Friday, March 14, 2008

Singapore Fitness Coach Talk: Training for Singapore Women

Women are special. They are different, they think and act differently from men and they are important. If Singapore did not have women, no doubt our country would be a testosterone fueled mess.

But as a fitness coach in Singapore providing fitness and personal training services to both men and women, I'll tell it to you straight.

There are differences when it comes to how women and men should approach fitness and exercise. Women:
  • Have less muscle mass (especially in the upper body)
  • Are more suited to endurance activity (which explains all the "cardio only" women, we tend to do what we like to do and are good at)
  • Have different hormonal levels (which is why it's close to impossible for a woman on a good nutrition and training plan to get "HUGE")
  • Are usually motivated differently (which is where the "art" of coaching meets the "science" of exercise)

However some things cannot change.
  • Women's muscles are the same as men's, they respond to stress the same way (but not in the same magnitude),
  • Women's muscles are as strong as men's (per unit volume/area),
  • Muscles look nice on both men and women (in a figure skater, athletic kind of way)

This means that all of the fundamentals movements and all of the principles of exercise are the same for both men and women.

My lady clients all do total body movements and challenging training (relative to their fitness level of coruse). They also eat similar awesome, nutritious foods, and they all try to improve their performance in training each and every session.

Sticking to these basics for both men and women allows both genders to get consistent, measurable, and yes, impressive results.
Yes women should use chalk to lift safely (chalk absorbs sweat so you don't lose your grip easily) thats why we use it at our gym.
Un-Supported Single Leg training benefits ladies too thats why we do it. As we improve balance and function, good looks just follow along!

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