A Beginner’s Weight Lifting Program For Women

by: Michael Perry

June 21, 2023

Before I will show you my weight lifting program for women, I would like to do a quick rundown on weight lifting in general.

First of all, there are a lot of benefits that come with weight lifting, and as a woman there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy them.

Lifting weights can help you tone and shape your body, boost your metabolism, speed up weight loss, and yes, if you want to take it there, build up muscles and mass.

If you decided on starting a weight lifting routine, I say, go all in.

By all in I mean you should take it seriously and actually be consistent.

This doesn't mean go hard and heavy and start squatting 200 lbs.

When starting out take baby steps.

  1. Set yourself a goal. 
  2. Get a meal plan that suits you and your goals.
  3. Make sure you workout at least 3 times a week
  4. Learn the right techniques of the exercises.
  5. Stick to the plan

But on top of it all, make sure to have fun!

My Tips To The New Beginner

‏‏weight lifting program for women - my tips

Before starting any serious weight lifting program, you should get to know the body's muscle groups, especially the major muscle groups.

Learn about the deltoids, about biceps and triceps, the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius on the back, the "pecs", the abs...... And I think you get my point.

If you can, consult a nutritionist, and build together a meal plan that fits your new way of life.

You should also get a workout program that is special tailored for you and your needs.

Make sure your workout program cover your entire body, NOT just your butt, thighs and legs.

Never ever over train yourself to a point where you might hurt yourself.

Furthermore, you should learn how to properly perform the exercises.

Take your time, it's good if you're eager about getting in shape, but don't rush things, go slow and steady. 

Get your daily share of high quality protein, and you can use this tool to check what are your recommended daily intake of pretty much everything.

Down the road you can consider taking supplements. 

Read our article about Best Bcaa For Women, or check this page result from amazon for the best protein powders for women.

general guidelines of weight lifting

beginners ‏‏weight lifting program for women

You will want to start with compound exercises. 

Compound exercises are exercises that work 2 or more muscle groups at the same time.

In addition to working on couple of muscles at the same time, compound exercises also promote faster muscle growth.

Furthermore, they will also help you develop coordination a lot more faster.

It is ideal to start with an all body routine, because you will work on all the major muscle groups of your body in one routine.

Choose one to two exercises per major muscle group, and do 3-4 sets each with 8-12 repetitions.

You will do this exercise 3 or 4 times a week, resting a minimum of one day between exercises.

A quick Weight Lifting Program For Women:

This Is Just A Quick Example, Make Sure You Get A Program That Suits You And Your Needs.

stick to the program - weight lifting program for women
  • Chest - Incline Bench Press
  • Deltoids- Military Shoulder Press, Side Lateral Raises
  • Biceps - Bicep Curls, Concentration Curls
  • Triceps - Tricep Pressdowns
  • Back - Seated Cable Row, Lat Pulldowns, Bent Over Rows
  • Legs - Squats, Lunges
  • Hamstrings - Hamstring Curls
  • Calves - Calf Raises
  • Abs - Crunches, Reverse Crunches

After 4 to 6 weeks, you will start to notice the changes in your body, and in your feeling, both physical and mental.

Furthermore, after 6 weeks of working out and sticking to your program, you can split your workouts to upper body/lower body workouts.

Meaning you will have dedicated days where you will work only on your upper body, and days for lower body workouts. As a result you will work more muscles, and in addition it will allow you to start doing isolation exercises.

Isolation exercises, unlike compound's, mean that you will focus on one muscle per exercise.

Your Split Weight Lifting Program May Look Like This:

Split Weight Lifting Program for women

Upper Body
Chest - Bench Press, Cable Flye
Deltoids- Upright Rows, Shoulder Press
Back - Bent Over Rows, Lat Pulldowns
Triceps - Skullcrushers, Tricep Pressdowns
Biceps - Concentration Curls, Preacher Curls

Lower Body
Quads - Squats, Walking Lunges, Seated Leg Extension
Hamstrings - hamstring Curls, Barbell Romanian Deadlift
Calves - Calf Raise, Donkey Calf Raise
Abs - Crunches on Stability Ball, Oblique Crunches

Do each upper body and lower body workout two times a week.

You can work on your upper body on Mondays and Thursdays, and on your lower body on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

In between you could even combine cardio workouts, if that's working for you and is not interfering with your goal.

Finally, after a couple of months of an upper/lower split program, you could split your workouts even more into specific muscle groups, but that's for another article.


About the author

Growing up as the fat kid is what motivated him to take matters to his hands at fifteen, and he has never looked back again since!

When he's not pumping iron at the gym, you'll probably find him hooked to his record player listening to rock classics.

If only he could carry it with him to the gym. Sigh.

On this site, he'll do his best to help you accomplish the same results for yourself.

(We're talking about getting in shape, not trying to carry a record player to your local gym)

Michael Perry