Published on : 02 June 20202 min reading time

The lady or the missus has just started weight training, but has a lot of questions about this sport. Is there an adapted program for women’s weight training? What are the programs to follow for this or that goal? How often and for how long should you train to reach a specific goal? No matter what your objective is, there is a specific training program for each goal.

What is the objective of your training?

Before you start, you must identify your needs. What goal do you want to achieve as a result of your training? If your ultimate goal is to lose weight, a large part of it will be cardio. Weight training sessions come along to strengthen and firm up your muscles. The same is true if you want to lose localized fat (flat stomach, buttocks – thighs). If you want to gain shape and muscle, in order to maintain and firm up your figure, you should mix fitness classes with bodybuilding. For those who want to gain muscle mass or gain weight, a pure women’s bodybuilding programme is recommended.

Types of training exercises to do

The type of session differs according to the objective you wish to achieve. There will be workouts with a focus on strength training such as cardio, bodybuilding, isolation or basic exercises, mostly more or less intense. Strength training or cardio ratio, promotes significant weight loss. It is recommended to mix 70% cardio and 30% strength training (with weight exercises, in order to refine localized areas). To gain mass and weight, 100% bodybuilding should be done, and for body maintenance and firming, 60% ratio and 40% bodybuilding. In a women’s strength training program, apart from cardio, your weight loss training requires light loads with medium intensity.

Training frequency and duration

The average frequency consists of 3 to 5 sessions per week, with a duration of 50mn to 1h30 mn, depending on your objective. For a fitness program, you need at least 4 sessions of 1h30 per week, interspersed with two muscle toning sessions and two cardio sessions; 1 hour for muscle shaping and weight gain; 50mn for a flat stomach; 1h15 for refining your buttocks and thighs and to lose weight.