5 Exercises Every Woman Should Do
I have been a part of one incredible movement over the past year.That movement has been our Women’s Only Beginners Group Training.
14 months ago we started the first ever DSC Women’s Group. That group started with 8, hard-working ladies and we had a blast. Fast-forward to today and our program now consists of 4 classes and over 70 women. We are so proud of these ladies for stepping out of their comfort zone and they are seeing some incredible results like Deb and Barbara.
The biggest reason our women have been so successful is that we are sticklers on mastering the basics. These groups are made up of women with a variety of health, injury and exercise histories. With that in mind, our main objective is to set our women up for success with the proper exercises. These exercises help our members build strength, better movement and confidence. This approach allows our women to train with more intensity and advanced exercises down the road, leading to less injury, aches and pains. At Dynamic, we are after long-term results!
Enjoy!
#1 Plank (front and side)
These are number one on our list as core strength is crucial for females regardless of their fitness goals. Building abdominal strength not only transfers to a better looking core, it allows our members to build better posture, decrease low back pain and improve strength on all other exercises.
Learn how to properly plank here:
Key Points (front plank)
Start on elbows with fists directly under your eyes
Keep straight line from head to heels
Keep hips tucked under and glutes squeezed
Focus on long exhales through your mouth
Start with 2-3 sets of :10-:30 holds/side
Key Points (side plank)
Start on side with elbow directly under shoulder
Keep hips squared and high
Keep straight line from head to heels
Keep hips tucked under and glutes squeezed
Focus on long exhales through your mouth
Start with 2-3 sets of :10-:30 holds/side
#2 Goblet Squat
Quite possibly the most important movement you can do. A proper squat demonstrates you have adequate range-of-motion of your ankles, knees and hips and solid lower-body strength. Many women come in thinking they cannot squat because of previous knee pain. By keeping the range-of-motion small and teaching them proper technique as show in the video below, it is not long before they are squatting pain-free, with weights!
Learn how to squat here:
Key Points
Start feet shoulder width with toes slightly pointed out
Stay tall with stomach braced throughout
Initiate movement by sitting back and pushing knees out
Go as low as you can with no pain and good neutral spine position
Finish tall with glutes squeezed
Start with 2-3 sets of 8 reps
#3 Push-Up
One area that most women want to improve upon is upper-body strength. Our favorite exercise to improve just that is the push-up. Focus on this exercise and not only will your arms tone but you will build one solid core! If new to the push-up, be sure to start from and elevated position and work closer to the floor as your strength improves.
Learn how to master the push-up here:
Key Points
Start hands directly under shoulders
Keep straight line from head to heels
Keep glutes squeezed and hips tucked
Lower entire body until arms are parallel with body
Keep arms back at 45 degree angle
Start with 3 sets of 6-10 reps
#4 TRX Row
Rows are a crucial exercise for keeping your shoulders healthy and improving the strength of your upper-back. We love the TRX over other traditional rowing exercises because they incorporate your entire body and are also great for building core strength. Talk about a win-win!
Key Points
Start with straight line from head to heals, arms straight
Initiate movement by pulling shoulder blades towards each other
Pull yourself up, finishing arms in line with body
Finish by lowering yourself to starting position
Start with 3 sets of 8-10 reps
#5 Split-Squat
Our second favorite lower-body strength exercise is the split-squat. Like the squat, the split squat is great for improving lower-body strength and mobility. We increase the challenge here by putting you on one leg which helps to improve balance and flexibility and strength. Our women’s group members master this exercises before moving on to more advanced exercises like lunges.
Key Points
Start in a long lunge position with front foot flat and back heel up
Lower yourself straight down, keep straight line from back knee to head
Keep weight in front foot
Without allowing front knee to drift forward, go as low as possible without
pain or losing position
Push through front foot to return to starting position
Start with 2-3 sets of 8 reps/side