Northern Beaches Mums Group
Northern Beaches Mums Group

5 exercises that are NOT awesome for the female body

Whilst we support equality in every single way we can’t fight science in how the female and male bodies are simply built differently. Whilst women can absolutely train as hard as men can in whichever workouts they wish, we do need to keep in mind that results may differ based on our natural body shapes.

Working out in favour of our body shapes can be easily done with some simple tricks and replacements – here are 5 exercises, founder of ZADI Adala Bolto would limit, and what she suggests to replace them with:

Sit-Ups Vs Planks

Whilst sit-ups are a wonderful workout to engage your core and build your abdominal strength they can tend to isolate just the one area of engagement that may not be the most effective workout. Instead, try swapping a sit up for a plank this way your entire stomach and hips are extended working the entire torso.

Isolated Leg Exercises

Ensuring women work out proportionally to their body shapes might mean that we need to sometimes skip isolated leg exercises. These in particular can increase muscle in your legs that may not be in proportion with the rest of your body. Instead, try lunges which will work out the entire body, practice balance and are a key workout for lean legs.

Superwoman

Although this is a great way to stretch and engage some muscle groups, many people perform this particular movement incorrectly which can actually do more damage than good. Additionally, too many repetitions of superwoman can cause overextension of the lower back which you won’t appreciate in the short or long run! Instead, try a pelvic tilt or glute bridge to strengthen your lower back.

Bicep curls using lightweights

Some women may think that if they ditch the heavyweights and opt for more reps using lighter weights that their workout will be more effective however realistically too many repeated reps of any exercise can increase your risk of injury. Instead of using light weights excessively in a bicep curl, swap between heavier weights and slower motions – this will be your trick to building more muscle!

Single leg squats

Isolating one leg in squat exercises, especially when weights are involved, may end up exhausting your quad more due to the difficulty of balance. Instead, try donkey kicks to engage your upper legs and glutes – ultimately this will give you a more effective workout targeting two muscle groups rather than just the one!