Steal His Moves

Many women stay away from "men's" exercises in the gym, either because they're intimidated or they worry the exercises might make them too bulky. The reality is that some of these powerful movements are simply terrific toning exercises once you take off those huge barbell plates and add more reps. Hit the weight room and try these out!

Upper Body
Dumbbell Rows

This may be an exercise that massive V-shaped bodybuilders swear by for the back, but if you like looking toned come swimsuit time, tell that behemoth to wait his turn for the bench. Grabbing a light dumbbell and kneeling the opposing leg on a bench, let the weight move down and forward until you feel a full stretch in your back. After a moment, slowly return to the starting position, really squeezing the muscle at the top. Do 20 reps and then switch hands.

Closed-Grip Bench Presses

The bench press seems like the "men's zone" at most gyms, but you don't have to be after massive pecs to see the gains. With this in mind, there aren't many better exercises for the back of the triceps than the closed-grip bench press, says Anne Hess, personal trainer and director of Slim and Tone Gyms. Lie on the bench and use a light bicep curl bar. Grip your hands closely together on it and slowly lower to your chest. Feel it on the back of your arms? Slowly raise to the starting position just short of lock-out. Do 15 to 20 of those and you'll feel the burn and see the tone over time. "Women can put their feet up on the bench for balance if they have trouble getting their back flat," Hess says.

Rear Delt Raises

How many times will you see a man popping out sets of these, clanging the dumbbells loudly with every rep? Well, he's not being manly, just rude. Many women like a little shape to their shoulder, and nothing can stand out more than rear delt definition. Grabbing light dumbbells, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and the dumbbells together in front of you. Slowly raise them up to your sides, hands turned down just a bit, feeling the squeeze in the back of your shoulder. Important: Don't use body swing to lift the weight or you're just cheating yourself out of the benefit of the movement. Doing 20 to 25 reps should be an effective way to acquire sexy shoulders.

Lower Body
Squats

Hess highly recommends squats for women if they perfect their form. "I encourage women to use a stability ball when they start out," she says. "Put it behind your back and against the wall to guide you. With feet shoulder-width apart, squat down until your legs are parallel with the floor. Make sure your knees don't go past your toes or you're setting yourself up for injury." Hess says that once you feel comfortable with the stability ball you can graduate to hand weights, only increasing the weight as long as your form doesn't waver.

Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts

With a moderate-sized barbell and with feet close together, grab the bar in either standard or reverse grip and start in the standing position. Lower the barbell to the top of your feet, feeling the full stretch in your hamstrings, then slowly return to the starting position. For a deeper stretch, you can put the barbell on a bench and stand on it, allowing the bar to have a greater range of motion throughout the movement.

It's Your Gym Too

Some may still like to call it a man's world, but it's definitely not a man's gym. If you see an exercise that you think can help you, ask that sweaty goliath to let you work in... and to wipe off the equipment while he's at it. You don't have to wonder if you've paid your dues ‑- they're deducted from your checking account just like his!

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