9 Best exercises for women (with own body weight)

There are a number of strength training exercise options. in this article, we intend to suggest the best exercises for women which they can do with the weight of their own body.

Training your legs is important to get lean and strong leg muscles. Training the legs offers many more benefits, including more strength building throughout the body. Women sometimes find it difficult to train the legs effectively, but there are many exercises that are simple to perform and that yield results.

To get rid of that layer of fat on your stomach, it is important that you burn more calories per day than you take in. In addition, for a toned stomach, it is good that you train the abdominal muscles. Buttocks are a different story because almost all women want a tight butt, but you never use this muscle separately. Yet there are plenty of exercises that contribute to tighter glutes.

1. Air squat

The ‘normal’ squat is one of the best known exercises for women as well as for men to train their legs. It is a compound exercise that uses multiple muscle groups and joints. You can perform the squat in different ways. In the air squat, only body weight is used as resistance.

How to Perform the air squat :

1. Stand with feet about shoulder width apart.
2. Keep the arms crossed in front of the chest or stretch the arms forward.
3. Slowly lower yourself as if you were sitting on a chair that can be pulled away at any moment.
4. Finish at the point where the (tops of) legs are parallel to the floor.
5. Push yourself up by pressing your feet firmly into the floor

2. Lunges

The lunge is generally an exercise for the thighs. That is, your hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes are the muscle groups that are trained the hardest by this exercise. Just like the air squat, this is a compound exercise. In addition to the previously mentioned muscle groups, you also train your calves and abs when you perform lunges. In this way, many important muscle groups are addressed.

How to perform lunges:

1. Place both hands on your sides. If you want to make the exercise harder, hold a pair of dumbbells in your hands or a weighted barbell on your shoulders. Inhale.
2. Take one overly large stride forward, about one and a half times your normal stride length. Remember: the longer the stride, the more you engage your hip in the exercise. Also do not get out too short, because that is much less effective and not really comfortable.
3. Bend the hip and knee of your front leg until the knee of your back leg almost touches the floor. The knee of your front leg is in line with your toes. Your feet are more or less on the same line. Now exhale.
4. Extend your front leg again and return your foot to the starting position.
5. Repeat with the other leg and do the desired number of reps.

3. Single leg deadlift

Chances are you are already familiar with the classic deadlift. A fantastic exercise for strengthening your back, legs, and abs. Do you have a specific muscle group that you want to strengthen or do you want more variety? Then the single leg deadlift is ideal.

This deadlift is ideal for improving your balance and stability. Deadlifting with one leg also ensures strong hip muscles and better mobility. Be careful not to bend your hind leg while lifting.

How to perform single leg deadlift:

1. Make sure you are standing upright on one leg.
2. Slowly bend down, keeping your back straight while simultaneously extending one leg back and up. Make sure that the raised leg remains parallel to the upper body.
3. Breathe well during the exercise
4. Remember to switch legs and return to starting position with each movement and repeat for the desired number of reps.
5. If you want to make the exercise harder, you can also use dumbbells.

4. Step ups

Step exercises ensure slim legs and toned glutes. They also help keep your cardiovascular system working properly. The step-up is one of the simplest exercises to perform. However, this does not affect the effectiveness of your training.

What you simply do is grab a raise and then get on and off it. So if you don’t have a step within reach, you can also do step exercises with the help of a bench. You can also use the stairs if you wish.

Execution of step-ups

1. Grab a step or bench and stand opposite it.
2. Place one foot on the platform, then step up so that you are standing on the platform.
3. Now put your right foot next to it.
4. Step back down with your left foot, followed by your right.
5. Repeat for desired number of reps and switch legs.

5. Plank

The plank is one of the most popular exercises for stronger abs. Plank exercises are stabilizing exercises. The ‘plank’ pose requires the muscles in the lower back, abdomen, buttocks and legs to work to keep the body in balance.

In addition, the muscles in the chest and shoulders help to stabilize the shoulders and trunk. The biceps and triceps work to maintain the curvature in the arms and to prevent forward or backward movement. It is therefore an exercise with which you work almost all muscle groups to perform the exercise correctly.

How to perform plank:

1. Lie on your stomach and place both feet 10 centimeters apart.
2. Place your elbows under your shoulders.
3. Tighten your abs and glutes and raise your hip.
4. Try to keep the body as straight as possible. You have to be ‘leveled’, as it were.
5. Hold this for as many seconds as possible. You can also choose to do sets of x number of seconds followed by short rest periods.

6. Leg raises

Leg raises are a fairly easy, yet effective exercise for training your lower abs. With leg raises you mainly train your abs. It is important that during this exercise you focus as much as possible on your abs and not the legs. In addition to the lower abs, you also train the upper abs, the back and your thighs.

How to perform leg raises

1. Lie on the floor on your back. For more support for the back, you can lie down on a mat. Keep your legs straight and together.
2. Place both arms straight at your side and place your hands flat on the mat.
3. Keep your head straight and keep looking up.
4. Slowly raise your legs off the floor until they are perpendicular up at a 90-degree angle. Then lower your legs to a few inches above the ground. During the upward movement, you inhale and downwards you exhale.
5. Repeat the exercise for the desired number of reps.

7. Bridge

A great exercise for tight buttocks is the Bridge. In addition to the glutes, you also train your abs with this exercise. All you need is a fitness mat. The Bridge is a lesser known exercise but is very effective for the good shape of your buttocks. You can use a resistance band to make the exercise harder.

Ho to perform the bridge

1. Lie on the floor on your back (with a fitness mat if desired). Bend your knees and place both feet flat on the floor.
2. Press your hips up so that your hips are in line with your body. Tighten your abs and glutes during the exercise.
3. Then hold this position for a few seconds. Focus on your abs and glutes as much as possible. You don’t tense your hamstrings, at least as little as possible.
4. Slowly lower your hips back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps. Make sure you also continue to breathe well during the exercise

8. Donkey kicks

Another easy butt workout that is easy to perform is donkey kicks. You can do this exercise almost anywhere. First of all, you don’t need any material at all. Ideal if you still want to work on your glutes while exercising outside or at home.

How to perform donkey kicks:

1. Get on your hands and knees and distribute your weight evenly. Place both hands shoulder-width apart and your knees hip-width apart. Keep the head and back in a neutral position.
2. Lift your right leg until your thigh is horizontal to the floor. Bring the lower leg at a 90-degree angle to your upper leg.
3. Squeeze your buttocks as you raise your leg. Don’t go beyond horizontal to avoid undue strain on your lower back. Keep the abs engaged during the movement.
4. Inhale on the upward phase and exhale as you lower your leg down to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch legs.

9. Mountain climbers

This exercise is a good bodyweight exercise. With mountain climbers, you train your legs, abdomen, back and arms without equipment or weights. Because mountain climbers are an exercise with which you train your whole body, it is a suitable exercise to do explosively, as an interval or as a warm-up. In any case, it makes it a suitable fat burner.

How to perform mountain climbers:

1. Position your hands and feet in a push-up position, so both hands and feet are on the floor.
2. Tighten the abs and glutes. Your back is in a neutral position.
3. Then take turns bringing one leg toward your hands.
4. If you want to speed it up, you can perform the exercise at a higher tempo. As a warm-up, you build it up slowly and for intervals, you can increase the speed to burn more calories.
5. For this exercise, it is best to work on time instead of repetitions.

Summarized above are some exercises which can be ranked amongst the best exercises for women. These along with good control over foods choices can bring amazing results. You may plan a routine around these exercises to reach fitness goals which you have always been dreaming of!!