Fundamentals of Strength Training
Welcome!
Below is an opportunity for you to create a lifelong habit of being strong, fit, and vibrant. If you're planning on taking the live series via Zoom, classes will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10-10:30am Pacific, from October 21 through December 13 streamed on Zoom. You'll have lifetime access to all class recordings, uploaded shortly after each session.
Strength training is so much more than building muscle. It's the key to a long, high-quality life. Muscle keeps us functional as we age, and it's a primary factor for metabolic health as well. Studies have shown that strength training also improves brain function and protect against cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer's. When you have more muscle, you're also stronger, more confident in your abilities, you can take part in more interesting activities and, yeah, you'll look younger and healthier too.
So regardless what your previous beliefs about strength training were let me help you shift your paradigm:
If you want to be more fit...
If you want to prevent injury...
If you want to gain better flexibility...
If you want to improve body composition...
If you want better energy and mental clarity...
If you want to stay young as long as possible...
Then you also want to strength train. Let me show you how, and let me help you stay motivated for life.
Injured or have pain? No problem. I have 22 years experience as a fitness instructor and I specialize in rehabilitative exercise, joint pain, prenatal/postpartum and flexibility. I'll show you how to modify.
The thing is, most of us don't know where to start, and even if we do, we need a community and educational tools to stay consistent. Because strength training for a few months and then stopping isn't going to significantly improve your fitness, health or life, but making it a lifelong habit will change the trajectory of your life forever.
In this course you'll be guided through 8 weeks of strength training, learning proper form and technique, and following a program that has a logical progression so you can...well..progress!
But what is exercise without the proper mindset and good nutrition?
We're not going to ignore those, either, but I'm not going to take up tons of your time or make it overly complicated. Each week you'll receive one simple high-protein recipe with a how-to cooking video plus food prep technique tips. As well, each week you will be provided a short, powerful educational video to help you stay motivated for life, with tips on how to train efficiently for your personal goals, how to develop a healthy, happy mindset to keep you focused and committed, and some simple tools to develop a healthier lifestyle.
And the best part is, you keep this course forever. It'll all be here for you whenever you need a friendly reminder or want to follow a guided workout.
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Getting Started...
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Week 1
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Podcast 1: All The Motivation You'll Ever Need
Here are some fundamental reasons you can't live without...that will motivate you to stay on this path for the rest of your life.
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Recipe 1: High Protein Puddin'
Here's an old classic with a high-protein twist! Easy, fast, and a great dish to prepare in advance for those busy weeks. Makes a great dessert, too!
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Class 1: Body Weight Basics
This workout will introduce you to the best body-weight exercises with optimal technique to not only build strength but improve mobility and joint stability so you become more flexible and are at a lesser risk for injury than ever.
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Class 2: Body Weight Leg Day
Welcome to your first LEG DAY! We'll use all body-weight exercises here to build up your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and quads (and anterior tibialis which most folks don't think about) while giving you the power to support happy hips, knees, ankles and feet.
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Class 3: Body Weight Upper Body Day
Here we go...probably one of the most challenging aspects to strength training for women is upper body strength. You don't need ANY equipment for this class (we'll get to the equipment next week), so grab your mat and get ready to build some serious strength in your shoulders, upper back, biceps, triceps and abs.
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Week 2
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Podcast 2: Why prioritize strength training? Myths about strength training.
In this podcast, we’ll look at the reasons why prioritizing strength training is a powerful tool to improving quality of life.
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Recipe 2: Superior Salmon Salad
A nutritionally superior version of the classic tuna salad. A quick and easy meal that can be prepared ahead of time and made as a snack on some crackers, a delectable salad, or a not-so-sinful sandwich!
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Class 4: Full Body Band Workout
Grab a stretchy therapy band or a tube band and we'll get to work. Full-body compound exercises that are as effective for growing muscle as they are for protecting the joints.
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Class 5: Lower Body Band Workout
Ready for LEG DAY #2 where we work with bands to increase the load on the legs.
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Class 6: Upper Body Band Workout
You'll probably appreciate having a few options for all of your various upper body muscles: deltoids, biceps, triceps, rhomboids, trapezius, lats...oh my!
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Week 3
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Podcast 3: How to Train
Here are two sad realities about how most people go about exercise: they do it randomly because they don't know where to start or how to progress, and then...they end up wasting tons of time being inefficient so they don't see or feel progress. Let's fix that with just a few tools and knowledge.
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Recipe 3: Body Builder's Brunch
Here’s a simple(ish) decadent brunch that packs the flavor but with some healthier twists! French toast with cinnamon-walnut-apple topping, turkey bacon & scrambled eggs!
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Class 7: Full Body + Weights
Full body with weights: 3 rounds, each 3 sets.
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Class 8: Lower Body with Weights
Lower body day with weights!
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Clas 9: Upper Body with Weights
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Week 4
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Podcast 4: Recovery
Like peanut butter and jelly…recovery is the other perfect partner to training.
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Recipe 4: Perfect Protein Parfait
A quick and dirty breakfast or treat, that will provide 20-40 grams of protein, easy peasy!
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Class 10: Full Body Compound Movements
Today we explore compound movements with weights.
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Class 11: Leg Day Cardio Options
3 rounds of 10 exercises, 3 options: bodyweight, jumps, or add weights!
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Class 12: Upper Body & Abs
An abdominal warmup with an obnoxious puppy, two rounds of intervals and an intense finisher!
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Week 5
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Podcast 5: The Power of Protein
In our first nutrition podcast, we’re learning about the most important macronutrient for muscle growth and health longevity: PROTEIN, and how you can leverage its powers to your advantage.
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Recipe 5: Sexy Chicken Thighs
An easy, protein- and fiber-filled meal that should be a staple in every household!
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Class 13: Full body with core & cardio options!
Three sets for full body strength and a touch of core and cardio too.
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Class 14: Leg Day GAME Day!
Lunges and squats and deadlifts, oh my! But only the cards can tell you what we’re doing…
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Class 15: Core & Upper Body
Three sets: bodyweight, dumbells, then bench or chair!
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Week 6
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Podcast 6: Nutrition Basics & Metabolic Health
Some overarching ideas on how to support yourself with good metabolic health and nutritional habits.
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Recipe 6: Quick Protein Sources
More of a recipe for success rather than an actual cooking recipe…here’s a how-to for keeping your kitchen stocked to support proper protein intake.
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Class 16: Full Body No Repeat
A flow yoga warmup followed by a set of 25 exercises, using compound movements to target upper body, core and legs.
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Class 17: Leg Day with Tabata on Top
A leggy cardio sandwich…
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Class 18: Triple Sets
A little light cardio with weights, plus three triple sets…
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Week 7
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Podcast 7: Mental Fitness
Our health is multi-faceted, and various aspects of our health effect others. In this podcast, I’ll introduce how I like to think about “mental fitness” for mental and emotional health, which certainly has an effect on how well we are able to develop healthy habits such as regular exercise.
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Recipe 7: Chocolate Salty Balls
A dessert? A pre-workout? A mid-afternoon snack?
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Class 19: Full Body Triple Sets
A quick core-centric warmup followed by 4 pairs of exercises which will be repeated three times!
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Class 20: Leg Day 2 Sets
Two sets of 5 exercises!
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Class 21: Upper Body Muscle Sets
5 sets of muscle-specific exercises.
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Week 8
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Podcast 8: How To Proceed?
Here are some ideas on how to progress in your physical fitness journey, and talk about general health, longevity, sleep, hormonal balance, nutrition, body composition, and mental fitness.
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Recipe 8: Chilly Chili
A winter favorite, here’s a few ideas for a delicious, protein-packed meal in one bowl!
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Class 22: Full Body Upper/Lower
10 bodyweight exercises followed by 3 sets of alternating upper/lower extremity work.
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Class 23: Leg Day Muscle Sets
Sequencing exercises based on muscle group!
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Class 24: Final Upper Body!
Three sets of three exercises, repeated three times. :)
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Q & A
Answering some final questions!
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What’s included:
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3 workouts per week for 8 weeks
Workouts are ALL LEVELS and you can take each at your own pace
You decide how difficult to make each exercise
Workouts are all only 30 minutes for maximum time efficiency
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Learn about how to train safely, efficiently, and how to develop a mindset that will keep you motivated for the rest of your life. We'll cover the basics of nutrition and I'll help you get clarity on your personal goals, direction and steps you need to take to become the best version of yourself.
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Fitness isn't complete without the sister science of nutrition. Get a weekly simple, healthy, high-protein recipe PLUS video tutorial with cooking and food prep tips!