Beginner-Friendly Gym Workouts for Females
One of the hardest parts about joining a gym can be the intimidation factor if you are just starting out. I see this often with my personal training clients, or from potential clients who are just not ready to commit. It’s important for you to feel comfortable when you start so that you remain consistent; I have even had clients who we started training with in a more private setting until they were ready to join our gym or a group session.
However, I do want to encourage you and say if you are in a similar boat, the gym is really a place for everyone. Here at Body Renew Alaska in particular, our goal is to be a welcoming place for all fitness levels while also pushing our clients to see results. I feel it’s a happy balance of a welcoming environment that also promotes serious growth.
For women too, there are particular nuances that I find are especially important. Your comfort, safety, age and level of fitness all need to be prioritized. If a gym isn't doing that, then that’s not the place for you.
That being said, there are certain exercises that I feel can help boost confidence and are fairly easy to master, giving you a good foundation that allows you to see progress and increase your confidence at the gym. I will run through a few of those here, giving you a list of resources to reference as you step into the gym for your warmup, lower body, and upper body workouts.
Don’t worry, you’re not in this alone. Gyms like ours are full of helpful staff members to guide you to the right equipment should you have any questions (myself included).
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
One thing I emphasize with all of my clients, and every good personal trainer should, is to keep your form as the number one priority. You should be able to maintain proper form without feeling pain (other than the discomfort of working your muscles). If you can’t, then it’s time to focus on a smaller weight or a different exercise until you can work your way up.
Next, outline how many times you will be attending the gym a week. If it’s three days or less, try to integrate some total body workouts and a mixture of upper body, lower body and cardio. If it’s four or more, you can break up your upper body and lower body days. This will help you plan out your workouts ahead of time and produce a better workout session. Write it out ahead of time and bring a notepad with you so you can reference it during your session.
I will be focusing on free weight (non-machine) exercises and the machines we have here at Body Renew. I like to take a balanced approach to both. Machines are great as they let you access certain exercises that might be off limits otherwise, while free weights will really help target your core strength, which should be initiated throughout your workout.
Let’s dive into a few beginner-friendly, female exercises to get you started and happy in the gym. Throughout this blog too, I will be sharing some videos I found that will give you a visual to copy, so make sure to check those out.
Start With Your Warmup
Every workout needs a proper warmup to prevent injury. First, when you arrive, head to a matted area and take a foam roller to your upper back, and then depending on what you’re working out that day, your upper back and lower body. This acts as a massage somewhat and releases tension in your muscle tissues, loosening you up for a proper workout. Here’s a video that shows exactly what to do when foam rolling.
Next, start activating your main muscle groups that you will be engaging for your workout that day. If it’s lower body, you can start with some gentle good mornings, some high knees, and some low box jumps (or jumping jacks if that’s too intimidating to start). If it’s upper body, try grabbing a band and doing some pull-aparts, over-and-backs or some pull downs. Here’s another video showing what I mean when it comes to some banded workouts.
Lower Body Workouts
Generally your lower body days are going to be a bit more strenuous. Generally as well, women tend to have much stronger lower bodies than upper body strength. Make sure you keep your workouts balanced and don’t focus all of your sessions on the lower body, but throughout your body for even strength. Here are some exercises for your lower body that are relatively easy and effective when done correctly:
Smith Machine Exercises
The Smith Machine is like an assisted squat rack; it helps you balance the weight while performing squats and other lower-body exercises so you can focus on your form and maximize effort. Start with some squats here; focus on warming up without weight at first, keeping your knees in line with your toes and squatting low enough until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or as low as you comfortably can without your lower back rounding. You can also do some single leg squats, weighted step ups, and other variations, but squats will be the easiest and foundational. Here’s a video showing you how to do squats with a Smith Machine.
Leg Curl Machine
This one is great to really target your hamstrings (the largest muscle on the back of your upper legs). It’s fairly simple, just make sure you adjust so you are seated comfortably and the padded leg-curl bar sits just above your ankles. Adjust the bar that goes over your legs to be snug but not too tight to prevent your knees from going up as you curl your legs in. Then, adjust your weight to something comfortable that is heavy enough to require some challenge, curl your legs down slowly and controlled, then slowly release your legs back to starting. Here is an example of how to use the leg curl machine properly.
Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs) with Dumbbells
I love these for new gym members or people just starting out their fitness journey because they do a great job of engaging your major leg muscles without the strain of a heavy barbell. Start with two five-pound dumbbells (or smaller) in each hand. While standing, slowly bend at the hips forward; the motion should be like your bottom is pointing back to the wall behind. Try not to bend your knees and keep the dumbbells close to your lower legs. When you can’t bend anymore, slowly return upright without bending your back. Here is an example video for RDLs below:
Kettlebell Goblet Squats
This one may be a little more challenging but it is much easier than free weight squats with a barbell in my opinion and helps you engage your core muscles while strengthening your balance. Start with a lighter kettlebell weight and work your way up. Hold it up to your chest (follow along to this video here) and then squat down as you did for the smith machine squat. Keep your chest elevated and don’t let it bend forward.
For all of these exercises, try to hit a rhythm of 10 reps and 3 sets; so, ten continuous reps, a short rest, and repeat for a total of three sets. That will be your template for all of these workouts. You can slowly start increasing reps, sets and decreasing rest time to elevate the intensity over time.
Upper Body Workouts
Now let’s move on to your upper body; remember to prioritize this, even though it does tend to be much more difficult for women than lower body. Start with smaller weights and work your way up; don’t get discouraged, it’s all about progress!
Cable Curls
Cable curls are some of my favorites for biceps; using our cable curl machine, they really target those arm muscles and balance the weight there a bit better than traditional dumbbell curls (which are still fine, too). Move the pulley down to the bottom position and add a rope attachment or EZ-curl bar (which is a little easier on your wrists than a straight bar). Adjust your weight and slowly curl up, keeping your elbows by your side, and then slowly release down. Here’s a video using a cable curl machine for you to watch and follow along too.
Assisted Pull Up Machine
Pull ups are an amazing upper back and arm workout but very difficult for women to work up to; that’s why I like starting new gym goers on our assisted pull up machine and then slowly increase the intensity by lowering the weight assistance. Try a few variations of over and underhand and aim for 3-5 in a row per set. The more weight you add to this one, the easier it gets. Keep your core engaged to stabilize your body and pull your chin up over the bar. Here’s a video that shows proper form when using an assisted pull up machine.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
This one does not involve a machine but just a set of dumbbells. You can do these standing or seated. Grab a pair you are comfortable with weight-wise and move them up to each shoulder. Then press and extend your arms so they are almost straight over your head, fingers facing forward, then bend your elbows down to your sides again. Keep your elbows slightly in front of you to prevent strain. You can watch this video here to show you more examples of what I am describing; I really like this one too as it shows common form mistakes and how to correct those.
Dumbbell Rows
The last exercise I will recommend here in my beginner-friendly workout regimen for females is a nice and easy dumbbell row. You will complete these one at a time for both sides. Start with your weaker arm to help preserve your energy. Keeping your back flat and with a dumbbell in one hand, lean your other hand on a bench along with balancing the same knee on the bench, with your dumbbell arm hanging. Then, slowly pull your arm back keeping your elbow bent until your elbow is just past your torso and then slowly return to resting. Try not to shrug your shoulders, using this video as your guide.
With that, we have around 8 exercises for you to incorporate into your beginner-friendly routine. There are more to try here that I didn’t mention. Don’t worry about doing too many different ones; get creative and add some in over time, but start with what’s foundational and effective and focus on small progress over time. I would track your weights and reps so you can monitor and move up as you improve.
Cooldown and Stretches
Lastly, do not forget to cool down. I see trainers all too often remove these from the workout but I think that’s a big mistake; your muscles just worked very hard and they need a proper rest and cool down.
Start by walking on a treadmill with a slight incline (very slight) at a nice walking pace for about 5 minutes. This helps to remove some of that lactic acid build up.
Then, here are a few stretches you can incorporate. I have a mix of upper and lower body here, but these are just a few you can try (there is a link to an example video below one each of the stretch titles):
Cobra Stretch: Start by lying flat on the ground with your palms placed beneath your shoulders. Then, press your upper body up, keeping your hips on the ground, arms straight. This stretch is great for relieving some lower back tension.
Standing Straight-Arm Chest Stretch: With your arm straight, hold onto a vertical pole, hinge your hips slightly back, and then turn your upper body away from the pole/arm you are stretching. This one is great for stretching out your shoulder and inner arm muscles.
Seated Spinal Twist: This is another great lower back stretch that goes all the way up through your spine. I prefer to do this seated; with both legs out in front of you on the ground, bend one knee up and cross over your other leg. Then bend your upper body away from that knee, holding it with the opposite arm for support.
Standing Forward Fold: Standing, bend forward keeping your knees straight to touch your toes, or as far down as possible. You can also go from this right into a cobra stretch.
Don’t Be Intimidated; Just Start!
The gym, and your workouts, like anything are all about progress. Don’t expect it to be perfect at first. There is always something to build on and do better, myself included! But don’t let that keep you from starting; work these exercises into your regimen and in time, you will begin to see results with consistent efforts.
If you are in Anchorage and are looking for a beginner-friendly gym to help you get started, you can try us out with a special offer and no dues for your first 28 days! Schedule a time to come and tour the gym; one of our team members will be waiting and willing to help you achieve your fitness goals.
About The Author
Paul Norris is a results-driven personal trainer at Body Renew Alaska passionate about helping clients reach their fitness goals; and you'll find him gaming or on the ice hockey rink when he's off the clock. Learn more about Paul and his experience.
