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 the 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 is easy 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, is progressing 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 physical 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 blood pressure In girls during training it is lower than in men, they can more easily tolerate loads and experience less burning sensation 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 must give preference exclusively 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 for growth muscle mass it is necessary to divide the training program by muscle groups so that 2 identical muscle groups were not pumped on adjacent days.
If your first workout is on Monday and you hit your legs, and your second workout is on Tuesday or Wednesday, you shouldn't do 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, in gym However, there are exceptions, 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 of 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 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 perform exercises in the 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 broad setting 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 kneeling if difficult) narrow setting triceps – 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 training allows you to not rest at all between approaches).
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 incline bench– 3 to 15;
- lat pulldown via overhead pulley 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 bring the functioning of all body systems in order (first of all, cardiovascular system) and smoothly finish 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 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 must know the general principles of training and be able to create training plan even when you are working 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 completely 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 is to 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 activity– adherents of kefir, apple, cabbage and other “diets”, in my coaching experience and in the experience of my colleagues, 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 the coach leaves you without a safety net during the execution period, potentially dangerous exercise, where you can fall yourself 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.
According to my observations, there are sometimes even more women in fitness centers than men, but there is no competent information about how a woman’s training differs from a man’s training. If you ask any instructor in a fitness room what this difference is, you will hear incomprehensible “snot” about the low amount of testosterone and the need for lighter loads. OK. So that next time you don’t have to “chew snot” in response to such a question, we will now look into this topic.
Before delving into the peculiarities of female physiology, I want to talk about MOTIVATION, this good sorceress that helps a person achieve the desired result. So, no matter what they say, women’s motivation is often even better than men’s. I know a lot of girls who are regularly ready to endure severe restrictions in order to bring themselves closer to the desired result. There is a completely logical explanation for this by old man Darwin. Under conditions of natural selection, the main criterion for the success of a female is her health. And the indicator of health is appearance. A man's success can be measured by other measures (for example, the number of Lexuses in the garage), but if a woman is not beautiful, then she is destined to be an outsider. Therefore, most ladies are more sensitive to their appearance than men. And this is great because it MOTIVATS FOR RESULTS! Now let's go.
The main feature of the female body is ACCUMULATION about STOCK
The female body contains much less hormones responsible for aggressiveness (testosterone and norepinephrine). This is fine. BUT such a “limitation” greatly affects the possibility of heavy training. When I talk about hard training, I primarily mean failure training. That is, when you are forced to stop an approach due to the physical REFUSAL of your muscles to perform repetitions. A man, due to the necessary hormones, can push himself and FORCE him to reach the limit in his approach (to real failure). A woman (if she has not gone crazy and is not using steroids) will most often stop a few repetitions before failure occurs. The muscles can still work, but it becomes very difficult to force yourself to do this work. This is also one of the ways to force a woman to save energy in reserve (in case the child does not have enough during the hungry month).
Additionally, in addition to having less TESTOSTERONE in women's muscles, there is less muscle fibers(MYOFIBRILL). This is the reason that strength training for 6-8 repetitions (effective for men) is most often useless for women.
MUSCLE DISTRIBUTION is also very different in women. In the fair sex, most of the muscles are concentrated in the lower part of the body (legs, buttocks). Therefore, the female body responds much faster to training these regions than to training the upper body (chest, shoulder girdle, arms, back). Here, perhaps, it makes sense to talk about the female press. Due to the fact that women experience menstrual pain, the lower abdomen has fewer nerve endings (nature has taken care to reduce regular painful sensations), which led to worse neuromuscular connections in this region than in men (the lower abs are much more difficult for women to train than for men).
THE METABOLISM RATE in the female body is SLOWER than in the male body. This means that energy consumption per kilogram of body weight is less (such savings are very relevant if a woman is carrying a child, because food was not always in abundance). Technically, this was realized by the creator due to a smaller percentage of muscles in the female body than in the male (and muscles, as we know, are damn energy-hungry things).
Excess CARBOHYDRATES (porridge, pasta, potatoes, sweets) are STORED INTO FAT reserves much EASIER in women than in men. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, women can more easily use stored fat reserves as energy, unlike men. Technically, this is realized due to a different RESPONSE TO INSULIN from males, firstly. And due to the same MUSCLES, secondly. Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the muscles. Accordingly, than more muscles, the more carbohydrates can be absorbed into glycogen.
Women's MUSCLES are better able to ACCUMULATE GLYCOGEN when needed than men's muscles. This is very important point, because it seriously affects the correct training for women. Remember: the required CARBOHYDRATE will be stored more easily (than in men) in the muscles (as glycogen). And excess CARBOHYDRATE will be stored much more easily (than in men) as FAT. Glycogen in muscles is good because it will give them shape due to the extra size. But body fat... This, you understand, is bad, because it will be more difficult for such a lady to find a groom.
THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE imposes cyclical characteristics on physical performance in women. After her period ends, a woman feels uplifted physical strength and performance. This lasts on average two weeks, until the egg matures. After two weeks, with a 28-day cycle, ovulation occurs and the female body goes into maximum energy saving mode, regardless of whether the egg was fertilized or not. Therefore, it is important to use micro-periodization in women's training. The first two weeks give a more strength (heavy) load, and the second two weeks give a very light load, excluding leg and abs training.
FAT BURNING in women best occurs from long-term (30-50 minutes or more...) low-intensity exercise with a heart rate in the region of 110-120 beats per minute. In this regard, the body reacts in the same way as a man’s. I focused on this because for most women, the issue of “getting rid” of excess fat is more important than “gaining” excess muscle.
What are the main CONCLUSIONS?
- Use MICRO-REDIZATION: two weeks of heavy training + two weeks of light training
- HIGH-VOLUME training (many sets and repetitions) changes women's muscles much better than men's due to better accumulation of glycogen in them. In addition, this type of training will be optimal for women, because they are not given the opportunity to “FAILURE” training. It is better for a woman to gain a total workload due to the total amount of work, and not due to the severity of this work. A good solution would be to use “weight drop” techniques on the apparatus.
- There should NOT be an excess of CARBOHYDRATES in the diet. Because this will lead to fat deposition faster and easier than in men. It’s better to have a little less carbohydrates than a little more NECESSARY.
- Long-term low-intensity exercise at a heart rate of 110-120 beats burns fat even better than in men, because women's fat is better used as energy when it is needed.
- Do not overdo it with training your legs and buttocks, because these parts of the body in women easily respond to stress. Pay attention to the shoulder girdle, arms and back, because the TOP of the body in women is always significantly behind the BOTTOM.
Workout for women in the gym
is the most effective system for reducing the level of subcutaneous fat and, at the same time, correcting the shape of the gluteal muscles, breasts, as well as the volume of the waist, legs, arms, emphasizing the collarbone and solving other problems that girls set for themselves. The gym is truly the most effective way to shape your figure, however, girls are often afraid that training in the gym will make them look like men, although this is not the case! In order for a woman to be able to pump up huge muscles, she needs testosterone, so you cannot become a “butch” without the use of hormonal drugs. At the same time, girls have problems with hip volume from frequent barbell squats, but this can be avoided and we will tell you how to do it.
The training plan for women may vary and, in principle, there are two main schemes: phased and combined. Phased the training program for women assumes that the girl will first work on her forms and then “dry”, combined offers to lose weight and at the same time work on the quality of muscles. The first scheme is professional and will not suit most girls, since you most likely want to look good not only at competitions, and for this you need to use a combined training scheme. In practice You will not use any diets, instead you will have to optimize your daily diet in accordance with the principles of proper nutrition, while you will visit the gym and do one of the proposed training programs for women.
Optimizing your diet is the most important task, since it is nutrition that is responsible for the level of subcutaneous fat in the body, in addition, an appropriate background of nutrients is also necessary for recovery after training. In other words, if you eat right and do not exercise, then even though you will not have luxurious gluteal muscles, toned leg muscles, arms, perhaps your breasts will be less elastic, but, nevertheless, you will look good, you will slim and attractive. But if you train and don’t watch your diet, then most likely there will be no positive results at all! Therefore, first of all, you must optimize your nutrition, and only then choose the appropriate training program for women. Important to consider that we are not talking about a diet, that is, you will not eat like this periodically, the daily diet in question is a daily diet that you will use to remain attractive every day!
Principles proper nutrition for women
Product quality
– this is still the first thing you should take care of to optimize nutrition. Firstly, proteins should be of animal origin, secondly, carbohydrates should be complex, and thirdly, fats should not be completely excluded from the diet. A girl should consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram own weight, because muscle tissue Women have less, but girls have more adipose tissue, so girls should also consume less carbohydrates. The optimal caloric intake range for girls ranges from 1200-1800 Kcal, but the calorie balance is a very individual indicator, so we will talk about it in more detail later. Fats in the diet should be 15-20%, but they should be unsaturated, preferably vegetable, or omega-3. To preserve the quality of products, they must be steamed, boiled or stewed; frying is strictly prohibited.
Diet – this is the second most important principle of proper nutrition, however, the regime must be followed everywhere, so training for women in the gym is also constant. In this case, we are talking about the fact that you need to eat often and in small portions, you need to eat food at the same time every day. On average, it is advisable to eat 5-6 times a day, which will ensure a constant supply of nutrients in the body, and will also avoid an increase in blood sugar levels and the release of insulin. By the way, for this purpose it is also recommended to eat carbohydrates with a low glycemic index or low glycemic load, that is, either the glycemic index should be low or there should not be many carbohydrates in the product. Important eat carbohydrates in the first half of the day, and protein products in the second, and in the late afternoon you should eat dairy products or casein protein, since this type of protein takes longer to digest.
Systematicity - it's not easy important principle, this is the principle without which all other principles of proper nutrition will not work at all. Moreover, we recommend using systematicity, as well as a regimen, in your training program for women in the gym. There are two ways to ensure systematic nutrition: complex and simple. Difficult is to calculate daily, using a food composition table and a kitchen scale, how many food nutrients are contained in foods, and then optimize their value to what you need. Easy is to once calculate how many protein foods you need to eat, and gradually adjust carbohydrates in accordance with your result.
In fact, the complex method also involves adjustments, but it simply allows you to change products daily, which is a plus. True, no one is stopping you, when you get tired of certain carbohydrates, count how many calories you ate, and then change the sources of carbohydrates. In practice, You have chosen a diet, let’s say you eat chicken breast and rice, you weigh 55 kg, and you want to lose weight. Accordingly, brisket contains 26.5g of protein for every 100g, you need to eat about 250g per day, and you eat 300g of rice per day. Moreover, the breast must be weighed when cooked, and the rice when raw; this rule is valid for all sources of protein and carbohydrates. Before you start eating this way, you weigh yourself, then eat these foods for a week, and after a week you weigh yourself again. Now, depending on the result, you need to increase the amount of rice, reduce it, or leave it at the same level. If you have lost 0.5-2 kg, then the amount of rice does not need to be changed; if you have lost more than 2 kg, then the amount of rice must be increased; if you have lost less than 0.5 kg, then the amount of rice must be increased.
Cyclicality– this principle is associated with ovulation, as a result of which it is necessary to apply microperiodization , both in nutrition and in the training system for women. In general, women accumulate more easily subcutaneous fat, but it’s also easier to spend it. This is due to the fact that a woman gives birth to a child, so she needs a supply of nutrients, at the same time, when there are few nutrients, then in order for the child not to receive any injuries, the reserves are spent very easily. And during ovulation, when the chance of getting pregnant is especially high, the body tries to store as many nutrients as possible. Therefore, during ovulation, the intensity of training and calorie intake decreases. As for the training program, this will be discussed below, and as for the calorie intake, it should be reduced by 20%, just eat 20% less carbohydrates.
Conclusion: you need to eat often and in small portions; the diet should consist only of high-quality products with a low glycemic index; Food must be steamed or boiled; sources of protein must be of animal origin, vegetable fats, or, as in the case of omega-3, they can be obtained from northern sea fish, carbohydrates should be complex; The diet should be followed permanently, every day there is the same amount of food nutrients, which is implemented using a table of food composition and weights in the case when you eat different foods, or due to the monotony of the diet; during ovulation, the intensity of training and calorie intake decrease; and more! drink more water, 2.5-3 liters per day, and water at room temperature; it is advisable to drink water evenly, stretching its intake into the body throughout the day; you should not drink during meals.
Menu diet for women
20 minutes before breakfast
– a glass of water to which you can add a little honey or soluble vitamins
Breakfast– 100g oatmeal porridge with milk and a cup of green tea
Lunch
– 3 boiled egg whites and a salad of non-starchy vegetables
Dinner– 100g of boiled coarse rice with seaweed or non-starchy vegetables and 100g of salmon or pollock
Afternoon snack– 100g brisket and non-starchy vegetables
Dinner– 150g low-fat cottage cheese and kefir
The menu is average, but you can take it as a basis, gradually adjusting it to suit you. It is important to note that this menu is for intensive training, so during ovulation the amount of carbohydrates is 20% lower. In any case, if you follow such a diet, it will be many times more effective than 99% of all those diets that are replete with the Internet and women's magazines.
Features of training for women
Small muscle volume – this factor is very important to consider, since the fewer muscles, the less attention should be paid to them. That is why girls should perform basic exercises, but since the muscles in a girl’s body are unevenly distributed, the basis of the training should be training exactly that part of the body in which the most muscles are located. In girls, the most muscles are located in the lower part of the body, but this does not mean that it needs to be trained more than the upper part, you will just do 2-3 exercises on the legs, and one on the back, shoulders, arms and chest, although in total the upper part You will train your body more. At the same time, you most likely want to hypertrophy gluteal muscles, therefore, the legs need to be trained not only anaerobically, but also aerobically, so that the leg muscles are elastic and small.
Microperiodization – we already talked about this above, it is connected with ovulation, therefore during the ovulation period girls should do a lower amount of work. Only abdominal training will fundamentally change. In general, at the end of the workout you will perform hanging leg raises in order to load the lower segment of the abs more and pump blood into the abdominal area; thanks to this pumping, fat reduction in this area will occur more intensely, which will have a positive effect on your figure. During ovulation, you stop performing abdominal exercises, and the number of approaches in each exercise is reduced to three; if you performed the exercise in only three approaches, then it means that you no longer need to do it at all.
Training Volume - this rule applies not only to the total time that a girl should spend in the gym, but also to the rest time between approaches during training for women, the total number of exercises and repetitions in each approach. Girls have little testosterone, so refusal approaches are much more difficult for girls to perform; moreover, if you are not a competitive athlete, then you do not need to do this at all. Optimal time The rest between sets is 30-60 seconds, and the number of repetitions ranges from 15 to 25 per set. It should also be noted that during training you can and should drink water, and be sure to start
Now a healthy lifestyle and its attributes - proper nutrition and exercise - are at the peak of popularity. Girls line up at the gym, not only paying tribute to the fashion for a healthy lifestyle or “to improve their figure for the summer.” Working out in the gym is a whole philosophy of body building and a way of life.
When a girl comes to the gym, the result depends on a combination of factors: genetics, goals, motivation and effort, nutrition, a competent trainer, etc. But still, the main factor in building a body is the right training program. How to train in order to achieve the desired result in the form of a beautiful, pumped-up body, without harming your health, we will consider below.
Physiological features
When drawing up a training program, you need to take into account the peculiarities of female physiology, which differs from male physiology, which determines the specifics of the classes.
- Testosterone. Many girls are afraid to pump themselves up in the gym and acquire a masculine figure. This will not happen only because the male hormone testosterone in girls is several times less. And they can't perform exercises to failure, which prevents their muscles from growing as much as men's.
- Muscles.
- Firstly, the structure of muscles in women is different; they contain fewer muscle fibers, which are responsible for contraction and stretching. Therefore, they hypertrophy less when strength training with a small number of repetitions for mass growth.
- Secondly In women, muscles are distributed differently - there are more of them in the lower part of the body - legs, buttocks. Therefore, pump up this part faster than the top, plus the muscles lower press weaker.
- Metabolism. Women's metabolism is slower than men's, in particular, carbohydrate metabolism. This causes excess carbohydrates to quickly turn into fat. This must be taken into account when consuming the right carbohydrates, which are stored as glycogen in muscle tissue. The more glycogen in the muscles, the faster they will gain shape and expressiveness, and strength training will be more effective.
Training basics and how to create a program
To start working out in the gym, you need to know the basics and create a program.
Let's talk about the 5 pillars of training for girls.
Goals
Girls come to the gym with three main goals:
- Lose weight and give your muscles definition,
- Build muscle mass and shape your figure,
- Keep your figure in shape.
There are other goals: preparation for fitness bikini competitions, professional bodybuilding.
Program
The program is selected based on the goals.
- Fat burning program aimed at losing weight and building muscles. It includes more cardio. Strength exercises are performed in 3 sets of 12-20 repetitions with high intensity, but with light weight and gradually increasing it. The breaks between approaches are less than a minute (from 40 seconds to 1 minute). Circuit training is good for fat burning.
- Muscle Gaining Program is aimed at muscle growth, in this case we reduce the number of repetitions in the approaches, but increase the weights, taking breaks between approaches for 2 minutes, and exclude cardio.
The training program can be carried out in two ways:
- For the whole body, when exercises are performed on all muscles (both upper and lower body) in an hour. Some trainers consider this program preferable if the goal is to maintain shape, in which case the whole body is pumped evenly. It is also convenient if you don’t have enough time to go to the gym all the time and have forced breaks.
- A split program, when on a certain day you pump only one muscle group, for example:
- Day 1 – legs and buttocks,
- Day 2 – arms, shoulders, chest,
- Day 3 – back, abs.
System
To get results, the system of visiting the gym and the system of classes within one workout are important.
- It is considered ideal to visit the gym 3 times a week with a break of 1 day, but at least 2 times a week to get results.
- Between workouts there should be rest for muscle recovery (1-2 days).
- A quality strength training session takes no more than 1 hour, plus time for cardio and stretching before and after the session.
Equipment and base
Two important postulates what any coach will tell you is:
- Follow the technique
- Make a base.
Technique is the holy of holies of any training and sport. Without correct technique the efforts will be in vain.
Some technique tips:
- Don't grab heavy weights right away
- Spend time on technique, practice exercises at home or in the gym (with a trainer),
- Do the exercises slowly, preferably in front of a mirror,
- Be sure to watch the video on the technique of performing the exercises,
- Don't neglect technology. One correctly performed exercise brings greater result than 10 without technology.
The basis of any program is the base, these are exercises that build the body and form muscles - with a barbell, dumbbells.
The second type of exercises is isolating exercises, they additionally pump up the muscles, are performed on all types of exercise machines and help to refine the muscles.
Diary
A diary is needed to record results and track progress. Nowadays it can be maintained electronically, fortunately there are many programs and mobile applications for this, but if there is no time for this, then the main results need to be recorded in a notebook.
If your classes take place with personal trainer, then the coach keeps a diary himself.
A training program can be created in two ways.
- On one's own, if you have knowledge in the field of fitness, or you have acquaintances or friends who are athletes or trainers. They will always help you adjust your plan. Nowadays there are many mobile applications and ready-made series of video lessons from famous athletes and fitness bikini champions in the gym. However, you still need to keep your goal and your body type in mind.
- With a coach. If you are new to sports, it is better not to conduct independent experiments with your body and contact a professional trainer. The trainer will create a competent program, taking into account your goals and body type, will record your results, evenly distribute the load, set the technique for performing exercises, draw up a nutrition plan, and much more.
The important part is warming up
Warm-up is an essential part of training, but, alas, it is neglected by many.
Warm-up is needed to warm up the joints, ligaments and muscles, which will help prevent injuries during exercise.
Never handle hardware without warming up. As a warm-up, you can do intense exercises without weights (squats, swinging arms and legs, bending to the side, etc.), jumping rope, and stretching exercises.
If you do not have a goal to lose weight, then instead of warming up, you can do cardio for no more than 5 minutes. If the goal is fat burning, then the warm-up will be replaced by intense cardio for 15-30 minutes - treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical or jump rope.
Basic training program for girls for a week for weight loss
Classes 3 times a week, 3-4 sets of 15-18 repetitions, take weights depending on your own weight and preparation; if you are a beginner, it is better to take light weights or consult a trainer. Rest between exercises 1-1.5 minutes, between approaches 40 seconds.
1 day
- Cardio up to 30 minutes, warm-up.
- Hyperextension,
- Squats with a barbell (first approach with an empty bar) or in a Smith machine.
- Scissor lunges with dumbbells (or weights)
- Breeding legs in the simulator,
- Leg abduction in the simulator,
- Leg bending in the simulator, lying on your stomach,
- Seated leg extension
- Horizontal pull-down on the shoulders,
- Horizontal block row to the chest,
- Bent over press crunches,
- Cardio 10-15 minutes,
- Stretching for 5 minutes.
Day 2
- Any cardio up to 30 minutes.
- Hyperextension.
- Squat with dumbbells.
- Lunges with weights (or dumbbells)
- Vertical platform bench press,
- Standing dumbbell raises
- Dumbbell bench press,
- Graviton push-ups
- Vertical leg raise,
- Twisting,
- Cardio 10 minutes
- Stretching for 5 minutes.
Day 3
- Cardio up to 30 minutes,
- Hyperextension with weights,
- Plie squat with dumbbells,
- Smith machine reverse lunges
- Romanian deadlift,
- Lifting dumbbells for biceps,
- Traction upper block to the chest
- Wide grip pull-ups
- Hanging leg pull-ups
- Ab crunches,
- Cardio up to 15 minutes,
- Stretching for 5 minutes.
Basic training program for girls for a week to gain muscle mass
In this program for mass, we reduce the number of repetitions in the approach to 6-12, and increase the weight required to perform this number of repetitions. We do not use cardio in the training, only warm-up. Rest between sets – 2 minutes, between exercises – 1 minute.
1 day
- Warm up,
- Hyperextension,
- Ab crunches,
- Barbell squat,
- Lunges with dumbbells,
- Wide grip push-ups
- Reduction and extension of arms in the butterfly simulator,
- Press dumbbells with each hand alternately,
- Pull of the upper block behind the head,
- Stretching.
Day 2
- Warm up,
- Hyperextension,
- Lifting your legs to your chest
- Deadlift,
- Lunges with dumbbells (or Smith machine),
- Bench press,
- Dumbbell lateral raises
- Wide grip push-ups or pull-ups
- Twisting,
- Stretching.
Day 3
- Warm up,
- Twisting,
- Squats with dumbbells,
- Scissor lunges with dumbbells,
- Standing barbell press from the chest,
- Barbell row to the chin,
- Horizontal block thrust,
- Close-grip lat pull-down,
- Pullover with dumbbells,
- Stretching.
Circular training cycle for girls in the gym
Circuit training is suitable for those who are losing weight. Cyclic training has a powerful fat-burning effect, depleting all glycogen stores in the muscles. Several exercises are performed without breaks at a fast pace, after which we do the 2nd and 3rd round of repetitions of these exercises. We increase the repetitions to a maximum of 20.
Example circuit training Ekaterina Usmanova
Complete three circles:
- Pull of the upper block behind the head.
- Leg extension in the simulator.
- Traction of the lower block to the belt in sitting position narrow grip
- Scissor squat (with or without weights).
- Triceps extension.
- Lifting dumbbells alternately for biceps with supination.
- Press crunches.
Exercises in the gym for the back
Often girls neglect working their back, focusing on their legs and buttocks. Meanwhile, working on the back muscles is important so that the body looks evenly sculpted; strengthened back muscles help to perform all other basic exercises.
The most effective exercises for back muscles:
- Traction of a horizontal block behind the head,
- Hyperextension,
- All types of deadlifts,
- Pull-ups and push-ups
- Bent over dumbbell row,
- Plank,
- Bent-over barbell chest press.
Abdominal exercises in the gym
Many people advise finishing your workout with abdominal crunches before stretching. There are many variations of twists.
The most basic ones in the gym:
- Bent crunches on a bench,
- Raising your legs to your chest with emphasis on your arms.
The press is also involved in almost all basic strength exercises(squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc.).
Exercise and the menstrual cycle
Women's training and the menstrual cycle are directly interrelated concepts. This should be taken into account in the program. In the first weeks after ovulation, the female body is full of strength, when you need to increase the load and work intensively, 2 weeks before ovulation it is better to reduce the load and not overdo exercises on the lower body.
In the first days of menstruation, women's endurance decreases and fatigue appears. Therefore, it is better not to carry out heavy training at this time.
Proper nutrition
Another commandment of all trainers is that without proper nutrition you cannot build a healthy body. beautiful body and not get quality muscles. What does it mean?
If you are planning to lose weight, then prepare for a calorie deficit, but not for starvation.
You will have to give up sweets and fast carbohydrates (baked goods, bread, etc.) and replace them with slow carbohydrates, also fully consume protein and fiber, count calories and eat fractionally up to 5 times a day.
If you're bulking up, you'll have to do the same thing, but on a larger scale.
To gain quality mass, not fat, you cannot sit on buns and cakes, only proper nutrition with healthy foods, counting calories and no fasting.
The body must receive the full amount of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in the correct ratio.
Results and time
With the right training program, taking into account nutrition and systematic training, the first results will appear within 2 months.
The body quickly adapts to the load, addiction occurs and progress stops. Trainers advise changing the program every three months and be sure to increase the weights and load; in the process, you can also replace the exercises with similar ones so that there is no addictive effect.
To track your progress, be sure to keep a journal (as we discussed above).
If progress has stopped, we use 2 methods, increase the number of repetitions, or increase the weight if the number cannot be increased.
In conclusion, a few tips.
- Study systematically, there must be a plan, do not miss classes.
- Warm up before class.
- Be sure to do basic exercises, this is the basis for building muscles.
- Follow the technique.
- The key to a beautiful body, proper nutrition - without this, exercise in the gym will not be 100% effective.
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Today we will talk about proper training for women. You will learn what a competent training program for girls consists of.
The popularization of strength training is gaining momentum among the fair half of humanity. There are more and more girls and women in gyms. But there is practically no really useful information on how to train them.
Before we start delving into the topic, a few words about motivation. That magic pill that allows you to achieve results, overcome pain and go even further.
In women it is more developed. They often have to limit themselves in food, rest and the like, just to become more beautiful (appearance helps her win in natural selection). They are naturally inclined to always look perfect, and this requires constant self-control. Such motivation develops and becomes stronger over the years. This skill turns out to be useful in other areas of life.
By adding knowledge and a competent approach, a girl will be able to achieve the result she needs in the gym.
Female physiology
The main feature of the female body is the tendency to accumulate nutrients in reserve. This is a key difference from the male body.
This is primarily due to the amount of hormones norepinephrine and testosterone. They not only affect the formation of muscle mass and proportions, but also affect the central nervous system (central nervous system), in particular they are responsible for aggression and persistence. Men, due to their physiology and the amount of hormones, are able to train to failure (when the next repetition in the correct technique and amplitude is impossible on their own), i.e. almost to the limit.
A woman, unless she is crazy or takes testosterone from outside, will not be able to train like this. She often stops 2-3 repetitions before failure, due to the lack of the above hormones. It’s difficult for her to go through the pain, to finish the last failed repetition.
Another feature of the female body is due to the fact that the number of muscle fibers in the muscles of women is less than that of men. In this regard, the ability to perform strength work in a low number of repetitions is poorly developed in girls. Which means any strength work up to 6 repetitions will not make sense.
The next feature is the distribution of muscles throughout the woman’s body. Weak top and strong bottom. narrow shoulders, weak hands, poorly developed pectoral muscles. Most of the muscles are concentrated in the lower part - these are the buttocks and legs. It is easier for women to progress in lower body training because... there's more muscle there. It will be very difficult for them to progress in the upper body.
In order for a woman to develop her upper body, she should exert more effort than men.
Another feature will affect the female press. Any healthy woman experiences “periods” once a month. Due to the fact that at this time pain appears in the lower abdomen, nature made sure that there were fewer of them. How? The number of nerve endings in the lower abdomen. Accordingly, the neuromuscular connection is worse than in men. It is much more difficult for a woman to develop abs than for a man.
The metabolic rate of women is lower than that of men. This means that women consume much less energy per kilogram of body weight than men. This way, men can eat more without gaining weight. This is also due to the fact that men have more muscles. And muscles are a very energy-consuming material, even at rest.
Excessive The intake of carbohydrates in a woman’s body is much more easily transferred to reserves (fat) than in men.
On the other hand, the fat that is formed in women can be used much more easily as a source of energy than in men. This is due to the reproductive function of women, due to the need to provide energy to the offspring.
The most important feature that leaves its mark on the construction of a training program for girls is the menstrual cycle. It creates periods of upswing and downturn in physical performance. During the first two weeks after the end of menstruation, women feel physically uplifted and are capable of high performance. At this time, her training can be quite difficult.
On average, ovulation occurs after two weeks (28-day cycle). And here there is a strong decline in energy and physical capabilities. The female body tries to save energy as much as possible, including accumulating it. At this time, it is able to accumulate nutrients even more efficiently, regardless of whether the egg has been fertilized or not.
As a rule, at this time you should limit physical activity in the gym. Make your workouts easier. Remove or reduce intensity heavy exercise on the lower body and abs. In addition, you should reduce your calorie intake because... 3-4 weeks are the most dangerous for a girl’s appearance, because the body will change.
After menstruation, the female body is strong for the first two weeks, the next two are weak and tries to retain more energy (gain weight).
Therefore, microperiodization works very well in women's training. When the load is not constant, but changes cyclically. The peak load should be combined with the first two weeks, and the decline in the third and fourth.
Sports physiologists say that sports periodization– this is the key to long-lasting and powerful results. And this is good from the point of view of women, because... nature itself laid down such a mechanism.
Brief conclusions:
- In women's training, microperiodization should be used.
- The training should be high-volume (many repetitions, sets and little rest).
- No excess carbohydrates. Monitor your diet carefully.
- Don't focus on your buttocks and legs - pay even a little more attention to your upper body.
Taking into account female physiology (the information discussed above), we will immediately dispel the myth that training in the gym with weights will turn you into a man in a skirt. In order to get even a little closer to the male form, you will have to resort to special pharmacological drugs. Even men have had a hard time achieving the desired shape for years, and a girl certainly won’t turn out to be a mutant!
Strength training will help you develop beautiful shapes upper and lower body, tighten overall muscle tone, strengthen the health of all body systems without exception, improve your condition and self-esteem. And a few more advantages from working out in the gym with weights:
- The more muscles you have, the more calories you spend to maintain them, which means there are fewer prerequisites for fat accumulation.
- After strength training In the gym, your metabolic rate increases for a day or even more. At the same time, after aerobics and other cardio joys, just for a couple of hours.
- The gym will allow you to shape your figure wherever you want (what we train is what we develop). No amount of aerobics will give such an effect.
How to create a training program for girls
The body will change and adapt only when external conditions unusual and stressful for him.
What is this for? The main problem women face is working with too little workload, not working enough. You will mark time for years, and your butt () and abs () will never appear.
In order for the body to begin to form beautiful shapes (increase muscle size), training must be hard (even if the weights are less than for men). It should really be hard for you to complete those last few reps. Remember, your training is high-volume, you rest little and work a lot (you don’t lift with heavy weights and records like men, you lift with the volume of your work - a lot of exercises, a lot of approaches, a lot of repetitions, little rest).
Think of working on yourself in the gym not as a tea party, but as a grinding ideal forms from granite with a hammer and chisel, hard and persistent work.
The training program for men (not beginners) is based on a split. When the whole body is split into muscle groups and these separate groups train in different days in a forceful manner close to refusal. This means more time to maximally exhaust each muscle group and, in turn, more rest for it, because. Each group's training sessions are infrequent.
Women should not train in this manner. A strong character does not suit them. Women should train their entire body at once - in one workout. Women recover faster after training because... do not approach failure and do not destroy deep muscle tissue.
Training should be based on the following calculation. Large muscle groups are identified and one or two are selected basic exercises on them. A lot of work is done with a large number reps and sets.
You should choose exercises that involve maximum quantity muscles, because Women do not have the opportunity to devote an entire training day to working one muscle group. You should train 2-3 times a week, depending on how you feel, and it should be excellent before training.
Training program for girls (whole body at once or full body)
Extremely important. All joints, ligaments and muscles are warmed up - protection from injury.
- 5-6 approaches to max. repetitions
Disperses blood throughout the body and trains the abs.
- 5 sets of 10-15 reps
Shaping exercise for buttocks and legs.
- 5-6 sets of 10-15 reps
Working out the back.
Works the triceps, anterior deltoid and inner chest, which pushes the chest forward.
- 5-6 sets of 10-15 reps
Development of the muscles of the shoulder girdle. An incredibly difficult but effective exercise.
Pause between approaches 30 seconds - 1.5 minutes. Select a working weight so that the last repetitions are difficult for you, but the technique must be perfect. The pace of all exercises is deliberately slow!
You can change the set of exercises for specific muscles, as long as they remain basic and you perform them flawlessly. This workout will take you about 60 minutes.
Beginning builders of a beautiful body should not shorten their workout by removing exercises. It’s better to rest more before the next approach. Over time, try to shorten this pause. In order for a girl to create the prerequisites for anabolism, she needs a high volume and oxygen debt, i.e. small pauses between sets of 30-60 seconds.