Exercise and Weight Loss for Women

Updated June 08, 2018
woman doing sit-ups in the park
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If you're a woman trying to lose weight and get fit, there's something you should know: It often takes longer for women to lose weight than men. And, if you've had a baby, you may have to factor in even more time. That said, women can do some things to speed up their weight loss. The following resources will help you learn more about how to maximize your cardio and strength training workouts, how to set realistic goals and how you can burn more calories.

Weight Loss for Women

For a woman to lose weight, she has to do the same thing a man does -- burn more calories than she eats. That sounds simple, but it takes some work to change your lifestyle and commit to those changes day after day. Before you get started, take some time to learn about the basics of weight loss and what it really takes to see results.

The Basics of Weight Loss

  • Secrets to Successful Weight Loss: You can do four things to increase your chances of success in keeping the weight off. Do you know what they are?
  • Giving Up the Weight Loss Obsession: It may surprise you, but putting weight loss aside and focusing on other goals may actually help you lose more weight.
  • Weight Loss Survival Skills: The road to weight loss is a long one, but you can make the process easier and enjoyable.
  • Staying Motivated: The most important ingredient in any weight loss program is motivation, but how do you keep it going day after day? This article explains how.

Exercise for Weight Loss

Exercise is one of the most important tools you have for weight loss and set up a balanced program with cardio and strength training is your first step to reaching your goals. Below you'll find everything you need to set up a balanced program and create effective workouts.

Cardio Exercise

I usually don't have to convince my female clients to do cardio exercise to reach their weight loss goals. They know that cardio can burn fat and calories, but they don't always know how to maximize their workout time.

Common Mistakes:

  • Doing too much cardio: Women tend to like cardio more than strength training and sometimes do so much, they risk injury, overtraining, losing muscle and hitting weight loss plateaus.
  • Working at a low intensity: Some women have too many workouts in their 'fat-burning zone', or working at a low intensity.  However, working at a higher intensity for 1-3 workouts a week can help you burn more calories, which is what you need to lose weight.
  • Neglecting other parts of their programs: Many women skip strength training because they're afraid they'll bulk up and they don't think it actually helps them lose weight.  However, strength training is key for changing your body composition, which puts you on the road to weight loss.

The resources below will help you learn more about how to find balance with your cardio workouts and make them work for you.

Getting the Most Out of Your Cardio Workouts

  • Cardio for Weight Loss: Learn about the best cardio exercises, how to burn more calories and how often you really need to exercise.
  • How to Burn More Fat with Cardio: If you've been working in your 'fat-burning zone' you may be surprised to learn the real way to burn more fat.
  • Cardio 101: Go back to basics to learn how to choose activities and how long, how hard and how often you should exercise.
  • How to Monitor Your Intensity: Working at the right intensity can make your cardio workouts much more effective. Learn different ways to monitor how hard you're working.

Take It to the Next Level

The best way to get more out of your exercise time is to focus on higher intensity workouts.  The best thing about these kinds of workouts is that they're shorter, so you can squeeze them in even if you don't have a lot of time. Try some of these ideas:

Strength Training for Women

Though more and more women are lifting weights, some of you out there still avoid strength training like the plague. It's unfortunate because strength training is as essential as cardio for burning fat. Some of the reasons women avoid strength training may include:

  • Thinking it only benefits men
  • Concern that it will build big, bulky muscles
  • Believing it won't help with weight loss
  • Feeling intimidated by the weight room
  • Not knowing where to start

The good news is, you don't have to be afraid of heavy weights. Women don't have the testosterone necessary to build big muscles. Even men have a hard time building big muscles -- and they have way more testosterone than you do.

Even better, once you start lifting challenging weights, you'll see major changes happen in your body, more than you do with cardio which burns calories but doesn't help you build muscle. Don't forget that you're building strong bones and preserving your muscle mass, which means you can control the weight gain that comes with age and lack of exercise.

If I've convinced you to get started, check out the resources below to figure out where to start.

The Best Way to Lift Weights

Women really are different from men when it comes to losing weight and they also benefit from a different approach when it comes to strength training. 

  • Focused strength workouts 1-2 times a week- First, focus on building muscle with straightforward strength workouts.  This can be a total body workout twice a week or split routines for upper and lower body.  And 'straightforward' workouts doesn't mean you have to do boring exercises.  There are great kettlebell exercises that can increase your strength just as well as regular dumbbells and don't forget you can also use resistance bands as well.  Just make sure you're lifting enough weight.
  • Circuit training workouts 1-2 times a week - With circuit training, you go from one exercise to the next with no rest and often can include cardio exercises along with your strength moves.  Circuit training is a great way to sneak in strength exercises without getting bored or feeling overwhelmed.

Best Circuit Training Workouts

With all that said, how can you fit in cardio, strength training, and circuit training? Fortunately, there are lots of ways to work your schedule, such as:

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