{"id":924505,"date":"2026-10-07T21:50:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T21:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/924505\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T21:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T21:50:27","slug":"the-most-effective-once-a-week-strength-workout-for-busy-women-the-6-exercises-that-matter-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/924505\/","title":{"rendered":"The most effective once-a-week strength workout for busy women \u2013 the 6 exercises that matter most"},"content":{"rendered":"

When life gets busy, fitness is often one of the first things to slip down the priority list. But considering that skeletal muscle mass<\/a> is one of our strongest defences against age-related decline, it’s important to carve out time for strength training<\/a> wherever possible.<\/p>\n

Sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) can begin as early as your 30s. From then on, research<\/a> suggests muscle mass<\/a>declines by around 3-8% per decade, with the rate increasing after 60.<\/p>\n

The good news? Research<\/a> also shows that even one strength session a week can deliver meaningful health benefits \u2013 welcome news for anyone struggling to fit multiple workouts into an already packed schedule.<\/p>\n

‘One [strength] session raises muscle protein synthesis \u2013 the muscle-building signal \u2013 for roughly two to three days afterwards. So a Monday session is still building muscle on Thursday,’ explains women’s health coach, menopause fitness specialist and founder of Owning Your Menopause<\/a>, Kate Rowe-Ham.<\/p>\n

‘Over three to 12 months, once-a-week trainees typically gain 30-50% strength in their first year, and the slower systems \u2013 tendons and bone \u2013 catch up over months, not weeks.<\/p>\n

‘There’s a health dividend, too: around 30-60 minutes of lifting a week is where the steepest drop in all-cause mortality risk sits.’<\/p>\n

Patience, she adds, is essential.<\/p>\n

‘In the first couple of weeks, almost none of the progress is visible. The brain gets better at switching muscle fibres on and coordinating them, and that happens fast \u2013 within about four weeks \u2013 which is why beginners get stronger long before they look stronger.<\/p>\n

‘Around weeks four to six, the weights start feeling noticeably lighter. You may feel your mood has improved and you have more energy. Between weeks six and 12, actual muscle growth becomes measurable, even on very low volumes. This is the danger zone for motivation \u2013 people quit at week four because they can’t see change yet, right before the part they can see arrives.’<\/p>\n

The once-weekly strength workout<\/p>\n

So, if you’re only strength training once a week, how should you spend that session?<\/p>\n

Aim for 45-60 minutes, says Rowe-Ham.<\/p>\n

‘Because this one session is the entire week’s stimulus, it has to be spent deliberately, meaning compound lifts<\/a> rather than a circuit of isolation machines.’<\/p>\n

She recommends including ‘a squat pattern, hip hinge, push, pull, carry and a bit of core<\/a>.’<\/p>\n

‘The evidence-based floor is about four hard sets per muscle group per week \u2013 and legs<\/a> deserve extra because research shows they respond better to higher volumes than the upper body does in beginners.’<\/p>\n

How to progress: ‘Pick a rep range, hold the weight until you hit the top of that range on every set with clean form, then add the smallest increment available,’ says Rowe-Ham. ‘That single rule drives progress for the first year.’<\/p>\n

Warm-up \u2013 5 mins<\/p>\n

Complete a brisk walk<\/a> or cycle, followed by arm circles and two light ramp-up sets of the first exercise.<\/p>\n

Increase the weight with each warm-up set.<\/p>\n

\"ImageSet 1: 10-12 repsSet 2: 8-10 repsSet 3: 6-8 reps\"Image<\/p>\n

Credit: Kate Rowe-Ham<\/p>\n

Set 1: 10-12 repsSet 2: 8-10 repsSet 3: 6-8 reps\"ImageSet 1: 10-12 repsSet 2: 8-10 repsSet 3: 6-8 reps\"Image\"ImageSet 1: 10-12 repsSet 2: 8-10 repsSet 3: 6-8 reps6. Farmer’s carry<\/a> \u2013 2-3 sets of 30-45 seconds\"Image<\/p>\n

One final point? Make sure you’re eating enough to support your training.<\/p>\n

‘Too many women underfuel, so their progress is slow \u2013 or doesn’t happen at all,’ says Rowe-Ham.<\/p>\n

She recommends aiming for around 100g of protein a day, spread across three or four meals, rather than trying to cram it all into dinner.<\/p>\n

Want to train like Liz Earle<\/a>?
Her PT, Michael Garry, has created a 4-week training plan exclusively for members of the WH COLLECTIVE. It’s designed to remove one of the biggest barriers to fitness: time. You’ll train for just 35 minutes three times a week \u2013 Liz’s exact strategy to build muscle, boost metabolism and support long-term health. Tap the link below to unlock 14 free days of training and start Liz’s plan today.<\/p>\n

Get the plan<\/a><\/p>\n

\"women's<\/a>\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women\u2019s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. \u00a0She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner\u2019s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. \u00a0A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She\u2019s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When life gets busy, fitness is often one of the first things to slip down the priority list.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":924506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,181517,192874,4671,317921,784,407,787,84,237154,783,317920,273948,184034],"class_list":["post-924505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-collection-fitness-app","tag-collection-full-body-workouts","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-1bd4d276-01bc-4520-b6f8-b5d6658849c5","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-the-once-a-week-strength-workout-for-busy-women","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-workouts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=924505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/924505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/924506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=924505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=924505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=924505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}