This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tsamma Juice. All opinions are entirely my own.
What better way to kick off the New Year than with a focus on STRENGTH! I don’t know about y’all but when the temperatures drop, my motivation to workout outdoors does as well. I find myself heading to the gym more to lift and run intervals as well as wanting to take as many hot yoga classes as possible.
One of the topics that I get asked about the most by my female readers, students and clients is strength training. I get a lot of feedback that it’s confusing to know where to begin and what to do, that it can be intimidating to navigate the weights area of the gym (especially this time of year!), and that it’s just hard to get into/not their favorite way to sweat.
I get it. I used to be that way too. Luckily, I joined a friend for BodyPump during a time when group exercise classes were WAY out of my comfort zone, but I quickly fell in love with the class…and the results! Fast forward 10 years and I’ve been lifting consistently ever since and now teach group exercise and strength myself! Never say never people! 🙂
I have said this once and I’ll say it over and over again but nothing has changed the shape and composition of my body like strength training has. On average, I lift 3-4 times per week but I tell my clients if you can strength train 3-4 times a week, great. If you can strength train 2 times a week, great. If you can lift once a week, great. Just do it! As women, it’s SO good for our bodies and it promotes longevity and aging well. Also, more muscle = more calories burned = you can eat more. WINNING.
Over the last eight months since I’ve been teaching Y2 Strength, I’ve traded regular gym lifting sessions with barbells, machines, kettlebells, and dumbbells for dumbbells, bodyweight and bands pretty much exclusively. I can tell you honestly that I have still loved the results and have maintained my muscle mass working with dumbbells, bands and bodyweight. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to get a good workout in!
I’m excited to share a dumbbell workout with you today that I taught some of my strength classes this past week. I think you’ll love it and it’s something you can easily do in the comfort of your own home or at the gym without a lot of space.
BUT FIRST, let’s talk about today’s workout sponsor.
TSAMMA WATERMELON JUICE
It’s Tsamma Watermelon Juice (pronounced SAH-MAH)! I have so much interesting info to share with you guys about rehydrating after your workouts with watermelon juice.
First, it’s a 100% woman owned business! (wooo!) Tsamma Juice was founded in 2014 by Sarah Frey and is grown, made and bottled by Frey Farms’ watermelon farmers, who are one of the nation’s largest watermelon growers.
Each bottle of Tsamma Watermelon Juice is made from over one and a half pounds of cold-pressed watermelon!
Just look at that gorgeous pink color! There is no sugar, artificial color or flavor added and the juice is vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO. The ONLY ingredient in this bottle is 100% cold-pressed watermelon juice. (Although they do also make a formula with coconut water too…yum!)
Watermelons contain Vitamins A, B, and C. These vitamins are essential for many functions, including proper immune system function, skin health and increased metabolism. They also have antioxidant properties to remove harmful free radicals.
And when it comes to hydration, cold pressed watermelon juice is an awesome choice due to it being a natural source of L-citrulline, lycopene and potassium. L-citrulline boosts muscle recovery and blood flow for rapid rehydration with amino acids. Lycopene is a natural antioxidant and watermelons contain 4 times the amount of lycopene found in a tomato. And we all know what a powerhouse potassium is with its essential electrolytes!
WHERE TO FIND IT!
Tsamma Juice is available in the produce section at Publix with other juices. If you’re curious to give it a try, there will be a $1 off coupon in the Publix weekly ad between January 27 – February 25 OR you can find the coupon online.
3 SET DUMBBELL STRENGTH WORKOUT
Let’s chat about that workout now!
There are three big sets of work. Each set has four exercises that you will perform 20 reps of for two rounds through before moving on to the next set. I have left no muscle groups behind here and by the end of this workout you will have trained your chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, quads, calf muscles, abs and MORE!
When it comes to strength training, I prefer to train full body a few times a week rather than break up the days. It just works better for me and is more efficient for my time/energy.
And because I know you guys find it to be very helpful, I made a video where I coach you through each movement so you can understand the form, alignment and focus of the exercises.
I hope that you’ll make 2018 the year of committing to adding strength into your workout mix whether it’s 3x a week or once! I also encourage you to go out and get that Tsamma Watermelon Juice from Publix to try a new way to hydrate.
As always, I’d love to hear your feedback on the workout and the Tsamma Watermelon Juice!
FINAL QUESTIONS
For those of you who strength train regularly, when did you start? What got you hooked? Were there any “barriers to entry” that held you back? Have you noticed changes in your body since you’ve been strength training?
For those of you who don’t strength train or are on and off with it, tell me a little more about why so that I can understand and better help in the future! 🙂
Have you ever tried cold-pressed watermelon juice!?
This workout looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it!
I started strength training years ago, but got serious about it because of YOU! 🙂 I’ve always wanted a more sculpted look and after you wrote about how strength training is what made all the difference in the way your body looked, I was on board. I now crave strength training and love how strong it makes me feel.
I’ve never tried cold-pressed watermelon juice but I’ll be on the lookout for it. I love that you support small, women-owned businesses!
Hey Joy – this comment makes me SO HAPPY! Yay, yay, yay!
This looks like an awesome workout! Can’t wait to try it out.
Question for you though…I know you are pregnant (I am too, 19 weeks) and I’ve been avoiding any crunches for the past 8 weeks or so but I have been consistent with full body strength workouts 2x/week. I know it varies for everyone but should I do something different for the last exercise in this workout? It’s so confusing to know what you should/shouldn’t do.
Congrats on your pregnancy!
I was just demonstrating the crunch for this workout. I stopped crunching back at like 8-10 weeks. Just didn’t feel right for my body. I would either skip this movement all together or do another core exercise like spinal balance reaches.
It is confusing!
I started “heavy” traditional weight lifting about a 1 1/2 year ago after consistently going to the gym for 5 years doing mainly boot camps that used lighter weights, bands, body weight– which created a great base for heavier lifting. I also ran a ton. As a personal trainer, I thought I was good to develop my own programs, but found I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. I started working with a personal trainer a month ago and I’m hooked. He’s working on my hip imbalances and he pushes me harder than I’d ever push myself!!! Now I’m lifting 4x a week, 2 HIIT sessions a week and light cardio on rest days. Gone are the days where I feel the need to run at least 30 minutes on the treadmill to feel like it was a workout. Also, heavy weight lifting definitely increases the appetite so I’m having to learn to eat differently to build muscle rather than maintain weight. I see more positive body changes like tighter legs/butt and abs with lifting than with just cardio! Go for it ladies!! I find it so empowering to move heavy things/- and I’m working on that pull up!
Oh my gosh Kate, I also started working with a trainer a few years ago even though I was a trainer and it was the best thing ever for my body and routine. I got SO MUCH stronger. It was awesome!
Hi Jen,
I’ve been reading for a while but I have never commented! I love your blog 🙂
I used to be a soccer player in middle/high school (I’m a 23 year old teacher now) but nowadays I stick to yoga about once a week and doing the elliptical at the Y. I’m finding that both are starting to bore me. I’ve been wanting to do more strength training but I am pretty intimidated- I usually don’t like to use the machines or weight room at the gym because I don’t know where to start!
Would you recommend this workout for a beginner? Any other ideas on how to get started? I belong to the Y so maybe I’ll check out a bodypump class. My body type is thin/lanky and small framed which just makes me even more nervous to start!
Thanks for any thoughts you have!!
Carly
Hey Carly – thanks so much for reading and for your comment!
Regarding getting started with strength training, BodyPump classes are a great place to start! I also have a ton of dumbbell workouts on my blog that you could easily do in the gym on your own that feature pretty basic movements. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment or machines to get a good strength workout in! I have a whole page with workouts and you can search by category. So many for you to try. I know it’s a little intimidating at first but stick with it! The results are worth it!
How do you suggest I figure out what size/weight of weights would be best for me to do this workout? How heavy are the weights that most people in your class use for these, or what would you suggest starting with for someone who regularly runs and does yoga and can do about 10 push-ups?
Your dumbbell selection might change depending on the exercise. Bigger muscle groups = bigger weights. In general, you want to choose a weight where the last few reps of the exercise are feeling very challenging. You shouldn’t get to the end of the set and feel unfatigued or like you can keep going for 10 more reps.
I did the workout just now – loved it.
awesome! thanks for reporting back!
this juice looks awesome!
i strength train 2-3 times per week plus some body weight exercises here and there in various classes. i started maybe 7 or 8 years ago doing it consistently and completely agree…major changes in my body, for the better! but not only looks, it helped my overall function, especially running and injury prevention. plus i like to mix things up so its a great way to do so.
awesome post 🙂
yes, yes I can’t agree more with what you’ve said. strength training is a critical part of my overall fitness routine for many reasons from aesthetic to injury prevention and i’m so grateful I got into it.
Thanks for a good workout!
you’re so welcome!
Thanks so much for posting this workout! I find that if I work my legs too much they get a little bulky, have you found that with your clients? If so, what do you suggest? And also for those that aren’t naturally lean (I have a pear shaped body) how important do you think diet is and what way of eating do you suggest? Thanks:)
Hey Stephanie,
Everyone’s body type/composition is different. You can’t do much to change that but I do think that diet and exercise are key to being “lean.” As far as diet goes, you know I’m a big fan of the whole 80/20 way of looking at things. I’ve never been big on things like counting macros or carb cycling or keto diets…seems like too much work to me but some people have good results with them. I think finding the right diet/style of eating is a little different for everyone. But remember, strength training is one of the biggest ways to increase lean muscle.
As far as the “bulking,” I would just focus more on higher rep sets with lighter weights versus short heavy sets. Also, include a lot of stretching or yoga into your routine.
Hi Jen,
I used to strength train 7 years ago (in 2011) and started strength training in January at the end of a long hiatus! Before January I was running 3 times a week and practicing hot vinyasa 3-5 times a week for the last 4 years. I felt fine but was feeling a bit bored with my routine and missed the feeling I get after a hard strength workout, so I’ve swapped out my running days for workout days at the gym where I do one of your circuits, and then run interval sprints on the treadmill before or after. Looking forward to seeing how this change in routine changes my body in a few months.
I tried this workout this morning and really enjoyed it 🙂 thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! xo
Hi Amanda,
I’m so excited to hear that you are using my workouts and getting back to strength training. I hope that you see results soon and that you’re feeling strong in your body!
I love sharing this stuff with you guys! 🙂
I just want to say how much I appreciate the work you put into your sponsored posts. They are always just as full of good content as your non-sponsored posts and it’s obvious that you really put in the effort to make it that way. I even find that I’m more inclined to want to try the product, too, because of that. So thank you — I will be trying both the watermelon juice and this workout. 🙂
Hi Bonnie, thank you so much for this note. It really means a lot to me. I try really hard to make my sponsored posts something you’d normally see here on the blog and something that fits with my overall content strategy.
Thanks for the info! I totally agree that strength training is so important for us as women. I used to be primarily a cardio junkie with an occasional body pump session thrown in. About 6 months ago, I joined a Burn Boot Camp with a huge focus on lifting. I love it so much but from an aesthetic standpoint, I have found my shoulders broadening and my lats are more defined. While I have gotten a ton stronger, I don’t like the look on me. (I am a former competitive Butterfly swimmer and remember hating this part of my body shape at the time so maybe my body remembers looking like this?) This is probably way too vain but I find that I feel way less feminine even though I am feeling super strong and I love that feeling. Is there a good way to decrease muscle mass in my back and shoulders while still getting a great strength training workout? How do you find the mix between strength and cardio?
Hey Elizabeth – I’m glad you have been enjoying BBC. I haven’t tried it but I’ve heard great things.
Regarding body composition, it’s so different for everyone! In your case, doesn’t BBC do body part specific or focused days? Could you skip more of the shoulder/upper body days or go lighter on your weights?
I did this workout this afternoon and it was a great full body routine, as you stated! I love this format of workout, so thanks a bundle for putting it together and sharing it. The only thing I did differently was to put 20 burpees between each of the rounds 🙂
It’s a rainy Memorial Day and I wanted to get in a quick strength session without leaving my house. This was perfect – I’m covered in sweat! Thanks for sharing, and congrats again on the beautiful baby!