Men probably invented them, but that doesn’t mean women shouldn’t do them too. I’m talking about 5 specific exercises that are in almost every man’s exercise routine – and should be in woman’s workout plan too.
1. Squats. Squats not only create beautiful strong legs, but they strengthen the low back as well. You can squat with no weight or hold a broomstick across your shoulders for balance. Once you’ve mastered the squat with no weight, you can do it with dumbbells and, eventually, a barbell. Squats do wonders for the butt, as well as prevent back injury when lifting heavy objects.
2. Push-Ups. Almost every guy has done a push-up at least once in his life. But some women never even try them. Push ups are a woman’s best friend. They strengthen and lift the chest, they make arms sleeveless worthy, and they tighten the core like no other exercise or machine – all in one exercise.
3. Tricep Dips. Dips are in almost every guy’s workout routine, but are also another one rarely done by women. While guys do dips on a dip rack, using their entire bodyweight as resistance, women can do them too with a little help. The idea is to let your body dip down and press back up using your triceps, but most women don’t have the strength to lift their entire bodyweight. So, by placing your feet on the ground in front of you, or up on a bench, dips can be done by almost anyone. Since the tricep area is the part of the arm that dangles down and can look flabby when it’s not tone – this is one exercise you don’t want to miss!
4. Sit-Ups. Many people haven’t done traditional sit-ups since their presidential test in grade school. If you’re like me, you probably remember someone holding your feet while you did as many sit-ups as you could do in a certain set time. Over the years, crunches became all the rage when isolating muscle groups became popular with bodybuilding. Although crunches are great, they don’t replace sit-ups. Besides, sit ups are more functional and simulate our daily activities, like getting out of bed. In order for them to really work your entire core, contrary to the way you probably learned them, don’t use anything to hold your feet down, using your core alone to pull your body up. When done properly, you’ll feel it from the base of your bra line to the top of your hips.
5. Walking Lunges. Women are suckers for gadgets. But most butt-blasting machines and gadgets sold nowadays can’t compete with simple walking lunges. The walking lunge hits the glutes in a way no butt machine can really do. Not only do walking lunges shape up your bottom, but they are amazing for performance. That’s why so many male athletes do them too. Three or four sets of 30 steps will lift, firm, strengthen and shape up any set of buns willing to lunge it out on a regular basis. Add some weight to that and WOW – you’ll feel and see the difference!
