what woman want?

nizi

Get a body women want
Thursday, January 20, 2011
If you're asked what women look for in the male physique and your answer is 'muscles', you're half right.

Of course, some women just love a bodybuilder, but studies show that, for the majority, toned is the new pumped. When researchers show women pictures of different male body shapes and ask them to name a preference, the lean and strong look — rather than the overly muscular one — comes out on top.

And when they conduct this research, one or two other results come out as well. Women are not keen on the skinny look, and fat is a turn off too. In other words, women want what you're probably aiming for — a lean and toned body that looks strong rather than superhero.

The good news is it's a look that can be relatively easy to achieve, if you know what you're doing. According to personal trainer Greg Brookes, it doesn't take endless hours on the exercise bike or countless repetitions with resistance weights. Instead, he recommends something called cardio strength training.

Shortcut to planet toned
According to Brookes: "Cardio strength training is something that will definitely build more muscle than regular cardio."
It will tone and sculpture and shed the fat that stops muscle from showing through. It will build up your core strength and make you feel fitter and full of energy. It will give you — in a word — the sort of body that women have been proven to like.

So what is it?

"When most people think of cardio they think of steady state cardio like running, cross trainers, steppers, exercise bikes etc," says Brookes. "These will all produce some kind of cardiovascular response but there is a better way."

The problem with steppers, cycling and so on, says Brookes, is that they concentrate on too few muscles and they're too repetitive. They may improve heart and lung function but they won't build strength at the same time. That's where cardio strength training comes in.

In a nutshell, cardio strength training has been designed to burn calories, shed pounds, improve cardiovascular fitness and gently build core strength and muscle. It's about doing cardio and resistance training together, without overdoing it with either.

Circuit makers
The key to good cardio strength training is circuits.

"The principles are very simple," says Brookes. "You take between four and six multi-joint exercises, which can be all about bodyweight or (be done) with kettlebells, a powerbag, barbell, dumbbells, medicine ball and so on. You put them together into a circuit."

"Providing you select the correct exercises and number of repetitions then you are in for a treat. The results from these types of circuits have been proven to overwhelmingly beat regular cardio hands down."

Squat, lunge, push
So what should be in your circuit?

It really depends on what you have at your disposal and what you like to do, but the key thing is to mix strength and cardio together and complete the circuit quickly. Warm up with five minutes of light cardio (a brisk walk, perhaps) and stretch afterwards.

A beginner's circuit without equipment might include squats repeated for 30-60 seconds. Immediately move on to 30 seconds of side-to-side jumps, jumping sideways over a cushion on the floor.

Straight away, follow that with a minute of lunges and add some solid cardio with five minutes of jogging at a decent pace.

Follow that with between 30 seconds and a minute of push-ups, depending on your strength. If at first you can't do that on your toes, do it on your knees. Finish with a couple of minutes of squats with a front kick.

And that's it. Ten minutes is all it takes to complete a decent circuit. If you're just starting out, you can leave it there. As you get fitter, you can repeat the circuit as many times as you like, add extra time to each of the elements, and add a second and third circuit of different elements. You can make many of the elements more intense just by doing them while holding weights.

Make it yours
And the beauty of circuits is their flexibility. As you get fitter you can experiment with kettlebells and dumbbells. You can add sprints to the cardio elements of the circuit. You can, in effect, design your own circuits.

Just remember to pick exercises that, taken together, mean the circuit works lots of different muscles and promotes agility and endurance. As you add weights and time to your workout, you'll notice that you start to build muscle as well as improving overall fitness. You'll start to look toned, but not pumped up.

Time and motion
How quickly you achieve the sort of body women want is up to you. The more frequently you do it, and the quicker you add to your circuits or increase the time in each element, the more dramatic the results will be. But a good idea is to do it every other day.

If you're swapping straight cardio for cardio strength circuit training, you should start to see results quickly. As Brookes says, this is "the new wave of cardio training: more exciting, more effective, and much more time efficient."

"It's better for fat loss, increases your anaerobic as well as aerobic capacity, and conditions the full body."

In other words, your missus will love it.