Here’s What You Need to Know
- Women are genetically suited to train with bodyweight exercises
- Women can train the same body parts more frequently than men
- Higher intensity 30 minute workouts 5-6 days per week is ideal for losing stomach fat.
Santa Claus. The Tooth Fairy. Cardio for Fat Loss.
All urban legends that started with good intentions, but have since overshadowed the truth.
Santa Claus is based on a Christian Bishop in early Turkey who helped the needy, the Tooth Fairy is your Dad (sorry), and when it comes to losing fat, women should be doing High Intensity Resistance Training using Body-weight movements.
Core and upper body training at the same time
Unfortunately most women lack the knowledge of how to do a workout like this, and most trainers are content to tell you to do “60 minutes of cardio, 3 times per week”.
This is the general advice that many trainers, magazines and programs give when it comes to women lifting weights. However, this is a misleading philosophy that can lead to errors in judgement when training females.
Ladies, did you know that compared to men, you’re basically superheroes?
- Women can handle a much higher volume of training, which means you can train more often without overdoing it.
- Women have a higher strength to weight ratio than men in the lower body, which means you can do more advanced exercises sooner
- Women respond incredibly well to bodyweight training, which gives you the advantage of not only losing fat, but building muscle in the legs and glutes, leading to a faster metabolism and fitting into those pants you love.
Body-weight is Boring
This is great in theory, but those who have tried a bodyweight program before know that after a week, pushups and wall sits get pretty monotonous. So what’s a hard hitting lady to do?
Due to the unique aspects of female capabilities, and a high strength to weight ratio, training with a suspension trainer allows you to take advantage of that ratio and build up on an existing base of strength, which will lead to faster progress and more visible results
If you are a female with the goal to attain a slender, athletic physique, the suspension trainer is the best piece of equipment you can have in your home.
Suspension trainers have TONS of benefits, including a almost unlimited exercises, the fact that each exercise involves the full body, and that the focus is moving your body through space, rather than moving an outside object.
By using the suspension trainer, the entire body is involved in every exercise so even while doing legs, the arms and back are engaged.
Every exercise involves multiple muscle groups and the core.
This “high frequency” type of training works well especially for females, who need more regularity in the smaller muscle groups like arms and shoulders, and can handle less recovery time in order to produce the slender physique that many women desire.
When training with the suspension trainer, the goal should be to do 25-40 minute workouts several days per week, which allows you to take advantage of Metabolic Snowballing, the “afterburn” effect you get from an intense workout.
These workouts should also be intense, which means no checking email or Instagram for the whole time.
The best way to do both of these things, and create a perfect training program is by using timed circuits. One of my favorite is 40 seconds of exercise, 20 seconds of rest, then 40 seconds of another exercise.
For example:
- A1. Bodyweight Squats x 40 seconds (rest 20 seconds)
- A2. Alternating Jump Lunges x 40 seconds (rest 20 seconds)
- A3. Plank Hold x 40 seconds (rest 60 seconds before repeating A1)
Training like this allows you to do the most work in the least time, which burns fat, builds muscle, and increases your metabolic rate.
For more info on increasing your metabolism, click HERE to get access to my FREE 10-part email series.
If your goal is to gain the maximum amount of muscle, suspension training is not the best option. It must be supplemented with heavier weights and lower rep ranges. Think of your favorite Crossfit athlete, who spends a majority of time doing heavy weights and working on top end strength in order to be competitive in every aspect of fitness.
Using this example, we can see why suspension training is so suited to the needs to females. While a beginner male trainee might be able to squat 135 after a month of training, it will take a female closer to a year of dedicated training.
However, males and females are roughly as capable at performing bodyweight movements, especially when using a suspension trainer for assistance. So the same female would be able to do a single leg squat for reps after only a month of training, the same as a male.
Those single leg squats will provide much more stimulus to the glutes and quads after only a few weeks of practice, which will result in a better physique, faster.
It’s important for lifelong fitness to find something that works well for you and that you enjoy doing, and I’ve seen that more women tend to enjoy suspension training because of the instant gratification of the change in their body, and the ease of learning the exercises.
Not only that, but with a Suspension Trainer, every exercise can be progressed to an advanced version to keep pushing yourself to new limits, or can be regressed to make the exercise do-able for the absolute beginner.
No matter what your end goal is, I always tell my female clients to set at least one performance goal. Whether that is completing one pullup, 10 pushups, or finally being able to nail a suspension trainer pushup with pike, having a goal that is solely physical performance can pay off in terms of how you look, how you feel, and most importantly, making you stronger version of yourself.
Do I have your attention yet?
If you’re interested in pushing yourself to the absolute max, I’ve put together my favorite At Home Fat Incinerator Program, featuring Suspension Trainer Home workouts that you can do anywhere.
Each exercise has a video link, and it comes with a user manual to walk you through the program.
If you want to see what bodyweight suspension training can do for you, check it out HERE
- Women need to do high intensity resistance training for fat loss
- Women can handle more training volume than men, and can train the same body parts more frequently.
- Women have a high strength-to-weight ratio, so by using bodyweight training, you can get faster results than by using external loads like dumbbells and barbells.
- By using suspension trainer exercises, you can train more frequently and get better results
- Women should be doing shorter, more intense workouts 5-6 days per week for best results.