The Journal of the American Medical Association released a recommendation in 2010 for women of normal weight to exercise 60 minutes a day to avoid gradual weight gain without dieting. The announcement came in response to findings that the average American woman gains 1.5 pounds per year between the ages of 25 and 55. Whatever your motivation for exercising, you can fit plenty into an hour at the gym, giving your full body a workout. Balance weight training with cardio according to your personal fitness goals.
Body Type
Women's Health Magazine prescribes different workouts for women with various body types. For example, if you have a curvaceous hour-glass figure, most likely you need to work on general muscle tone. Women's Health offers a workout that focuses on toning areas such as the thighs and upper arms, alongside plenty of fat-burning cardio. For women with a pear shape, Women's Health recommends upper body strength training to tone the arms and shoulders, as well as all-around cardio. The recommended workout for women with a relatively straight silhouette focuses on adding definition around the glutes and the waist, to create a slightly more curved profile.
Fat Loss
If you're looking to burn fat, FitLink.com recommends 35 minutes of strength training plus 20 to 30 minutes of cardio. Its routine is aimed at beginner to intermediate athletes. Basic moves include pushups, squats, rowing, lunges, calf presses, leg lifts and the deltoid flies, plus work on the hamstrings and triceps. Begin with two sets of 10 repetitions and work up to three sets, if time allows. Finish with jogging, elliptical training or another cardio exercise at your target heart rate.
Weight Training
If you're more concerned about muscle and weight training than burning calories, FitLink.com offers an alternative gym workout that extends its recommended exercises to fill the hour. The workout is applicable to women as well as men. Exercises alternate between upper and lower body moves so you can rest your muscles without wasting time. As a general rule, use a weight level that demands notable effort by the 12th repetition. Start out with five minutes on a stationary bicycle to warm up your muscles. Your routine should include lat pull-downs, squats, chest presses, leg curls, rowing, shoulder presses, back extensions, tricep extensions, bicep curls and calf presses. Do two sets of 12 repetitions for each exercise, but switch to a different muscle group between your first and second sets.
Tone Without Bulk
If you hope to tone your muscles but don't want to bulk up, a common aim among female athletes, MuscleandStrength.com recommends doing one hour of weight training three times a week. You can still practice a separate cardio routine on your days off. The routine is based on rotating your exercises over the three-day cycle. For example, on Monday, you might do tricep extensions, but on Wednesday you do tricep kickbacks. Other exercises include 45-degree leg presses, seated rowing, chest dips, dumbbell flies and seated calf raises. The number of repetitions varies by exercise, ranging from two to three sets of 20 reps, depending on the activity.
References
- "LA Times"; Women Should Exercise an Hour a Day to Maintain Weight, Study Says; Shari Roan; March 2010
- "Women's Health Magazine"; Get your Hourglass Bod in Traffic-stopping Shape; Selene Yeager
- FitLink.com: Full Body Fat Loss Workout for Women
- FitLink.com: Full Body in an Hour
- Muscle and Strength: 3-Day Whole Body Toning Workout
- "Women's Health Magazine"; Best Workouts for Your Body Type; Selene Yeager
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