they will visually expand the waist through the active growth of the abdominal muscles. And just noticeable muscles are not needed, it is enough to just remove fat deposits, for which twisting without weights is enough.
Shrugs with dumbbells
This shoulder shrug is aimed at growing the trapezius muscle group. But this is good for a man, and at the same time it gives exercise to a woman’s figure the desired shape can't.
Bending with weights
Many girls find this exercise effective for eliminating the sides, the so-called ears on the hips. But this is a misconception, because in reality, lateral extension and bending with dumbbells contribute to the expansion of the waist. If you need to remove the “ears”, then you will have to focus on creating the right diet and the side plank or bicycle.
Seated leg extensions (simulator)
The tendons near the kneecap are much weaker in women than in men. And to properly load the quadriceps with the help of a simulator, significant weights will be required. This means that the simulator is not suitable for quality exercise. An alternative would be wall squats on one leg.
Reverse raises (glutes, machine)
Although the simulator was developed to load the gluteal muscles, it is low in efficiency. It’s not worth wasting time on it; it’s better to focus on other activities.
Hummer press
Pressing in a seated position on a special strength training machine causes excessive stress on the shoulder joint. Along with the peculiarity of the technique, the joints have a vulnerable biomechanical position. Considering the increased fragility of the female shoulder, this can cause injury, because it is not always possible to perfectly follow the exercise technique.
This collection of tips will be useful to everyone who works out in the gym. From beginners to experienced athletes!
Err is human. Even many years of experience in visiting the gym does not mean that we do not make many mistakes during training. What can we say about newcomers who bought a subscription for the first time and crossed the threshold of a fitness club!
In the article I will give advice on proper training and point to typical mistakes when working out in the gym. As a result, your workouts in the gym will become much more effective and correct.
How to exercise correctly in the gym
There is a good vault before you good advice from a professional trainer who spent many years in training, saw everything and made many correct observations and conclusions.
Don't train only on cardio machines
Modern cardio equipment is a powerful thing! And burning calories is beneficial to a certain extent. But, unfortunately, cardio equipment will not help to significantly strengthen and pump up the necessary muscles. They are designed to train the aerobic abilities of the body (heart, blood vessels, lungs, red muscle fibers). But this is not all that health and appearance. Moreover, the development of aerobic abilities may not affect external data at all. Cardio will tone your muscles and help you burn some fat. But without strength exercises the result of the training will not be very bright.
The fact that you walked, ran or pedaled for an hour does not mean that your body received a full load. Moreover, the load is proportional.
Use non-standard exercises
To stimulate your imagination 🙂 when working out in the gym, I recommend this video with unusual exercises that can rarely be seen in gyms. I filmed it a long time ago, but everything is still relevant.
Men without numerous exercises such as push-ups, twists, and legs cannot see the relief details of the body. Only rough, unsightly pieces of “meat”.
I never tire of repeating, there are no purely female or purely male exercises! It all depends on the goals. And the differences are only in the working weights on the barbell and in the simulators. In men they are much larger, in women less. And this is perhaps the only difference.
Correctly select working weights on machines and barbells
Have you seen guys in the gym who bench press 120 kg for 10 times, and then squat with a barbell weighing... 60-80 kg for the same 10 times? I've seen it many times! And this is not the norm, definitely.
There are correct proportions in working scales for different exercises. For example, if you bench press 80 kg for 10 times, then in squats, be kind enough to lift at least 100-110 kg for the same 10 times. And in the “horizontal row” simulator, pull at least 85 kg for 10 repetitions. These ratios are not taken out of thin air, but are dictated by human anatomy and physiology, so that unhealthy imbalances do not arise, leading to curvature of the spine and deformation of the joints.
Don’t neglect the help of others and your coach
A common mistake is “I can do everything myself and know it, I saw it on YouTube.” I saw it, I saw it. But seeing and knowing, seeing and being able to, seeing and understanding are two different things.
Many machine and barbell exercises that seem simple actually require proper technique and skill. They begin to work out correctly after 2-3 weeks of regular practice. And that's provided that you received the correct feedback from external observers (coach or people nearby). Someone needs to look, evaluate and point out mistakes. And provided that you work with a sufficiently large working weight. Often, correct technique cannot be achieved until you lift a heavier barbell.
Other exercises, to be effective, should be performed with a weight that you most likely will not be able to lift in the last reps. Here you need insurance, which will be provided by an assistant.
Just take my word for it, the coach is good. Even if this is a novice coach. It's better than nothing.
If possible, use the services of experienced trainers. It always pays off.
If you are lucky enough to encounter a trainer-methodologist, you will be doubly lucky. Like, for example, my clients...
Of course, you can work out in the gym without a trainer. And quite successfully. But training with a coach will be much more effective, since the coach usually knows all the pitfalls and mistakes. And it simply won’t let you do them, saving your energy, time, and nerves. And at the same time teaching you numerous intricacies of the gym.
Attend more than just women's/general group programs
This is mainly for girls. The mistake here is the popular stereotype that “we pumped up all the muscles and did cardio” in a group workout. And this is in a small mirrored room without a single piece of hardware? And this despite the fact that every time for several months or even years the same set of exercises is performed with the same load? Made me laugh!
Exercises with your own weight, statics, jumping, stretching, step platforms, even working with a minibar, etc. - this is amazing! But it has its natural limits. And the very structure of group programs in clubs is such that the trainer, in principle, cannot control the load and technique of the exercises. You don't even notice what you're doing wrong. We jumped and everything was great! You feel what I'm talking about, right?
From time to time, replace your usual group training with something completely different. strength training, which will turn on the muscles on full power. For example, visit for a month group classes, a month - a gym. Include machines and barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells in your exercise set.
And programs need to be changed every 1-2 months, even if everything is satisfactory. And especially if you can handle it easily. This is a sign that you are no longer developing. Development always comes with difficulties in training.
Or, after your usual group program, you can perform several approaches with a barbell on the desired muscles.
Don't just exercise on weight machines
This is a favorite mistake of newbies in the gym. We move from machine to machine, forgetting about the barbell and dumbbells. It's easier and more interesting!
Well, to satisfy your curiosity, you can walk around the simulators like this for the first few workouts. But for full results, you need to follow a useful formula.
70% of the workout should be done with free weights (barbell, dumbbells, body weight). And only 30% are on simulators. This golden rule training in the gym.
The fact is that most simulators are designed for isolated training of individual muscles. This is very useful in two cases:
1. If a person has an injury and he needs to specifically strengthen these muscles. Or get at least some kind of load.
2. If this is a professional athlete seeking to improve their shape and tighten the details of individual muscles. Or a strongman working out the weak points of the trajectory of some of the exercises he needs.
In all other cases, it is necessary to train the muscles in conjunction with other muscles. This is very good for health and is simply beneficial for reasons of increasing overall muscle mass and accelerating metabolism.
This effect can be easily achieved using barbells, dumbbells, and weights.
Include squats, deadlifts, upright rows, pull overs, dumbbell lateral swings, incline presses, lunges with dumbbells, hammer with dumbbells, etc.
Don't go too hard on your abdominal workouts
It is, of course, necessary to train your abdominal muscles. But this also requires moderation.
Don't forget that the abs are one of the muscles that make up the core musculature.
Excessive training of some parts of the core without sufficient compensating load on other parts of the core leads to deformities in the waist and pelvis. These are various postural disorders (insufficient or excessive lordosis), problems with the hip and knee joints, problems in the cervical spine, stoop.
I remember one hero from my childhood - a young man from the neighboring yard, Evgeniy, who managed to pump up luxurious muscles on the horizontal bar and uneven bars at our school stadium. When he passed through our yard, we simply did not breathe, looking at him with undisguised awe! His mighty biceps, ball shoulders, triangular torso, powerful pectoral muscles they pulled on a snow-white T-shirt so that it seemed like it was about to burst!
However... Remembering now his magnificent abs, I also remembered his other feature - a stooped back, excessive lumbar lordosis, and insufficiently powerful legs. Evgeniy could not reach the floor with his fingers...
Despite the excellent muscles of the torso, shoulders, and arms, this guy had no idea about the balance of the core muscles, so important for overall health and aesthetics. But then, back in the eighties, it seemed unimportant, since we knew nothing about it... But now we know!
Therefore, when pumping up your abs, do not forget about other elements of the core: oblique muscles, buttocks, back extensors, hamstrings. Don't forget about flexibility either.
IN in this case balance in the load is much more important than the development of one muscle.
Do not only crunches or leg raises, but also oblique crunches, hyperextensions, glute bridges, side bends with a dumbbell in your hand, sit-ups...
Do not avoid communication with doctors and medical care
We don't like doctors and these damn municipal clinics! We have every right to do this, given the low level of service.
However, without medicine there is nowhere in fitness. We somehow need to monitor our health: take tests, monitor hormones, notice early signs of emerging diseases, and ultimately treat our teeth.
Try to take the time to find the right doctor for you. Better than paid. Visit him once every 2-4 months. Check your blood pressure, vision, hearing, undergo general tests, some special tests (cancer test, for example), undergo the necessary courses of treatment, massage, and preventive procedures. Take the treatment you have started to its logical conclusion (especially if you are taking antibiotics).
Believe me, this will be a great investment in your health. After all, you will have a chance not to miss any serious problem, and begin to solve it long before it gains strength and leads to irreversible consequences.
After all, health is one of the most important reasons to visit the gym!
Before starting regular workouts in the gym, a visit to the doctor is required!
Learn basic methods of self-control during training
Not monitoring your breathing and heart rate while training in the gym is a bad habit.
Learn to count your pulse manually. Use available gadgets, services and applications for this.
It is better to film the exercises performed and view them after training, comparing them with standards. Or show the video to the trainer. For example, I can immediately see even minor mistakes (and problems with the musculoskeletal system) simply by watching videos performed by my students.
Many exercises serve as excellent tests for different parameters body (flexibility, endurance, spinal curvature). But this information is more for trainers and specialists.
You also need to master basic self-control skills: monitor your pulse, recognize signs of fatigue, do not exceed recommended levels of exercise, and do not exercise if you are sick.
Leaving a workout on time is sometimes more important than finishing it completely.
Keep a training diary
It is impossible to remember everything you are going to do or have already done during training. And it's not necessary. It is enough to write it down in a special notebook or notebook. This gives you the opportunity to fully control the process and analyze errors. Lead the way!
There is no diary - it is not clear why the set of exercises did not work or why the injury occurred.
Keep a diary! It's not difficult and very useful.
I hope now you know more about how to train properly in the gym. I wish you not to make these mistakes. Put my advice into practice, train correctly! I will be glad to see your questions and comments.
If you exercise without warming up, you greatly increase the risk of injury and reduce the effectiveness of your workout. In addition, this is how you form the wrong habits.
Warm-up is a mandatory element of training. You can easily get your muscles into working condition by following a simple procedure:
- Use a massage roller. Such rollers help to thoroughly warm up the muscles of the whole body. Here Lifehacker explained in detail what these tools are and how to use them.
- Do cardio for five minutes: briskly walk uphill, exercise on an elliptical trainer or exercise bike. If you have overweight, don't run - take care of your knees.
- Be sure to do joint warm-up and dynamic stretching. you will find a video of a good warm-up.
After this, you will be warmed up enough to begin the lesson.
How to create a training program
When you arrive at the gym, you should already have clear plan actions: what exercises you will do, what muscle groups you will work.
There are a huge number of training programs, but beginners without a coach should not try complex options. To begin with, it is better to limit yourself to sequentially working all muscles.
Let's conditionally divide the body into several muscle groups: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back, buttocks, thighs and abs. If you're going to train twice a week, divide the muscle groups equally. For example, in the first workout, work out the biceps, back, hips and abs, and in the second - triceps, chest, shoulders and buttocks.
Here are some exercises with machines and free weights for different muscle groups.
Exercises for legs and buttocks
Using this simulator, you can move the emphasis on different muscle groups by simply changing the position of your legs on the platform:
- Legs at the top of the platform - emphasis on the gluteal muscles and hamstrings.
- Feet at the bottom of the platform - emphasis on quadriceps.
- Narrow leg stance - emphasis on the outer thigh.
- Wide stance of the legs - emphasis on inner part hips.
Leg abduction in the simulator
This exercise works great on the buttocks. Walk your leg back until your shin is parallel to the floor, but do not extend your knees completely. To better work the muscles, lower your leg to its original position slowly.
Squats
This basic exercise with a huge number of variations: with a wide stance or on one leg, with a barbell or with dumbbells, from an elevation or with a jump. Lifehacker analyzes in detail the technique of performing squats, and there are several options for squats and other exercises for the hips.
Another exercise with a lot of variations. Lunges can be done with your own weight, with a barbell or with dumbbells, moving around the room or on the spot.
As you lunge, make sure that the knee of your front leg is directly above your heel. By slightly tilting your body forward, you will shift the emphasis to the buttocks.
This basic exercise works not only the muscles of the hips and buttocks, but also the extensor muscles of the back and trapezius. Start with classic deadlifts, but don't use too much weight.
Here is a video with the technique of performing the exercise:
To add variety to your workouts, explore other glute workouts as well.
Back exercises
This exercise strengthens the back extensor muscles. It warms you up perfectly and prepares you for an important basic exercise - the deadlift.
If you want to pump up your back muscles, and not your legs, start doing the exercise from a position where your body is in a straight line with the machine. Then lift your back, squeezing your shoulder blades together and moving your arms back. Stay in this position for 3-5 seconds.
The key point in this exercise: you need to pull the block not with your hands, but with your back. While pulling, fix your back and squeeze your shoulder blades. The video shows the technique and features of the exercise:
This exercise also helps to effectively pump up your back muscles. The video below explains the execution technique and the main mistakes:
Chest exercises
Bench press
This basic exercise involves the pectoral muscles, triceps, and deltoids. The emphasis can be shifted by changing the grip: bench press with a narrow grip loads the triceps more, and with a wide grip the chest. Also, the emphasis on the chest shifts if you take the barbell with a reverse grip, that is, with your palms facing you.
The video explains the technique of performing the exercise:
This machine allows you to perform exercises that only work the pectoral muscles. Do not straighten your arms completely at the extreme points; perform the exercise smoothly.
Dips with forward bend
If you can't do dips without help yet, use an expander or a special exercise machine for support. To place the emphasis on your chest, tilt your body forward.
The technique of performing the exercise can be seen in the video:
In this you can find chest exercises in pictures.
Triceps Exercises
Try not to spread your elbows out to the sides. If shoulder mobility allows, lower yourself until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.
Extension of arms on a block
This exercise can be performed with a regular or rope handle. The back is straight, the elbows are located close to the body and do not move.
Exercises for biceps
Standing barbell curl
This is a basic exercise that helps to work your biceps well. Here is a video with the technique of performing the exercise:
Unlike the previous exercise, when lifting the dumbbells, you should rotate your wrists, as this provides additional stress to the biceps. At the bottom, the hands should look at each other, and during the rise, turn towards the body.
Shoulder Exercises
Standing chest press
Before this exercise, you should do a dynamic shoulder stretch: pick up a stick or expander and move your straight arms behind your back several times, and then forward again. Do not bend your elbows while stretching. The closer you place your hands, the more effective the stretch will be.
While pressing, move the barbell behind your head. If it stays forward, it will put a lot of stress on the lower back.
When performing the exercise, your elbows should be slightly bent. Do not raise your arms above your shoulders - this can cause impingement syndrome (inflammation of the rotator cuff).
Bent-over dumbbell raises
The body is tilted forward, the back is straight. Hand movements are similar to the previous exercise.
In this section you will find an analysis of the technique of performing other shoulder exercises.
Ab exercises
Elevated leg crunches
Abdominal exercise with legs elevated By placing your feet on an elevation, you will eliminate unnecessary stress on the iliopsoas muscles and harm to the lower back. If you want to make the exercise more challenging, pick up a medicine ball.
The plank perfectly works all the core muscles. To complicate it, you can place your feet on an unstable support: in loops or on, as shown in the photo.
Hanging Leg Raise
In more simple version you only need to pull your knees towards your chest.
If this is easy, try lifting your legs straight to the horizontal bar.
How to Choose the Right Weight and Number of Reps
Take such a weight that you can perform the exercise 5-8 times. The last repetitions should be performed with effort. If you can easily do all eight reps, then the selected weight is too light for you.
Perform three sets of 5–10 reps. Rest between sets should be 1–2 minutes, between exercises - 2–3 minutes.
If you are doing exercises without weights, you will need to do more repetitions to properly engage the muscles. For these exercises, perform three sets of 20 repetitions.
After training
After training, be sure to stretch: you need to relax the muscles that worked. You can find stretching exercises different groups muscles, and - exercises with expander bands.
From the very first training, you need to pay attention to your nutrition. From this you will learn what to eat before and after training to speed up your progress and not harm your body.
Don't be shy, listen to your body and have fun.
Many girls who want to lose weight or gain muscle mass, when they come to the gym, do not understand at all what to do and how. The first thing they need is to create a lesson plan for themselves. Depending on their goals, girls can create a program for 1, 2, 3 or more workouts per week, with different numbers of repetitions per approach. How to correctly create a training program for a girl with a huge variety of exercises depends on her personal level of training and initial physical data.
Important! If you have musculoskeletal injuries, you should consult a sports doctor about acceptable and unacceptable exercises before starting exercise.
The first thing you should pay attention to is warming up and stretching before and after training. Warm-up consists of light aerobic exercise (running, jumping), as well as preliminary exercises with a weight less than the “working” one. During training (between approaches), it also doesn’t hurt to stretch, but you don’t need to make “springy movements” - fix the muscles in the required position for at least 30 seconds. This is exactly how long it takes for the brain to transmit a signal to the myofibrils (muscle fibers) that there is no potential threat of injury. Only in this case will the muscles and ligaments be able to “relax”.
A person having good stretching, progresses much better in terms of muscle growth, since its fibers are more elastic and do not resist hypertrophy (increase in their own volume). Good warm-up and stretching before exercise, you significantly reduce the risk of injury during training. You can watch this in more detail in this short video:
How to create a training program for girls
When drawing up a training program, it is necessary to take into account the differences in men's and women's training:
- The peculiarity of girls' metabolism is that by consuming more fatty foods (with fewer carbohydrates), they lose weight faster as a result of training, and they have more strength and endurance.
- Since women have predominantly type 1 muscle fibers, it is quite easy for her to “pull” a large volume of training, that is, a lot of repetitions and repetitions. The state of “overtraining” occurs extremely rarely in them, which allows them to train the same muscle group even 2 times a week.
- It is better for girls to use “explosive” approaches to a minimum (“explosive” can be considered those exercises in which a girl overcomes the maximum or close to it weight).
- Low-intensity cardio (slow running, jumping rope at a slow pace) works better for girls than high-intensity cardio (sprints, etc.).
- While lifting the apparatus, the girl should do repetitions at a slow pace, without the “explosive” positive phase of the movement, as is customary in men’s training.
- Since the average arterial pressure in girls during training is lower than in men, they can withstand stress more easily and experience less burning in their muscles.
- Girls do not need to take long breaks between approaches; 30-60 seconds are enough, since their pulse and breathing are restored faster than in men.
- Women can exercise more often than men. Working out without the use of doping, girls train strength 4-5 times a week instead of the traditional 3 times for men. That is, girls can train 1 muscle group twice a week.
Important! You should give preference exclusively to basic movements, such as squats, Romanian deadlifts, pull-ups and others. It is multi-joint exercises that involve the maximum number of muscles in the work, causing the best anabolic response of the body, which manifests itself in an increase in muscle, strength, and also a decrease in the amount of fat.
How to train effectively?
The order of exercises in the program should be followed from the most complex and difficult to the easiest movements. At the same time, division occurs by muscle groups, the largest and most energy-consuming muscles (hamstrings and quadriceps, latissimus dorsi) should be worked at the beginning of the workout, but smaller groups (shoulders, abs, chest, arms, calves) should be worked closer to the end workout.
The normal number of repetitions in one approach for a girl is 6-8 to increase strength, 12-15 for muscle growth and 20-30 for fat burning. The number of approaches within 1 exercise is from 3 to 5. The number of exercises per 1 training day is from 5 to 7. At the same time, you must remember that in order to grow muscle mass, it is necessary to divide the training program into muscle groups so that 2 identical muscle groups were not pumped on adjacent days.
If your first workout is on Monday and you worked your legs, and your second workout is on Tuesday or Wednesday, you should not repeat the same muscle group again. In this case, breaks of 3 or more days are normal for recovery. Therefore, if you trained one muscle group, for example, on Friday, you can also train it on Monday, because between these days there are 3 days of full recovery. If your goal is fat burning, you can work out all muscle groups in one workout and repeat the same cycle several times a week - this will not negatively affect calorie loss.
Training goals and objectives
Training for girls, as well as for men, has different goals in each individual case. In most cases, these goals are:
- weight loss;
- muscle growth (work on relief);
- increase in strength indicators;
- increase in endurance indicators;
- treatment and prophylactic purposes.
Many girls combine several goals together, such as fat loss and muscle growth. No matter what they write on the Russian-language Internet, they say that these processes are absolutely opposite and their occurrence cannot be achieved simultaneously (catabolism - the destruction of fat and muscles, anabolism - growth), know that in practice all this is possible!
Motivation to workout
There is no need to deceive yourself in the hope that after reading this section you will be fairly motivated and begin to do something that you have never done before. This won't happen. In training, as in any other serious matter, the mindset for long and hard work is important, as well as a clear understanding of the result and the benefits it gives you:
- beautiful body;
- health;
- physical strength;
- fortitude;
- attractiveness to the opposite sex.
When you really want something, no one or nothing will stop you on the way to achieving your goal. If your goal is secondary, you do not attach much importance to it - you will constantly feel lazy about it, your hands will “give up” even before you start.
True, there are still exceptions in the gym, and they happen often. During grueling workouts, our body receives a hefty dose of dopamine and adrenaline, and therefore, after 3-4 weeks a person develops a certain dependence on the gym. Just don’t compare it with drug addiction - after all, our internal secretion of hormones is physiological for us, in contrast to exogenously introduced substances (from outside). A person experiences a similar dependence on receiving various kinds pleasures - sex, sweets, and so on.
Gym or home workouts – which is better?
The main disadvantage of training at home is the insufficient amount of equipment. Even if you have a barbell and dumbbells, a horizontal bar - this is not enough. In this case, the range of working scales is limited; you cannot dose and adjust the load based on your own needs. If we are talking about training with our own weight, then everything is even sadder, since our capabilities are growing, therefore, the load should increase linearly or in waves. How can there be an increase in load if our own weight does not change or changes slightly?
By training at home, very soon the girl reaches the limit in muscle growth!
If your main goal is weight loss, then you can increase the intensity of your workout by adding repetitions per set and reducing the intervals between sets. But for this you still need a barbell, dumbbells and some other equipment (hyperextension bench, racks, etc.) - and not every girl has them at home. Buying this entire set is not a cheap pleasure; sometimes it is cheaper to regularly go to the gym with a subscription for several years in a row.
Training programs for girls
It is very important to do the exercises correct technique and amplitude, for this you can watch a series of special videos on the topic of women's training from a professional. There you will also find examples of performing the exercises described below from the proposed training programs:
But you still can’t do without the help of a competent trainer in setting up the technique, since from the outside an experienced person can see much better what you are doing wrong and how it can be changed.
For beginners
If you are just starting your gym training (or want to train in light mode), best choice for the first month there will be a cyclic program, which involves repeating the same exercises “in a circle”:
- lifting the legs while hanging on the horizontal bar - to the maximum;
- squats with wide legs – 20 repetitions;
- Pull-downs on the chest – 15 repetitions;
- deadlift on straight legs - 20 repetitions;
- hyperextension – 15 repetitions;
- fly 15 reps;
- dumbbell curls for biceps 15 reps;
- push-ups (traditional or from the knees, if difficult) with a narrow triceps position - 15 repetitions;
- jump rope – 90 seconds.
You can repeat these exercises in 1-3 cycles depending on your physical fitness. After a month of training, you can switch to an advanced training program that simultaneously burns fat and leads to muscle growth.
Useful information! If your goal is weight loss, you can keep the cyclic program on a permanent basis, increasing the number of repetitions in it to 25-30 and reducing the rest between sets (if your physical fitness allows, you can not rest at all between sets).
For experienced
The training program for “advanced” girls, designed to burn fat and grow muscle mass, is performed on Mon-Wed-Fri or Tue-Thu-Sat; you can also alternate workouts according to the “every other day” principle:
First day (bottom):
- squats with a barbell (bar) 4 sets of 12-15 reps;
- Romanian straight leg deadlift 4 x 12-15;
- leg extensions in the quadriceps machine 3 to 12-15;
- leg curls in the simulator 3 by 12-15;
- lunges with dumbbells 3 x 10 with each leg;
- hyperextension 3 to 15.
Second day (top):
- Bent-over barbell row – 4 to 15;
- bench press (barbell) on a bench with an incline of 20-30% - 4 to 15;
- swing dumbbells to the sides (on the shoulders) while standing 3 to 15;
- press on an incline bench – 3 to 15;
- back row through the upper block with a wide grip – 4 to 15;
- anti-hack leg press – 3 to 20;
- hyperextension 3 to 20.
On the third training day, you need to do the same as on the first (remember - girls can train 1 muscle group 2 times a week).
What you shouldn’t forget after training
After training, you should rest mentally and physically so that the body switches to calm and measured work. It's ideal to get some sleep, take a bath (you can visit the sauna), or just relax in any way convenient for you. Perhaps for some this method is yoga, seeing a massage therapist, or listening to your favorite music. As for training, for a gentler release from training stress, you can cool down at the end - for example, running very slowly for 3-5 minutes. This will help put all body systems in order (primarily the cardiovascular system) and smoothly complete physical activity.
Nutrition and drinking regimen before and after training
A person needs water (and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a girl or a man) before, during and after training. You need to drink water in small quantities between approaches so as not to cause a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, which will interfere with the training process. The total daily amount of water consumption should be at least 2 liters per day.
Nutrition will depend on your goals (the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates and their amounts will change in each individual case), but the basic rule is not to eat earlier than 2 hours before training and 30 minutes after.
Important nuances of training for girls
You should definitely know general principles workouts and be able to create a training plan for yourself, even when you work out with a trainer. Most trainers are simply sales managers who sell on their appearance, ability to communicate with clients and find a common language with them, smile beautifully and be liked by everyone. They do not know how to competently train and lead their students to their goals. You can do absolutely meaningless exercises with the wrong technique, and you will not hear anything from the trainer other than “okay, 2 more reps and rest for a minute.”
One of the most important recommendations– Never train in the gym while consuming critically low calories. Any diet in which you limit yourself to 1-2 foods and reduce calorie content below 20 kcal per 1 kg of body weight is taboo. And even more so, you shouldn’t expose yourself to physical stress - adherents of kefir, apple, cabbage and other “diets”, in my coaching experience and the experience of my colleagues, have more than once lost consciousness while performing exercises with a barbell.
It’s good if there is a person nearby who will back up and catch the immobilized body at the right moment. But many coaches walk away from their players while they are doing squats or bench presses, especially when the weight on the bar is light. Indeed, an empty bar weighs only 20 kg - it’s not a big deal if it falls on a girl’s chest or face (apparently that’s what they think). If a trainer leaves you without a safety net while performing a potentially dangerous exercise, where you may fall or drop the barbell on yourself, refuse such a “specialist” as soon as possible!
In conclusion
Many girls already intuitively understand that their training program should be radically different from men’s programs, but social pressure forces them to do the same. Using the tips from this article, you can create a training plan that includes all the features of the female body, its recovery rate and physiological characteristics.
Now it has become fashionable to take care of the health and beauty of your body. The number of gym visitors is steadily growing. If you also decide to go in for sports, then you should know how to exercise correctly. First of all, you should pay attention to the choice of a training room, in particular to the competence of the trainer. After all, only a professional will help you choose the exercises and techniques that are right for you, and this is the key to time spent usefully. And remember, a good gym is not about new flooring and free water. The main thing in this case is the opportunity to achieve desired result. IN nice hall there must be a full set of basic exercise machines (including presses), benches for pressing, barbells with dumbbells, large selection pens and dumbbells, as well as a mirror.
After choosing a gym for training, you need to think about clothes for training. The main requirement here is that clothing does not restrict movement. If we talk about fabric, then avoid synthetics, which are poorly breathable and have a negative effect on the skin. It is better to purchase special shoes, but if this is not possible, then opt for comfortable sneakers with good performance.
Features of muscle physiology
To understand how to exercise correctly in the gym, you should consider that muscle groups consist of slow and fast fibers. The former are responsible for the breakdown of fats, the latter - for the consumption of glucose. The number and ratio of muscle fibers are the same and do not change throughout life. Effective program for the gym includes exercises during which the muscles will be under constant tension. When we exercise, muscle fibers are stretched and torn. The more the muscles are stretched, the faster the fibers will grow.
Any workout should always begin with a warm-up, for example, running - this will perfectly warm up the muscles and prepare them for further exercise. You need to run for 5-7 minutes. Be sure to remember this rule, otherwise you risk harming your health. After a short run on the treadmill, you can do some stretching exercises. They are also ideal for completing a workout.
Basic complex for beginners
At first it is better to focus on basic complex exercises to determine your physical fitness. The program for beginners is based on exercises with hardware. This way you will prepare your muscles for more serious loads.
After two weeks, the trainer should tell you how to properly exercise in the gym, taking into account the purpose of your visit. If you visit the gym in order to keep yourself in shape, then they will select one set of exercises for you, but to correct your figure - a completely different one. It is worth noting that such a complex should be selected individually for each visitor to the hall. A gym program for men can be based on powerlifting and bodybuilding exercises. The difference in these programs is that bodybuilding involves performing multiple sets of weights, while powerlifting involves lifting large weights a small number of times.
Training program
In order for your gym program to be as effective as possible, you need to decide on exercises for different muscle groups. Classes for beginners often include free weights: push-ups, squats, leg raises, torso raises, presses, bent-over rows, deadlift, flyes, biceps curls, biceps extensions. In addition, the program includes exercises for working the legs and back.
Exercises with free weights or on different machines allow you to work specific muscle groups. In addition, such exercises are used to change the impact or eliminate the load on the injured muscle.
Basic principles and rules of training in the gym
In order for a gym program to help you fight excess weight and shape your figure, you need to know some principles and rules for safe and healthy workouts. Before starting classes, you should always check whether the load is well secured, check the stability of the simulator and the integrity of the cable. In addition, you need to follow certain rules during exercise: do not make noise, put away sports equipment after yourself, do not lift too much weight and do not neglect safety nets.
Duration, intensity and consistency
Proper exercise in the gym is based on three principles: duration, intensity and sequence of exercises. You need to start training by working the large muscles and only then start working on the small ones. Specifically, you need to start with the abs, moving on to working out the hips, back, chest, deltoids, triceps, biceps, lower legs and forearm. Moreover, if you want to pump up a specific muscle, then you need to start with it. The number of approaches performed also affects the result. The minimum you need to do is three, and optimal quantity 4-5 approaches are considered. For those who are just starting to visit the gym, we can recommend initially working on all muscle groups, devoting at least ten minutes to each. With this consistent approach, you can work all the muscles in an hour and a half.
The duration and intensity of training also directly affects the results. For example, aerobic fitness, which is low-intensity, can last quite a long time, but strength fitness is not recommended for more than an hour and a half. Quite often, beginners think that the longer they train, the more noticeable the results will be. But in reality, overexertion leads to overwork, which will put you behind schedule for a long time. The load and duration of classes depend on the working weight, the program selected by the trainer, the speed of the exercises and rest between approaches.
How to choose the right weight
The weight should be selected in such a way that you can perform the required number of repetitions in each approach. To develop strength, you need to choose a load at which you are able to do 2-7 repetitions, to develop mass - a load of 8-12 repetitions, for losing weight and working out the relief - a load with more than 12 repetitions. In this case, the intensity of the exercises should be moderate, rest should not exceed 40-60 seconds. This time is enough for the heart to recover, and long breaks between exercises help the muscles “cool down”, and as a result, the impact on them is reduced.
Exercise technique
Not only the result of the workout, but also its safety depends on the correct performance of strength exercises. Very often, novice athletes mistakenly believe that for maximum effect it is necessary to take a lot of weight and use various exercise machines. But in reality, the effectiveness of training is primarily influenced by the training plan and exercise technique.
For example, if you perform squats with a barbell incorrectly, then best case scenario you will not pump your hips enough, and at worst, you will injure your spine. What else should you consider when visiting the gym? It is important for men to know and general rules, applicable to all weight training exercises. The main one is attention to the negative phase of the movement, that is, this phase is performed more slowly than the positive one. Let's say that when performing a bench press, you need to calmly lift the barbell and then slowly lower it to your chest.
How to create a gym workout program
Each person has individual physical characteristics. However, physical fitness is not always determined by age. There are young weak bodies, and there are adults and strong ones, and vice versa. Therefore, choosing a gym with a trainer is a great decision. A specialist will select a training regimen for you, taking into account, first of all, your physical fitness and only then your age.
It is very difficult to create a program without knowing what the person in the room is capable of. Nevertheless, there are simple rules for creating programs for beginners. The workout should begin with a warm-up - an exercise bike or a treadmill. 7-8 minutes is enough for him. During one workout you need to work all muscle groups. There should be a minimum of four sets of each exercise and a minimum of eight repetitions per set. Rest between approaches - no more than one minute. There should be 20-25 approaches in total. If you still have energy left at the end of your strength training session, you can finish your session on a stationary bike or treadmill for 12 to 45 minutes.
Pumping up muscles
The training complex for pumping muscles consists of four to five approaches, each with 8-12 exercises. Basically, they train three times a week, that is, every other day. The main goal of training is to maximally load an individual muscle, and not a limb or the body as a whole. In this case rapid growth muscle fibers are provided. The training program must change so that the muscles do not adapt; they must always be in hypertonicity. This can be achieved if, on the last approach, you perform the exercises as many times as you have the strength to do. A burning sensation should appear in the muscles you are working.
The most common mistakes in the gym
Many people are convinced that they should stick to the same workout program every day, but in reality, muscles need time to recover and rest. Daily exercise does not give the muscles the opportunity to recover, which means that they will never gain more strength and tone.
Gym goers often complain of weakness and sagging in the body. This condition indicates a lack of nutrition in the organs, which comes with the blood. You need to increase blood flow, and you will forget about weakness and flabbiness. The most in an efficient way accelerate blood flow in the body is considered intense physical activity. In this sense, the most suitable exercises are with a heart rate of 140 beats for at least three hours a week. This load is quite enough for the whole body to receive adequate nutrition. With this training regimen, the flabbiness of the body will disappear within a couple of months. In addition, once training becomes regular and frequent, general condition skin will improve significantly.
You also need to understand that cardio training alone will significant changes impossible to achieve. Of course, you will get rid of extra pounds, but what will remain as a result? Only with strength training can you achieve the desired relief and acquire an overall attractive appearance.
It is worth noting the importance of replenishing water reserves in the body. During exercise, we sweat, and if we don’t drink water, fatigue will set in ahead of time. In addition, water helps remove toxins, helps keep joints healthy, speeds up metabolism, and prevents fainting and dizziness.
Proper nutrition
The weight loss program in the gym includes not only training, but also proper diet nutrition. But even if the goal of playing sports is not to lose weight, you should still eat a full and balanced diet so that the body receives the necessary energy to build muscle mass. At the same time, adhere to dietary nutrition not recommended, since reducing food intake very often leads to protein burning. Protein deficiency, in turn, leads to stretch marks, wasting muscle tissue and decreased skin elasticity. An athlete's daily diet must contain proteins and carbohydrates. It is useful to eat lean meat, cereals (rice, buckwheat and oatmeal), fish, nuts, fruits and honey. But about bakery products, soda and alcoholic drinks are best forgotten completely.
After strength training, it is best to eat protein foods. For example, after an evening workout at the gym, vegetables and chicken breast. This diet helps not only burn fat, but also maintain muscle elasticity.
As a rule, the gym for girls is one of the ways to lose weight. Therefore, on training days, it is recommended to limit the consumption of animal fats and exclude fatty, salty and spicy foods from the diet. Therefore, in order to achieve the results you need, you need to combine the best gyms with proper nutrition.
