Exercises For Women by Jane Thurnell-Read

Many women want to get fit but are a bit nervous of exercise. They may feel it comes more naturally to men or are afraid of looking fat or silly or both!

I didn’t start exercising consistently till I was in my 40’s, so I know all about feeling I was looking silly. Now almost 20 years later I am even more keen on exercise than I was then. One of my great regrets in life is that I didn't start exercising sooner.

So, what sort of exercise is suitable for women?

Most types are. You may need to use lighter weights, but remember it is generally agreed that women have more stamina than men and older people have great endurance even if they don’t have speed.

Special considerations for women and exercise:

Exercising Safe

ly am a keen cyclist and go out a lot on my bike on my own. Often people ask me if I feel safe. In general I do. The main problem is car drivers, particularly young car drivers who like to shout out of the car window and make me jump.  I have taken to waving to them – I feel they are going to feel rather foolish having a 60+ year old lady in tight Lyra waving to them and might think twice before doing it again. I always ride defensively – making sure I make eye contact with drivers at roundabouts, riding wide on narrow roads so drivers aren’t tempted to squeeze past me.

There is also the problem of being attacked, so choosing sensible routes whether you are riding a bike or running is the obvious thing to do. Also let people know where you’re going and approximately how long you intend to be.

Some women also worry about being attacked by dogs. You can get special Dazers that will deter dogs by omitting a sound they don't like.

Intimidated By Men Exercising

Some women feel intimidated exercising with men. If you’re one of these women, check out your local leisure or fitness centres to see what classes they have. In most classes men are in a minority and will be too busy keeping up to spend time ogling or intimidating you.  Try classes such as:

• Spin cycling – cycling on stationery bikes to upbeat loud music.  I love it – much as I like cycling outside, I also like spin classes.  It offers variety for me and gets me motivated when I don’t feel like doing anything. All abilities can do the same class – the fitter you are the harder the resistance you set on your bike, so don’t worry if you’re a complete beginner. A great aerobic exercise session. Surprisingly perhaps, I think this is particularly good if you are a bit self-conscious about your body because of your size. Spinning allows you to sit down, so your wobbly bits don't wobble as you work. You'd probably also want to sit down for the whole session, not do the hill climbs and other out of the saddle activities for your first few sessions. Most instructors are really sympathetic and encouraging for complete beginners. If you're in a room with mirrors, you might want to choose a bike so that your back is to the mirror (something you won't be able to do for most other types of classes).

• Body Combat/ Boxercise – a surprising number of women love these classes and find it helps remove frustration and anger, as well as being fun and another great aerobic workout.

• Body Pump – a class designed to burn fat and tone muscles using weights.

• Circuits – I wouldn’t start with this type of class, as it may be the hardest one to do.  Circuits involves you performing a different  exercises (weights, with a stability ball, skipping, running, press ups, etc.) at each of a series of stations.  Each person completes a station on their own and then everyone moves on to the next station.  Sometimes the instructor will add press ups or running or crunches in between each station.  This is actually one of my favourite classes as it’s fast and furious – at the end I feel exhausted, but 10 minutes later I’m feeling fantastic.

• Abs Attack – a good class if you want to flatten your stomach, but do remember that doing this class alone will not get rid of a podgy tummy.  If you have a fat stomach, you may have amazing abs but they won’t show. So do some aerobic classes and all round fitness classes as well.

• Water Aerobics – you don’t need to be able to swim, but don’t sign up for this one if you’re terrified of water. This is a great class if you have joint problems as the water helps protect them. If you’re really nervous of exercise, this could be a good starter class.

Check out with the centre what you need to wear and take with you : a towel (to wipe off that sweat), water to drink and shorts or leggings that you can move in are usually the recommendations.

Big Muscles In Women

Speaking to gym instructors they say this is a common worry of women.  For most women this is nothing to worry about at all – developing big muscles takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Lifting a few weights two or three times a week will tone the body and make you look and feel so much better. It won’t turn you into a muscle bound figure of fun. In fact research shows that working out with challenging weights gives a boost to the metabolism that continues long after you leave the gym and unless you consume a lot of extra calories you won't bulk up. (This benefit applies to men too.)

Getting Sweaty

I can’t say you won’t, because if you include aerobic exercise in your schedule (as you should), you will get hot and sweaty. If you run, bike, do some classes, use a cross trainer you’ll be getting sweaty. If you’re not , it probably means you are not trying hard enough.

In practice worrying about getting sweaty is much less of a problem when you are surrounded by other people who are also sweaty. Try buying proper exercise clothes too. Cotton surprisingly isn't not the best thing to wear as it retains the sweat and becomes uncomfortable. Choose dark colours too - they're slimming and less likely to show sweat.

Menstrual Problems

There are well-publicised cases of women’s periods stopping as a result of exercise, but almost all of these women are top athletes who exercise far more than you are ever likely to. Research does suggest that moderate exercise reduces menstrual problems – cramps, PMS, etc.  Of course, you may feel you want to exercise less during your periods, but don’t let it stop you exercising altogether.

The health benefits for women of exercise are immense – good feelings, a better body, better self-esteem, reduced risk of some cancers and osteoporosis, etc. etc. – this means that women should not hesitate to exercise. So get going, what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone now or surf to find your nearest fitness centre. I am almost 100% certain you won't regret it.

Copyright 2010 Jane Thurnell-Read

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