Women Fitness Advance Strength Training Exercise Program
Before
doing the Women Fitness Strength Training program we strongly
recommend that you first read the Women Fitness
Strength Training
contents, and have a full understanding of the very important
principles and guidelines of a safe, effective weightlifting routine.
This 12 week routine is for those interested in making improvements in
muscle strength and tone.
This is an Advanced program (12 weeks) and is appropriate for
those who have a year or more of weightlifting experience. Those who
have little or no experience in weightlifting may want to start with
Beginners Fitness program. If you choose to start with Advanced Program , continue until you've completed the twelfth week
of the Intermediate Program and then
start Advanced (12 weeks) of the Fitness program, and so on.
Women Fitness will continue to provide you with new, ongoing 12 week
programs so that you continually learn new exercises and techniques,
achieving the results you deserve.
This program is based on a 3 day/week schedule. We recommend having at
least one day of rest between workouts. This
is not absolutely necessary since workout 1 and workout 2 train
different muscle groups, but it is a good idea give your body time to
recover.
Women Fitness uses the split-training method. In split-training, all
your major muscle groups are divided into two different training
sessions. For example, workout 1 includes training your chest,
shoulders, Trapezius, triceps and abdominals. Workout 2 trains your
legs, back, biceps, forearms and abdominals. (Please refer to the
Principles and Guidelines section of the Strength Training component
for discussion of why we split the muscle groups up this way and why
each exercise should be done in the order presented.)
In general, there are more sets per exercise and exercises per muscle
group for the larger muscle groups, such as chest or back, compared
with smaller muscle groups, like Trapezius or forearms. The larger
muscle groups include several individual sections; these sections make
up what we call a "muscle group." For example, your back is
made up of upper- middle back, lats. (sides of back) and lower
back--each section needs specific attention. Many of the smaller
muscle groups are indirectly trained during larger muscle group
exercises.
The Ex. # column lists the exercise reference number. For example, the
Bench
Press (Bb) is the S31st exercise and the exercise
instructions/demonstrations can be found by forwarding to: Ex. #31.
Exercises with a * next to them are the least important for that
specific workout--these may be omitted if you need to decrease the
level of intensity or if you are "pressed" for time. For
example, the Flys (Db) might be marked by a * (before the Ex.
#S33) because
the chest is already being trained by the Bench Press and Incline
Bench Press--it is therefore less necessary.
Exercises that have a (Bb), (Db), (cable) refer to the type of
equipment used for the exercise. (Bb) = Barbell, (Db) = Dumbbell, and
(cable) = using pulley machine.
Each workout will place more emphasis on some muscle groups and less
emphasis on others. By "more emphasis," we mean there will
be either more exercises per muscle group and/or more sets per
exercise, with less reps (requiring the use of heavier weights).
For example, workout 1 places more emphasis on your chest and triceps
and workout 3 (the second time you train chest, shoulders, trapezius,
triceps and abdominals) places more emphasis on your shoulders and
trapezius. The muscle groups that are emphasized are being trained for
the purpose of increasing strength (heavier weight, less reps). The
muscle groups that are not being emphasized are being trained for
muscle tone (higher reps, less weight).
When trying an exercise for the first time use a weight that your
think will be a little too light--a weight that will allow you to
concentrate on developing good habits and using proper form. Once you
are comfortable with the exercise, choose a weight that you think will
challenge you for the prescribed number of repetitions. For example,
if the prescribed number of reps for your first set of the
Tricep
Pushdown (Ex. #S68) is 12, choose a weight that you think will
challenge you for 12 reps. For each and every set you want to be
intuitive and pick an appropriate weight for the prescribed number of
reps. So, if 20 lbs. was challenging for your 1st set of 12 reps, then
perhaps 25 pounds would be most appropriate for a set of 10 reps. We
left the weight column blank so you can record the weight you choose
for each set, to document your progress for future reference.
The smaller muscle groups, such as calves and forearms, respond better
to higher repetitions (between 12-20) with less weight.
Notice that for all but one abdominal exercise (Twisted crunches) we
recommend continuing until you reach muscle-fatigue. There are several
reasons for this: 1) Like forearms and calves, your abdominals also
respond better to higher repetitions. 2) There is no way to increase
the resistance (weight) as you become stronger. 3) It is common to
find some "experts" recommending sets of 25 reps. However,
25 reps for one women may well be totally different (too
difficult/easy) for another women. So it is much better to do each set
to fatigue--that is, as many reps as you can do using good,
slow/controlled form.
The recommended rest time between sets for the Women program is 45-90
seconds. When resting between sets, you should get a drink of water,
record the weight you used for that set and/or stretch the muscle
group you are in the process of training. We strongly recommend
reading our
Flexibility
Training component and print out the list of stretches so you know
what stretches to do between sets of each muscle group.
As the weeks go on and you become more comfortable with each exercise
and the principles of weightlifting, your Women Fitness Strength
Training program will gradually increase in intensity. The number of
sets for most exercises will gradually increase, and the number of
exercises suggested for most muscle groups will also increase. In
addition, the use of less reps and heavier weight will also be
included. Notice that no two Women Fitness workouts are the same. We
continually vary the method of doing each exercise (Bb, Db, cable,
machine), as well as the order the exercises are performed, and the
number of sets and reps for each exercise. This is very important in
preventing both boredom and the frustration of plateaus.
Eventually this program introduces several advanced training
techniques that are designed to increase the intensity and produce new
levels of results.
The Women Fitness Strength Training program keeps your muscles
"guessing" and shocks them into achieving new levels of
results.
Good luck and enjoy yourself and the results you will soon achieve.
WF
members have access to download the printable version of the twelve
weeks Advanced strength training program (3,5 Days/Week). Click at the button provided
below to download the Advanced Strength Training Program.
Become a Member Now
(15 KB zip format) |
To download WinZip
click
here
Advanced Fitness Phase : 3,5 Days/Week | |||||
FREE SAMPLE |
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Week 1 | |||||
FOR MEMBERS ONLY |
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Week 2 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 6 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 10 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 3 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 7 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 11 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 4 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 8 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 12 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 5 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 9 |
Workout
1 Workout 2 Workout 3 |
Week 1, Workout 1 | ||||||||
MUSCLE GROUP | EX.# | EXERCISE NAME | SET 1 | SET 2 | SET 3 | |||
REPS | LBS | REPS | LBS | REPS | LBS | |||
CHEST |
S30 |
Incline Bench Press (Db) | 15 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
S31 |
Bench Press (Bb) | 12 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
|
S53 |
Dips | 12 |
|
12 |
|
12 |
|
|
* S33 |
Flys (Db) | 15 |
|
12 |
|
|
|
|
TRICEPS |
S22 |
One arm Dumbbell Triceps Extension. | 15 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
S69 |
Lying Triceps Extension (Bb) | 12 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
|
* S68 |
Triceps Push Down | 10 |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
ABDOMINALS |
S72 |
Leg Pull Prone | 12/8 |
|
10/6 |
|
10/6 |
|
* S37 |
Twisted Crunches | 15 |
|
15 |
|
15 |
|
|
*S39 |
Seated leg lifts | Fatigue | Fatigue |
|
|
Week 1, Workout 2 | ||||||||
MUSCLE GROUP | EX.# | EXERCISE NAME | SET 1 | SET 2 | SET 3 | |||
REPS | LBS | REPS | LBS | REPS | LBS | |||
LEGS |
S1 |
Squats | 15 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
S4 |
Lunges (Db) | 12 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
|
S43 |
Lying Leg Curl | 12 |
|
10 |
|
8 |
|
|
S47 |
Leg Extension | 10 |
|
8 |
|
8 |
|
|
S8 |
Standing Calf raises (Db) | 15 |
|
15 |
|
10 |
|
|
*S48 |
Seated Calf Raises | 15 |
|
15 |
|
10 |
|
|
BICEPS |
S25 |
Bicep curls (Db) | 15 |
|
12 |
|
12 |
|
S26 |
Preacher Curl (Db) | 12 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
|
*S51 |
Hammer Curls | 10 |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
FOREARMS |
*S27 |
Dumbbell wrist curls | 15 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
ABDOMINALS |
*S73 |
The Roll-Up | Fatigue | Fatigue | Fatigue | |||
*S74 |
Hanging Leg Lifts | Fatigue | Fatigue |
|
|
Week 1, Workout 3 | ||||||||
MUSCLE GROUP | EX.# | EXERCISE NAME | SET 1 | SET 2 | SET 3 | |||
REPS | LBS | REPS | LBS | REPS | LBS | |||
BACK |
S14 |
Front lat machine pulldown | 12 |
|
12 |
|
10 |
|
S54 |
Machine Rows | 10 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
|
S60 |
Seated Cable Row | 12 |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
* S15 |
Back extension lying on stomach | 15 |
|
12 |
|
|
|
|
SHOULDERS AND TRAPEZIUS |
S17 |
Shoulder Press (Db) |
12 |
|
10 |
|
10 |
|
* S62 |
Upright Row (Cable) | 10 |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
S19 |
Lateral Raise (Db) | 10 |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
S64 |
Bent-Over Lateral Raises (Db) | 10 |
|
10 |
|
|
|
|
* S21 |
Dumbbell Shrugs | 15 |
|
15 |
|
|
|
|
ABDOMINALS |
S39 |
Seated leg lifts | Fatigue | Fatigue | Fatigue | |||
S71 |
Rolling Back | Fatigue | Fatigue |
|
|
|||
*S36 |
Crunches | Fatigue |
|
|
|
|