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Ready to jumpstart your own body transformation? Try this sample weight lifting plan for women workout from Shannon Dey, M.S., founder and CEO of Bombshell Fitness, a competitive training and coaching group for female athletes.
If this expert-grade routine seems intense, that’s because it is. But if you want to sculpt, tone, and firm your entire body—including those pesky trouble spots—this is your ultimate blueprint. Designed for an intermediate athlete, the following plan is inspired by the programs Dey creates for her Figure and Bikini competition clients.
Dey points out that it will take at least three weeks of consistent nutrition and training to get increase the metabolism enough to see results, so it’s very important to practice patience, be consistent, and stay positive.
This week-by-week training plan switches up the workouts you perform to prevent plateauing and help challenge your body to its maximum potential.
MONTH 1
Week 1: Workout 1 + Daily Cardio
Week 2: Workout 2 + Daily Cardio
Week 3: Workout 3 + Daily Cardio
Week 4: Workout 1 + Daily Cardio
MONTH 2
Week 5: Workout 2 + Daily Cardio
Week 6: Workout 3 + Daily Cardio
Week 7: Workout 3 + Daily Cardio
Week 8: Workout 1 + Daily Cardio
MONTH 3
Week 9: Workout 2 + Daily Cardio
Week 10: Workout 3 + Daily Cardio
Week 11: Workout 2 + Daily Cardio
Week 12: Workout 1 + Daily Cardio
As with most fitness plans, prescriptions may need to be tailored to your specific needs and goals. Always consult a physician before beginning any fitness or weight loss program.
CARDIO
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These cardio workouts are intended to be tough. If you can’t complete your entire cardio session in the beginning, don’t get discouraged. Push yourself a bit further each day until you can do the entire session at the pace listed. It may take a few weeks of building endurance to be able to complete the entire session. You know you are working at the right level if you are not able to talk on the phone, or read a book, Dey says.
Monday/Wednesday/Friday Mornings
Warm-up: 5-minute treadmill walk
Treadmill Intervals: Complete the rotation below seven times for a total of 35 minutes. If the speed becomes too easy, increase the rate.
- 1 minute: Incline 5, speed 4.5
- 2 minute: Incline 5, speed 5.0
- 3 minutes: Incline 1, speed 5.5
Track Sprints: Complete six 50-yard sprints with 30-second jogs in between
Tuesday/Thursday Mornings
Warm-up: 5-minute stationary bike or treadmill walk
Bike Intervals: Complete the rotation below six times for a total of 45-50 minutes.
- 1 minute: Level 5, rpm of 110
- 1 minute: Level 7, rpm of 90
- 1 minute: Level 9, rpm of 80
- 2 minutes: Level 11, rpm of 70
- 15 wide high jumps
- 15 pop squats
- 15 switch lunges on each leg
- 20 high knee runs on each leg
WEIGHT TRAINING
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Only do one weight training session per day. Dey recommends breaking up the weight training and cardio sessions for morning and night. However, if you must do your both sessions at the same time, complete the weight training first. All the moves listed here are designed to be performed quickly, but with good form.
Each weight training session should take no more than 45 minutes to an hour.
Most of these sessions include supersets, which means the exercises and their repetitions listed should be performed back-to-back, without rest.
As an example, the following superset of 2 x 15 leg extensions and 2 x 15 leg curls would be performed by completing 15 leg extensions and 15 legs curls back to back, resting, and then performing 15 of both exercises again for a total of two repetitions or “reps.”
WORKOUT SPLIT 1
Monday: Legs
Superset:
- 2 x 15 leg extension
- 2 x 15 leg curl
Superset:
- 4 x 20 wide leg press
- 4 x 20 shoulder-width smith machine squat
Superset:
- 4 x 15 leg extensions
- 4 x 15 narrow stance hack squat
Superset:
- 4 x 15 leg curls
- 4 x 15 stiff legs
Tuesday: Shoulders/Chest/Triceps
Superset:
- 4 x 12 side lateral raise
- 4 x 15 one arm dumbbell shoulder press
- 4 x 15 rear lateral raise
- 5 x 15 incline press
Superset:
- 4 x 15 pushdowns
- 4 x 12 bench dips
Wednesday: Back/Biceps
- 5 x 12 wide-grip pulldowns
Superset:
- 4 x 15 cg cable row
- 4 x 20 hyper extensions
Superset:
- 5 x 15 preacher curls
- 5 x 12 incline dumbbell curls
Thursday: Plyometrics
Superset:
- 2 x 20 leg extensions
- 2 x 20 leg curls
Do the following exercises four times in a circuit, without resting between moves. Rest 1 minute between rounds.
Superset:
- 10 wide high jumps (Tip: Jump as high as possible and hold for 5 seconds in a deep squat after each jump.)
- 15 switch lunges on each leg
- 10 stepup jumps on bench on each leg
- 15 reverse lunges on each leg
- 10 gallop squats on each leg
Friday: Butt/Shoulders/Back
- 4 x 10 shoulder press
- 4 x 10 wide-grip pull downs
Superset:
- 4x 15 each leg butt machine
- 4 x 15 good mornings
- 5 x 10 high bench step ups
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WORKOUT SPLIT 2
Monday: Quads
Superset:
- 4 x 12 leg extensions
- 4x 12 weighted reverse barbell lunge
Superset:
- 4 x 15 dumbbell narrow squats
- 4 x 12 shoulder-width hack squat
Tuesday: Shoulders/Triceps
Superset:
- 4 x 12 side lateral raise
- 4 x 12 seated barbell press
- 4 x 12 high rope pull for rear delts
Superset:
- 4 x 15 pushdowns
- 4 x 15 overhead press
- 4 x 12 bench dips
Wednesday: Back/Biceps
- 6 x 12 wide-grip pulldowns
Superset:
- 4 x 15 cable row
- 4 x 15 one-arm dumbbell row
Superset:
- 5 x 12 incline dumbbell curl
- 5 x 15 seated dumbbell curl
Thursday: Hamstrings
Superset:
- 5 x 15 leg curls
- 5 x 15 weighted step up on bench
Superset:
- 5 x 12 seated leg curl
- 5 x 15 stiff leg
- 5 x 15 sumo dumbbell squat
Rest 30 sec between sets
Friday: Butt/Chest
Superset:
- 4 x 15 incline fly
- 4 x 10 incline press
Superset:
- 4 x 15 butt machine
- 4 x 15 stability ball butt raise
Superset:
- 4 x 15 sumo squats with weight
- 4 x 15 cable butt kick backs
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WORKOUT SPLIT 3
Monday: Quads
Superset:
- 4 x 15 leg extensions
- 4 x 10 narrow dumbbell squats
Superset:
- 4 x 20 shoulder width leg press
- 4 x 15 switch (jump) lunge
- 4 x 15 narrow-stance smith machine squats
Tuesday: Shoulders/Triceps
Superset:
- 4 x 10 barbell shoulder press
- 4 x 10 wide-grip barbell raise over your head
- 4 x 10 rear lateral raise
- 6 x 8 side lateral raise—rest 20 seconds between sets
Superset:
- 3 x 15 rope pushdowns
- 3 x 10 dumbbell nose crushers
- 3 x 15 dumbbell kick backs
Wednesday: Back/Biceps
Superset:
- 4 x 8 wide-grip pull downs
- 4 x 8 close-grip seated cable row
Superset:
- 4 x 12 reverse-grip (palms up) barbell row
- 4 x 12 assisted pull-ups
- 5 x 15 hyperextensions
Superset:
- 4 x 8 preacher curls
- 4 x 12 seated dumbbell curl
- 4 x 15 incline dumbbell curl
Thursday: Hamstrings
Superset:
- 4 x 15 leg curls
- 4 x 12 leg press
Superset:
- 5 x 12 seated leg curls
- 5 x 12 stiff legs
Friday: Chest/Butt
Superset:
- 5 x 12 flat fly
- 5 x 12 incline cheer press
Superset:
- 5 x 15 wide smith machine squat
- 5 x 12 Bosu ball squat
Superset:
- 4 x 20 hyperextensions
- 4 x 15 glute machine
