“My guess is that most women would MUCH rather have a physique similar to a ‘Bond Girl’, than the typical fitness model.” –Rusty Moore

This post is for all the ladies out there.

What if I told you that the majority of fitness advice targeted towards women is counterproductive to their goals? Unfortunately, this just happens to be the case. The fact of the matter is that men and women have different objectives when it comes to achieving a certain look. As a result, they should train differently. Most women want to achieve a sleek feminine look. So what are the best fitness workouts for women to accomplish this? Surprisingly, there has been a gaping lack of information on this subject… until now.

Visual Impact for Women: the first fitness product of its kind.

Earlier this week, Rusty Moore released his highly anticipated women’s fitness product: Visual Impact for Women. Rusty is the author of Visual Impact Muscle Building: a strategic program designed for men to help them put on just the right amount of muscle to achieve a “GQ” look that’s less bodybuilder-like and more Hollywood celebrity-like. His new course teaches women how to obtain a lean, slender look without overdoing the muscle tone. While striking muscle definition is desirable for most men, females probably don’t want bulging biceps or a raging six pack. They would rather have a sleek, hourglass-shaped figure with a flat midsection and subtle muscle tone.

I am a dude, but I bought this product for several reasons.

First, everything I have read by Rusty so far has turned out to be solid gold¹. Second, I read every fitness product I promote, regardless of who it’s designed for. Visual Impact for Women is no exception. I wanted to dissect it so that I can provide insightful commentary on the program. Third, I wanted to see if there is valuable information in this course that both men and women can use. I was not so surprised to find that there are excellent take-aways from this material that anyone can benefit from. The principles taught in the course are worth the price tag alone. The techniques and exercise demos are great also, but they are almost like an added bonus. You can (and should) tweak these to align with your goals. The true value lies in the theory.

There are so many different aspects of fitness touched on in this course, but I wanted to pick out three interesting myth busters of particular interest to women and highlight them in this post.

Women shouldn’t push their reps to failure if they want to slim down.

Does your trainer push you hard each session to “pump out” those last couple of reps? Maybe you listened, grinded them out, and felt proud of yourself afterwards. Training to failure is great advice… if you want to put on mass. This is true no matter how many reps you perform or how heavy you are lifting. If you want to gain strength without adding muscle size, which will ultimately help you achieve the slimmed down feminine look, then avoid training to failure. I realize this is controversial advice, but it’s scientifically proven. Check out this post from Rusty’s blog, Fitness Black Book, for more information.

Women don’t need to add muscle mass to burn more calories.

Maybe your trainer tells you that you need to put on muscle to lose more body fat. While this is true (you will burn slightly more calories by adding more muscle to your frame), wouldn’t you rather burn a significantly larger amount of calories without getting more muscular? If I were a woman, my answer would be yes. If this is the case, then you need to have strategic cardio as a cornerstone of your routine. By doing cardio the right way, you can burn a boat load of calories, without getting thunder thighs and shoulders like the Incredible Hulk. Sound like a plan? Visual Impact for Women will teach you how to do this.

Women shouldn’t eat more frequently if they want to slim down.

Eat six times a day to keep your body burning fat constantly. Another landmine piece of advice. A common complaint I’ve heard among my female friends is that it’s very difficult to keep their daily calories in check to the level they need in order to lose weight. This is especially true for women because they are generally smaller than guys so they need to be eating significantly less. But this is easier said than done. Last time I checked, restaurants don’t offer “female size” portions. Many females I know can easily eat the same amount as guys. Guess what, if you’re eating six times a day, your meals will need to be so small, you’re pretty much setting yourself up for failure.

In Visual Impact for Women, Rusty outlines an eating strategy that I actually follow myself (as a man). He suggests keeping track of calories on a weekly basis instead of a daily basis, eating a couple of small meals and one large meal during most days, and incorporating intermittent fasting once or twice a week. This strategy allows you to lose weight while still enjoying large, satisfying meals (even 1,200 calorie restaurant dinners), which is why I love it so much. I can honestly say that strategic calorie manipulation is the way to go. The rigid 6 meals per day approach will most likely make you give up, cry, run away to Ben & Jerry, and gain weight (in that order). Don’t fall into this trap.

I’ve just scratched the surface of Visual Impact for Women, but hopefully I’ve caught your attention.

There are a myriad other topics in this course that are very useful including, but not limited to:
• High rep vs. low rep training and why it can make a difference for women
• What types of fitness equipment to use
• The role of yoga in your fitness routine
• Aggressive dieting to lose 5-10 pounds in less than 3 weeks to get ready for an “event”
• How frequently to work out
• How to lose that “stubborn” muscle on your thighs and calves

The bottom line is if you are a woman, you need to learn the best fitness workouts for women. Visual Impact for Women provides just that. So check it out!

1. Rusty Moore is an expert fitness author and full-time fitness blogger. His authority site, Fitness Black Book, has received over 8 million visits since 2007 with the majority of these being women. Rusty has over two decades of gym experience and has read over 20,000 comments posted to his website. He has created several informational fitness products, the most recent being Visual Impact for Women.