Why do girls go to the gym? Let us highlight 3 main groups of tasks:
- loss of excess fat deposits;
- toning the muscle system without weight correction;
- weight gain and overall body shape improvement.
All individualization of a training program should begin with the identification of these problems. But you cannot remove excess fat from the buttocks, leaving it in the chest area. You can't remove fat from just your waist and leave it in your hips. Fat deposits, if you work to get rid of their excess, leave evenly from all parts of the body. First of all, it will be reflected on your face. It will begin to lose its roundness. But this shouldn't scare you.
When you notice changes in your appearance, you need to congratulate yourself on starting the decision important task– discharge of excess sediments. Give it a month and you will notice a clear decrease in the circumference of your waist and pelvis, and subsequently your hips. Remember that no amount of intense exercise to work out the abdominal area will make your waist slimmer while maintaining other circumferences. Everything will decrease evenly and in proportion to the supply that is already available. Consequently, fat will be removed from those areas where it is most abundant.
At the same time, there is a clear connection between the load on a certain part of the body and the degree of increase in its circumference.
If you are underweight, you need to primarily target those areas that need to be rounded (of course, through the muscles, not the fat layer).
In this regard, the main formative elements of your figure are the skeleton, the muscles attached to it and the layer of subcutaneous fat covering them.
The most flexible and correctable elements are muscles. But not all muscles, unfortunately (or rather, not all muscle fibers). Only white (fast-twitch) muscle fibers grow in thickness and change the overall shape of the entire muscle, and therefore a certain part of the body. But these fibers only respond to power loads (bodybuilding). No “steps”, “slides”, “aqua aerobics” and other exotic training systems “in the crowd” are able to change the shape of your muscles, because in this case the muscle fibers that are able to change shape under the influence of load are not working. The conclusion suggests itself without difficulty: conditioning bodybuilding.
The layer of fat is another form-building (or rather, “shape-distorting”) element. If there is not much of it, and it lies under the skin in the right places, it pleasantly smoothes out the shape of your figure, giving you femininity. If there is a lot of it, it will disgrace your figure. It’s hard to disagree with this, and the myth that most men like fat women was invented and allowed to roam around the world by fat women themselves. Fat can only be lost through aerobic exercise and an appropriate diet. Only aerobic work can mobilize fatty acids and burn them in specific, slow-twitch fibers. These fibers practically do not work at power loads. So one gym will not solve this problem. An integrated approach will solve your problems!
The most “hard” and unchangeable is the backbone. All our lives we will have to live with what our ancestors endowed us with in this sense. Analyzing the bone structure is the most difficult part in developing an individual training program.
If possible, abstract as much as possible from your layer of fat, regardless of its thickness, as well as from muscle masses, regardless of their shape. Try to imagine your bone structure as if it were on an x-ray. For a person not at least familiar with the basics of anatomy, such abstraction may be difficult.
But you must try to strain all your imagination, since the content of subsequent training will depend on the accuracy of what you can imagine. It's best to stand naked in front of a large mirror and try to get rid of blind adoration of your body. Be critical of yourself. Remember that an uncritical person is almost never constructive. And to eliminate your shortcomings in addition, you need a constructive approach!
To make the task easier, we will not operate with complex anatomical concepts, and we will determine the structure of the skeleton by how much its outline resembles the pattern of the printed letters “A”, “T”, “X” and “H” and in the future we will designate the types of skeleton exactly like this: “A”, “T”, “X” ” and “N”. To make things even easier, let's analyze all these types.
Type “A” frame characterized by narrow shoulders and a wide pelvis. The difference in the width of the shoulders and pelvis can be either quite significant or not very pronounced. But in any case, the figure looks like the letter “A”. It seems to expand downwards, and this expansion is determined not only by the amount of accumulated different parts body fat, and, to a greater extent, the structure of the skeleton. This type of bone structure is characterized by a predominant accumulation of fat on the lower part of the body - in the pelvic region, lower abdomen and hips. Even extremes are possible: the upper part of the body (to the waist) can be thin, and the lower part – plump. Women and girls with this type of bone structure usually have difficulty losing fat from the lower torso, and their training patterns should reflect this feature.
Typically women with an “A” figure differ thin waist and small in stature, and many men like such features of their build - they find them very feminine. However, often body fat on the lower part of the body they increase to an ugly size, which, of course, spoils the figure, because it turns into some kind of giant pear.
If you find yourself with an “A” body type, your main goal will be to lose fat in your lower body, add firmness to your lower body, and also gain some muscle mass in your upper body. First of all, in the area of the shoulders, chest and back (so that the decreased difference between the circumferences of the chest and pelvis smooths out some of your disproportion).
An approximate set of exercises for women and girls with addition type "A"(hire a personal trainer to practice movement techniques)
- Warm-up – 5-15 min.
- V-shaped crunches while sitting on the edge of a bench (raising the knees to the chest) – 3×20-25.
- Torso raises on an inclined board (legs must be bent and the back must be rounded) – 3×15-25.
- Bench press lying on incline bench– 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6.
- Lying dumbbell raises – 3×8-10.
- Head pull on a high block – 1×12, 1×10, 1×8, 1×6.
- Bent-over dumbbell raises 3x8.
- Raising the knees to the chest while hanging on the bar – 2xMax.
- Squats with a barbell or a light barbell in a wide stance – 3x20-25.
- Lying leg curls on a 3x12 machine.
- Pelvic lifts lying on your back with back arching – 3×35-50.
- Lunges forward on one leg - 3×15-25.
- work on the simulator for oblique abdominal muscles 2×30-50.
- cardio – 15-25 min.
Recording the dosage of exercises 15-25, 50-70 means that you need to start with 15 repetitions, and gradually, over several weeks, get to the upper limit. Exercises 4 and 6 should be performed using the “pyramid” technique, i.e., increase the weight from the second to the last approach in each of them. The word “Max” means that you should strive for the maximum number of repetitions in this exercise.
“T” type frame characterized by wider shoulders compared to the pelvis and a pronounced conical shape of the torso. This is the one sporty style a figure that many try to get closer to with the help of overhead hangers. Type “T” is characterized by a predominance of excess fat accumulation in the upper part of the body - from the navel and above. At the same time quite voluminous rib cage can sit on a narrow pelvis and elongated thin legs. The waist with this type of build may become unexpressed; sometimes it is hidden by excess layers of fat.
With tall stature, such imbalances can be slightly smoothed out, but with short stature, they greatly spoil the impression of the figure. Your task, if you have discovered that you have type “T” bones, is to lose fat deposits from the upper body as much as possible and build gluteal muscles, femoral area(so that their increased circumferences smooth out the existing disproportion).
A set of exercises for women and girls with addition "T" type could be, for example, like this:
(to hone your exercise technique, contact a personal trainer)
- Warm-up – 5-15 min.
work on the simulator for the oblique abdominal muscles – 2×30-50.
- Squats with a barbell in a wide stance or leg presses in a 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6 machine. 5.
- Lying leg curl on the machine – 4×10.
- Hyperextension (lifting the torso from a position lying prone with your thighs across a high bench with your feet fixed) 3×15-20.
- Bench press, lying – 3×12-15.
- Bringing your elbows forward on a dec-dec machine – 2×12.
- Rows to the chest with a medium grip on a high block - 3x12-15.
- Torso raises with turns on an inclined board – 2×15-25.
- Leg raises while hanging on the bar – 2xMax.
The methodological instructions for this complex are the same as for the previous one.
“X” type backbone characterized by the same width of shoulders and pelvis, pronounced waist and overall proportionality. This is, of course, the most feminine body type, but if you don’t treat yourself with care, it often takes on forms when excess fat deposits on the buttocks, hips, chest and shoulders turn the body into something like a huge guitar.
The task of women and girls with this type of build is to maintain the tone of everyone muscle groups and avoidance of excess fat deposits.
type “X”:
(a personal trainer will teach you how to perform the exercises correctly)
- Warm-up – 5-15 min.
- Torso raises on an inclined board – 3×15-25.
- Barbell press – 2×10-12.
- Lying dumbbell raises – 2×10-12.
- “Pullover” lying across the bench (abduction of straight arms with a dumbbell back and down) 2 × 12-15.
- Chest cravings parallel grip on a high block – 2×12-15.
- Pulldowns on the belly on a low block – 2×12-15.
- V-crunches, sitting on the edge of a bench – 2×25-30.
- Bench leg press – 2×15-20.
- Leg bending while lying on the machine – 2×10-12.
- Pelvic hyperextension – 2×15-20.
- Leg abduction (right or left) on a low block – 2×15-20.
- Calf raises, standing – 2×12-15.
- Leg raises on an inclined board – 2×12-15
“H” type frame completes our anatomical and methodological excursion. This type of build is characterized by approximately equal width of the shoulders and pelvis, and an undefined (and more often than not wide) waist. However, if you suffer from excess body fat, your waist circumference may even exceed the circumference of your pelvis (in extreme cases, giving you a barrel-shaped figure).
The main tasks of women and girls with a similar type of build are to get rid of excess fat as much as possible and to build up some muscle mass shoulders, chest, pelvis and hips (so that their increased circumferences emphasize the waistline and give the figure a more feminine look).
An approximate set of exercises for addition type “H”:
(to learn the exercises, contact a specialist)
- Warm-up – 5-15 min.
- Raising the knees while hanging on the bar – 3 x Max.
- Raising the torso (arms behind the head) to the knees while lying on a bench, feet placed, for example, on a bar located on the racks of a barbell - 3xMax.
- Barbell bench press – 2×8-10.
- Raises with dumbbells on an incline bench – 2×8-10.
- Crossing arms on blocks while standing at a 2x8-10 incline.
- Head pull on a high block – 3×10-12.
- Low block abdominal row – 2×8-10.
- V-crunches while sitting on the edge of a bench – 2×25-30.
- Bench leg press or squats with a barbell in a wide stance - 1x12, 1x10, 1x8, 1x6.
- Lying leg curls on the machine – 4×8-10.
- Calf raises while standing on the machine – 3×12.
- Pelvic lifts lying on your back with a dumbbell or barbell disc on your stomach – 3×12-15.
- Hyperextension with a dumbbell at the chest 3x12-15.
- Rotation on the simulator for oblique abdominal muscles – 2×50-100.
Of course, the programs described here are by no means individualized for you. They can be adjusted by your personal trainer in a direction that more closely matches your individual characteristics. But if you train on your own, then the proposed programs will begin to correct your build within 1.5-2 months. These programs really work!
It is very important to understand that the types of skeleton that we analyzed are not very common in their pure form. Most likely, you will find some combination of two types of symptoms. Don’t let this bother you: after carefully reading the article, you will understand the logic of building complexes and will be able to choose those exercises that will solve your specific problems.
Remember also that there is no clear ideal female body type that suits the tastes of all people without exception. Your task is not at all to please everyone, but to make yourself worthy of the admiration and love of the person whose affection you are trying to win. Believe me, if you not only use what nature has given you, but improve your physique to the limit, your self-respect will increase immeasurably. You are quite capable of making yourself even more attractive than you imagine. And the main means of achieving this is an individualized training program.
Based on materials from the book “Fitness Training”
If you exercise without warming up, the risk of injury greatly increases and the effectiveness of the exercise decreases. 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 climb the mountain, exercise on elliptical trainer or an 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 come to the gym, you should already have a clear action plan: 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 your biceps, back, hips and abs, and in the second workout, work your triceps, chest, shoulders and buttocks.
Here are some exercises with simulators and free weights on different groups muscles.
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 gluteal muscles and hamstrings.
- Feet at the bottom of the platform - emphasis on quadriceps.
- Narrow foot placement - emphasis on outer part hips.
- 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 is a basic exercise with a huge number of variations: with broad setting legs or on one leg, with a barbell or 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 large number 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 your knee is in front standing leg was located exactly above the 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 both pectoral muscles, and triceps, and deltoids. The emphasis can be shifted by changing the grip: bench press narrow grip puts more stress on the triceps, and on the chest. Also, the emphasis on the chest shifts if you take a barbell 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 dumbbells, you must rotate your hands, as this ensures additional load on 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
![](https://i1.wp.com/cdn.lifehacker.ru/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/situp_1504071576.jpg)
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 a simpler version, you need to pull only your knees to your chest.
If this is easy, try lifting your legs straight to the horizontal bar.
How to choose the appropriate weight and number of repetitions
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. In you can find exercises for stretching different muscle groups, 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.
Hello! I completely forgot about women! Very few articles have yet been written for the fair sex, but they also need specific knowledge for progress. And they differ from men's theory and practice. Today I want to correct this omission a little. I want to look at it in detail CORRECT workouts for girls, I will give a working version of the training program.
I worked out in different gyms. There are quite a lot of women where I train now. There are very thin ones, there are very plump ones, young and old ones. Some train with a coach, others on their own. As a man, I will say that it is very unusual to watch a woman training. Why? Don't even know...
There is something special about this. In my gym, the vast majority of visitors are guys. They are rude by nature, they do strength exercises to develop even greater strength and create an even more brutal image. But when gentle girls lift weights and they do it with their characteristic softness, there really is something in it. Their goal is not brutality, but to emphasize their natural femininity.
No normal girl comes to the gym to work out like a man. Many girls still think that the gym will turn them into men. On this occasion, I advise you to read an article about strength training.
Training program for girls in gym- an important thing, and I, as promised, will give it to you. But let's first look at the theoretical aspects of the specifics of women's training.
By the way, there are excellent articles on the topic and If you are a newbie girl, you should find this useful.
I would like to say right away that the ideas of many girls about what a woman should be effective training- COMPLETELY WRONG! They still think that jumping rope, twirling a hoop and running on a newfangled treadmill will make them happy.
Or, for example, they think that by buying some kind of belt, a secret fat burning cream or a vibrating device, they will burn fat without special effort. It would seem that it is already clear to everyone that this is nonsense, that it does not work - but then why is it still selling well? Great marketing never sleeps! Profits from sales of useless sports goods are growing, but the figure of many remains unchanged.
As a result, women get tired of all this and they give up even trying to change themselves. “Apparently this is not my thing”, “probably I just have this kind of physique”, “nothing helps” etc. But the girl was never even 50% closer to effective training.
The most effective workout is the one in which you YOU WILL REALLY ENGAGE your muscles and YOU FEEL THEIR WORK! This is very easy to do in the gym - everything is provided for this, but it is much more difficult at home. Therefore, in this article we will talk ONLY ABOUT TRAINING IN THE GYM. At home, everything is much more complicated.
Real women's training and the one you are doing now are perhaps 2 completely different things!
And you know - our bodies are almost the same in their basic functions. Any body reacts to training, to a lack of calories, to the intake of certain nutrients into the body.
I'm not talking about exceptional cases, I'm talking about general standards for all people.
- It DOES NOT happen that you train a muscle correctly and it remains in the same state.
- There is NO way for you to consume fewer calories than you expend without losing weight.
Our body is a work of art of a great mathematician, where everything is very natural! We are created with automatic processes built into us that occur without our knowledge. We just need to learn to know how our body works and use it to achieve our goals (gain muscle mass, burn fat, etc.)
Why do you need a gym?
If we are talking about women's training, I’m sure that many girls immediately imagine themselves training in aerobics style. We wave our arms, legs, run, jump, etc.
This is all great, but the “exercise machine” has at least 3 main advantages over aerobics:
- The gym will help you individually pump up your legs, arms, and buttocks. That is, these are MORE POINT CHANGES IN THE BODY. This does not mean that in the gym you need to lift only what you want - the whole body is also worked there. But no one canceled the emphasis on different muscle groups if necessary. This is very easy to do in the gym, but not in aerobics.
- After training in the gym, your metabolism accelerates for a whole 24 hours, and even the next day it works faster than usual. Aerobic exercise gives this effect only for 4-5 hours. The difference is more than obvious.
- It is the gym that will help you build muscles, which will subsequently absorb themselves. large number calories even in a calm state, when you are sleeping, for example. Aerobics muscle growth does not provide.
Key features of the female body
The main difference between a man and a woman is that a woman has the ability to give birth. This determines a whole complex of smaller differences at all levels of physiology and biochemistry.
- The female body more easily accumulates nutrients “in reserve”, so girls gain weight more easily. In this regard, you need to closely monitor your carbohydrate intake. It is better to use less of them rather than more.
- In women, the level of anabolic hormones (testosterone) is significantly lower. Lower adrenaline levels. This all affects the training itself. It is many times more difficult for women to reach muscle failure than for men (when the muscle is so fatigued that it can no longer contract). Physically, the woman will be able to perform a few more repetitions, but is unlikely to do so. The brain will give the command to stop the exercise. And the men, gritting their teeth, puffing, quacking, barking, will perform a couple more repetitions. That's the difference! Therefore, it is better for a woman to do many repetitions (12-15) and many sets (4-5) instead of working large scales 6-10 repetitions in 3 approaches.
- There are fewer myofibrils (the fibers of our muscles) in the female body. For this reason, training to death with 6-10 reps does not work as well for women as it does for men. In general, men have 45% of their body muscle from total mass, while for women it is only 35%.
- The upper part of the female body has less muscle, the lower part has more. Women's legs are stronger, which is due to their ability to bear and give birth to children. Leg training for women is easier than for men (the muscles respond better to the load). That's why you need to monitor the growth of the lower body.
- Pain during menstruation is another important feature. In the area lower press Women have a weaker neuromuscular connection. This was probably done to reduce the painful sensations in the abdominal area. For this reason, it is more problematic for girls to pump up their lower abs.
- Women's metabolism is significantly slower than men's. This also affects the ability to store fat in the body and is associated with less muscle presence. Even in a calm state, a man spends more energy than a woman. A woman's body is approximately 28% fat, while a man's is 18%.
- The female body stores energy faster for muscle work. It is glycogen that is burned first during exercise. This is another factor in favor of faster fat accumulation by the female body. At the same time, the girl will burn this fat more easily. It’s much harder for a man to do this. That's why Cardio training for women works better.
Some girls, as I heard, are very worried about their genetics. Like, if “nature did not reward”- So there’s no point in steaming in the gym? There is only a grain of truth in this. Yes, you won't do incredible things to your body with just training and nutrition when it comes to breast shape and size, overall body structure, etc.
You will not fix the problem of bad hair, skin, unsightly facial features, etc. Sports have virtually no influence on all this.
But you can 100% influence the improvement of your figure data. At least try it. If you train correctly for at least a year, and don’t eat anything, you’ll be able to appreciate the difference. Be sure to take before and after photos.
Testosterone and muscle growth
Still, I want to add a few words for women who think that strength training can turn them into men. I am sure that in our time of development of fitness and bodybuilding, in the age of accessibility of information on this matter, much fewer women think wrongly. But still I repeat...
The main idea is that a woman will NEVER be able to build the same muscles as a man for one simple reason - she has very little testosterone in her body for this. And this hormone is precisely responsible for increasing muscle mass.
In numbers, the normal level of testosterone in the blood for men is: 200-1200 ng/dl (nanogram/deciliter), whereas in women - 15-70. Do you feel the difference? In this situation, even the most non-testosterone man (200) is superior to the most testosterone woman (70) almost 3 times. And if we take the average values (700 and 42), then the difference will be 16 times.
With such differences, women simply have no chance of gaining masculine muscles through natural methods. We're not even talking about pharmacology.
Menstruation and exercise
- Cons. This phase is characterized by decline muscle strength in women, increased heart rate and breathing. Speed and motor reactions deteriorate.
- Pros. Increased ability for short-term work. A woman’s body secretes special hormones called “relaxing” hormones. They provide greater joint mobility and overall flexibility.
Workout: stretching exercises and stretching. Load on abdominals and the legs can be excluded, since it will be almost useless.
Nutrition: The calorie content of food consumed can be increased, drink more liquid for faster elimination.
2) FOLLICULAR PHASE (8-14 days of the cycle).
Period information: The level of estrogen (female sex hormones) in the blood gradually increases.
- Pros. Coordination increases, work improves nervous system and cardiovascular, performance increases.
Workout: strength training at maximum values, endurance and speed training.
Nutrition: Calories can be reduced if you don't exercise.
3) OVULATION AND LUTEAL PHASE (days 15-28 of the cycle).
Period information: still holding on high level estrogen against the background of increasing progesterone (a steroid sex hormone that affects the menstrual cycle).
- Cons. Appetite increases. The body prepares for the expected pregnancy and stores fats in reserve.
- Pros. Strength is restored very quickly.
Workout: fat burning workouts for weight loss and cardio.
Nutrition: the main thing is not to overeat.
Principles of women's training
For quite a long time, among smart bloggers like me, there was a categorical opinion that women's training should be very different from men's. But then more detailed studies were carried out and information began to flow online that women’s training should not differ much from men’s.
This once again confirms the conventionality of all these studies in bodybuilding and in any field in general. It is quite possible that much of what is being said so categorically today will be challenged and substantiated over time. So...
The basic rules for ladies are almost the same as for guys, namely:
- Training in the range of 4-6 repetitions to increase strength, and 7-12 to increase volume (muscle hypertrophy). Anything over 12 is already training for cardiovascular endurance.
- But there is one “but”. The female body contains many type 1 muscle fibers (small fibers that are difficult to grow and only respond to high reps) aerobic exercise for endurance). Such fibers have low fatigue, which may be why women are more resilient. Given this fact, women should still aim for 8-15 repetitions per set. But, this does not mean that 4-6 repetitions cannot be used. A woman also has fast muscle fibers, which contract quickly, have great strength, but get tired quickly. Conclusion: we focus on slow fibers (8-15 repetitions), but do not forget about fast fibers (4-6 repetitions).
- You need to lift relatively heavy weights.
- As I said above, training “to failure” is not for girls. However, many cool bodybuilders of the past doubted its necessity for men. And today the debate about its necessity does not subside. For example, scientist Mikel Izquierdo discovered that after refusal training, the analobic growth factors IGF-1 sharply increase and decrease. It was also noticed that cells experience such an acute lack of energy that protein synthesis in them is disrupted, which means growth slows down. In other words, we simply exhaust our body and in the long term, by abusing “refusal” we can slow down our progress.
- Work in basic exercises (or similar ones). For example, if you can't squat, do leg presses. There was no straightening of the legs even close in this case.
- Do not stay in the hall for more than 1 hour, maximum 1.15.
- Work your whole body. Your desire to pump things up a little here and a little here is quite understandable. But you need to understand that the whole body needs to be worked on. Over time, you can focus on any part of the body, but do not pump it exclusively. And remember that working your entire body in compound exercises is much more effective at burning calories and regulating weight than focusing on just one part of the body.
- Focus on your lower body. Women's training should consist of 50% leg exercises. 20% can be allocated to working the back, 10% - arms, 10% - shoulders, 10% - chest.
- For a beginner girl, it is necessary to work out the whole body in one workout. Only after a while can you switch to split programs (train different muscle groups separately, or the upper body separately, the lower body separately).
Work program options
It's time to move on to practice. Below I will provide a training plan in the gym for women of varying degrees of difficulty. And we will try to take into account everything that we talked about above, transfer all the basic theoretical principles to real training. You can exercise 3 times a week.
For beginner girls (1-2 weeks after menstruation)
EXERCISE | WHAT WE TRAIN | APPROACHES | REPEATS |
---|---|---|---|
Barbell Squats | Legs | 5-6 | 10-15 |
Close grip bench press | 5-6 | 10-15 | |
Middle deltoids, trapezius | 6 | 10-15 | |
Traction upper block to the chest while sitting | Back, biceps, forearms | 6 | 10-15 |
Crunches | Press | 4-5 | maximum |
Program Notes: So, when your period has passed, you can train to the fullest. Your body is now ready for such stress. As you can see, this women's program training will allow you to pump up your WHOLE BODY in one visit to the gym.
It is advisable to carry it out in 1 hour, no more. Rest between sets at first for up to 1.5 minutes. Then you can reduce the rest to 50 seconds. Remember, the less rest, the higher the intensity and faster the results! But you shouldn’t beat your heart either. If you feel that your breathing has not yet recovered, it is better to rest a little more.
There is only one exercise for the buttocks and legs - squats. It is the most effective method building legs in general. If you wish or really need it, you can also add exercises for the buttocks to the program. My
As you noticed, there are no special chest exercises in this program. To pump up the breasts, it is enough to give them only a small load, since there are practically no muscles in a woman’s chest. I wrote about this topic in Be sure to read!
The narrow press, which is in this program, engages the muscles under the mammary gland and thereby tones the chest. More specialized exercises like the classic barbell or dumbbell press can slightly shrink the mammary gland, which affects the volume of the entire breast. For girls with large breasts, this is not scary, but if a girl, on the contrary, spends days and nights thinking about how to enlarge them, it will not benefit her.
I would also like to mention that training girls should strive to learn how to do full pull-ups, push-ups on parallel bars, on the floor, etc. These exercises perfectly build your upper body.
But at the initial stage, you may not be able to do these exercises. Then replace them with lighter ones:
- Replace classic pull-ups with rows vertical block to the chest or pull-ups in a gravitron ( special simulator for lighter pull-ups). If there is none, rubber will help. Wrap it around the horizontal bar and pull yourself up with it. It will lift you slightly during the active phase of the upward movement.
- Replace push-ups from the floor with push-ups from your knees or wide push-ups from the bench.
- If the problem is with the uneven bars, use the same training rubber or gravitron.
- If you have a problem with squats, do leg presses in a machine, etc.
In the picture below I showed you what a gravitron looks like (on the left). Please note that you can do pull-ups and dips on it. On the right you see an option for using training rubber:
TRAINING RUBBER AND RESISTERS (Aliexpress.com)
ELASTIC RUBBER AND RESISTERS (Sportmaster.ru)
That is, always try to find an alternative! Customize the program for yourself, because there are no unique programs! This is just the skeleton. For some it will suit as is, but for others it will have to be modified. Some people need mass, while others want to work on relief, etc.
For experienced girls (1-2 weeks after menstruation)
When the introductory program becomes too easy for you, you can move on to the next level.
EXERCISE | WHAT WE TRAIN | APPROACHES | REPEATS |
---|---|---|---|
Barbell squats + deadlift (SUPERSET) | Legs, back surface hips, back | 5 | 10-15 |
Close grip bench press + concentrated biceps curl (SUPERSET) | Chest, triceps, anterior deltoid, biceps | 5 | 10-15 |
Barbell row to the chin (“pull”) + dumbbell swings to the sides while standing (SUPERSET) | Front and medium bun delts, trapezoid | 5 | 10-15 |
Bent-over barbell row + seated vertical row to the chest (SUPERSET) | Back | 5 | 10-15 |
Lying crunches + hanging leg raises on a horizontal bar, on a machine or lying down (SUPERSET) | Press | 6 | maximum |
Program Notes: What have we done here? We took the previous program as a basis and simply added additional exercises which you will perform as a SUPERSET, that is, without rest. For example, you squatted and immediately performed deadlift on straight legs. We rested and completed the remaining approaches.
Try to rest for 1 minute between sets. If it’s hard - 1.5 minutes. But you shouldn’t rest any longer, as efficiency is greatly reduced. The blood must boil!
Easy program (3-4 weeks of the cycle)
EXERCISE | WHAT WE TRAIN | APPROACHES | REPEATS |
---|---|---|---|
Seated row of the upper blog to the chest | Back, biceps, forearms | 3-4 | 12-20 |
Close grip bench press | Chest, front delts, triceps | 3-4 | 12-20 |
Barbell row to the chin ("pull") | Middle deltoids, trapezius | 3-4 | 12-20 |
Cardio training (heart rate around 120 beats per minute) | Cardiovascular system | 1 | 40-60 minutes |
Program Notes: The program eliminates stress on the abs and legs. The number of approaches and repetitions is reduced. This means that you need to choose the appropriate weight to pull up to 20 times in a set.
You can do cardio by either fast walking or slow running. The heart rate (HR), or our pulse, should be around 120 beats per minute, since this frequency is most favorable for fat burning.
This is a program that you will follow for some time before and, possibly, during menstruation. Monitor your feelings and if it’s very difficult, it’s better to rest more.
Nutritionally, don't consume too many carbohydrates. At 3-4 weeks of the cycle, any carbohydrates (fast and slow) are more easily stored in fat.
Nutrition rules for a sports girl
As for nutrition, there are 2 main goals that you should always remember (this also applies to men):
- It is important to count the number of calories consumed and find out how much is needed for the normal functioning of the body. I wrote about how to determine the minimum required number of calories in
- In addition to calories, it is extremely important to focus on the percentage ratio of BZHU (proteins-fats-carbohydrates).
Focusing solely on calorie counting is WRONG. It is more important to monitor the quality of food and the content of BJU in it.
It is impossible not to voice the incorrect psychology of many women. “If I went to the gym, it means now I can afford to eat anything!” In fact, sometimes it is necessary to pamper yourself a little. This will make it easier to tolerate food restrictions.
But this shouldn't be the rule. Self-control in relation to food, especially fast carbohydrates, should become the norm of life. They are deposited on the sides and buttocks according to the female type. This occurs due to the presence of sex hormones such as estrogen and progestogens in the female body.
And finally basic tips for training women:
- WATER. Drink a lot! Don't let yourself get thirsty. If you want to drink, it means you should have done it 5 minutes ago - this is what athletes often say.
- LOW GI PRODUCTS. This refers to low glycemic index foods. The high GI of food promotes the accumulation of fat during its digestion. You can find tables of these products on the Internet.
- INSULIN. It is advisable to monitor its level not only for diabetics, but also for all athletes. Stable blood sugar levels are a signal of building lean muscle mass.
- PROTEIN. Women, like men, need 1.8 - 2 grams of protein. per kg. body weight. It should not be more, otherwise problems with the kidneys and liver are possible. You can use additional protein mixtures as a supplement to your main diet.
- ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS. This fish oil, omega-3-6-9 fatty acids, linseed oil etc. I advise you to drink it in capsules - it’s very convenient. Personally, I drink at least 2 capsules of quality fish oil every day!
OMEGA AND FISH OIL (iHerb.com)
This concludes this article about women's gym training. I'm sure it will be useful to you. Don't be afraid to go to the gym, dear girls - it's not scary! You will succeed! If you have any questions, write in the comments, share this article, or read avidly yourself))) And that’s all I have...
comments powered by HyperCommentsP.S. Subscribe to blog updates, so you don't miss anything! If you want to purchase any sporting goods, sports nutrition or supplements - you can use this special page!
Losing weight or cutting is an important and inevitable process in the life of any athletic girl. Someone wants to get rid of extra pounds, and some just dry out and get the coveted relief. Before starting this process, you should draw up individual complex exercises in the gym for girls to lose weight, taking into account the characteristics of the body.
It is also worth remembering that even a program from a famous trainer will not be effective if you do not adhere to proper nutrition and do not limit yourself in food. The number of calories you consume should be less than the amount of energy you expend during your workout.
Cardio workout
First of all, determine which one - ectomorph, mesomorph or endomorph. In other words, how prone is your body to gaining weight, and how quickly do you lose it? extra pounds. If losing weight is a difficult process for you, then in addition to strength training exercises, you should add cardio. Ideally, it is better to do this in the morning, after having a snack. protein shake or amino acids, and after completing the lesson you can have a full breakfast. Cardio sessions should be done at a medium pace, suitable brisk walking or a leisurely run. Such exercises can be successfully performed both within the walls of the gym and on the street. Execution time – from 30 to 80 minutes.
Of course, not everyone is comfortable working out in the morning, so you can do cardio after. strength training or at any other convenient time. The number of such classes per week is set individually depending on the girl’s shape and the final period of weight loss. Optimal quantity cardio workouts – from 3 to 5 per week.
When losing weight, one of the common mistakes girls in the gym - spend too much time on the treadmill, forgetting about strength exercises and. By training to the point of exhaustion, you can only worsen your own metabolism and put your body in a state of stress. Everything should be in moderation, and cardio too!
How to train girls to lose weight
There are two approaches to power complexes in the gym to lose weight. The first is to exercise at the same pace and not reduce the working weights, and the second is to reduce the working weights, but increase the intensity of the workout, that is, do more repetitions per approach and reduce rest time. If you are afraid of losing muscle mass, lose weight easily and consider yourself an ectomorph, then it is better to stick to the first method. And for girls who have difficulty losing the kilograms they have gained, it is worth building their training in the second way.
Also useful when losing weight:
- conduct circuit training
- use the principles of superset, triset
- perform a delay in the last approaches in the negative phase, that is, in the tension phase
- train in a pumping style, causing a rush of blood to the target muscle
- emphasis on problem areas and train them 2-3 times a week
- use a lot of isolation exercises
A set of exercises at a strength pace for weight loss
It is worth noting that there is no universal set of exercises for losing weight. Girls should remember that for maximum effectiveness, at each gym session they should perform at least 1-2 basic exercises and 3-4 insulating ones.
Legs (with emphasis on the front of the thigh, buttocks)
Shoulders, chest, biceps
Legs with emphasis on the back of the thighs, buttocks
Back, triceps
At the end of each workout, press for 5-10 minutes. Upper part The body can be trained once a week, simply varying the complexes each week.
Gym programs for girls differ from men's gyms. It is difficult for women to work to the point of exhaustion with a certain muscle group due to physiology. The principle is an even load with numerous repetitions.
Exercise programs for girls are suitable for shaping, cutting, and developing muscle mass. can be interchanged and supplemented with isolated practices.
Workout program for women in the gym for Monday
By changing the positions of the hands, it is possible to shift the emphasis to the trapezius, biceps, rhomboid and latissimus muscles.
TO lower block fasten V-shaped handle, we take it with a direct grip.
- We sit down, rest our feet on the platforms, and lean our chest forward.
- As you exhale, we pull the handles towards us until they touch the abs, and after a pause we release them.
- We hold a dumbbell or disk between widely spaced legs.
- We move our hips back, synchronizing the movements of the pelvis and arms, and lower ourselves along with the load.
It pulls you up internal surfaces thighs, gluteal muscles. Instead of a projectile, you can put a bar on your shoulders.
The gym program always includes.
- We take the shells in our hands and lower them in a free hang.
- We step forward with one foot, lower the other until it is parallel to the floor.
- Bend the knee of the exposed limb at a right angle.
- After a short cool-down, we rise using the power of our quadriceps. (4x12).
Bench press
Compared to the gym The female one is characterized by low intensity and frequent repetitions. designed to give shape to arms, shoulders, chest.
- We sit down on the bench.
- We grab the bar with a straight grip.
- Remove the projectile and lower it until it touches the chest (4x10).
Front squats with weights
Professional programs involve working with free weights.
We perform squats by analogy with the classic ones, but we take the bar with crossed palms and bring it to the shoulders.
Reduction of legs
Focused practice from the Women's Gym program structures the lower core. The technology is simple:
- sit down, adjust the weight;
- press your hips against the pillows;
- we bring and spread our legs at a given pace.
Working on the block
A variable technique called “crossover” perfectly works the chest muscles, giving it beautiful shape. Performed from any position, with different torso inclination, with one or both hands.