Best Women’s Fitness Program to Become the Most Badass You

There are tons of women's fitness programs out there, but many lack the know-how to help real women with real problems. They tack on "women" to any general workout or nutritional advice and call it good, but that's not good enough—especially for you!

As a woman looking to become the most confident, strong, badass version of yourself, you need a fitness program that addresses all aspects of your lifestyle that are necessary components to looking, feeling, and performing your absolute best.

Want “toned” arms? A flat belly? A nice butt? Less cellulite? 

I can promise you this–those things are not going to come from lifting dumbbells lighter than wine bottles or doing sideways step-ups on a StairMaster. They’re also not going to come from eating less than 1200 calories a day for months on end or chronically restricting carbs and/or fats forever (been there, done that…it doesn’t work. Trust me!)

Thanks to dangerous stereotypes, misinformation, and downright wrong marketing messages, there's a lot to unpack and discover for you to avoid that crap and actually get the results you’ve been working your ass off for. 

It's not easy, but as you probably already know, nothing worth having (and sustaining for a long time) ever comes easy.

You will have to work for it.

But guess what? You don’t have to do it all alone.

We're here to help.

Below, I'll break down everything you need to know about the best women's fitness programs. We'll explore what makes one program better than another, factors to look for (and avoid), the benefits of a female-focused fitness program, and how to get started.

Ready to dive in? Let's get after it! 

What Makes the Best Women’s Fitness Program?

Not all fitness programs are created equal. Some help you learn about proper exercise and nutrition to help you better understand your body and its needs, while others spoonfeed you workouts and dietary recommendations without any legitimate structure, strategy, or education.

The former helps you establish life-long results to better your physical and mental health—the latter only sets you up for short-term, unsustainable success (maybe).

When you're searching for the best women's fitness programs, here's what you should prioritize:

• Education
• Community
• Workout Plans
• Nutrition
• Motivation
• Accountability
• Female Understanding

Let's dive into each of these aspects more below:

Fitness Community Created for Women By Women

Not every fitness program provides a community with ongoing support and accountability. While it's important to have a strong 1:1 relationship with your coach, it's equally important to have powerful connections with other like-minded women who are working towards similar goals and facing the same struggles as you are.

Why?

Because even if you have some understanding of what to do, it doesn’t mean you’re going to do it (at least long enough to actually see and maintain the results you’re after).

If that sounds harsh to you, I get it. I’ve been where you are right now. I’ve tried to go at it alone–following those random Instagram workouts that popped up on my feed, switching up my nutrition and macros every other week because “it wasn’t working,” feeling stuck and discouraged when the scale and the mirror didn’t reflect the hours of cardio I was doing or the constant restriction I felt.

Trust me, I have been where you are and there are SO many other women who are right there with you.

When you connect with them, you'll find that most of your fears, struggles, and challenges aren't unique. They're extremely common and part of the journey that you need to confront in order to overcome and thrive long-term.

Hearing these stories and building relationships with other women like you helps you recognize what you can accomplish. You'll start to notice society-based ceilings that don't really exist, and you'll build the confidence required to become the strongest, most badass version of yourself.

And, once you've overcome (and continue to overcome) your biggest hurdles, you'll provide the motivation and expertise other women need to escape their conceptions and become their best selves. It all comes full circle in a fitness community created for women by women.

Female Gym Workout Plans

Believe it or not, weight training for women isn't all that different from men—but that's not what marketers want to sell you. They want you to believe you have to train differently to avoid "bulking up" (insert eye roll) and that you need to constantly restrict your calories to prevent gaining fat.

Want the truth? It's all a bunch of crap.

It’s not the absence of size—it’s the addition of muscle that gives you that "toned" look you're after.

The only real differences that come into play are what muscles you'd like to focus on. As women, we typically care more about building our butts and shoulders and not so much growing a huge chest or massive biceps.

That's a very over-generalized statement, but there's still some truth in it.

High-quality female gym workout plans won't have you doing hundreds of reps or low-resistance exercises. They'll have you hitting the right rep ranges and lifting heavy shi*t—just as a man would.

You won't be doing crazy exercises to target your butt from every single angle under the sun. You'll focus on research-backed workouts to get the most bang for your buck—because not everyone has 3 hours a day to bust out 672 reps of hip thrusts and abduction machine movements.

You'll also learn which exercises build your strength and muscles versus just delivering a sensation. For example, while you might feel a strong sensation with the abduction machine, you aren't getting as much muscle stimulation as with a squat or RDL.

Most importantly, you'll learn when (and how) to put the weights down and take a break. Muscle is broken down in the gym, but it's rebuilt bigger and stronger when you're resting, eating right, and getting the sleep and stress relief that your body needs.

The right female gym workout plan will help you avoid the BS and focus on what really matters. You'll spend less time in the gym but reap more rewards. That's not an exaggeration—that's the honest truth!

Nutrition for Female Athletes

Eat less, exercise more is not a recipe for success. Most nutritional advice for female athletes revolves around consuming fewer calories to get the body you want, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

And even if you don’t consider yourself an athlete per se, the same principles apply to building that “toned” body we all want.

Can I let you in on a secret though?

Getting “toned” involves creating new muscle tissue, not simply melting away body fat.

And guess what? This may be a shocker to some, but your body needs the right fuel (i.e., calories) to build muscle. Again, just losing weight isn't going to give you the toned body you want—you need to put on muscle and maybe lose a bit of fat to unveil that hard-earned muscle. For some, it's difficult to do both at the same time.

Depending on your needs and goals, a qualified coach will help you learn what's best for your body. That might involve a body recomposition, or it might require putting on muscle in the short-term and focusing on weight loss later.

Regardless of your goals, you need to eat enough of the right calories and nutrients to support the changes you want to see in your body and health. You should be consuming enough protein each day to build and sustain muscle growth, enough high-quality fat to support hormones and prevent nutrient deficiencies, and even enough carbohydrates to optimize your overall performance and recovery.

Don’t Forget Hydration, Electrolytes, and Carbs

You'll also want to think about hydration and electrolytes. Changing your diet and exercise behavior will also change how you need to refuel your body. You likely will need to drink more water and supplement with electrolytes to replenish what your body needs.

And again, it's not about cutting out all the carbs from your diet (been there, done that!). Sometimes, carbs are exactly what your body needs to work out at its best and recover quickly. Of course, we are all our own individuals so the amount of carbs your body needs will depend on your personal metabolic health, activity levels, and primary goals.

Beyond what you eat, it's important to think about when you eat. The right nutrition expert will help you plan the best pre-workout and post-workout meals. They'll also help you learn how to plan your meals to avoid excessive snacking or binge eating at night.

And don't get me started on the supplements. The workout industry would have you believe a few magical powders and pills will give you the body you want. But let’s be real, no supplement is going to do the work for you.

Can supplements help? Yes, sometimes they can—but they're not a magic bullet. The right coach will help you decide when a supplement will do what it’s supposed to do (supplement your nutrition) and when it's a total waste of money.

When it comes to optimizing your nutrition to build your most confident, badass body—you need to make sure you’re focusing on the right things.

Many women tend to focus on areas that truly have the least amount of importance for long-term, sustainable results. 

If you feel like this is you, it’s time to learn how to stop “majoring in the minor” and start paying attention to what actually matters.

Women’s Fitness Accountability (And Motivation)

The best workout plan and nutritional advice won't help you at all if you lack the accountability, structure, and motivation to see it through. And don’t get me wrong, motivation isn't something you have to bring to the table entirely on your own. It’s actually something that you probably should not be relying on day-to-day.

Why?

Well, the harsh reality when it comes to any type of change (whether that’s nutrition, training, personal development, etc.) is that motivation isn't enough.⁠⁠

One of the things I frequently hear from women who are struggling to achieve (or even just maintain) their results, is that they simply aren't motivated.

Here’s the hard truth: motivation will never be enough to reach your goals (or maintain the goals you’ve achieved).

Really, motivation is like the stock market. It goes up and down daily due to fluctuations in what's going on in your life. Sometimes, it even fluctuates for no reason at all. 

But guess what? That's okay! You don't need motivation to reach your goals.

If you want to achieve any goal, whether it’s changing your body composition, getting stronger and building muscle, or even just bringing your best self to your family or job, you shouldn’t rely on motivation.

One of my favorite quotes is:

“Our success has very little to do with how we feel, but rather how we act… often despite our feelings.”

It all starts with awareness.

Adding Awareness to Your Workout Program

Awareness → Action → Momentum → Motivation

Do your daily actions align with your goals, OR are you just doing things you’re supposed to do when it’s convenient?

The right female fitness program will supply you with a healthy dose of education, structure, and accountability. And it'll also teach you how to create discipline, build habits, keep the momentum up, and realize that it’s not about looking to "get motivated” all the time. 

Rather, it’s about focusing on how much better you'll feel about yourself at the end of the day/week/year when you stay consistent and follow through with what you know you NEED to do. Those little wins add up to a ton of confidence, fulfillment, and ultimately achieving what you want.

Finding a coach and community that will keep it real with you when it comes to your actions, is critical to reaching your long-term goals. It's easy to be motivated for a day or two, a week, or even a month, but it's much more challenging to keep that momentum going all on your own—especially when the challenges start rolling in.

What happens when you experience a setback? What if you miss this month's goal or get sick or face an injury? Motivation can fade quickly if you don't have a community to support you, the education to know why you’re doing what you’re doing, or a chain of accountability to keep you on track.

Ultimately, education is what creates awareness. Awareness leads to action. Action leads to results. 

And accountability is what keeps you showing up, consistently.

Keep Yourself Accountable

The best fitness programs, that create successful and sustainable results, provide different layers of accountability. Sometimes, it's just regular follow-ups with a coach or instructor. Other times, it's accountability to your community of like-minded women. You don't want to let them down, and they don't want to let you down. 

These relationships and connections can become more powerful than your willpower alone, and combining accountability with a structured, results-driven program can create an unbreakable commitment.

And everyone needs that when it comes to chasing down difficult goals. It doesn't matter how you feel, it doesn't matter if it rains or shines, this is what you do. Commit, prioritize, and execute…consistently.

Creating your dream body and optimizing your overall health isn’t easy. It's hard work, and you need as many people on your side as possible to increase your chances of taking action and becoming the most badass version of yourself.

Motivation follows action...not the other way around!

Female Fitness Instructor

Your fitness instructor or coach is one of the most important components of a women's fitness program. Get the wrong female fitness instructor, and you might be fed information that leaves you overworked and burnt out with nothing to show for it.

How do you know if you're getting the right coach?

First, do they walk the walk or talk the talk? Do they follow their own advice, or are they struggling to hit their own fitness goals? If they're struggling to help themselves, how will they be able to help you?

Now, finding the fittest, most-toned instructor isn't necessarily your best bet. There are plenty of genetically blessed individuals out there who get results no matter what they do—but they lack the know-how to train those who might have more challenging circumstances. Also, they might only be able to deliver short-term results rather than help you achieve a sustainable lifestyle. 

It's also helpful to look at testimonials and reviews of a female fitness instructor. What do others have to say about their experience? Are there proven results you can read to justify trusting this individual? If not, question why not—because if a coach isn't helping their community achieve their goals, what makes you think they'll be able to help you?

Why Join a Female Fitness Program?

A female fitness program provides the education, accountability, and structure you need to achieve sustainable results. It's not a quick-fix solution, and it's not based on unproven theories or fads. The right female fitness program backs up its approach with science, and it strives to provide a structure that participants can follow for the long-term.

Here are some of the key benefits you can expect from a credible, results-driven female fitness program:

• Accountability: You need someone to keep you accountable and aware of the decisions you’re making, so you can follow through with your actions on a consistent basis.
• Community: You need like-minded individuals on your side to lift and support you when times get tough and keep it real with you when that initial motivation dwindles.
• Education: Don't just do it because you're told to—do it because you've learned the why behind it. If you have no idea why you’re doing something, how will you be able to sustain it long-term? 
• Motivation: Your motivation will ebb and flow, regardless of how committed you are. The right fitness program will keep you on track, despite any obstacles or challenges that come your way.
• Results: You don't want to just go through the motions—you want results. You want to feel better, look better, and do better– in every aspect of your life.

Introducing The Flex Fam

Haven't quite found the right women's fitness program that checks all the boxes? Have you heard of The Flex Fam?

The Flex Fam is a brand-new community for women to become the most confident, badass versions of themselves. If you've been jumping around between programs, coaches, workouts, and diets without seeing lasting results, this is the community for you.

The Flex Fam takes a different approach than traditional 1:1 coaching. Instead, you'll get access to an entire community of like-minded women looking to accomplish the same things as you. And I'll be there beside you the whole time, providing the proper knowledge, workouts, challenges, and nutritional advice to help you smash your goals.

Here's what your Flex Fam membership includes:

• Flex Fam Community App: Get exclusive access to the Flex Fam app, where you can chat with other members and me whenever you'd like. 
• Weekly Zoom Sessions With Rachel (That's Me!): I host weekly meetings with you and other Flex Fam members to discuss important topics and help you overcome any obstacles.
• Personal Flex Fam Tracker: Receive a personal tracker to monitor your daily calories, macros, steps, sleep, stress, training, performance, recovery, and more.
• Nutrition Manual: Learn how to establish the right nutrition to reach your own personal goals.
• Workout Program: Get access to the exclusively designed "Train Together" workout program, a workout designed especially for Flex Fam members with new elements and phases added every month.
• Group Challenges: Compete together with the community to overcome challenges around nutrition, training, and personal development.

And lots more to come!

How to Join The Flex Fam

Ready to join The Flex Fam women's fitness program? Cruise on over to our enrollment landing page to start the process. 

If you're lucky and find enrollment is open, reserve your spot quickly (because places are limited and don't open often). If registration is currently closed, don't panic. Just enter your email address to sign up for notifications—we'll send you a message as soon as enrollment opens again (plus, you'll get exclusive perks by joining the waiting list).

So, what are you waiting for? Join The Flex Fam and become the most confident, badass version of yourself—you'll be glad you did.