Okay, you know that I sing the praises of strength training all the time. I honestly believe that it changes the shape of your body and your muscles like nothing else can. I love teaching BodyPump and strength training classes!

I’ve been promising you guys a glimpse into how I strength train for a while now. I wanted to do a video post on arm toning but I just haven’t had the time. I will still work on that for the future but in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to share what I taught for my Total Strength class on Sunday.

I’m not going to go into specifics on how many sets I did of everything but here is a look at the general exercises I taught for total body training.

Disclaimer: this is what works for me. It might not be perfect for you. Always check with your doctor before staring a new fitness routine and ALWAYS listen to your body!

Have a selection of dumbbells available for these exercises.

• Warm Up – 5-10 minutes of cardio (box jumps, high knees, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, squat jumps, heel taps, jump rope)
• Squats – normal stance and wide leg squats, sets of bottom half mixed in, bicep curls on the breaks (with the heavy squat weights!)
• Triceps – tricep pushups, tricep kickbacks, dips and overhead extension
• Back – reverse flys, deadrows
• Obliques – saxon side bend
• Chest – chest fly, chest press, pushups (with feet elevated on bench)
• Abs #1 – reverse curls (laying on the bench), another lower ab exercise that is too complicated to type out!
• Lunges – static (with some bottom half mixed in), dynamic (front and backward stepping)
• Biceps – traditional curls, bottom and top half curls, hammer curls
• Stability/hips – single leg deadlifts
• Shoulders – side raise, rear delt lift, font raise/upright row combo, overhead press
• Abs #2 – planks, bicycle, crunch with weights
• Cool down – 5 minute stretch – lengthen the muscles you contracted!!!

And I do promise that in the future I will post technique videos. Maybe I’ll do one per week? Hopefully I will have more time soon!

Now, go get strong! I was really sore today after teaching this yesterday. My chest is sore to the touch from the flys and my glutes are feeling all the lunges! Do you like strength training?

And now today’s update.

Breakfast was overnight oats at my desk after a hot vinyasa yoga class. After class I was talking with the woman practicing next to me about how delicious overnight oats are! She started making them after seeing them on my blog! Today’s mixture was a fruit extravaganza – bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.

Lunch was a Trader Joe’s veggie burger on a Bagel Thin with gouda cheese. Carrots, a couple pretzel sticks and a brownie on the side.

I taught a hot yoga class after work and had a great class! I came home and walked Sullie, who is just too cute for her own good. She had major cabin fever and was so ready to get out of the house.

I took this video of her going crazy after our walk. She loves to roll around in the grass. It’s hilarious. Please note the grunting noises! 😉

And finally, dinner was a quinoa bowl.

Sauteed vidalia onions and garlic with red quinoa, black beans and diced tomatoes. Topped with sour cream, salsa and a sprinkle of feta and served on a bed of spinach. Yum!

I have a BIG day tomorrow. Teaching my first yoga for athletes class at Flex + Fit on my lunch break and then BodyPump at the Y after work. Crazy!