The Best Exercise & Workouts For Women

Fitness Friday Tip: S & S & Squats

Ok, so let me be real here, since the pandemic and the temporary close of our gym, I have felt a change in my body tone. We are getting into the 70 & 80 degree weather, so it’s shorts time for me. We all have a pair of pants, dress or swim suit we put on and it really tells us a lot about our body, whether we are slimming down, bulking up or just put on some pounds.

It’s been a while but yesterday I put on some shorts and yikes, this gal did not like the feeling! Most people will blame it on age but honestly for me it’s just a number. Okay so with over 40 years in the fitness industry and having Jack Lalanne as a mentor and many of my friends were body builders, it’s been pretty easy to sculpt and get back in shape, so this is what has worked for years. I love weight training because it's one of the best ways to sculpt your body.

MY FAVORITE SHORT & SWEET EXERCISES

Workouts do not need to take several hours. It’s proven that what matters most is the intensity of the workout not the length of time. If you only have 30 minutes, do fat burning cardio and push yourself.

The best 3 workout methods to get you tight, toned, in and out of the gym fast:

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – Do short bouts of intense cardio paired with longer lower intensity sets.

Ex: Sprint for 1 minute/Jog for 3 minutes

Compound Movements – Doing movements that combine strength training with cardio keep your heart rate up while maximizing your workout time. You’re recruiting multiple muscle groups which means overall toning while boosting your metabolism. That’s a win-win combo!

Ex: Squat with an overhead press

Circuit Training – This consists of continuous movement through a circuit-training workout. Do 3 or more circuits with very little rest in between each circuit.

Ex: 30 half jacks, 30 Russian twists, 30 second planks, 30 squats, 30 seconds knee to elbow, rest for 30 seconds and repeat 2 more times

DO YOU WANT A TIGHT BODY AND CORE? The #1 exercise for women.

Squats are the number one lower body exercise for women to tighten and tone their lower body. Shapely glutes (booty), hamstrings (the back part of the leg) and quadriceps (the front part of the legs). The best part about squats, you can do them anywhere at any time, no equipment necessary. You can also do a variety of squats from plie, front squats, goblet squats. Check out www.Darebee.com, this is one of my favorite websites for workouts.

The other S that’s probably the most important.

So the 3 S’s are a great start but the most important S is a strategy for accountability. Get an accountability buddy you can tag, facetime or zoom with to keep you on track. Create a workout sheet for the week or jot your workout in a dedicated workout journal with your workout time, intensity, exercises and how you felt as a result of your workout.

You got this!! Remember we are forced to change in times of crisis. Maybe this pandemic crisis has been a wake up call to eat healthier, (we have free meal plan for that HERE under FREE STUFF) exercise and more self care.

Check out this article and how you can leverage the concept of pain or pleasure for reaching a goal or simply to be a better version of you in most any area of life.