Weight Machine Routines for Women

There are a plethora of weight machine routines for women. Workouts can be broken into a circuit routine, upper-body or lower-body routine, or designed for specific body parts on specific days.

Most gyms are equipped with a variety of weight machines that can easily be used by women. Seek out a personal trainer or fitness center employee to learn how to use the equipment properly and to prevent injuries.

Circuit Routine

A circuit routine is an effective way for women to use weight machines for a great cardio workout while toning, burning fat and building muscle. A circuit routine can be a full-body routine.

Sports Fitness Advisor says circuit training can be used for general fitness, strength development or endurance strength development.

For general fitness, a circuit can be performed a few times a week, with 48 hours of rest for each muscle group. A weight machine routine for women can be a circuit of 10 machines, for at least 30 minutes.

According to Sports Fitness Advisor, weight machines can be used for 30-90 seconds with the same amount of rest between each station. As you become more fit you can increase the weight resistance and decrease the rest intervals.

To complete a full body circuit routine, warm up for a few minutes on a piece of cardio equipment or by doing jumping jacks or jogging in place. Pick 10 machines that work the entire body. Start with machines that work the legs. You can alternate with upper body machines until the circuit is complete. You can complete the entire circuit at least two times.

Women should include the following weight machines in their circuit workouts: leg press, squat machine, seated leg curl, lying hamstring curl and calf raises. Women should include the following weight machines for the upper body: shoulder press, chest press, biceps curl, triceps pull down and back rows.

After finishing the workout, make sure to stretch for at least 10 minutes.

Upper Body Routine

A good weight machine routine for women's upper bodies will include machines that work the back, chest and arms. For general fitness, women can perform three sets of 12 repetitions on each machine, with at least 30 seconds of rest in between each set.

Start with the chest press machine. Move to the seated row and shoulder press machines. Follow those with biceps curls and triceps pull downs. Another good weight machine for women is the lat pull down machine. The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) recommends keeping the handle in front of you instead of behind your neck when you pull it down.

Lower Body Routine

A good weight machine routine for women's lower bodies will include machines that work the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calf. For general fitness, women can perform three sets of 12 repetitions on each machine, with at least 30 seconds of rest in between each set.

Start with the squat machine. Move to the seated hip abductor and adductor machine. Move to the seated leg curl and leg extension machines. Finish with the machine used for calf raises.