To your surprise, women have a higher risk of obesity than men, and even the stats show that the prevalence of obesity among women is around 11.5% while in men it is 6.9%. Thus, women are almost two times more prone to be obese than men because our body naturally stores more fat rather than building lean muscle. Men have a greater muscle-fat ratio and tend to burn more calories effortlessly than a woman’s body does. On the other hand, the hormonal balance also varies between men and women, which again affects the metabolic process, storage of fat, etc. Thus, it is highly important to have uniquely designed exercises and workouts that are the best fit for women’s bodies. It is not a hard rule that a woman cannot do the exercises which a man does, but there are some exercises that can be highly beneficial for women to stay in shape and healthy. Get to know what they are!
- Plank:
Plank, including the side plank, is one of the most effective and full-body workouts women can do without any worries. It burns the excess fat, tones arms, helps build strong shoulders, and a strong core. It is basically thought to be an ab workout, which is not true, rather a whole-body workout beneficial for both the upper and lower body. Do not try to stand in the plank position for minutes right from the beginning. Hold the position even for 15 seconds if possible. Then, slowly and gradually, you will get steel abs enabling you to hold for a longer period of time. Also, maintain the right position such as keeping your whole body straight to the floor, shoulders, and hands in the right position.
- Oblique Toe Touch:
Women who have just delivered a baby, should not risk reducing their belly immediately unless the doctor advises to. So, you can target your obliques by doing oblique toe touches. Go into your crunch position but touch your toes sideways instead of lifting your whole upper body. This will help you stay away from love handles, and help you have a curvy shape.
- Squats:
Women tend to gain too much weight in the lower body and struggle to wear their favourite jeans or shorts having thick thighs. Squats is an amazing lower body workout that targets your butt muscles, glutes, thighs, and calf muscles. You can try out the advanced variations, even with weights to increase the intensity.
- Lunges:
You can try front, reverse, and side lunges which is again a highly recommended workout for women to have a better lower body shape. Your thigh muscles become stronger and you also get a stronger lower body. To increase the intensity and the heart rate, try jumping lunges or holding dumbbells at the same time.
- Russian Twists:
Russian twists target your core muscles and enable you to have a curvy upper body. Just sit with your legs forward, bend your knees and ensure your feet are off the ground. Then push your upper body a little backward, and start twisting your upper body while retaining the same position in the lower body. To increase the intensity, you can grab a weight or a full water bottle.
Final Note:
You can feel free to add some more workouts such as deadlifts, jumping jacks, arm rotations, skipping, and various other workouts you feel comfortable with. Pregnant women and new mothers must ensure they have proper guidance from a professional fitness coach before doing any workout. Also, never directly step into the workouts, instead have a warm-up session at least for 10 minutes, and then get working.
Alton Clarke was born and raised in Syracuse. He has written for MSNBC, The Business Insider and Passport Magazine. In regards to academics, Alton earned a degree from St. John’s University. Alton covers entertainment and culture stories here at Diving daily.
