How do I Choose the Best Workout Routines for Women?

The best workout routines for women combine regular cardiovascular exercise, stretching, and some resistance or strength training. All of these things produce physical fitness. What a specific routine looks like for the individual woman will vary greatly and can depend on present fitness level, personal interest, and fitness goals.

The goal with cardiovascular or aerobic exercise in workout routines for women is to get about 150 minutes of exercise per week, which may be broken down into 30-minute intervals, or smaller intervals. Three 10-minute walks a day, five days a week, could prove just as useful as a 30-minute walk, and might be the best approach for some. The type of exercise done depends on the person’s interests: aerobic dance, swimming, biking, cross training, and walking are all possibilities.

Aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular health and promotes weight loss. If weight loss goals are significant, extra aerobic exercise might need to be planned. Increasing to daily aerobic workouts can help, along with good diet.

As women age, they tend to lose flexibility, and any of the best workout routines for women attempt to restore and increase this. Stretching, which might only last for ten minutes or so, could be undertaken before cardiovascular exercise. There are short warm-up DVDs, or people can commit to a discipline like yoga, where stretching the body is part of the goal. Pilates also stretches important areas like the hips and core muscles. To choose the best stretching workout routines for women, select those that are sensitive to lack of flexibility at the onset, to minimize overstretching or injury.

Another inclusion in workout routines for women is strength or resistance training. Exercises that help with muscle building, which can be slight and not the same as big muscle development, are valuable for all women, and especially those 30 or older. Two or three 20-minute sessions with weights helps retain muscle mass or restore what has been lost.

There are workout routines for women combining two or more of these key areas. Some aerobics classes provide cardiovascular fitness, stretching and strength training. Aquatic aerobics might also provide this, with less stress on the body. These one-stop exercise destinations can be very appealing. Yoga and pilates may provide stretching and resistance training, but this can depend on what exercises are featured within an exercise class or DVD. Combined with cardiovascular work, participating in two or three yoga or pilates classes a week could be an excellent fitness regime.

A few rules exist when determining best workout routines for women. First, any workout plans should take into account present level of fitness; too easy may not accomplish anything and too hard can be discouraging and possibly injurious. Second, people are more likely to keep going if they enjoy what they’re doing. Lastly, any “routine” needs to be tailored to the individual and people should always get doctor clearance before they begin exercising, particularly if they have medical conditions or haven’t exercised in a long time.