Training for women

I have been training lots of women lately. Women are very different then men, duh! The exercises are basically the same but how they are used is very different. I like to focus on a woman's weak points and fix any imbalances that she might have. All of us have a strong side and a weak side, therefore the plan of attack is to find out which side is weaker and began to bring that side up to match the other side eliminating future injuries and promoting overall health.

I love using db's with the ladies. They are great for balancing out both sides. I also focus on building the posterior chain as Louis Simmons would call it. The lower back, hamstrings, glutes (butt) and abs. If these are strong then she'll be strong. I like back extension on an extension machine, the simpler the better, and do 3x15 reps, add weight as needed. Banded Leg curls with a band on each leg. You can do the same thing with a leg curl machine but only use one leg at a time. Banded Glute presses. When I get chance I'll post a video on how to do these on here and on my web site. 3x15 on each leg. For abs I always worry about hurting the back. There are lots of ladies with bad backs and if the ab training is not set up correctly you can injure the back even more. THIS IS NOT OUR GOAL. Therefore I love using Denise Austin's style of ab training. You can watch several of her video's on youtube, just search for the ones with her doing abs. I love her style of Crunches, Hip Ups, and Toe Touches, therefore they make up most of the my ab training for the ladies. I hope this will help all of you ladies out there. Stay safe and strong.

Coach George Phipps