Women need to strength train to lose fat. That’s surprising. And women can train hard too. That’s surprising to a lot of people too. Here are some great weight loss workouts for women.
Now, just because the 300 workout was created for a men’s movie doesn’t mean we can’t tweak a workout originally created to chisel the bodies of male Greek statues into a workout that will turn the average girl into a fitness goddess.
The original 300 workout is brutal and there are two ways to modify it. First, using the same exercises and lowering the repetitions. And second, keeping the repetitions but reducing the intensity of the exercises.
First let’s do option A, do a workout with almost the same exercises but fewer repetitions. So this becomes a 125 rep workout. It’s tough, and it’s really only for advanced female fitness. One more exercise for beginners is below.
a) Pull-ups: 5 reps (if you can’t do real pull-ups, use the assisted pull-up machine or even pull-ups)
b) Deadlift 25lbs – 30 reps (In the original workouts, they used 135lbs. We’ll drop the weight and use the EZ curl bar instead. Alternatively, you can do dumbbell squats with 15lbs per hand).
c) Pushups: 20 reps (do a mix of regular and kneeling if needed)
d) 12-inch box jumps – 25 reps
e) Windshield wipers – 20 reps (Use the EZ Curl bar again or a broom)
f) 10lb Kettlebell 1-arm Clean n Press – 20 reps total, not per arm
g) Pull-ups – 5 reps (same as above)
A woman with a moderate fitness level might try this 100-rep workout (remember: minimize rest between sets):
5 bodyweight rows
15 bodyweight squats
5 push ups
50 jumping jacks
10 climbers
10 lunges
5 bodyweight rows
Those are some challenging workouts. Work with a trainer to brainstorm other ideas.
Just do this exercise once as a test. You can try every two months or so for comparison, but don’t train like this every day.
And as always, train safely. If you’re unsure about technique, your form, or you’re not comfortable with the workout, skip it!