Gym Workout Routine For Women
I don’t make it to the gym often, but when I do, I make it count. In this article, I’ve included 4 essential gym workout routines for women: 2 full body workout routines, an upper body workout, and a lower body workout. This gym workout routine for women can be done with dumbbells, a barbell, or gym machines.
I’m a full-time working mom of three little kids, so trips to the gym feel like a luxury to me these days. I’m in a season of life where home workouts allow me to be more consistent, but when I do get the chance to train at the gym, I make the most of every single session.
As a certified personal trainer with over a decade of training clients, this is my perfect “formula” for writing a gym training plan for all fitness levels:
- Warm Up: Begin with a thorough full body mobility warm up, spending extra time on any muscle groups we’ll be focusing on that day. A proper warm up should consist of dynamic stretches to increase blood flow to your muscles, light cardio to raise your heart rate, and movements that take your joints through a full range of motion to prepare for your training session.
- Heavy Strength Training: Then, prioritize your heavy “main” lifts. These tend to be compound resistance training exercises (such as squats, bench press, deadlifts, and overhead press) that target multiple muscle groups at once. The goal during your main lifts is to choose weights heavy enough that the last 2-3 reps are difficult to complete while maintaining good form. This is key if your goal is increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat.
- Accessory Movements: Round out your workout with accessory movements. Accessory exercises tend to focus on smaller, more specific muscles and complement your primary (compound) lifts. Popular examples include calf raises, hip thrusts or glute bridges, bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, quad extensions, hamstring curls, and core exercises (such as crunches, planks, leg raises, or Russian twists).
- Cool Down: I like to finish my workout with a full body stretch to slow my heart rate, release tight muscles, and reduce muscle soreness.
You can achieve muscle growth through home workouts, especially if you’re following a dumbbell home workout plan or bodyweight workout plan.
That said, gyms provide heavier weights and more machines, which can be helpful for building lean muscle. If you prefer training at home, I recommend investing in some basic home workout equipment to make your workouts more effective.
4 Gym Workout Routines for Women
The best workouts for women include a combination of push exercises and pull exercises to prevent muscle imbalances or injury. Each of the following gym workout routines for women prioritizes compound lifts to make the workouts as efficient and effective as possible.
Full Body Gym Workout #1:
Perform x 8-10 Reps Per Exercise, Repeat x 4 Sets
Full Body Gym Workout #2:
Perform x 8-10 Reps Per Exercise, Repeat x 4 Sets
Upper Body Gym Workout:
Perform x 8-10 Reps Per Exercise, Repeat x 4 Sets
Lower Body Gym Workout:
Perform x 8-10 Reps Per Exercise, Repeat x 4 Sets
- Back Squat
- Deadlift
- Landmine Lunges or Walking Lunges
- Kettlebell Swings or Hip Thrusts/Glute Bridges
Best Gym Schedule for Women
A good gym schedule for women will focus on resistance training, alternating which muscle groups you train to allow appropriate time for muscle recovery.
If you’re just getting started at the gym, I recommend starting with 2-3 full body workouts per week to build a fitness habit. This allows you to train each muscle group multiple times a week, leading to muscle growth. In this case, your workout schedule would look like this:
Beginner Workout Routine
- Workout 1: Full Body Workout #1
- Workout 2: Full Body Workout #2
As your strength progresses, you may increase to 4-5 workouts a week, adding in split training workouts like upper body workouts or lower body workouts. In this scenario, your week of workouts would look like this:
Advanced Workout Routine
- Workout 1: Full Body Workout #1
- Workout 2: Upper Body Workout
- Workout 3: Full Body Workout #2
- Workout 4: Lower Body Workout
On days when you don’t have a workout programmed, you can take a rest day, do pilates or yoga, do cardio, or take a long walk.
7 Exercises To Add Into Your Gym Routine
1. Back Squat or Barbell Squat
Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and core.
What to Know About This Exercise: The barbell squat, or back squat, is a staple in almost every workout routine for good reason: it works. You can perform this exercise with a barbell across your upper back, holding a dumbbell or a kettlebell at chest height (goblet squat), or using a Smith Machine.
Common Mistakes: Don’t allow your knees to collapse in – instead, focusing on pressing your knees out towards your outer 3 toes.
How To Do A Barbell Back Squat
- Set up the barbell in the squat rack approximately at chest height.
- Place your hands on the bar, gripping the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width distance.
- Step under the bar, place feet shoulder-width apart with knees slightly bent, brace your core, and lift the bar off the rack by standing up. Take a few small steps back.
- Then, keep your core engaged as you bend your knees, pushing your hips back and lowering until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Think about pressing your knees out towards your outer 3 toes.
- On an exhale, press evenly through your heels to drive up, returning to a standing position.
2. Bench Press (Dumbbell or Barbell)
Targets: Chest (pectoral muscles), shoulders (deltoids) and triceps.
What to Know About This Exercise: You can do chest presses with a barbell or set of dumbbells. You also can perform chest presses from your back on the floor if you don’t have a bench available.
Common Mistakes: Try tucking your elbows in slightly (about a 45 degree angle) rather than straight out (90-degree angle) to protect your shoulder joint. If you look at your body from above, your elbows should form an “A” shape, not a “T” shape as you lower your weights.
How To Do A Bench Press
- Lie on a flat bench with your feet firmly planted on the ground. Position yourself so your eyes are under the racked barbell. The barbell should be racked at a height slightly below the length of your arms.
- Grip the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width (hands should be evenly spaced, palms facing out away from your body).
- Roll your shoulders back and down to engage your lats (you may find a slight arch through your back). Brace your core and lift the bar off the rack by straightening your arms. Move the bar over your chest (in line with the middle of your chest).
- Inhale as you slowly lower the bar to your mid-chest, elbows at about a 45-degree angle to your body (not flared out completely).
- Exhale as you drive through your chest and triceps to push the bar back up to the starting position, fully extending your arms at the top of the movement.
3. Deadlift
Targets: Legs, glutes, hamstrings, hips, lower back and core.
What to Know About This Exercise: Deadlifts can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells, or a kettlebell.
Common Mistakes: If you feel pain in your lower back during deadlifts, think about “squeezing oranges in your armpits” to activate your lats, which protect the lower back.
How To Do A Deadlift
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes slightly turned out, with the bar over the middle of your feet.
- Hinge at your hips and bend your knees to grab the bar just outside your legs. I like to use a mix grip (one hand over the bar, one hand under the bar).
- Brace your core, pull your shoulder blades back and down, and find a neutral spine (flat back).
- On an exhale, drive through your heels to straighten your legs, keeping the bar close to your body as you stand tall.
- With control, hinge at your hips then slightly bend your knees as you lower the bar back to the ground, returning to the starting position.
4. Pull Ups
Targets: Latissimus dorsi (lats), biceps, rhomboids, trapezius (traps), deltoids (shoulders), forearms and core.
What to Know About This Exercise: Pull ups are a challenging exercise. If you can’t do unassisted pull ups, I recommend trying assisted pull ups or using an assisted pull up machine.
Common Mistakes: Instead of thinking “chin over bar,” think “elbows to hips.” This encourages proper muscle engagement and prevents excess straining or swinging.
How To Do A Pull Up
- Reach up and grip the pull-up bar with your palms facing away from your body (overhand grip), hands slightly wider than shoulder-width distance apart.
- Hang from the bar: Allow your body to hang freely with your arms fully extended.
- Perform the pull up: Initiate the pull up by squeezing your shoulder blades together and pulling your chest towards the bar. Keep your elbows pointed downward throughout the movement.
- Complete the pull up: Continue to pull your body, pulling your chest up until your chin is above the bar, or as high as you can comfortably go. Keep your core engaged and your body straight throughout the movement.
- Lower yourself down: Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position, extending your arms fully to return to the starting position.
5. Bent Over Back Row
Targets: Latissimus dorsi (or lats – the largest back muscle known for its large, flat “V” shape).
What to Know About This Exercise: Bent over rows can be performed with a barbell, set of dumbbells, or single weight. Alternatively, you can use a lat pull down machine.
Common Mistakes: Avoid rounding through the lower back, which can put excessive strain on your spine. Instead, focus on keeping a strong, engaged core and flat back.
How To Do A Single Arm Bent Over Back Row
- Stand to the right of a box or bench. Place your closest (left) knee and palm of your left hand on the bench, keeping a slight bend in your standing right leg. Hinge forward at the hips until your body is in a straight line, neck in line with your spine, flat back, and belly button pulled back towards your spine.
- Grip a dumbbell in your right hand, palm facing in towards your opposite hand (neutral grip).
- With control, squeeze your shoulder blades together as you “row” the dumbbell back towards your right hip. Stop when your right elbow is in line with your right hip.
- Slowly and with control, lower the dumbbell, returning to the starting position.
- Perform all 8-10 reps on the right side, then repeat on the left side.
6. Landmine Lunges
Targets: Quads, glutes (gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus), hamstrings, hamstrings, calves and core.
What to Know About This Exercise: The landmine attachment is a gym accessory that holds a barbell in place while allowing the other end to move freely. Landmine lunges increase core engagement and allow for heavier loading with better control than traditional weighted lunges. If you don’t have a landmine attachment available at your squat rack, you can perform lunges with dumbbells, kettlebells, a smith machine or a barbell.
Common Mistakes: Don’t let your front knee cave in – focus on keeping your knee aligned with your toes.
How To Do A Landmine Curtsy Lunge
- Secure one end of the barbell in a landmine attachment (these are often found connected to a squat rack or power rack).
- Load a plate onto the opposite end of the barbell (or perform with just the barbell if you’re a beginner).
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and parallel to the bar at the free end of the barbell. Hold the bar with both hands at chest level.
- With control, step your right leg back into a curtsy lunge (right knee should meet left calf), right knee lowers towards the mat. Lower your hips until both knees reach a 90-degree angle, front thigh parallel to the floor.
- Press through your front foot and engage your glutes and quads to drive forward, standing tall. Option to drive your right knee up towards your right hip, performing a single leg knee drive on the right.
- Perform all 8-10 reps on the right side, then repeat on the left side.
7. Landmine Shoulder Press
Targets: Shoulders (anterior deltoid and lateral deltoid), triceps, chest and core.
What to Know About This Exercise: The landmine shoulder press involves an angled pressing motion – which can be easier on the shoulders than a traditional overhead press. If you don’t have a landmine accessory available, you can perform overhead presses with a barbell or dumbbell.
Common Mistakes: Avoid powering the movement with your legs or using momentum to drive the weight overhead. Instead, focus on keeping your core engaged and controlling the weight through the entire range of motion.
How To Do A Landmine Shoulder Press
- Secure one end of the barbell in a landmine attachment. Option to load the other end with a plate, or perform with just the barbell if you’re a beginner.
- Stand with feet hip-distance apart, facing the bar head-on. Use both your hands to hold the barbell at chest level, elbows tucked in towards your sides. Engage your core, pulling your belly button towards your spine to protect your lower back.
- On an exhale, press the bar up and slightly forward along its natural arc. Arms should be fully extended at the top of the movement.
- Then, with control, reverse the movement, lowering the end of the barbell down to chest level and returning to the starting position.
FAQs
How can a beginner build muscle?
A beginner can build muscle effectively by focusing on progressive overload and consuming enough protein. Progressive overload is the gradual increase in intensity of a workout over time – either by performing more reps or reaching for heavier weights. This leads to muscle growth as your body adapts – and prevents fitness plateaus.
Is a full-body workout two or three times a week as effective as a split routine five or six days a week?
Full body workouts two to three times a week are extremely effective for beginners looking to build muscle definition and tone. Prioritizing full body workouts allows you to train each muscle group multiple times during the week, leading to muscle growth. As your fitness level advances, split training five or six days a week is a great way to increase the intensity.
What are effective strength training exercises for women at the gym?
The most essential strength training exercises for women at the gym focus on compound movements (working multiple muscle groups). Popular examples include the barbell back squat, Romanian deadlift (RDL), chest press, push ups and pull ups. These exercises work multiple muscles at once – which makes your workout more efficient and more effective.
What is an effective gym workout plan for women to lose weight?
Women who want to lose weight should focus on a gym workout plan that prioritizes weight lifting, while maintaining a calorie deficit. Weight lifting is better for weight loss and fat loss than HIIT (high-intensity interval training) cardio because it helps you burn calories both during and after workouts, preserves muscle, and boosts metabolism.
What are popular workout methods and exercise routines for women?
There are several popular workout methods, or ways of structuring workouts or workout plans, for women. I believe that the best workout method is the one that you are most likely to do! For example, the 6-12-25 method for women structures workouts in tri-sets: first you do 6 reps, then 12 reps, and finally 25 reps. Another popular workout method is the 4-2-1 method, which is a method of structuring your week of workouts to include 4 strength workouts, 2 cardio workouts and 1 rest day.
Finding the Right Fitness Routine for You
Whether you’re a fitness beginner or experienced in the gym, these gym workout routines are an excellent way to build strength, increase muscle definition and lose weight. You can increase the difficulty of each exercise by increasing your weight, or modify it by performing the exercise with just your bodyweight. The most important thing is that you are consistent – any progress is great progress!
Although both home workouts and gym workouts can be extremely effective, there are a few reasons someone might choose to work out at a gym versus doing home workouts:
- Equipment: Gyms provide a variety of weight training machines and different types of workout equipment, such as bosu balls, kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells and stability balls.
- Environment: For people who struggle to stay focused while working out at home, working out in a gym can help create a focused environment with fewer distractions.
- Motivation: Gyms can provide a sense of community or social accountability, especially if you’re signing up for group fitness classes or personal training sessions.
Following a workout plan with guided videos is one of the best ways to deal with gym anxiety if you’re unfamiliar with different exercises and movement patterns. For example, we offer both beginner workout plans and pregnancy workout plans with daily guided videos that you can do at home or in a gym.
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14 comments
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve only ever done at-home workouts, and the thought of going to a gym with all of the foreign equipment and machines was a bit intimidating. Not anymore!
Also, where did you get your squat rack???
That’s great to hear, Laney! I get all of my gym equipment from Torque Fitness! -Lindsey
Perfect timing!! I’ve been eyeing getting some equipment at home and have been trying to figure out what using it would look like. Now I have a place to start!!
Next step, I just need you to make a recorded gym workout with you using the equipment. 🙂 It’s so much easier to do the hard stuff when you’re doing it too. And, your pep talks are legendary!!
Hope this is helpful, Wendy! Keep up the great work! -Lindsey
Lindsay, I just told my husband this morning that I needed you to come up with a heavy weight training plan and HERE IT IS!! I have followed your plans for years and have completed Split Strong so many times I probably have it memorized! I went from 10, 12, 15 lb Dumbbells to 20, 25, and even 40 lbs over the course of a year! The past two summers I have explored heavy lifting in our shed with barbells and benches! I always feel so strong at the end of the summer. Our shred shed is not heated so in the Winter I move my workouts inside which means I go to dumbbells and back to your tried and true workout plans. I am happy to report that after doing your plans for 3.5 months indoors, I was able to brave the temperatures and do a check in lift on the heavy stuff this week. My PRs were maintained!!! Your workouts work and I am so thankful for what you offer to women who want to lift and be STRONG!
Hi Erin! Wow – it’s incredible to hear about your progress and dedication. Way to reach for those heavy weights and continue to challenge yourself! Maintaining your PRs after the winter is a huge accomplishment – congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing this. I hope you find these gym routines helpful as well. Keep up the awesome work! -Lindsey
what is the best way to incorporate this into your home workouts?
Hi Deb – I would just swap one of these gym routines out for a corresponding home workout in your weekly routine. For example, if it’s a full body day in your home workout plan but you want to head to the gym, follow one of the full body workouts in this post as a sub. -Lindsey
I am so excited about this post! I have all of this equipment at home in my basement from my husbands muscle building days. I have used them sporadically but never consistently as dumbbells just feel more natural for me. I have always wanted to use it more, especially the landmine attachment. Your descriptions are well explained, thank you!
One question, how do you gauge how much weight to add to the bars? I have heavy dumbbells (up to 50lbs) that I can effectively use for different exercises, but I know the bar adds weight and it just feels different being in a different position and all. Is it better to start lighter than you would typically use with dumbbells or match the weight you typically use? Or should you do warm up sets with just the bar? You hanks Lindsey, this looks amazing and I will definitely be using this!
That’s so awesome to hear, Kelly! I’m glad this post will be helpful! I’d recommend trying some warm up sets with the bar, and starting with lighter plate weights. A standard barbell weighs around 45 pounds (though that can vary depending on the manufacturer). And working with the bar/plates takes some getting used to so I’d start lighter and work up to heavier weights as you get more comfortable! -Lindsey
Hi!
I just want you to know YOU are an inspiration to me! I found you a little over 3 years ago while searching for realistic, easy to follow (and quite frankly- real, raw and not annoying) on diagnosing/repairing my DR. I have since used your videos all along and even now through my entire pregnancy currently! Just want to say, thank you for your time and dedication.
Thank you for the kind words, Michelle! So appreciate you sharing this. I’m glad that the workouts have been helpful and you’re feeling strong! Keep up the great work! -Lindsey
This is wonderful, thank you!
Glad to hear it, Jenn! Thanks for following along with us! -Lindsey