Having a strong upper body is the key to a well-rounded, trimmed physique as well as overall health. With better strength in your arms, back and chest you’ll benefit from a better posture and body balance[1].

All you need are a few sets of small dumbbells or resistance bands – you could even use your own bodyweight for some of these moves. Below, we’ve listed the seven best exercises to tone up your arms. For each exercise, we’ll include different options to suit your choice of resistance.

Warm-Up

Warming up before an arm workout will help reduce the risk of muscle soreness and injury. Try this sequence of dynamic warm-up exercises to prepare your body.

• Arm circles – 8 reps forward and backward
• Walk-outs – 8 reps
• Overhead shoulder stretches
• Jumping jacks – 10 reps
• Swinging toe touches – 8 on each side

To sum up

If you want to add some shape to your arms or build some upper body strength, these exercises will help to get you there and tone up your arms. To make even more of an impact, follow a calorie-restricted diet or complement these strength moves with a clever cardio routine.

Head to the gym and sprinkle some of these moves into your workout plan – you won’t regret it!

How to build muscle without weights

Building muscle without weights works just the same as it does with them. You need to push your body to make changes by challenging it.

When you get to a certain point of intensity, your body sends signals that something tough has happened. This then tells your muscles to grow back bigger, firmer, and stronger.

So, what you have to do is take yourself there. To put it simply you just move your own body weight against gravity. The world can’t hold you down, or your muscles.

Grab a bottle of water and your headphones because we’re gonna get sweaty. Here are the best bodyweight exercises to build muscle without weights.

Squats

Ask any trainer worth her weight in gym-clothes to pinpoint her go-to exercise for the lower body and she’ll say squats. They’re not just good for shaping your booty but helping with hip flexibility and core strength as well. When it comes to strength training without weights, squats as essential!

As a compound exercise, squats recruit tons of muscle fibers. Not only does this mean they burn more calories, but they’re the most economical too. Whereas a bicep curl just gives attention to one area, the squat treats many. That’s why they’re so useful in a full bodyweight workout – especially for women looking to shape their legs.

Body weight squats are one of the most natural positions women can do. In a way, we only forget how to squat when we grow up and sit down. Let’s reclaim our right to get down low, girl.

Here’s how to do your best bodyweight squat:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Ideally, your toes should be facing forward, or ever so slightly outward. Look forward to help set your neck and spine in a neutral position.
2. Brace your core by tightening your abs and hold your arms out straight in front. This will be the top position of your squat.
3. When you’re ready, keep that core tight as you sit back into the squat. Imagine you’re descending down into a chair until the backs of your legs are parallel to the floor. You’ll also want to keep your knees pressed out a touch to stop them falling inwards. If it helps, tell yourself to screw your feet into the floor and picture yourself pressing against two hands pushing them inward – or a mini band.
4. Once you hit parallel you can take a moment to balance yourself. Then, when you’re set to return to the top, push through your mid-foot with power. It’s important you don’t let your knees collapse inward here just like in the descent.
5. Rep one done – congrats. Light up those legs for the rest of the set.

Lunges

Much like its sister the squat, a lunge is mainly a lower body exercise. Yet she’s more than just meets the eye.

When you perform a lunge, you’re creating what’s called unilateral movement. This means you’re moving different parts of your body in different ways. When strength training without weights you can use tougher exercises like lunges to really test yourself

You need a helluva lot of balance and coordination to do a perfect lunge. Hitting them will light up your legs, as well as calling upon your core and lower back for balance. So, with this in mind, let’s learn how to lunge properly.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and brace your core.
2. Pick up your left leg and take a big step forward. Let your heel touch down first.
3. As your foot continues to touchdown lower your body until your left knee is at a right angle. Your front shin should be vertical too, with your back knee hovering just above the ground. If you’re flexible enough feel free to let it lightly touch the floor.
4. Push from your front heel to propel your body upright. As you land back in the starting position, you’re ready to go again on the other side.

Push-ups

We’ve looked at lower body, but what about that top half? To help add strength to your chest, core, and arms you’ve got the power of push-ups.

If you tense your glutes while doing them, they’ll even help shape your booty. After all, you’re just performing a moving plank, which is a great move for the whole body. Strength training without weights isn’t just a lower body thing, girl.

When you’re not used to doing push-ups, they can be challenging. But sticking with them can work wonders for toning your torso, especially the arms. Feel free to perform your push-ups on your knees when starting out in your strength journey to make them easier.

Are you ready to own the perfect push-up? Let’s do this, girl.

1. Lay flat on your tummy in what’s known as the prone position. From here, bring your hands up so they’re next to your chest. Somewhere in-line with the middle (where your nipples are) is best.
2. Next, bring your feet together and tuck the bottom of your toes into the floor. Now, brace your core so when you push up your body moves in one straight line.
3. Without looking up and straining your neck, tense your core and glutes as you push through your hands. Try to keep your elbows tucked in close to your body here or at most rotated 45-degrees away from it. This will help protect your shoulders from unnecessary strain or injury.
4. Push through your palms until your arms are straight. Doing this means you’re gonna get strong through your whole range of motion. The same goes for lowering your chest all the way to the ground.
5. After reaching the top of the push up get ready to descend. Keep everything braced tight as you bend your elbows and take your chest toward the floor. If you don’t want to touch the ground that’s fine – just stop an inch before you get there.
6. One down, girl. Keep at it

Sit-ups

It’s about time we showed those abs some love, right? After all, you’re here to get full-body strong, girl.

Simple but so effective, sit-ups are all about abs and core strength. For years, girls thought they were the answer to getting skinny – but throw that useless word in the trash. Sit-ups are here to empower your body and make you hella strong instead.

If you’ve got a gym girlfriend you work out with they can really help here. Have them hold onto your ankles, or even better link your lower legs so you can support one another. We’ve found the hardest part of hitting a perfect sit-up is actually keeping your feet on the floor – don’t laugh it’s true.

Here’s how you can do it.

1. Sit down comfortably with your knees bent and feet out in front. Put your soles flat on the ground so there’s about a 45-degree bend behind your knees.
2. Lower yourself down so your back is flat on the floor. Now, cross your arms across your chest or place them next to your temples.
3. Without using any momentum, call on your abs and core to raise your chest toward your knees. Your body should be in a straight line while you’re doing this. It’s easier to push your head forward when sitting up but this puts stress on your lower back and neck. If at any point you feel this happening just lower how high you sit up.
4. Sat upright? Awesome. Keep that core engages as you lower yourself back down. Descend slowly under control and really dial in the technique. You’re strong, so embrace the hard work when the reps start getting difficult.
5. You’re all done. Just repeat steps 3-4 until you’ve nailed every last rep.

Dead bugs

Some girls just don’t get down with sit-ups at all. Depending on where you are or your body type, opting for dead bugs might be a bit more comfortable.

We’ve got to warn you though, girl. Don’t confuse comfortable with easy – dead bugs are far from it. These core-crazy critters will create strength all through your abs and lower back.

This is what you need to do.

1. Lay flat on your back so you’re looking right up at the ceiling. Put your arms out directly in front of you like a mummy – keep them straight.
2. Now, pick your knees up toward your chest so your hip is at a right angle. You now kind of look like you’re sitting in that invisible chair from the squat.
3. Press your back into the floor by bracing your core. This part is really important to focus on it throughout the whole exercise.
4. Time to perform the dead bug. Lower one arm directly above and over your head toward the floor. Keep it straight like you would in a backward crawl swimming motion. Straighten the opposite leg as if you were pushing on a bike pedal.
5. All the time you’re doing this tense your abs and actively press your lower back into the floor, yoga mat, or blanket.
6. Reverse step four and go again on the opposite side. That’s one rep of your killer core strengthening set.

Last rep on strength training without weights

We told you women don’t need weights to get strong. You can shape, tone, and strengthen your body just by moving it against gravity. Plug in your best workout playlist, grab a bottle of water and get to it. We’re going to crush this strength training without weights thing.

Use these bodyweight exercises to target all the key muscle groups. Put them together into a mini circuit or focus on individual areas to match your body goals. High-intensity, slow and steady, it’s your call. Take each movement and make it your own.

Good luck out there, girl. Soon you’ll be the strongest sister on the gym floor. Enjoy strength training without weights.

Mia

Get even stronger, girl, with these:

•  Why You Should Ditch Cardio and Try Strength Training for Women
• Strength Training Exercises That Will Transform Your Performance
• The Home Beginner’s Strength Training Workout for a Woman

Speak to 90% of women in the gym and they’ll tell you they’re there for one thing – weight loss.

And we can guarantee that the majority of these women are spending their gym hours on the treadmill, and getting nowhere fast when it comes to achieving their goals.

That’s where strength training for women comes in.

Despite traditional thought, not only does this type of training make you stronger, it also comes with a whole host of other benefits, one of the main ones including fat loss.

Although it might go against traditional thought, you need to step off the treadmill and give the weights a go. Discover the truth about what strength training does to your body and the health benefits you can expect.

The health benefits of strength training for women

Now we’ve busted the myths that were standing between you and starting your first strength training program for women, it’s time to take a look at the health benefits.

The direct benefit of lifting weights is more muscle on your frame. Muscle uses more energy than fat does on your body, so it promotes a higher metabolism and boosts calorie burn.

As long as your diet also supports muscle growth and you’re training regularly, you should see a reduction in the fat on your body. 10 weeks of regular strength training for women increased lean muscle weight by 1.4kg, reduced fat weight by 1.8kg and heightened resting metabolism by 7% on average [1].

[Related Article: Best Fat Burner Supplements for Women]

If you get anxious you should definitely check out weightlifting. You’ll be surprised how much strength training can help work through those negative feelings.

Studies have shown that lifting weights can actually help to lower the feelings of anxiety you feel, particularly when working at moderate weights [2].

As we mentioned above, science has found that if you don’t exercise you can lose between 3-8% of your muscle mass every decade, which can directly impact your quality of life, your strength and your overall wellbeing[1].

After 10 weeks of training, the women in this particular study showed a 1-3% increase in bone density[1].

This may not be the most obvious health benefit, but it’s still an important element to consider. After all, it’s the reason so many women go to the gym.

Scientific studies analyzed the effects of strength training in older women and found it resulted in significant improvements in body image, quality of life and satisfaction and comfort [3].

So where do you start?

Now you’re thinking about taking up strength training for women, it’s important to know where to start.

The first thing you need to do is find a good trainer and use their expertise to perfect your technique. This is key to working out safely and keeping your body free from injury.

Next you need to find a training program that works for you.

To do this you need to identify your goals, along with how much time you can realistically commit to your training.

If you’re completely fresh to this type of training we’d recommend working out no more than three times a week and beginning at light weights that you can build up. Once you get into the swing of things you can up the load and the frequency of challenging lifts as you see fit to suit your goals.

The final rep

Although it may go against what you’ve always heard, it’s not all about cardio.

If you want to improve your overall fitness, boost your wellbeing and drop fat then you need to be pursing strength training for women too.

To really boost fat loss results, combine your resistance workouts with HIIT. It’s a form of cardio, however it’s more time efficient than endurance training and it’s proven to burn fat, whilst supporting muscle.

Add this style of training to your repertoire and transform your body in a way long treadmill sessions never could.

Gone are the days of cardio bunny workouts. We know now that hours and hours of cardio just isn’t the way to get lean, toned and strong.

This is the age of fierce, powerful women – the ones that aren’t afraid to slip on their lifting shoes, chalk up their hands, and get heavy and dirty in the weights room.

With so many different exercises to choose from, it can be difficult to know which work best. But we’ve got you covered. In this article we lift the lid on the absolute optimal strength training exercises to take you from weak to strong in a matter of weeks.

Let’s do this.

How to build strength

Being strong means different things to different people.

To some it means having the grit, resolve and resilience to lift repeatedly without fatigue. To others it’s about how heavy you can lift.

Strength training is now the most popular way for women to transform the way they look and feel. Gone are the aerobics sessions, so say goodbye to those long Sunday morning runs.

Lifting weights does it all.

But what does strength mean?

Let’s look at a common definition from any athlete textbook:

“Strength is the ability to exert maximal force in a muscle or group of muscles”

Strength is about the way you lift weights. It’s about lifting heavy, powerfully and with great technique. And there are thousands of reasons why you’d want to achieve this.

The benefits of strength training

When it comes to bang for your buck, strength training is the most effective exercise approach out there.

Not only does it improve athletic performance, it also boosts your health.

If you want to add years to your life and life to your years, grab the iron and get liftin’, girl.

Here’s a very quick rundown of just some benefits strength training provides.

There are different types of ‘strength’

Great athletes not only lift heavy, they lift explosively too.

Strength is a catch all term.

It’s fluid and adaptable.

Yes, it’s about being able to lift weights, but to be truly strong isn’t just about lifting the heaviest weights you can find on the gym floor. Its about expressing how your body deals with weights of all different loads too.

• What if you don’t want to lift 220 lb but need to be strong enough to jump higher than your opponent when rebounding?
• Or be strong enough to accelerate out of the blocks on the track?
• And if you’re an Olympic weightlifter or CrossFit athlete you don’t just need to lift a heavy bar, you have to work at high speed too, don’t you?

What you achieve all comes down to the way you train. And with so many ways to ‘get stronger’, it’s important you understand how to train effectively in the weights room.

There are in fact different types of strength.

Strength training exercises you need to know

In this section we’ve broken down the best strength training exercises.

We’ve used our collective knowledge at SpotMeGirl to pull together the very best information for you to get stronger, faster and more athletic.

To help you choose the right tools for the job we’ve also categorized them based on which type of strength they suit best… and what weight, reps and sets you should use too.

The bottom line

This is the age of strong women. The ones that aren’t afraid to go heavy and lift fast to develop toned physiques and bags of confidence.

The best strength training exercises are the ones that factor in your goal. If you want to develop brute force, accelerate at top speed or beat your opponent from the blocks with explosive muscle contractions, weight training is for you.

You just need to know which exercises suit which goal and away you go, girl.

Whether you’re on a budget, are time poor or simply want to avoid a busy weights room, strength training at home has plenty of benefits for the busy modern woman.

However, building strength without access to all the weights and machines you have at a gym can be a tricky business. To help you make the muscle gains you’re looking for, without stepping foot outside, we’ve created a complete guide to strength training at home right here.

Equipment for strength training at home

While bodyweight training is a good place to start, soon enough you’ll start to find it difficult to continuously challenge your body. Bringing weight into the equation is a tried and tested way of pushing your muscles harder and building power.

As we mentioned above, just a few small, easy-to-store bits of kit will make a huge difference to your workouts. However, if you want to truly progress your strength training at home, you’ll  have to splash out on some more gym gear.

Here are a few things you may want to buy to fast track your progress and elevate the results from the workouts at home:

Barbell and plates set

Right at the heart of any truly successful strength training program is a barbell and plates. It’s versatile and is the cornerstone of so many workouts. Whether you’re working legs, back, shoulders, chest or arms, the barbell is one of the most effective ways to hit these muscle groups.

Shop Barbells and Plates

at Amazon

Rack

Next up on your list should be a rack. It may be one of the most expensive, but it’s essential when you start to lift heavy on the squat or press.

Not only will it help you get the big weights up on your shoulders, it’s also a good idea to get one of these for safety purposes. Often, if you’re training at home, you’ll likely be alone. An adjustable rack can help you with the squat, bench press and shoulder press so you can go for those bigger lifts with the added security of being able to rack the bar with ease.

Shop Racks

at Amazon

Bench

This is another fundamental of any good home gym, and it offers far more than just a killer chest workout. The bench can also be used for dips, split squats and so much more. It’s a great way to get the most out of your barbell and your dumbbells too.

We recommend opting for a product with incline and decline capabilities. That way you can pull in a more versatile workout.

Shop Benches

at Amazon

Protective flooring

This might not be your first thought when buying for your home gym but it’s definitely an important addition. If you’re going to be strength training at home, you need to think about how heavy weights could impact your interior. Not only will it protect your home from the weights you’re lifting, but it will help keep your equipment from damage too.

Foam flooring will cushion the impact your lifts to keep your home gym in excellent shape. They’re also available in interlocking tiles so you don’t have to spend hours laying a completely new floor.

Shop Protective Flooring

at Amazon

Kettlebells

This is one of the most versatile pieces of kit you can have in a home gym. It’s not only great for strength training at home, but can also offer a hardcore weighted cardio session that will support the muscle you’ve grown.

There are so many variation movements you can use with a kettlebell that the workout potential is pretty much endless. Opt for some relatively challenging weights, anything from 20-35lb, to begin your sessions.

Shop Kettlebells

at Amazon

Dumbbells

Although kettlebells can offer more versatility and have to the power to provide an intense HIRT workout, there is still a place for the humble dumbbell when strength training at home. They can help work muscles where you need lower weights to start building strength, or shore up weaker areas of your physique.

For example, lateral raises often require much smaller weights than you’d need for a shoulder press, highlighting their usefulness at creating a rounded physique.

Shop Dumbbells

at Amazon

The final rep

If you’re not ready to head to the gym, just don’t have time to make the trip or simply prefer working out alone, then strength training at home can reap some serious reward.

Whether you decide to kit your home out with a gym straight away, or plan to start with bodyweight training, it’s certainly possible to make strength gains without even opening your front door.

Begin strength training at home today and start transforming your physique.

If strength is your gig and you feel like you’re struggling to find an effective training program as an intermediate lifter, call off the search! The Texas Method might be perfect for you, girl.

Named after the Lone Star State, this training method is almost crazily simple, but gets some incredible strength results on a weekly basis. We’re talking constant muscle gains.

Disclaimer time, if you’re looking for size, you’re in the wrong place. The Texas Method is about creating pure, unadulterated, bar-bending strength.

It focuses around Power and Olympic movements to constantly push your body into new realms of strength. Not sure about Olympic movements? Don’t worry, we’ll come to how you can adapt this program to suit you later.

Delve in and find out how the Texas Method can help accelerate your strength progress.

What is the Texas Method?

The Texas Method program is an effective form of strength training, designed to help intermediate weight lifters achieve new levels of strength. It’s been wildly popular over the internet and used across the world for strength athletes, looking to add an edge to their lifts.

This surge in popularity is mostly due to the method’s incredible results. It’s simply one of the most effective programs out there for helping beginner intermediate weight lifters take their strength to the next level.

If you’re looking for size and shape over strength, check out our girls guide to muscle hypertrophy and start crafting your physique today.

Where did the Texas Method come from?

As legend has it, the Texas Method is the brain child of famed strength coach Glenn Pendlay. You may recognize him as the creator of the Pendlay Row too – the guy knows his stuff.

If he didn’t come up with the concept for the Texas Method, he’s certainly the person who made the program famous over the last few years.

Apparently, an intermediate powerlifter was complaining about his three weekly sessions of 5×5 lifts, claiming it took too long. Pendlay replied telling the lifter that, if he could complete a new five rep max, he’d only have to do one set.

And thus, the Texas Method was born. Rather than a 5×5 session three times a week, it’s now one 5×5 volume, one recovery training session and one five rep PR.

From there, it became hugely successful amongst intermediate lifters, due to its simplicity and incredible strength gains. Once it got on the internet, lifters across the world adopted the training pattern and today it’s one of the most popular intermediate programs available.

The Texas Method

The Texas Method is based around three very different types of training session. To allow time for recovery, they’re split up over three days using a very clear pattern. For you to get the most out of each session, we recommend sticking to the program and hitting the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Things to think about

Now, no training program is set in stone, so before we delve further into the detail it’s worth noting that this is just a blueprint – not everything is final.

The powerlifters among you might have noted that there’s only one set of deadlifts in the mix.

You’ll also notice the power cleans on the Monday. This is because, at the time of creation, Pendlay was working mostly with Olympic lifters and the strengthening up the deadlift wasn’t a priority.

According to the minds behind the program, the deadlift also takes too long to recover from, and therefore shouldn’t be trained in volume. You may disagree and that’s down to you, girl – you might be able to handle it.

As long as you stick to the bare bones rep-set and weight progression of this program, you should still reap the rewards. 

How much should you be lifting? Find out with this guide to how much weight a woman should be able to lift.

Progression

The key to improving strength is constant stimulus and weight progression. The Texas Method uses a very simple, yet effective approach.

Every Friday you simply add five pounds to your PR. As this is a percentage-based program, this will slightly boost the weight you use on the Monday and Wednesday to ensure consistent progressive overload.

Periodization

This program is almost laughably simple, yet the results speak volumes. That simplicity is reflected in the approach to periodization – there is none.

Where you might normally see a hypertrophy phase, a strength phase, or even varying volume, the Texas Method just continues in the same way, with increased load every week.

It can do this because it covers all the big lifts, controls fatigue very effectively and consistently improves strength on a weekly basis. It doesn’t need periodization.

Progressive overload and the Texas Method

The Texas Method uses progressive overload in its most basic form.

As we know, progressive overload is the principle of forcing the body adapt to handle any strain it has previously experienced. So, by putting it under pressure by lifting heavy weights, you’ll grow the muscle and strength to handle it.

This form of programing is constantly challenging the body by adding weight every week, then training at a new, higher load based on the PR.

Given that this program is for intermediate lifters, a five-pound progression every week is enough to make a difference.

Fatigue management

One of the biggest benefits of this method of training is that you won’t fatigue easily. Because there’s a recovery session factored in, you should be able to continue this form of working without cycling into a rest phase.

Worried you might be overtraining? Check out our complete guide to spotting the symptoms, and finding a solution.  

The cons

So far, we’ve seen plenty of positive elements of the Texas Method for growing strength. This makes it the perfect option for powerlifters.

It’s very simple yet very effective, you don’t need to think about planning in phases, it’s that straight forward. The Texas Method is also sustainable. That means you can keep it going, keep making gains and you shouldn’t feel overly fatigued. Sounds great right?

Well, as with any training method, Texas comes with a few cons.

As a strength training plan, it’s not ideal for powerlifters because the program contains Olympic lifting elements rather than focusing in on the deadlift.

In fact, the ratio of squats to deadlift is 8:1. With that in mind, you can see how much bigger your squat will be compared to the deadlift.

If you’re heading to a comp, that kind of training won’t be specific enough to give a powerlifter a big performance in all three lifts.

Having said that, the situation is easily remedied. On the Monday, simply swap out the power cleans for a deadlift movement. Whether that’s a stiff leg, a deficit or even a full deadlift, it’s up to your and your training goals. Just don’t do 5×5 on your volume day, as they are hard to recover from. Instead stick to 2-3 sets, or lower if you’re feeling the strain.

The Texas Method might not be completely perfect for a powerlifter, but it provides an excellent template you can use to build incredible strength as an intermediate lifter.

As you progress to become more advanced, you may find your performance begins to plateau. This can be due to a number of things, but overall this type of training will eventually need to progress to challenge you as a stronger, more advanced lifter.

The final word

The Texas Method for strength training is about as good as you can get for an intermediate lifter. Fair enough, it isn’t completely perfect, but with a few small tweaks, it’s a fantastic blueprint for a program.

If you’re a powerlifter, work in more deadlift or similar movements and you should be primed for unprecedented strength in your big three.

This training method is simple, it won’t leave you feeling exhausted and it’s perfect for the long term. On top of all that, the constant progression will give you some amazing strength gains on a weekly basis. Perfect if you’re looking to head to your first comp.

What are you waiting for girl?! Give the Texas Method a go and see the results for yourself.

And that’s what you’ll get.

Over the last couple of years we’ve realized as women that strength training ticks all of the boxes when it comes to getting stronger, fitter and leaner.

If you could bottle it up and sell it, it’d make you millions. Strength training really is that effective. It adds years to your life… and life to your years.

But if you don’t know where to start it can be difficult to know what to do first. Dumbbells? Barbells? Body weight?

It’s confusing.

That’s where we come in though.

If you want to use strength training to drop fat, firm up your physique and develop a curvy and womanly figure, this is the beginner’s home workout guide for you.

Beginner Strength – Where Do You Start?

The fact that you’re here, reading this article, shows that you mean business.

There are so many women out there that don’t realize the potential that strength training offers.

You’re already ahead of the pack.

The problem is though that you’re just a bit unsure where to start.

That’s cool.

Well, first of all you don’t need much equipment. That makes things a hell of a lot easy. You can use the old dumbbells in the garage if you have some, or just things around the house. Body weight is fine too.

You won’t need a gym membership either.

Just find some space in your front room, bedroom or even on your garden, grab a water bottle and get ready to make some changes.

What can you achieve with beginner home workouts:

• Burn your way to a sexier silhouette
• Construct a strong, toned but feminine body
• Improve your confidence
• Build a killer booty, athletic legs, slimmer waist and shapely arms

How often should you complete this beginner’s home workout?

That’s kind of up to you. But our advice would be based on two things – your current fitness levels and also how much time you’ve got available.

If you’re healthy, have a generally okay level of fitness and just so happen to be a beginner when it comes to strength training at home, go for 3-4 times per week.

2 is also fine, but just won’t give you optimal results.

Less than that and you won’t progress.

One thing that beginners often suffer from is setting unachievable goals – training too often, going too hard at the beginning, expecting life-changing results in the first week; that sort of thing.

You don’t need to push for more than 4 workouts right now as you’ll need to balance your new workout with recovery.

Work your way into the program gradually, work within your limits (but still hard) and above all – be consistent.

You could even add a pre-workout into the mix to really push yourself.

Why use strength training in the first place?

“Strength training makes a woman muscular and manly”.

Erm, no. No it doesn’t.

Lifting weights is a great way to benefit your body.

It won’t make you big and bulky, only womanly and sexy.

Here’s why:

• Muscle adds shape and curves – it’s impossible to choose where you burn fat from your body. But you can choose where you accentuate your shape by building muscle.
• Burn more calories – when you build muscle, your body needs to use more energy to make it move, resulting in a higher metabolic rate.
• Improved health – strength training decreases your risk of cardiovascular and metabolic illness. It boosts physical and mental health too.
• You’ll get a cardio effect from strength training – lifting weights is hard. And even though it isn’t repetitive like running or cycling, do it right and you’ll sweat and breath like you were on the treadmill.

Body weight training or equipment?

Body weight strength training is a great place to start for females wanting to get to grips with the beautiful world of muscle-toning resistance exercise.

It’s easy to fit into your routine, can be modified to suit your fitness levels, covers all of your major muscle groups and you’ll never run out of options either. It’s a great calorie burner too.

And best of all… there’s no excuses either.

You literally need nothing to get a workout in.

Just time and effort.

There’s also the option of weights too.

Using portable equipment such as elastic bands, dumbbells or kettlebells allows you to make some exercises harder.

But strength training using equipment is riskier if you’re a complete beginner because you’re lifting heavier loads.

So in a nutshell, go with whatever suits you, your abilities and your confidence level. Neither method is necessary as such, so you decide which is best for you.

In our program we’ve used exercises where you can use either method. That way you can decide.

Using the Beginner’s Strength Training Workout for a Woman

Getting into shape as a beginner takes little more than some determination, attitude and motivation.

We provide the tools you need right here in this guide. You just need to bring the effort.

Fast results with the right program

In this program we’ve got rid of the fluff and given you a program that guarantee fast results. A leaner figure and a stronger, more confident you is just around the corner.

Because this home strength workout is so streamlined it’ll only take you 30 minutes to get through.

This’ll not only help you fit it into your lifestyle, it’ll give you an opportunity to really give it your all.

We’re after high-intensity calorie burning here – so short and sharp works well.

If you need an extra energy boost, the right pre-workout can provide it.

Strength training circuits to maximize results

So how do you maximize calorie burning and muscle building in 30 minutes?

The answer is… strength circuits.

This is the breakdown of your beginner’s strength training workout:

• Simple exercises organised into alternate upper and lower body
• Complete 12-20 reps of each one, back-to-back
• Only rest for 30-60 seconds between exercises
• Rest 2-3 minutes after the end of each circuit
• Complete as many circuits a you can in 30 minutes

If you follow this structure you’ll maximize productivity. You’ll engage your muscular system as you take each set to fatigue, and challenge your heart and lungs as you force blood around you body like you were taking part in a cardio session.

But this is the most important point of all…

Take it at you own pace.

You can always start slow, complete less circuits and improve over time.

The Workout

Try Boss Shape and Burn – The Brand New Female Strength Program

Shape and Burn by Boss Workouts is a comprehensive training guide written and delivered by experts in fitness and female strength training.

It’s for women that want to build the body of their dreams using cutting edge strength training built for both beginners and experienced ladies that lift.

Aimed at getting you lean, strong and building your confidence, host Niki Zager gives you all of the tools to completely transform your body and mind and feel a million dollars as you hit the beach.

• Shape your body the way you want it
• Develop lean curves and crazy sex appeal
• Build your confidence and feel great
• Get toned and strong, without muscle bulk

With video tutorials for EVERY exercise and EVERY workout, comprehensive training and nutrition guides and even a recipe and meal plan, this is your best opportunity yet to discover a new you.

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There are a number of gender differences in strength training that you really need to know about. They are why training like a woman will turn you into a straight up bad ass.

When it comes to strength training many women still avoid it.

And who can blame them.

We’ve been told for years that we just can’t keep up with the guys. And if we do start strength training we’ll get big, bulky and unfeminine.

Bullsh*t.

And we’re here to tell you exactly why gender differences in strength training are important and how training like a woman is your ticket to a leaner, curvier and downright sexier figure.

Let’s do this…

Gender Differences in Strength Training

When it comes to how we differ from men, there are some pretty obvious differences and some not so obvious.

Here’s why men and women are completely different and why you should train like a woman to optimize the way your body looks and performs..

You’re just as strong as the guys. No, really

Have you ever heard this before?

‘The dudes are much stronger than the girls’.

Well, yeah at face value.

But they’re also much taller, broader and weigh more, so of course they’ll be stronger.

‘Relative strength’ is when you assess a person’s strength, while factoring in their body weight. The more you weigh, the more force you can generate.

That’s why they tend to split weightlifting into weight categories for example, so no-one has an unfair advantage.

Do you know what happens when you make it a level playing field and equate weight and muscle mass?

That strength differences disappears.

So women aren’t the weaker sex at all… only a little bit smaller.

You won’t build muscle like the guys though

Women don’t have the huge amounts of testosterone flowing through their veins like the guys do.

In fact, you’ve got around 10-15 times less.

No matter how hard you train you just can’t build masculine slabs of bulky muscle. Even with massive amounts of strength training, all you’ll achieve if you train like a woman is feminine, shapely and beautiful muscle shape.

That’s why it’s fast becoming the most popular exercise approach for women that want to look their best.

A natural testosterone booster is a great supplement to strength training for any woman wanting to burn fat and build toned muscle. It won’t get you jacked like some of the female bodybuilders you see (who all have suspiciously square jaws and deep voices of course).

But it will help to build a body you can be proud of in the fastest time possible.

Women have more muscle in their lower body

Men have more muscle in their upper body – around 60% of their total mass. The fact that they have (god damn sexy) broad shoulders, barrel-like chests and thick arms tell us that.

But we have more muscle in our lower halves.

Our butts, thighs and calves have more fat free mass than our upper bodies. And of course, our hourglass figures show it.

Equated relative strength means two things.

Leg day is fun when you train like a woman. The fact that we have more muscle down there means we can squat, lunge and hip thrust all day, while the men are left crying in a crumpled mess on the floor after just a few squats.

The downside is that when it comes to bench press and pull-ups we’re just not quite as strong as those strapping men who can rep them out for days.

But who cares when you can build that booty.

You’ve got more ‘elastic’ legs

When it comes to connective tissue, women can harness their elastic tendon strength much more effectively than the dudes can.

And this means lower levels of muscle fatigue during exercises such as running and jumping.

You get much less tiredness in your thighs and calves when you’re out running. but if you want to really train your legs in the gym you’ll need to slow your reps down to stop your elastic recoil taking over.

Aim for a rep count of 2 seconds lifting and 3 seconds lowering to build shape in your legs.

Train like a woman and ramp up the volume

During the follicular phase of your menstrual cycle (from spotting to ovulation), higher estrogen levels protect you from muscle damage.

This anabolic, female hormone also helps to ‘remodel’ new muscle cells, meaning you’ve got an opportunity to grow some athletic, sexy muscle if you train in the right way.

How?

Two ways really.

By ramping up the volume of your workouts you’ll blast through the overload barrier and stimulate more muscle damage.

Secondly, reducing your rest times helps to trigger changes in hormones that result in more growth.

So, throw in a couple more sets per exercise than you normally would and keep your rest times to 1 minute or less.

Women are super-endurance machines

All muscles are made up of a variety of different fibers. And for the most part, these fibers are split into two categories:

• Type I: Small fibers that are used during lower-intensity endurance work.
• Type II: Large fibers that kick in during strength training or higher-intensity workouts

If you were to strip your muscle down and look at it under a microscope you’d find that you have around 30% more type I fibers than a man does.

And this means that you’re more suited to endurance.

There are big big gender differences in strength training when it comes to how many reps you can complete at a given percentage of your max.

Typically, women can complete more reps with any weight that is below 80% of 1-rep max compared to men.

You really are a machine when it comes to fighting fatigue and persisting through hard sets. So don’t be scared to go for it!

Women respond to HIIT much better than men

If you take everything we’ve discussed on board already,  you’ve got a lot in your favor.

• You’ve got great endurance
• Your relative strength is high
• Muscle damage markers are low
• Estrogen protects your muscles and helps them grow

Add all this together and you’ve got a recipe for high intensity-interval training mastery.

One of the most productive ways for you to get lean, burn fat and build toned muscle is HIIT.

Aim for work intervals of 20-60 seconds long and use a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio to maximize results.

Summary – How to Train Like a Woman

You’ve got some pretty unique physiology as a woman. Gender differences in strength training are important, especially if you take your exercise seriously and want to really discover a great body.

You’re resistant to fatigue and it takes a fair amount of training volume to push your fitness levels  and build muscle tone.

training like a woman means gritting your teeth, getting under a heavy bar and repping away for an astonishing number of reps.

So get out there and do what you do best – train like a woman.