When it comes to exercises designed specifically for women who lift weights, it makes a lot of sense to focus on the entire body.
To begin, it appears that women have a quicker healing rate than their male counterparts with the same condition. These can be explained by their relatively high-intensity levels, natural muscle distribution, favourable mobility, and hormone profile.
In addition, let’s face it for a second: women are more resilient than men.
The increased exercise frequency leads to improved muscle tone and strength and leaner physiques, which brings us to the second reason, which is also a consequence of the first reason.
The belief that only males should strive to have toned bodies has long since been disproved. However, it is common to see women working out in the gym and performing squats, bench presses, or deadlifts.
Today, lifting big weights is a standard part of the workout routine for women because they have proven themselves capable of great resolve.
If you go back to a few decades ago, you will find few ladies going to the gym or engaging in other forms of physical exercise. Women were only allowed to participate in aerobic workouts when they went to the gym, which meant that the locker rooms were always packed with muscular guys.
Why? Because it was often believed that a rigorous exercise routine for women would cause them to transform into she-hulks.
On the other hand, as time passed, it was realised that lifting weights does not result in an abnormal increase in bulk, but it helps build strength and tone the body. As a result of adopting this new fitness program, many women became aware that exercise contributed to developing leaner, shapelier, and curvier bodies.
The exercises that males and women do in the gym are different. And to achieve a body that is both robust and toned, one needs to adhere to an efficient workout schedule.
The Best Full Body Workout Routine for Women
Women’s Full Body Workout 1
- Squat: 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Leg Press: 3 sets, 10-15 reps
- Squats with the back foot raised: three sets of eight to twelve reps each
- Press overhead: four sets of eight reps
- One Arm Dumbbell Row: Perform four sets of six to eight reps
- Three sets of the lat pulldown, with 8-12 repetitions each
Optional Additional Exercises 1
- Three sets of hyperextension with 15-20 repetitions per set
- Three sets of the single-leg glute bridge, with 10-15 reps in each set
- The Mini Band Hip Thruster should be performed for three sets and 15 reps
Women’s Full Body Workout 2
- Goblet Squat: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Lateral Lunge: 3 sets with 12 reps in each position
- Dumbbell Bench Press: three sets, eight to ten reps per set (Assisted) Pull Up: 3 sets, max reps
- Inverted Row: Perform three sets with as many repetitions as possible
Optional Additional Exercises 2
- Dumbbell Curl: 3 sets, 12 reps
- Presses against a rope: 3 sets and 12 reps
- EZ Bar Curl: 3 sets, 12 reps
- EZ Bar Overhead Extension: Three sets of twelve reps each
Women’s Full Body Workout 3
- Sumo Deadlift: 4 sets, 6-8 reps
- Hip thrust: four sets, six to eight reps per set
- Four sets of the barbell row, with 6-8 repetitions per set
- Three sets of the seated dumbbell press, with 8-12 repetitions per set
- Lateral Raise: 3 sets, 10-12 reps
- Three sets of pushups at your maximum reps
Optional Additional Exercises 3
- Three sets of the plank with maximum time and reps
- Exercise Ball Crunch: 3 sets, 20 reps
- Hanging Leg Raise: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
Women’s Full Body Workout 4
- Plie Squat: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- Dumbbell Rear Lunge: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- Landmine Romanian Deadlift : 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- T-Bar Row: Perform four sets with 8-12 repetitions each
- Bench Press with an Incline Using Dumbbells: 3 sets, 12-15 reps
- Cable Face Pull: 3 sets, 15-20 reps
Optional Additional Exercises 4
- Frog Pumps: 3 sets, 20-25 repetitions
- Three sets of 15 reps each for the Glute KickBack exercise
- Three sets of twelve repetitions on the adduction machine (or banded)
- Three sets of twelve reps on the Abduction Machine (or Banded)
Full-Body Workout Benefits for Women
When most people begin exercising, they either exercise only one or two body parts at a time or concentrate on the parts they feel need the most improvement. If you want to get in and out of the gym quickly and have fewer sessions each week, you should exercise the whole body during each session. Body-part training splits have their place, but if you want to get in and out of the gym quickly, you should train the complete body.
One of the advantages of full-body programming is that it allows you to maximise the effectiveness of the available time. When you train your full body, you ensure that you don’t miss or ignore any area of your body and also burn many more calories than when you train only one or two muscle groups at a time. In addition, it means that you will burn more fat during each session that you participate in. It is because blood has to pump all over your body to fuel every muscle you train. So full-body workouts bring your heart rate up more, and they’ll increase your cardiovascular fitness.
Workouts that target the entirety of the body are beneficial to longevity as well. These workouts make it possible for you to feel a stronger connection to your physical self. When it comes to life, we don’t move in pieces; we move as a whole. Therefore, teaching our bodies to move the same way during a workout helps us move more smoothly throughout life. There are workouts to achieve this goal: several combination lifts, such as Romanian deadlifts that finish with a row, split squats that end with a biceps curl, and rows from a plank position.
It allows you to simulate more of the movements you perform in your everyday life. In addition, they will have you perform your exercises in a circuit format, which means that you will move quickly from one exercise to the next with very little break in between. As a result, you will have trained almost all of the muscles in your body after completing only one round of any circuit.
How Often Should I Do a Full-Body Workout?
You only need three weekly workouts when you train the entire body with each session. You could train up to five times per week, depending on your selected exercises. If this interests you, go ahead and give it a try. However, if you have never worked out before or are unfamiliar with full-body workouts, you should begin by training for three days that are not consecutive (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).
Remember that the period between workouts is critical for muscular growth and recovery. If you train each muscle group on Monday, it is no need to repeat the workout on Tuesday because it will already be done. You can catch up on your progress when you train your whole body, even if you have to skip a session here and there. For example, let’s say you give your entire body a workout on Monday. If you are prevented from attending the workout scheduled for Wednesday but have it scheduled for Friday, you will have only gone three days without exercising.
In that brief time, you won’t lose any progress you’ve made. As a point of contrast, imagine doing a body-part split where you train arms on Monday and legs on Wednesday. If you skip that workout, it could be a whole week before you can train your legs again, or you’ll have to rearrange your training schedule to make room for the leg day, which will cause one of your other body parts to suffer as a result.
Full-body workouts come with several benefits, one of which is the rapid growth in strength that they may help you achieve. During a single full-body workout session, you will normally only perform one or two exercises targeting a specific muscle group. Performing more than this will prevent you from working out the other parts of your body effectively. Therefore, whenever you exercise your shoulders, for example, you’ll be able to work those shoulders with the heaviest possible weights and the most emphasis imaginable on each set.
With body-part splits, in which you might perform five different shoulder exercises on “shoulder day,” what typically happens is that you’ll hit the first exercise or two hard. Then you’ll need more time to push yourself further with the remaining lifts. It is because of the way that body-part splits are designed. If you train your entire body simultaneously, each muscle group will be fresh when you train it, allowing you to exert the maximum amount of effort into the workout.
Consider the bigger picture if you believe that training a body part with only one or two exercises throughout a session is not enough to elicit a response from that portion of the body. For example, if you work your shoulders for three sets on Monday, two more on Wednesday, and five on Friday, you will have completed ten sets at the end of the week. Therefore, not only is it an adequate amount of training volume for one week, but you will also be able to complete each set at your maximum effort, leading to the greatest possible outcomes.
However, if you train with such a high frequency, you must ensure that recovery is a top priority. In addition to giving your muscles a day of rest between workout sessions, selecting exercises with varying intensities can help reduce the likelihood of muscle strains and joint tension. Continuing with the shoulder as an example, you could perform a challenging compound action like dumbbell presses on Monday. On Wednesday, you could perform easier lateral raises; on Friday, you could perform bodyweight pushups from a downward dog position.
In a nutshell, the shorter the phrase, the more frequently you can train a muscle while still allowing it to recuperate, and the quicker you will notice benefits. According to the findings of a study that was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2015, participants in the study who trained their entire bodies three times per week experienced greater gains in arm muscle mass compared to participants in the other group who trained each muscle group only once per week.
This 15-Minute Total Body Workout Strengthens You From Head to Toe
Squat to Shoulder Press
How to do it: The proper technique is to bring both hands up to your shoulders while holding a greater weight in each hand. Then, get into a squat position. First, stand up straight, then reach both arms toward the sky.
Make it easier: Squat down to the height of a chair, then press a pair of dumbbells overhead before standing back up.
Make it more challenging: Begin with your arms extended directly overhead. Then, bring dumbbells closer to your chest and lunge to the left side of your body. Next, lift the dumbbells above while driving up through the heel of your foot to stand.
Lunge to Single-Arm Row
How to perform it:
- Get into a lunge position by stepping forward with your left leg while keeping your right leg behind you.
- Keep your left hand on your left thigh while you rest your right hand against a heavier dumbbell that you are holding in your right hand at your side.
- Lunge forward while bending both knees.
- As you come to a standing position by extending your legs, bring your right elbow up toward the ceiling while keeping it close to the rest of your body.
- Perform 10 to 12 reps on one side before switching to the other.
Make it easier: Carry out the rows without any weights while maintaining the same form. If you are experiencing pain in your knee, fold your yoga mat in half and place it under your knee to provide additional cushioning.
Make it more challenging by performing an extended lunge at the end of each repetition. After you have finished the row and your back knee has locked out, move your weight onto your front leg and pinch the butt cheek of the opposing side. After bringing that back leg behind you and raising it above your head, return to the high lunge position.
Deadlift to Bicep Curl
Instructions: While standing with your feet hip-width apart with a heavier dumbbell in each hand, perform this exercise. As you bring the weights down to your shins, maintain a seated position and keep the weights near your legs. After that, as you are standing, bring your palms together to form a fist.
Make it easier: Utilise the wall as additional support for your back if needed! Squat down with your arms at your sides, placing your back against the wall while you do so, and then come up to a standing position. Take a standing position and perform bicep curls.
Make it more challenging by performing deadlifts with only one leg rather than the standard movement with both legs. Make sure that your right leg supports your weight. Keep the right knee bent slightly at all times. Lean your upper body forward and bring your left leg behind you. As soon as you reach the height of your mid-shin, maintain your balance on your right leg while performing bicep curls. Complete all the repetitions with the same working leg or switch between legs for each rep.
Curtsy Lunge to Upright Row
How to perform it: Start by planting your left foot on the mat while keeping your arms at your sides and holding a light dumbbell in each hand. Take a step backwards while moving your right foot to the left. Curtsy by bending your right knee and bowing your head. As you lift your elbows into an upright row, bring your left foot back into alignment with your right foot, ensuring that your toes are pointed forward. After that, curtsy with the opposite leg as well. Perform ten to twelve repetitions on each side.
Make it simpler by taking a step backward and bending your back knee as far as it comfortably will go rather than curtsying from side to side.
To make it more challenging, add a leg lift to the side at the end of each repetition. For example, you are curtsying to the left (right leg behind). Return to a standing position, complete an upright row, and then lift your left leg straight to the side while keeping it slightly bent as you shift your weight onto your right foot. Then it would help if you immediately started curtsy to the right side.
Bridge to Headbanger
How to perform it: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your arms extended over your chest while holding a dumbbell in each hand. It is the starting position. Maintain a bridge position by pressing onto your feet and lifting your butt. Put your weights up to your ears while maintaining a bent elbow position. Extend your arms and bring your butt down to the ground. Perform this step 10–12 times.
Make it easier: Disrupt the flow of the movement. For example, raise your hips and lower them back down to the floor while maintaining a straight arm position and holding the dumbbells above your chest. The headbanger should then be performed.
To make it more challenging, try performing single-leg bridges while doing headbangers. You can switch legs between exercises or complete a certain number of repetitions on one leg before switching.
Pushup to Plank Jack
How to perform it: Starting in a plank posture with your hands under your shoulders, perform a push-up by bending your elbows and lowering your chest. Next, pull yourself back up and perform a jack by jumping your feet to the side. Perform this step 10–12 times.
Make it easier: Keep your body in the plank posture and perform toe taps in place of the plank jack: Tap your big toe on the left foot out to the left side, then place it back in the centre. Next, place your big toe back in the centre after it is taped to the right. One repetition is this.
Russian Twist Into a Pike
How to perform it: Sit on your mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Lean back and lift your feet off the ground only a few inches at a time until you are balancing on your butt. Turn your torso to the left, as if you were holding a ball at your navel, then turn it to the right, and finally turn it back to the left. Come back to the middle, and extend your arms. Bring your arms back to your navel, twist to the right, then the left, then the right, then the left, and finally reach back to the centre. Perform 10 to 12 repetitions.
Make it easier: You should do Russian twists instead of pikes.
Make it more challenging by keeping your feet off the ground and your knees locked out for the entire exercise. It will increase the level of difficulty.
Bodyweight Full-Body Workout for Women
Even if the only gym you have access to is your living room, you can still get stronger and more defined, and we don’t mean by doing more reps with your couch cushions. Instead, you should focus on practising exercises targeting your muscles differently. For example, this exercise from Fear requires your body weight to complete.
How To Stretch Before A Bodyweight Full-Body Workout
As a form of a warmup, perform the exercises listed below. They boost your body temperature, help you become more mobile in the joints that are generally the most restricted, and prepare your neurological system for the task ahead.
Mountain Climber with Sky Reach
Reps: 10 (each side) (each side)
Step 1: Get down on the ground with your hands behind your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. It is the “all-fours” position. Next, imagine you have a “proud chest” and draw your shoulders back and down. Tuck your tailbone just a little so that your pelvis is perpendicular to the floor. Brace your core.
Step 2: Bring your left foot up to the outside of your left hand and hold it there for a moment. Keep your long spine, shoulders, and pelvis in the posture they should be in.
Step 3: From that starting position, rotate your torso to the left while simultaneously reaching your left arm upward. Maintain this position briefly, then place your hand back on the floor. Next, place your left knee on the floor in front of you.
Alternating Sit-Through
Reps: 10 (each side) (each side)
Step 1: Beginning in the tabletop position (all fours) drive your hands into the ground while lifting your knees off the ground to the point where they hover. Brace your core.
Step 2: Rotate your body to the right while simultaneously lifting your right hand off the ground and extending your left leg straight to the right side of your body. It would help if you held your body weight off the floor using your left hand and right foot.
Step 3: Return to the initial posture and repeat the exercise on the other side.
Standing Side Bend and Arm Reach
Reps: 10 (each side)
Step 1: Get into a standing position with your arms by your sides, elbows bent to a right angle, your left arm pointing upward and your right arm pointing downward.
Step 2: Rotate your torso to the left while you reach your left arm behind your head to the opposite side of your body. While doing this, bend your hips to the left. At the same time, move your right arm such that it is reaching downward and across your body.
Step 3: Act in the other direction, this time on the other side.
Beast to Alternating Knee Tap
Reps: 10 (each side) (each side)
Step 1: Assume a child’s stance with your knees on the ground, arms extended in front of you, and your weight distributed evenly between your heels and forearms.
Step 2: After getting into a pushup position, pull your left knee up to your left elbow while continuing to push yourself up into a pushup position.
Step 3: Return to the child’s stance and repeat the previous steps on the other side.
Why You Should Focus on Full-Body Workout Routines
A disproportionate number of women are fixated on certain vanity body parts.
The miraculous exercise program you have been searching for is a routine that targets the entire body and ensures proper balance.
No “greatest ab workout” specifically targets your abdominal fat; you should not expect results immediately. Your abdominal muscles will become so weary from the number of leg lifts and crunches that you undertake that they will struggle to break through the layer of fat that you gained over the winter.
It’s time to split up and take everything by storm. You can achieve a taut and toned appearance from head to toe by following a workout plan that targets your entire body and is properly balanced.
It can now be said. You already have the fundamental component of the ideal exercise routine: BALANCE!
You may have never thought much about working on your back strength or your triceps tone, but the truth is that if you want to look and feel your best, you need to give equal attention to all portions of your body. Refrain from being concerned if there is a certain region of your body that you wish to focus on. Instead, you should perform a few additional weekly workouts targeting that portion of the body. The important thing is to remember not to ignore the rest of your body!
The most important thing to focus on is burning more fat. A workout regimen that works your whole body assists you in burning more calories and getting rid of excess fat more quickly. In addition to this, it provides your muscles with additional time for recovery in between sessions. That means you get the most out of each workout and improve how you look and feel while doing less workout.
Tips to Give Out Great Results With Your Fitness Plan
The following are some tried-and-true recommendations that will assist you in accomplishing your exercise goals and producing excellent outcomes:
1. Drink Enough Water
Our physical makeup includes a substantial amount of water, which accounts for around 80% of the total. Therefore, we can carry out all of our functions and physiological processes thanks largely to the presence of water.
During exercise, women need to keep their bodies hydrated by drinking water. You risk becoming dehydrated if you do not consume adequate water, which could lead to something more serious. Therefore, the first requirement is to ensure that you consume sufficient water when engaging in physical activity.
Sweating is common during workouts, and since sweating results in a loss of electrolytes, it is important to replenish them after exercise.
If you maintain a healthy hydration level in your body, these electrolytes can be easily replaced with new ones, leading to increased energy levels. Therefore, when participating in any exercise routine designed for women, you should make it a point to consume at least 2.5 litres of filtered or mineral water daily.
2. Get Plenty of Healthy Protein
The maintenance and development of muscles both require adequate amounts of protein. You will undergo strenuous exercise and experience changes to your muscular composition if you follow this 5-day fitness regimen for women. If you want to achieve beneficial outcomes from your routine, you should incorporate the consumption of nutritious proteins.
It is recommended that a woman take in between 0.6 and 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. It is the amount that is recommended for women. The consumption must be spaced out equally throughout the day.
You may also choose to consume foods such as fish, turkey, eggs, dairy products, red meat, seeds, nuts, and other foods high in protein. When combined with nutritious proteins, women’s workouts at the gym have the potential to be quite beneficial.
3. Aid Your Workout with Good Quality Whey Protein
It is highly recommended that you invest in high-quality whey protein if your goals are to reduce body fat while simultaneously building strong muscles and attaining a toned physique.
If you combine going to the gym with consuming whey protein, you will see benefits in a shorter amount of time, and they will be more obvious.
If you don’t have the time to make the preparations for foods that can supply the necessary amount of protein, then it is recommended that you choose whey protein shakes as your method of protein consumption.
They are less difficult to prepare, have a wonderful flavour, and each serving can include at least 30 grams or more protein. While following this fitness plan for women, you will also benefit from taking other nutrients necessary for the body.
4. Don’t Forget Your Veggies
A fitness routine designed specifically for women can be beneficial if it is supplemented with eating leafy green vegetables. It would make it easier to digest meals and provide you with a wealth of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all of which are necessary for productive workouts.
Conclusion
These days, it should be easy for a woman to achieve her ideal level of physical fitness. Dedication and a sensible routine designed for women’s bodies are the only things you’ll need to get in shape.
The goal of the 5-day workout program for women to get strong and toned is to assist them in reaching their fitness goals most quickly and effectively as possible. While following this workout regimen, you will notice the benefits if you remember to focus on warmups, adequate fluid intake, and consumption of proteins and greens.