Women’s strength training: the best training plan

More and more women are training with barbells, dumbbells and loaded machines – not only to shape their silhouette, but to build real muscular strength. The old myth that lifting costs a woman her femininity has quietly died. For a gym owner, a personal trainer or a club manager, that shift is now a practical question: which plan do you put in the hands of a new female member, and which equipment does your floor need to support it?

Women’s strength training: the best training plan

The best training plan is simply the one that gets your member to her goal. For a beginner there is no need to set training priorities at all. It is worth training the whole body and progressing with the weight. A full body workout plan works perfectly, and the first changes should only be made once progress stalls.

A plan aimed at building strength should be built mainly on multi-joint exercises:

• Squat
• Deadlift
• Bench press
• Bent-over row with dumbbells
• Overhead press

When you put a strength plan into practice, the rest between sets and the number of repetitions per set both matter. To develop strength, a set of 3 to 5 repetitions is the most effective, but a set of 6 to 8 repetitions will also produce good results.

The 6 to 8 range suits beginners better. Mainly because, at the start of her lifting journey, a member does not yet have adequate stabilisation and control over the load.

Rest at least 90 seconds and up to around 2 minutes between sets. Shorter rests can be used on isolation exercises. Do around 12 repetitions per set on those.

A training plan for women: how do you actually increase strength?

As the plan runs, the weight has to progress. Successive overload of the muscle is the decisive factor, whether the goal is muscle or strength.

To avoid stalling too early, it is not worth training to muscular failure. Leave two repetitions, or at the very least one, in reserve.

Progressing the weight or adding repetitions applies mainly to the multi-joint exercises. On the remaining accessory exercises, concentrate on accumulating training volume with sets of around 12 repetitions.

To build muscle and build strength, a well chosen plan and enough recovery time matter enormously. The plan can be neither too light nor overloaded.

Program more sets for the large muscle groups:

• legs and glutes
• back
• chest muscles

Remember that the smaller muscles are already working in a lot of these exercises. If your member trains on a full body plan, plan at least one rest day between sessions. That is what lets her recover properly before the next one.

Training for women: the best strength exercises

Most women who take up strength training focus on legs and glutes. Biology means women tend to get better results on lower body exercises than on upper body ones.

A common mistake among female beginners is to train only a handful of selected muscle groups. Chest, back, shoulders and arms are very often forgotten.

Exercises for those groups belong in the plan too. Strength training should rest above all on multi-joint movements:

• Squat
• Lunges
• Straight-leg deadlift
• Hip thrust
• Dumbbell press
• Bent-over row with dumbbells

These are the exercises where the member should be chasing progression from one session to the next.

A strength training plan for women

For a beginner, it is worth starting with a full body plan: one whole-body session three times a week. A sample plan could look like this.

Session A

• Squat – 6 to 8 repetitions
• Hip thrust – 6 to 8 repetitions
• Dumbbell press on a flat bench – 6 to 8 repetitions
• Lat pulldown – 8 to 10 repetitions
• Overhead barbell press – 8 to 10 repetitions
• Dumbbell biceps curl – 10 to 12 repetitions
• Abdominal crunch – 15 repetitions

Session B

• Step-ups – 8 to 10 repetitions per leg
• Straight-leg deadlift – 6 to 8 repetitions
• Dumbbell press on an incline bench – 8 to 10 repetitions
• Bent-over row with dumbbells – 6 to 8 repetitions
• Lateral raises with dumbbells – 10 to 12 repetitions
• Triceps pushdown on the high pulley – 10 to 12 repetitions
• Plank – at least 30 seconds

Every exercise is performed for three sets. On the multi-joint exercises, take around 2 minutes of rest between sets. Leaving at least one repetition in reserve is very important.

This plan will certainly help increase strength and muscle mass. Most of the exercises involve the lower body, without leaving out work for the back, chest or shoulders. Your member can train on this sample plan until the first plateau appears.

Equipping the floor for this plan

Read the two sessions again and the equipment list writes itself: a rack for squats and overhead pressing, adjustable benches for flat and incline dumbbell work, a loaded barbell area for deadlifts and hip thrusts, a dumbbell rack with a fine enough increment for progressive overload, and a high and low pulley station for pulldowns and pushdowns.

Two points decide whether the plan survives contact with a busy floor. The first is the load increment: if the smallest jump on a selectorised stack is too big, a beginner cannot progress week by week, which is exactly what the plan asks for. The second is the number of adjustable benches, because sessions A and B both hinge on them at peak hours.

For indoor commercial use, the equipment should conform to EN ISO 20957-1, class S, the classification for professional use. Our professional strength training machines and weight benches are built for that duty cycle. For the pulling movements in both sessions, a station such as the Power Line lat pulldown covers the pulldown work of session A directly.

Frequently asked questions

How many times a week should a beginner train?

Three full body sessions a week, with at least one rest day between them, so that recovery is complete before the next session.

How many repetitions to build strength?

Sets of 3 to 5 repetitions are the most effective for strength. Sets of 6 to 8 also give good results and suit beginners better, because control over the load is still developing.

How long should the rest between sets be?

At least 90 seconds and up to around 2 minutes on the multi-joint exercises. Rests can be shorter on isolation work, which is done for around 12 repetitions.

Should a woman train to failure?

No. Leaving two repetitions in reserve, or at least one, avoids stalling too early and keeps the progression going from session to session.

Do women need to train the upper body as well?

Yes. Focusing only on legs and glutes leaves out chest, back, shoulders and arms, which is the most common mistake among beginners.

Equipping your gym for female members

Light In Fitness has been equipping professional operators since 2013 and manufactures its own structures in its design office in Tours, France. Send us your floor plan, your available area and the number of members you serve at peak hours: we come back with a priced proposal covering the racks, benches, pulley stations and free weights this plan requires.