Women's Muscle & Strength: Get Lean, Strong, and Confident

by Betina Gozo Shimonek

Strength training can be intimidating. From what equipment to use to how much to lift, you are often left wondering where to start. And the constant barrage of the latest fitness trends and hacks can leave you deceived and confused. But starting a fitness journey doesn’t have to be daunting. Women’s Muscle & Get Lean, Strong, and Confident will help you cut through the noise and show the way to a stronger you.

Betina Gozo Shimonek has over a decade of experience training thousands of women from all walks of life. She has been a Nike Global Trainer since 2013 and was a featured trainer on the Apple Fitness+ team. Her science-based approach to strength training offers you realistic guidance on how to assess, plan, and execute effective strength-focused workouts.

Women’s Muscle & Strength is packed with 80 exercises that cover every area of the body. Exercises are broken down by movement type to help you better understand how and why to put them together, as well as what types of movements are associated with major muscles of the body. Full-color photos provide clear instruction for each exercise. And because each body is different, you’ll find modifications, progressions, variations, safety reminders, and tips to help choose what works best for you.

You will also have access to 12-week programs, with a total of 18 workouts, that you can immediately put into action. The programs each have a different Women’s Muscle & Strength is a must-have workout companion to help you reach your fitness goals and reap the benefits of strength training through every phase of life. From one woman to another, Betina will empower you to build confidence in the weight room and in daily life too!

Earn continuing education credits/units! A continuing education exam that uses this book is also available. It may be purchased separately or as part of a package that includes both the book and exam.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published January 12, 2024

Reviews

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This is a nicely thorough group of exercises and several programs geared to the needs of women. The emphasis is especially for those new to exercising or gyms and who want someone to guide them through routines that are done safely and effectively.

The book is broken down into three parts. In the first part, the author goes over the basics and how and why a new perspective on strength training is needed. She goes over the terms you may hear from a trainer (e.g., progressive overload, eccentric, etc.) and goes into detail about safety concerns to ensure you are doing the exercises properly. Part 2 has all the exercises broken down by movement type: carry/grip/antimovement; knee dominant and hip dominant; horizontal and vertical push; horizontal and vertical pull; and total body and rotational. Part 3 has four 12 week programs putting exercises from part II in a routine: gain strength, build sculpted muscle, get lean, and improve muscle endurance. There is also a section on creating your optimal program.

No gym is needed for the exercises and many, if not most, use free weights. There are some exercises that use gym equipment but only a very few. Each exercise has a title, two full color photographs of the exercise in motion, and numbered steps. There are safety tips and variations on several of the exercises which also come with their own photographs and tips.

The programs in the back of the book are set up in a colorful grid pattern. Each has warm up exercises and then the regular exercises. There are 6 columns: the exercise (and page number), reps/time, tempo, sets, reference photo and notes. So you can print out a page or have the book open and be ready to do a program. The programs are grouped by 4 week periods, meaning there are three sections (weeks 1-4, 5-8, and then 9-12).

The is an excellent resource suitable for beginner and intermediate exercisers. The author is very friendly and encouraging throughout the book. I think the only critique I have is that the photography looks more like an iphone than professional work, with some images for introduction sections being taken in a dark room where anyone wearing black tights disappears. Fortunately, all the exercise photos are done on a white background, though they could be better lit as well. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Hannah]

This is pretty solid. Despite the title, it's not super diet culture-y or antifat, which is great, and even as someone who isn't really into using gym machines, I found it helpful to get some clarity on some machines and movements so that if I do find myself at a gym, I won't feel like a dummy. I also like that this is written by a woman of color for women, and it's not excessively binary-y, but in a world where pretty much all strength books are written by cis men with all other types of people as an afterthought at best or at least a "I'm telling you what I think but I've never lived it" perspective, I appreciate that this one was limiting in a positive way, covering ways that strength training can help with menstrual issues, for example. Yes, it could have done a little more to make nonbinary people feel welcome, but honestly the bar for this stuff is so low it's underground, so I'm just happy to see a woman of color tell women to lift and not be uncomfortable at the gym rather than a white man telling women what to do, so I'll take it.