6 Underrated but Highly Effective Exercises for Women
by Wilson Iyorah
Mar 07, 2024
Are you tired of the same old workout routines that seem to target only a few muscle groups and leave you feeling uninspired? It's time to shake things up and discover the power of underrated exercises that can transform your fitness journey.
As a woman, you can’t override the importance of cardio and traditional strength training,
In this blog post, in the celebration of women’s days. we're diving deep into six underrated but highly effective exercises that every woman should incorporate into her fitness routine.
The good part of these exercises is that you can do them in the comfort of your home, without having to go to the gym!
Get ready to transform your health with these exercises!
1. Jumping Rope.
When you were young, you probably did a thing with jumping rope. This is why many people today view jumping rope as a “children play thing”
But this is not true! Jumping rope shoots beyond being a children's play thing, jumping rope offers a multifaceted approach to fitness, targeting various aspects of physical health.
Firstly, it serves as an exceptional cardiovascular workout by significantly elevating the heart rate, strengthening the heart muscle, and improving blood circulation, which collectively reduce the risk of heart disease.
Additionally, jumping rope is a high-intensity exercise that efficiently burns calories, making it an effective tool for weight loss and weight management, thereby promoting your overall health and well-being.
Beyond cardiovascular benefits, jumping rope also improves coordination and agility, requiring synchronization between hand and foot movements.
Moreover, the impact of jumping contributes to bone density, especially vital for women as they age, aiding in the prevention of osteoporosis and promoting skeletal health throughout life.
Also, the fact that you can perform jumping rope anywhere makes it a cool exercise to try out.
How to do jumping rope effectively
1. Choose the Right Rope: Select a jump rope that matches your height – the handles should reach your armpits when standing on the middle of the rope.
2. Proper Form: Hold the handles firmly with elbows close to your body. Stand with feet together, knees slightly bent, and shoulders relaxed.
3. Start Slowly: Swing the rope over your head and jump with both feet, starting with small jumps and gradually increasing speed.
4. Land Lightly: Land softly on the balls of your feet with knees bent. Keep core engaged and back straight for good posture.
5. Variety: Challenge yourself with variations like single leg jumps or double unders to target different muscle groups.
6. Cool Down: After jumping, stretch calf muscles, hamstrings, and shoulders to prevent soreness and promote flexibility.
2. Leg lifts.
Leg lifts are another great exercise for women! Leg lifts target the lower abdominal muscles, aiding in core strength, stability, and posture improvement.
This exercise is particularly beneficial to women because it helps prevent lower back pain and enhances overall core strength, vital for daily activities.
Additionally, leg lifts require hip flexor flexibility, which, when improved through regular practice, can alleviate hip tightness and discomfort, especially for those who spend extended periods sitting.
That's not all, Leg lifts contribute to toning and defining the lower
abdomen, promoting a leaner and more sculpted midsection. This not only boosts confidence but also improves the aesthetic appearance of the abdominal area, a common area of concern for many women.
Leg lifts have also been recommended by women fitness specialists as part of postpartum exercise routines to aid in the recovery process by strengthening weakened abdominal muscles after childbirth, assisting in restoring core strength and tone.
How to perform leg lifts correctly:
1. Lie Down: Start by lying flat on your back on an exercise mat with arms by your sides and palms facing down. Extend legs fully.
2. Engage Core: Activate core muscles by drawing your navel towards your spine, stabilizing your spine and pelvis.
3. Lift Legs: Keep legs straight and slowly lift them until perpendicular to the ground, pressing lower back into the mat.
4. Controlled Movement: Slowly lower legs back down, maintaining control to keep tension on the abdominal muscles.
5. Repeat: Complete 10-15 repetitions, gradually increasing as you get stronger.
6. Breathe: Exhale as you lift legs, inhale as you lower them, focusing on steady breathing.
7. Variations: Make it more challenging by adding ankle weights or performing on a decline bench. If needed, bend knees slightly or do knee raises.
8. Rest and Recovery: Allow muscles to recover between sets and sessions, listening to your body to avoid overexertion.
Incorporate leg lifts into your workout routine for core strengthening, improved flexibility, and toned abs, ensuring proper form and consistency for optimal results and injury prevention.
3. Planks
Planks are your go-to for a rock-solid core and so much more. Engaging deep muscles like the transverse abdominis and obliques, they boost your core strength, aligning your spine and improving posture.
This is key for tackling common issues like lower back pain and pelvic floor weakness that many women face. Planks help correct imbalances, preventing slouching and keeping your spine in top shape.
This means that doing planks regularly can correct your chronic back problems and hello to confidence and long-term physical well-being.
Also, they're a full-body workout, activating muscles from your shoulders to your glutes for enhanced stability and balance in everyday life and sports. And let's not forget about your pelvic floor – planks engage those deep muscles, addressing urinary incontinence post-childbirth or during menopause. You should do planks often as a woman!
How to perform a basic plank correctly:
1. Starting Position: Begin by kneeling on an exercise mat with hands directly under shoulders, palms flat, and fingers spread wide. Extend legs behind you, resting on the balls of your feet.
2. Alignment: Be sure you maintain a straight line from head to heels, engaging core by drawing navel towards spine. Avoid sagging or arching back.
3. Hold and Breathe: Hold plank position, aiming for 20-30 seconds initially. Focus on steady breathing and maintaining proper form.
4. Form Focus: Keep shoulders, hips, and heels aligned, avoiding sagging or lifting hips too high.
5. Modifications: If full plank is challenging, start with forearm plank or try variations like side planks or rotations to target different muscles.
6. Progression: Increase duration or try advanced variations as you get stronger. Use a stability ball for added challenge.
7. Cool Down: After plank workout, stretch core, shoulders, and hip flexors to promote flexibility and prevent tightness.
4. Step Ups
Another great exercise for women, steps up are a versatile lower body exercise that targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes while also improving balance and stability.
Permit me to list out the benefits:
1. Lower Body Strength: Step Ups effectively target the muscles of the legs, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, helping to build strength and power in the lower body.
2. Balance and Stability: Performing Step Ups requires balance and coordination, which helps improve overall stability and reduce the risk of falls, particularly important for women as they age.
3. Low-Impact: Step Ups are a low-impact exercise, making them suitable for individuals with joint issues or those who need to avoid high-impact activities while still achieving an effective workout.
4. Customizable Resistance: By holding weights such as dumbbells or household items like detergent bottles, you can easily increase the resistance of the exercise to further challenge the muscles and enhance strength gains.
How to perform step ups correctly:
1. Find a Sturdy Surface: Locate a durable box or sturdy bench that can support your weight. Ensure that it is stable and will not slide during the exercise.
2. Body Positioning: Stand facing the box or bench with your feet hip-width apart. Keep your shoulders back, chest lifted, and core engaged for stability.
3. Initiate the Movement: Step onto the box or bench with one foot, pressing through the heel to lift your body upward. Use the muscles of the leg to propel yourself upward.
4. Complete the Movement: Straighten the knee of the stepping leg until it is fully extended, then bring the opposite leg to meet it on top of the box or bench.
5. Controlled Descent: Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position by bending the knee of the stepping leg and allowing the opposite foot to touch the ground lightly.
6. Alternate Legs: Repeat the movement, alternating between stepping up with the right and left legs to ensure balanced muscle development.
7. Add Resistance: Once you have mastered the bodyweight Step Up, you can increase the difficulty by holding weights in each hand. Keep the weights close to your body and maintain proper form throughout the exercise.
8. Focus on Tempo: To further challenge the muscles and enhance control, vary the tempo of the movement. Lower down on a slow three-count, then drive through the heel to return to the standing position on a one-count, focusing on squeezing the glutes at the top of the movement.
5. Dips
As a woman, you don’t need to go to a gym to activate the health transforming power of dips. You can use a strong chair, your bed or your sofa.
Doing Dips offers the following benefits:
Triceps Strength: Doing dips helps to improve upper body strength and power.
Chest and Shoulder Activation: In addition to the triceps, dips also engage the chest and shoulders, making them a compound exercise that works multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
Core Stabilization: Performing dips requires core stabilization to maintain proper body alignment and control throughout the movement. This helps strengthen the core muscles, including the abdominals and lower back.
Improved Upper Body Function: By strengthening the muscles involved in pushing movements, dips can enhance overall upper body function, making everyday tasks easier and improving performance in sports and other physical activities.
How to perform dips correctly:
1. Find Stable Surface: Locate a sturdy couch or chair, ensuring it won't slide during the exercise.
Body Positioning: Sit on the edge with hands shoulder-width apart, fingers facing your body, feet flat, knees bent.
2. Initiate Movement: Press through hands to lift body upward, fully straightening arms, maintaining shoulder alignment.
3. Lower Yourself Down: Bend elbows, keeping them close to sides, until elbows reach approximately 90 degrees.
Push Back Up: Straighten arms, lifting body to starting position, avoiding locking elbows.
4. Controlled Movement: Focus on controlled motion to engage muscles and prevent momentum.
Repeat: Aim for 8-12 reps, adjusting intensity as needed.
Modifications: Modify by bending knees or using a stable bench for support if necessary.
Incorporate dips into your upper body routine for stronger triceps, chest, and shoulders, emphasizing proper form to maximize effectiveness and prevent injury.
6. The Glute Bridge
The Glute Bridge is a highly effective bodyweight exercise that targets the gluteal muscles, hamstrings, and core.
Here's how to perform it correctly along with its benefits:
Benefits:
Glute Activation: Glute Bridges specifically target the gluteal muscles, helping to activate and strengthen them. This is beneficial for improving hip stability, enhancing athletic performance, and preventing injuries related to weak glutes.
Hamstring Engagement: Along with the glutes, Glute Bridges also engage the hamstrings, which play a significant role in hip extension and lower body strength. Strengthening the hamstrings can improve athletic performance and reduce the risk of hamstring injuries.
Core Stability: Performing Glute Bridges requires core stabilization to maintain proper body alignment throughout the movement. This helps strengthen the core muscles, including the abdominals and lower back, contributing to better posture and spinal health.
Range of Motion Enhancement: Glute Bridges can help improve hip mobility and range of motion, which is essential for functional movements such as walking, running, and squatting. By regularly incorporating Glute Bridges into your workout routine, you can enhance overall lower body flexibility and mobility.
How to perform the Glute Bridge correctly:
1. Starting Position: Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and arms by your sides.
2. Engage Core: Activate core muscles by drawing the navel towards spine for stability.
3. Initiate Movement: Lift hips off the ground, squeezing glutes to create a straight line from shoulders to knees.
4. Hold and Squeeze: Maintain top position, focusing on squeezing glutes and keeping tension in muscles.
5. Lower Slowly: Lower hips down in a controlled manner, avoiding sudden movements.
Repeat: Aim for 10-15 reps, increasing as you get stronger or adding resistance.
Single-Leg Variation: Progress to single-leg bridge for added challenge, engaging glutes, hamstrings, and core.
Breathe: Maintain steady breathing throughout the exercise, inhaling as you lower hips and exhaling as you lift them back up.
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