Toning Workouts for Women
Women’s Toning Workout Routine
Increasing numbers of women have been thitting me up more and more, telling me they wanted more stuff specific to them, and I realized something… I have yet to write about toning workout programs for women!
I’m very excited to bring you this article because it has immense value in it and really cuts through all the BS around workouts for women.
Here’s how I’d set up toning workouts for women:
We’ll keep the intensity high and the volume rather low. Promoting muscle size requires a blend of intensity (weight on the bar) and volume (total number of reps). By keeping the volume low, we can strengthen and firm up the muscles, with just the perfect amount of muscle growth.
If you were to perform a low-intensity workout (lightweights) with high volume (high total number of reps), you would end up triggering sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. This would lead to an increase of fluid in the muscle cells leading to a fuller, more puffy look.
This is one reason why high rep training isn’t ideal for women. They want firm, toned muscles, not puffy muscles. Therefore, it’s important to focus on heavier weight while keeping the volume low.
We’ll be hitting the legs two days per week to build them up quickly. Both leg workouts will really focus on hitting the butt the hardest. The thighs will become stronger and more firm, while the butt will become perkier.
Monday – Legs & Shoulders
- Goblet Box Squats: 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps (2 mins rest)
- Dumbbell Step ups: 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps per leg (2 mins rest)
- Seated DB Shoulder Press: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps (2 mins rest)
- DB Lateral Raises: 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 min rest)
Wednesday – Chest, Back & Rear Delts
- Incline DB Bench Press: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps (2 mins rest)
- Lat Pull-Downs: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps (2 mins rest)
- Push up Variation: 2-3 sets of 5-10 reps (kneeling, regular or feet elevated variation) (2 mins rest)
- Cable Rows: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps (2 mins rest)
- Rear Delt Flye Machine: 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps (1 min rest)
Friday – Legs & Arms
- Sumo Deadlifts: 2-3 sets of 5-8 reps (2 mins rest)
- Forward Lunges: 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps (2 mins rest)
- Incline DB Curls: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps (1-2 mins rest)
- Cable Rope Push Downs: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps (1-2 mins rest)
Notes on Women’s Toning Workout Routine
Perform 2 warmup sets for exercises 1 and 3 on Monday, 2 warmup sets for exercises 1 and 2 on Wednesday, and 2 warm-up sets for exercises 1, 3 and 4 on Friday.
(Side Note: Here’s a more in-depth guide on how to warm-up)
When you can perform the top end of the rep range on your first set, increase the weight the next workout by the smallest increment (5 lbs).
On your rest days, you can go for a 30-60 minute walk or perform some yoga. The idea is low intensity exercise.
As well, you can exercise your abs on rest days with exercises like lying leg raises and planks.
Let’s transition into some of the reasons why the workout above is perfect for women to achieve lean, tone bodies.
What Does A Woman Really Want?
I know a lot of personal trainers and coaches that like to throw the same workout programs onto their female clients as male clients. Their reasoning is simple: men and women, from a movement standpoint, are fundamentally the same.
(Makes sense, right? We have the same muscles and our muscles respond to the same movements.)
But this approach fails to take into account the specific goals that most women have. You see, the same way I have crafted together workouts for men to create the “Kinobody physique”… well, that’s the approach I take with crafting toning exercises for women.
Just like men, most women want to look amazing. But their idea of “amazing” is a little different. For the most part (and from the women I’ve talked to and worked with), most women want to be slim, fit and toned. They want just enough muscle to look great while still appearing feminine. They want a toned upper body, lightly defined abs, slim and fit looking legs, and a great butt.
Just like men want to look masculine, women want to look feminine. So to suit their unique goals and needs, a program has to be crafted specifically for toning workouts for women.
Now, women and men will have completely different results from following a specific program. This is due mainly to hormonal differences, among other factors.
Men will have a much easier time building strength and muscle, compared to women. This is especially true of the upper body. That said, most women don’t really want to get ‘bigger’. They want to slim down and drop any extra fat, while revealing great muscle tone.
Which brings me to my next point…
What Are The True Facts About “Muscle Tone”?
Every girl wants to be ‘toned’, but what does it mean to be toned? How do you become toned?
You see, most toning workouts for women have largely been sublimated to marketing. Everyone knows women prefer the sound of “increasing muscle tone” over “gaining muscle size”.
And so most women become scared to death of anything that has to do with gaining muscle size. They don’t want to get bigger. They only want to look better, be slimmer and have some nice-looking definition.
But here’s the thing… A toned muscle is primarily the result of two things:
1) Strong, well-developed muscles
2) Low levels of body fat
That is it. So to become really toned, you need to focus on dropping body fat. This comes down to dialling in your nutrition.
In addition, you need to strengthen your muscles. The best way to strengthen and develop your muscles is with proper resistance training. Performing very high reps, endless circuits, hours of cardio, and ‘muscle toning classes’ does not get the job done.
To truly tone a muscle, you must make it stronger. In doing so, you increase the size of the contractual filaments of the muscle. This gives your muscles and more developed and firm appearance.
“Will I Get Too Bulky From Heavy Strength Training?”
Ha, I love this question (and believe me – I get asked it a LOT).
Truth is, you’ll end up looking amazing. The reason some women might look bulky is that they have too much fat. This is the same reason some guys might look bulky.
The reality is… when you lean down to low body fat, you’re going to look very slim. Humans (in general) just don’t have the capacity to hold onto a lot of muscle in a lean state.
The only way you’ll look bulky is if you’re eating a ton and if you have a lot of fat covering the muscle. The only way to have a lot of muscle at a low body fat is by taking a lot of drugs (steroids).
But women that are natural, who focus on proper nutrition and strength training, end up looking amazing. They become fit, with the perfect amount of muscle and tone. Think Jessica Biel – she’s a great example:
Why Proper Strength Training Will Make You Drop More Body Fat
Here is something that I rarely see people talk about:
If a woman is on a cutting plan to drop 15 lbs of fat, she’ll likely have to lose well over 15 pounds of weight to drop 15 pounds of fat.
You see when we diet we think that we’re only dropping fat, but the reality is that we lose a combination of fat and lean body mass. By strength training and taking in sufficient protein, carbs, and fats, we can ensure that most of the weight we drop comes from body fat.
So engaging in a strength training program will improve your body composition substantially. You might lose the same one pound each week. But the difference will be night in day.
If you just do diet and cardio, you’ll end up looking “skinny fat” at your ideal weight.
With proper diet and strength training, you’ll look fit and toned at your ideal weight.
Here’s an example… Let’s say you’re 140 lbs and you want to drop down to 120 lbs. If you just do diet and cardio you might lose about 14 lbs of fat and 6 pounds of muscle. Contrarily if you engage in proper strength training, you might gain a couple of pounds of muscle and lose over 20 pounds of fat.
In both scenarios, you end up at the same weight… But the difference is night and day: firm, fit and toned versus skinny with some stubborn fat.
How To Use Cardio As A Fat Loss Tool
I think women really have to be careful with cardio for a few different reasons. The first of which is that
If a woman performs an hour cardio session, she feels it! At her next meal sitting, she’s going to be noticeably hungrier. For this reason, the hour of cardio is almost purposeless.
You’re burning calories only to eat them back. This causes you to spin your wheels – literally – trying to drop fat but getting nowhere.
This is why it’s of greatest importance to dial in your nutrition, if fat loss is your goal. Your best bet for fat loss exercise is simply to walk more. Walking is enjoyable and seems to have a neutral effect on appetite.
This is great because it means the calories that you do burn will really help support fat loss. Your appetite remains the same while your energy levels increase – helping to encourage a calorie deficit.
Want A Complete Workout Guide For Women?
I am super pumped to announce that I have finished the first-ever women’s Kinobody course! It’s called the Goddess Toning Program! It will teach you the real way to achieve a slim, fit and toned body. The program is available now!!!
*Your results may vary. Testimonials and examples used are exceptional results and are not intended to guarantee, promise, represent and/or assure that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.
Your Kino Question For The Day: How did this article help you with improving your physique? Let me know in the comments below.
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What equipment is needed for the Goddess program? I don’t have access to a gym so I’m wondering if I should choose your bodyweight program instead.
I am fairly short, 4 feet 9 inches. What should be my calories? Do the calorie requirement in GTP apply to me too?
yes they do
[…] Dell’s Program with Greg O’Gallagher […]
Cannot wait to get started on this program! I’ve always been a proponent of lifting (probably b/c I loathe all forms of cardio) but I’m kind of in a rut. My main issue is nutrition and my huge sweet tooth! If I can get that under control I don’t doubt I’ll hit goddess status.
Awesome :D
Make sure to join the goddess toning ‘fb group’. It’s active now! We emphasize how to tackle the nutrition sweet tooth issue in the program.
I notice more use of db over machines. Still somewhat new to strength training so I’m sorta hesitant to go over to the free weight side of my gym where all the guys are. I guess I’m afraid of looking like an idiot. Any thoughts on doing some of these exercises on machines? Sorry if you’ve answered this somewhere else.
You can do machine replacements for some of these exercises but there’s really nothing to fear Lisa. Most people at gyms are too busy doing their own thing to judge someone else. Or they’re already worried about what people are thinking about them. I know it’s intimidating at first, but once you jump in, you’ll realize it’s not big deal :)
And you never know! You going to the free weight area, might make other girls in your gym feel more comfortable about doing so.
Hey Greg – First up BIG THANKS for helping me to drop about 10kgs (so far!!) – Hopefully I can inspire my wife to take a look at this, that being said – any advice on how to help her ease into it? She’s quite physically weak, especially around the core, and a back injury (partially caused by previous attempts at exercise) have made her “timid” when it comes to attempting such things…
Yeah good question. I’d just generally focus on improving nutrition habits, starting with walking and adding in some bodyweight squats, kneeling push ups and planks.
Hey Greg!
I just wanted you to give a piece of advice for that upcoming book: dig deep into Bret Contreras’ work. He isn’t called the Glute Guy for nothing! :)
One of his books: https://s3.amazonaws.com/StrongCurves/Strong_Curves_Final_Sample.pdf
One thing you’ll learn from him is that the best glute exercise is the Hip Thrust, so definetely incorporate them into your program: http://www.t-nation.com/training/bigger-better-glutes
Just trying to help! ;)
I’ve never been a fan of the hip thrust, very awkward to perform from my experience. And I think if you know how to ‘recruit’ your glutes, there’s no need for it.
Hi Greg
26 yr old female from the UK here! My boyfriend follows your programme and looks like Brad Pitt (not joking) – he just got me onto the Road to ripped podcasts which I’ve been listening to a lot and loving after struggling a lot with my weight and binge eating over the years.
Trying to learn to eat ‘intuitively’ after being a chronic dieter (& P90Xer) for a long time but I need to lose weight. I weigh about 180lbs at the moment – my heaviest ever. A healthy weight for me is about 133lbs so I have quite a bit of weight to lose.
Would your programme be suitable for me and will it include specifics on macros setups? I love my food so fasting isn’t a problem as I prefer to eat 2 or 3 larger meals anyway and find I function better (higher energy, more satisfaction etc)
Looking forward to it coming out x
haha definitely not THAT surprised your bf looks like brad pitt!
Yeah, the program, when it’s out, will be really great for you. I cover the specifics and macro set ups and base the plan on a 2-3 meal strategy.
Looking forward to the release! Will there be alternate exercises in the program for home gym workouts or will we need to sub out the exercises on our own?
I can make a home gym adaptation as long as you have a bench and some dumbbells.
Ok, great…I do have those available.
How do you recommend warming up for lunges?
You don’t actually need to warm up for lunges after doing sumo deadlifts. But if you want to, i’d do 3 bodyweight reps per leg. Then rest and go into your first set.
I’m so glad to hear there is an upcoming Goddess program! I’m definitely one of the girls who’s reached out to you asking for one. Just curious why you have goblet box squats versus front or back squats? I can easily back squat 80-100lbs, but it would be nearly impossible for me to hold that weight in a dumbbell or kettlebell. Just curious if this is more of an intro program or something I should just modify for that particular movement.
Goblet box squats are great for beginners new to squatting. The box forces you to sit back and stay on your heels (hitting your butt hard), the dumbbell forces you to keep your chest up. But you can definitely do regular box squats if your form is down solid!
This is so awesome!!! I can’t wait till it comes out Greg :)
Thanks so much Tracey!
Program seems pretty great! I need to switch up anyway… I always lift (4x week min) but I tend to do a bit higher reps, still I try to go heavy but obviously would be heavier with smaller reps so I will adjust that. Muscle builds nicely, I feel that fat don’t drop as fast as I would imagine… I am sitting at 17-19% for awhile…
My “main question” is in regards to building up when you are also a runner so cardio/endurance will be higher…would any adjustment to this program be necessary? I run at least 3x week 10-20 miles depending on the week.
Thanks!
No need to change the program. Strength training is about getting stronger. Running will take care of endurance/stamina.
The best way to strength train for sport is to focus on building strength.
Hey Greg,
My wife is 39 yrs old, weighs 170, her height is 5’5″, and she wants to lose about 30-35 pounds. She has a relatively sedentary job, dental hygienist, and we are very busy with two small kids. What would you suggest she set her calories at per day to lose steadily? Also, with her busy schedule, would two days per week of strength training, alternating between an A and B workout, be ok to increase strength and tone while cutting?
Thanks!
Hey Ed! Yup, two days of strength training is fine. I’d get rid of the arm work and do something like
Workout A
Goblet Squat
Forward Lunges
Incline DB Bench Press
Bent Over DB Rows
Workout B
Sumo Deads
Step ups
Shoulder Press
Lat Pull Down
For calories I’d go to around 11 per pound of goal bodyweight – starting at 150 lbs. So about 1650 cals. If she’s having trouble staying satisfied then maybe go up to 1750.
Hey greg i was wondering cuz aparently this workout is for beginer so in the main coures are you gonna put some advance workout for women who wanna be toned without adding size especialy on the legs ?
Yeah there will be a few routines in the program. But I also have a chapter showcasing how to follow the workouts and adjust things if you don’t want to gain muscle in certain areas.
I think it is important to note that mucle tone is also a product of CNS stimulation, another strangth training benefit! ;)
What do you think about doing those exercises in a strength circuit fashion when the main goal is fat loss and muscle toning?
I talk about that in the women’s course. Just didn’t want to go too deep in an article. But 90+% of muscle tone is body fat and muscle levels. No, don’t do them in a circuit fashion. That won’t improve fat loss, it will just make the workout less effective. Fat loss is about the nutrition.
Hay Greg,
Is it any chance to write an article about crossfit? Why You don’t like it?
What do You think about popular gym “GymJones”?
Interesting article about Crossfiit was written by Dan John
http://danjohn.net/2014/02/trust-me-its-been-done-before-and-better/
Do You agree with him?
This is awesome. Every time I talk about your training with my mom and sister…and why it works for everybody- not “just guys” they leave me with “Well that’s what works for you” type crap. No exceptions-every girl I know that does this type of training looks amazing!
Yup!!! Thanks for sharing this stuff. Keep killing it.
Kinda curious, but why don’t you do RPT for women? (Im a guy lol, im just wondering)
Great question! RPT is the logical progression. But for anyone new to strength training, you’re simply not going to be recruiting a ton of muscle fibers. It’s when you have been training for some time, when you’re more advanced, that you need to taper down the weight.
So in the women’s course, RPT is utilized on the second phase.
Ahh makes sense! Last question, and this is related to your men’s stuff.
I don’t know if you’ve had this problem, but when you start getting stronger on lateral raises it becomes harder to progress because lifting your arm while holding a heavy dumbbell seems to be mechanically impossible. What do you recommend?
Cool!
Yeah I’d recommend changing the variation. Do cable lateral raises or machine lateral raises or one arm lateral raises.