Being a part of the health and fitness world we met with many different requests and questions from our clients regarding their training. Especially from women who often fear the development of masculine physical features such as broad shoulders, strong biceps and upper legs, following a weight loss programme.

Should Men and Women Follow the Same Workout Routine?

At TRANSFORM PT we are very passionate about empowering women to perform well, to look good, to feel even better. But most importantly to achieve their goals. With our exciting programmes based on specific training and nutrition we help women to become stronger, leaner, healthier and more confident in their own skin. And let’s face it, speaking of exercise, modern-day women are showing men a thing or two about how to be and look strong and fit.

When questioning whether all men should follow a certain workout routine while all women other, we should also consider that all men are different from one another just as women differ. Not one programme would suit all men, just as no programme would suit all of the women. Nonetheless - YES, women can train like man. Even in doing so, they will most likely not look masculine. Although women can and obviously do build muscle, it is nowhere near to the same degree as men do. This is due to VO2 max (the ability of the heart, muscles and lungs to use oxygen during exercise) and lactate threshold (how long you can exercise at high intensity), is more pronounced in males than females. (Yes, female bodybuilders are obviously a different story.)

Which Exercises I Should Do?

100 people - 100 different opinions! Certain exercises stimulate certain muscles, while man might focus on working out the upper body area, women seem to work on the booty and legs more. There are no ‘exercises for men’ or ‘exercises for women’. There are simply the same exercises that can be performed by both - men and women. The only different here is that women have different appearance expectations to those of men. While men often want to be ‘muscular’, women prefer to get ‘toned’.

What you can do is chose which exercises will help you better achieve your expectations. Some women might prefer to achieve a slim and slender physic. Other women might strike for the strong and toned appearance. We all have individual goals and expectations, which are everyone's personal choice. However ladies, we believe strength is not something to be ashamed of!

To compliment the feminine features you might chose the following exercises:
• Squats (wide / narrow stance)
• Deadlifts (wide / narrow stance)
• Kettle bell swings
• Side lunges

Diet Matters

Eating a balance diet is important and will make a difference to you over all wellbeing no matter the gender. If weight loss is your goal, then aim for eating fewer calories than you burn throughout the day. On the other hand, if you are eating more calories than your body burns, then any kind of training is going to increase your body mass. To do so, we motivate our clients to use Myfitnesspal to help us track their daily macros and nutrition intake.

What We Recommend

You cannot really achieve any fitness results without getting your body to work by developing and maintaining lean muscle. This will also help to boost your metabolism, and burn fat and extra calories.

• Exercising 3 - 4 times per week, following a combination of full body movements:
• Resistance Training (squats, lunges, deadlifts, pull-ups and push-ups variations)
• Kettlebell Training (swings, squats, deadlifts)
• Interval Training (boxing bag, rowing machine)

The Bottom Line

Whether female or male, we are all individuals. Make sure your fitness routine reflect your individual preferences. What you might want to consider is working on a body that performs rather than simply looks good.

Any type of training is suitable for women. As long as it will deliver the results and goals they are aiming for. Each women's goal differ, be it running for 10 consecutive minutes, pull one pull-up, run 10k or even a marathon, finish a triathlon. Lift 150 pounds or 20 pounds, get big booty or slim down the hips, build upper body strength. Or simply to feel sexy and sassy - comfortable wearing bikini, being able to run around your hyperactive children, or squeezing into your new size 10 jeans. Whatever it is, it is your body and your goal! So you just GO girls!