Good morning! My eyes popped open at 4:10 a.m. and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Given that I had clients at 5:30 a.m., my wake-up time wasn’t too early but I did lounge in bed for a little while (I read this wonderful piece by Jennifer Anniston) before getting up at 4:50. It is so much nicer to wake up naturally before your alarm.

Metro was packed this morning! I haven’t seen it so crowded at 6 a.m. on a weekday in a long time.

I train a small group of three girlfriends and they’re so much fun to work with. They push themselves and each other so hard. I have to brag on one of them…I took this picture today to show her how strong she’s looking! She started lifting consistently when she joined our group a little over a year ago and she’s seen great gains in strength and endurance.

I trained another long-term client and then knocked out my own workout. I ran two easy miles on the treadmill and then did the following…

4 rounds:
20 back squats (75#)
15 kettlebell deadlifts (55#)
12 ring rows

2 rounds:
15 bicep curls (15#)
20 resistance band lat pulldown/reverse lunge combo
10 tricep kickbacks (each arm)
15 side shoulder raises
10 single arm dumbbell seated press
15 TRX knee tuck/hip adduction/abduction combo

In the spirit of summer and workouts, I wanted to do a round-up of some of my favorite workouts that I’ve shared in the past. It seems like so many friends, clients and readers are hitting the gym hard lately so here is some inspiration for you!

Sculpted Summer Arms Workout

This is a great upper body workout for those of you looking to increase muscle definition in your arms. I think arm/shoulder workouts are the #1 most requested thing I get from my readers! This post includes photo demonstrations of all of the exercises.

The Running 500 Workout

I’m including The Running 500 because it’s an AWESOME workout that you can do anywhere with no equipment. It features five rounds of .25 mile runs with 10 different bodyweight strength and core exercises.

Upper Body Superset Workout

More upper body for you! I love this workout because 1) I always love a good super set workout and this one BURNS! and 2) it also includes chest and back work.

Fired Up Squat + Upper Body Workout

This is the workout of a bajillion squats interspersed with various upper body exercises. Your legs and arms will be feeling the burn after this one!

Stability Ball Core Workout

And finally, a core workout! I first shared this post back in 2012 but I still love all of these stability ball exercises. The post includes a video demonstration.

Happy sweating everyone! 

What workout have you been enjoying most lately?