Women’s Strength training workout

Unfortunately many women think that once they start lifting weight they will all of a sudden get big or “too bulky”. This way of thinking has been around for as long as a can remember. It’s a pity that some simply don’t understand that a woman’s body simply does not release enough testosterone in the body to create this perceived increase in size. What I have found is that (with no offence) their poor diet and over indulgence in food over time has caused them to get big.

The benefits of getting some muscle onto you frame are many. One reason is to simply get strong enough to be able to cope with the daily workload and another is the fact that if you are carrying a bit of muscle your body it is in a better position to burn more calories when either doing low impact movements or attacking the local group fitness class. It cost a lot of energy (calories) in moving a more muscular body and the body is now programmed to burn more while still at rest.

A clear benefit when you are fitter and stronger.

So gear up and hit some of those weight and start building that body you are after. Simply doing cardio on the treadmill at home will not do the job. Apart from making you bored it not enough.

A sample workout that I roll out to my clients is as follows. It cover a full body program in my women’s only class and gets them stronger , fitter and with a sound nutritional plan much leaner, with nice muscles to boot.

Women’s strength exercises

Warmup – Mobility drills

These involve a quick series of drill that cover the most basic movements the body performs.it also depends on the weather in how long we will stay on the warm-up drills.

Kettlebell swing – A fundamental within the Kettlebell series of exercises the swing and it variants offers a dynamic workout to those hips, legs, core and is an absolute cardio workout. It’s basically one of my go to movements when it comes to looking after the ladies.

Kettlebell around the legs. – This movement involves the manoeuvring around the legs in a figure 8 patterns while keeping the hips folded back. It’s for a bit of fun while still providing a challenging workout those hips and thighs. Obviously you will be taught how to perform this movement before we hit you with a heavier bell.

Double Kettlebells deadlift – The deadlift on its own it a rewarding movement and is not specifically Kettlebell related. Due to the ease of the movement we don’t require the set up time when conducting a group session and simply grab two bells and hit those reps. The Kettlebell deadlifts happens to offer a better range of motion on the back phase those tight areas and sits quite comfortable at the top end. This allows me to get some high volume work in while keeping user friendly.

Double Kettlebell cleans – With a solid understanding of the basic Kettlebell lifts the introduction to the clean with the bells is a great way in teaching you to absorb impact, work those hips and keep the core tight. An added benefit is the workout the arms get in holding onto those bells. A fundamental move that allows you to safely pick the Kettlebells up in an efficient and safe manner.

Double Kettlebell squats – Once you have become efficient with the Kettlebell clean you are now able to pick them up and start you squat training. Once they are taught to be held in position your are then able to execute the front squat with the bells in getting those quads truly worked. Having the bells in from are that your core in works hard in keeping an upright position while also promoting a good posture. A great one for the ladies.

Double Kettlebell Shoulder press– One of my favourite movers for the upper body are the Double bell press. They allow you to have a nice overhead positioning and when worked in volumes also hit the core well. The aesthetics results with the press are sure to come when adherence to proper technique is applied along with a pair of nice looking shoulders. By the way ladies the arms get a solid workout and take a more natural shape in hitting a well-known target area of the triceps.

Single leg deadlifts – To fully appreciate how good this hits the gluteus, the use of a Kettlebell becomes an essential tool. When performed properly the gluteus get the best workout that I can deliver with any exercise. I have heard many comments after working my group with this exercise -never a complaint.

Once the strength component of the session is complete its fair to say that the cardio component was also looked after. You see by using the Kettlebell the effect on the cardio system also gets a workout so you don’t have to do the old weights first and cardio last program you get rolled out at most commercial gyms.

The cardio and strength are worked together.

For a finisher and depending on time I usually get the sandbags out and for a bit of fun do the drill for time. These put the icing on the cake for a greater calorie burn. They are safe and get the job done and given the already established fatigue on of the body certainly add value to my ladies group class.

• Sandbag power press
• Sandbag shouldering

In finishing we perform the same mobility drills that we did from the start. It allows the ladies to get their heart rate down and test out their mobility compared to when they commenced class.

It also puts them in a better frame of mind knowing the belted out a solid and rewarding workout.

Claude Castro runs his business Claudefit Personal Training in a private setting. Premises are located in Mill Park.

www.claudefit.com.au