Strength training for special muscle groups
When women do strength training, they tend to focus on the lower extremities – the legs and buttocks – compared to men. Training this part of the body is not only interesting for body shaping, but also beneficial for weight loss, since the leg muscles form a very large muscle group, whose training consumes a lot of energy. Popular exercises from the field of strength training for women are the leg press, the adductor and abductor machine.
However, exercises on free machines are much more effective and simultaneously demand stabilizing muscles of the trunk and train the coordination of the leg muscles. Squats and lunges as well as deadlifts with a barbell can make the training for the buttocks more exciting and effective. There are also barbells that run in guided tracks that make safe training easier.
In many fitness studios, these devices are now also available in the “ladies’ area”, so that you can carry out your exercises undisturbed during weight training. During all these exercises, the correct technique should be observed and weights should be chosen carefully in order to avoid injuries or stressful incorrect execution. This topic might also be of interest to you: Pomuscle training exercises for a crunchy butt Unlike lower extremity training, many women avoid training the pectoral muscles during strength training.
Mostly for two reasons: the training of the chest muscles is typical for men, the machines are often placed in the free weight area and are sometimes uncomfortable to perform alone without any safety or support. The second reason is the fear of negatively influencing the shape of the chest or its size. Point one is sometimes difficult to solve.
Bench presses and rope pulls are usually in appropriate areas of the studio where women can feel uncomfortable. In the same way, it can be uncomfortable to go to your limits during hypertrophy training and to lie under a dumbbell which, in case of doubt, would be difficult to lift from your chest. Support is helpful here and gives you the confidence to do the training correctly and to go to your limits.
However, there are also guided devices, e.g. Butterfly or the guided chest press, which are usually more comfortable to use. The second reason, that the breast could become smaller during the training, is not justified. The training builds up the pectoral muscle, which lies under the glands and fatty tissue of the breast, and the breast is optically lifted and may appear firmer or larger.
However, the breast tissue becomes smaller due to the general fat reduction in the body. If we lose weight, it is not possible to control which fat depots the body reaches first. Fat deposits on thighs and hips are reduced in the same way as the fatty tissue of the breast. Thus, general strength training can lead to a reduction in the size of the breast. But if you want to lose fat, you cannot avoid it.