5 Essential Strength Exercises for Women to Build Functional Power at Home

According to fitness expert Tejal Kadam, co-founder of Movement Based Fitness, there are five beginner strength exercises every woman needs to master before chasing load, aesthetics, or any of that nonsense. Per Tejal's breakdown in Hindustan Times, strength training isn't a gender luxury — it builds bone density, fights osteoporosis, and keeps you walking, climbing, and carrying without grinding down. You don't need a gym. You need a floor, a wall, and the discipline to do these right.

The Five Movements That Build the Base

Stop looking for shortcuts. These are the movements that carry everything else.

Squat. Brace the core, sit the hips back, drive through the heels. Tejal hits glutes, quads, and core while training balance and coordination. Lock in 2–3 sets of 10–12 reps. If your knees cave or your chest drops, you're cheating yourself.

Glute Bridge. This is pelvic strength work, plain and simple. Drive the heels into the floor, squeeze the glutes at the top, hold for a second. Posture, spinal alignment, lower-body power — all of it improves. Run 2–3 sets of 12–15 reps. Especially non-negotiable if you sit at a desk all day.

Push-Up. The original. Chest, shoulders, triceps, core — one movement, total upper-body demand. New to this? Start with a wall push-up or incline. Progress to knees. Then full range. No skipping steps. 2–3 sets of 8–12 reps, strict tempo.

Deadlift / Hip Hinge. Hinge at the hips, neutral spine, pull the load (or your own bodyweight) close to the body. Hamstrings, glutes, back, shoulders, core — everything fires. This is your posterior chain. Without it, bending and lifting become injury risks. 2–3 sets of 10–12 reps.

Overhead Press. Standing shoulder strength that carries over to every overhead task you do in real life. Start with a strict overhead press, then progress to the push press once form is locked. 2–3 sets of 8–10 reps. Brace the trunk. Don't flare the ribs.

Programming and Progression

Two to three sessions per week. That's it. Tejal's guidance lines up with what trainer Lucy Borrie told Fit&Well — squats, lunges, and plank patterns show up in nearly every session because the fundamentals don't lie.

Warm up for 5–10 minutes. Dynamic work, not static stretching. Cold joints and cold muscles break down under load. Finish with gentle stretching to recover range. Hydrate before and during — this isn't optional.

What to Watch From Here

Beginner strength training for women is no longer a niche conversation — it's running across Hindustan Times, Fit&Well, and lifestyle outlets simultaneously. The throughline is consistent: master the pattern first, then add load. Anyone promising a quick fix or skipping the basics is selling you a plateau. If you're starting today, pick three of the five movements, run the rep ranges clean, and come back next week ready to add a fourth. That's how you build something that lasts.