Exercise Programs For Women

Women and men react very differently when we see professional weight lifters of the different genders. When men see muscle men lifting huge weights over their heads and showing off muscles that seem to be ready to explode out of their bodies, they feel envious and dream of the respect they would earn if they could ever get to that level of "pumped up."

When women see the equivalent in women body builders, they rarely want to "go there" because the idea of becoming a "pumped up" woman doesn't conform to our vision of femininity. Not only that, how good would you look in that foxy new dress if your muscles burst from the sleeves of the blouse?

The hidden secret about exercise programs for women, however, is that using weight training programs that are specifically designed for the female body and that are designed very intentionally not to compromise the femininity of your form are far more prevalent than ones that produce those super women we see on TV. That is because when women workout, we do so to support some very physically demanding things that go on in our lives but to do so without losing our "girlish figure". Some physical demands that need strong muscle support in a woman's life include…

• The work world has its own physical demands. Whether it's replacing the water in the water cooler or helping reorganize the office, women in the workplace often experience sudden demands on their physical abilities.
• As a homemaker, it may fall to you to mow the lawn, lift bags of mulch and fertilizer and dig up that garden bed to make the home a better place for your family to live.
• That newborn needs to be dead lifted from the crib or the floor sometimes dozens of time a day. When you see a mom carrying that wiggly child around on her hip, that is no small act of physical dexterity.
• All this and women are called upon to stay slim and sexy so when its time to go out on the town, they can still turn heads.

These demands mean that exercise programs for women are specifically focused on what is called the "core" muscle groups which include the back, the shoulders, the abdominals and the pelvis. These are the muscles that will be called upon to support the most frequent physical demands on a woman.

Exercise programs for women must be holistic. That is to say that while time at the gym where a trainer or a work out group can afford you the ability to think about your body and only your body, that is not the only time you exercise. It's a good idea to integrate exercise into every aspect of your life.

You can do deep knee bends while watching the morning news, lift cans of chicken soup out and back to develop core muscles in your back and sides and do leg lifts during Leno to build pelvic and leg tons as well.

By being attentive to your core muscle groups and putting some thought into a holistic exercise program, your work out will be so much more than "pumping iron at the gym." It will be part of who you are and your lifestyle as a professional woman, a wife, a mother.