Women's bodies are a lot like snowflakes
No two are exactly the same.
But they do tend to fall into four basic body shapes and, like clothing styles, women's exercise routines can be tailored to complement their body type.
Colder into February
“Genetics is a factor,” said Barb Kloeckner, a personal trainer and co-owner of Total Balance fitness and nutrition center in Fargo. "We're all predisposed to carry our weight differently."
But she endorsed that genetics can't become an excuse to give up.
“You can have a beautiful figure no matter what your body type is,” she said. “We always say genetics might load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.”
Most women have banana-shaped bodies, according to a study released in 2005 by North Carolina State University's College of Textiles.
Approximately 46 percent of women were classified as banana-shaped, a little more than 20 percent were pear-shaped, nearly 14 percent were apple-shaped, and 8 percent had hourglass figures, based on an analysis of the body types of more than 6,300 women.
PEAR
Women with pear-shaped bodies generally have curvier hips, thighs and glutes. Their hips are at least two inches larger than their bust.
Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are celebrities with pear-shaped bodies.
“You truly can work into your perfect shape with that pear shape,” Kloeckner said. “It is a very attractive shape.”
The best move for women with this body type to add to their fitness routines is the ball wall squat, said Kloeckner, who has a pear-shaped body. It's designed to tone the thighs and glutes.
“What's so great about that move is that the load is off the knees more than in a regular squat,” she said. “Almost anyone can be successful doing it.”
You can also adjust your range of motion to your fitness level and add hand-weights as you progress, she said.
HOURGLASS
Women whose bust and hips are basically the same size and their waist is at least nine inches smaller than their bust have hourglass figures. Kim Kardashian is a celebrity with an hourglass body type. Women of this shape accumulate fat in the upper and lower body.
Xtreme Measures owner and personal trainer Mariah Prussia said the lunge with a wood chop is the best move for women with hourglass body shapes because it offers a total body work out that targets the arms, oblique muscles, core, glutes, and legs.
“It’s a head-to-toe workout and you can maximize your time in one exercise,” she said.
It also helps improve balance, Prussia said.
“As we get older, our balance tends to deteriorate if we don't work on exercises that help improve our balance,” Prussia said.
Since muscles need recovery time, Prussia said you should not do this routine every day. Work a different part of your body or focus on cardio the day after doing the lunge with a wood chop.
“Any time you're working out, if you want to see results, you have to make sure that your program changes,” Prussia said. "If you do the same thing over and over again, that's when you hit a plateau, so the key is changed."
BANANA
Women with banana-shaped bodies also have a bust and hips of basically the same circumference, but the waist is less than nine inches smaller than the hips or bust. Cameron Diaz is an example of a celebrity with this shape. Banana-shaped women tend to accumulate fat around the abs, glutes, and chest.
Pat Hesby, a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and Pilates personal trainer with Elements women's health club in Fargo said the chest press with alternating toe taps is a great move for women with banana-shaped bodies.
“They need to build strength and endurance,” she said.
People with banana-shaped bodies need compound movements and the chest press with alternating toe taps works to strengthen the upper and lower body, she said.
“Typically the goal for the banana-shape body is to increase their muscle mass overall,” Hesby said. “They want to emphasize their shoulders and their arms, their glutes, their thighs and chest.”
Women with banana-shaped bodies often distribute weight-gain evenly throughout their bodies, so they can still look thin and have accumulated body fat, Hesby said.
“Just because you are thin, doesn't mean you are healthy,” she said.
They are more prone to osteoporosis, so they really need to have a resistance-training program to strengthen their bones, she said.
Hesby also recommends squats, lunges, pushups, and core-strength training for women with banana-shaped bodies.
APPLE
Women with apple-shaped bodies have a bust that is at least three inches larger than their hips. An example of a celebrity with an apple body shape is Catherine Zeta Jones. In apple-shaped women, fat often accumulates in their midsection.
Molly Klein, a personal trainer with Total Balance fitness and nutrition center in Fargo, who also teaches group fitness classes and assists with nutrition classes, said the most important thing for people with apple-shaped bodies is to focus on cardio exercises to help them burn fat.
“Having fat in your midsection, particularly for the apple shape, you're talking about fat around the organs and fat around the heart,” she said. “Those are places that are really detrimental for heart disease and diabetes.”
For those new to exercise, she said using a rowing machine is one of the best exercise options because it offers a full-body workout with no impact on the joints.
“For apple-shaped people, the legs tend not to be the strongest part of their body because they're carrying most of their weight up top,” she said.
Cycling and swimming are also good options, she said. Next, they should work on strengthening the core and back muscles.
Once rowing becomes easy, it's time to vary the routine, and add in cardio with more impact like walking or jogging, Klein said.
"Your body will get used to what you're doing, so you want to change it up so it will keep burning fat." “Once it gets easy, do something else.”
Triple threat
Regardless of your body type, all women should include some form of cardio, weight training and a healthy diet into their fitness plans, the trainers said.
"It's basically a happy marriage, combining fitness and nutrition together." Prussia said. "That's when you see results and that's when your energy is going to be up and that's when you're going to feel better about yourself."
And Prussia said it's ok to start out small. The biggest issue with fitness is people start out thinking they have to push as hard as they can the first week, but then they find themselves sitting on the couch instead of exercising, she said.
"It's baby steps. Work yourself into a workout program two to three times a week and then add on after that," she said.
Kloeckner recommends building up to cardio training three to five times a week and strength training twice a week.
“The first goal is decreasing body fat,” she said. "That could be done on any machine anywhere. It doesn't require equipment even. It could be a series of exercises at home like running in place, jumping jacks, jump-rope in place, high-knee run, butt-kick run."
Strength training is crucial for health bones and muscles, the trainers said.
“Muscle is our metabolism, so when you're strength training, you are elevating your metabolism,” Kloeckner said. "It's the only way to change the shape of your body. If you don't do strength training, you just become a skinnier version of that body that you already have."
While exercise is important, a healthy diet is crucial to losing weight.
“Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym,” Klein said. “It’s 80 percent of what you put in your mouth and 20 percent of what you do.”
And we can't make up for poor food choices in the gym, she said.
“Things that aren't of great nutrient value to us end up doing more damage than good and it can't be undone by what you do in the gym,” Klein said. "Exercise isn't the fix-all of everything. It's a combination of diet and exercise with diet ultimately being the biggest factor."
Mental and emotional factors also play a huge roll in health and fitness.
“You need the fitness, you need the nutrition, but you also need the mental wellbeing, too,” Prussia said. "If you're not addressing underlying issues, it doesn't matter. You're still going to fall off the wagon."
And it's not just about how you look.
“It's really important to have women aware that just because they appear to be thin, that doesn't necessarily mean they are healthy,” Hesby said. “They still need to have all of the components of an exercise program.”
Make sure to talk to your doctor before starting any new fitness program.