Hey there! Happy Friday. I've got a good little strength workout to share with you today. Ever since I started working as a trainer for the Thrive program, I've totally been sold on the effectiveness of total body, functional workouts. They're hard, practical, and most importantly - safe! Unless you're training for something like a race or competition, I totally believe that functional fitness is the best way to get you feeling good and looking good. It's so important that we do things inside the gym that make things outside the gym easier. That's functionality.  Anyway, just a few random thoughts about my first world life over here...

Firstly, always thinking and praying for all of those in Orlando who were affected and continue to keep all my family in my thoughts after finding out some scary news about my mother. Love is love is love is love is love is love!! And my mom is as strong as a horse so no worries, she's totally going to be fine. 

Bloodline is back and season 2 was SO intense!! If you don't watch Bloodline (it's a Netflix original series) please go do yourself a favor. It's set in the Florida Keys and the cast is SPOT ON. These people are straight up Florida Keys natives. OMG it's so good. I've also tried to get into Orange is the New Black, but I think this season stinks. 

Also in my spare time I've been trying to take advantage of the warm weather by doing unnecessary yoga poses on rocks and taking photos of it...

The Wissahickon Trail in Philadelphia is so wonderful. I had a morning off last week and took an hour stroll through the trail. Such a great way to start the day!

This past weekend was an awesome one, too. On Friday I taught a spin class at Body Cycle Studio, grabbed a beer at Rogue's Gallery with good company and then Michael took me out to my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Poquito. 

I worked Saturday morning, and then finally made it down to Spruce Street Harbour Park for the first time this Summer on Saturday night. Followed immediately by a trip to Big Ass Slices in Old City...

Yesterday we head down to Brigantine beach for a gorgeous day! Wishing I was still in this exact position...

And now because my mind is on beergaritas, Big Ass Slices and beer on the beach, let me just share this workout to help reverse the effects of beer...

Total Body Dumbbell Workout

This workout is a great way to work on your functional strength while keeping your heart rate up the entire time. If you can't tell, circuit style training is my favorite way to train - mostly because you can get in an awesome workout in less time and work your entire body. 

Here's a video of the exercises:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL6CjJU36vM[/embed]

Make sure on every single exercise that you keep your core tight for proper alignment! Especially on the shoulder presses and front squats. You'll avoid low back pain by keeping your back flat the whole time. Try to make rest periods short and keep moving! You can also modify the mountain climbers by slowing them down. You can also modify the ploy lunge into a reverse lunge, just take out the jump. 

Enjoy and have a great week! It's the first day of Summer, YAY!

XO- Rach

Did you have a nice weekend?

Any summer plans coming up?

Favorite Netflix shows at the moment?

Gone are the days where we have time to focus on and isolate each and every muscle group at the gym. Time is precious these days and furthermore, there is limited space and equipment at the gym with the new years resolution crowd! That is exactly why compound movements should be your best friend. They will get you the results you want without spending tons of time at the gym.  Simply put, exercises can be broken down into two basic categories: compound and isolation exercises. Compound exercises work more than one muscle group at a time (most of the time almost all muscle groups!) and they are always multi-joint exercises. Isolation exercises use one muscle group at a time and are only single joint exercises. Here's an example to make it clearer to visualize: A barbell squat includes movement of your hip & knee joint and fires up your quads, glutes, back, core and hamstrings. This is a compound movement. A seated leg extension includes the movement only at your knee joint and only targets one muscle group: your quadriceps. See the difference?  Now of course there's always a time and place for isolation exercises, but if you're short on time or can only get to the gym 2-3 days per week, read on to see how compound exercises can be a game changer.

3 Major Reasons Why You Should Do Compound Exercises

1. Functionality

Compound exercises are functional. In our daily routines, it is very rare that we are only utilizing one muscle group at a time. Pretty much every movement in every day activities, like walking, running, carrying groceries, sitting, playing sports, etc. involve moving multiple joints at a time. Compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, etc. mimic these everyday movements and can make us stronger for life. 

2. Bigger Bang For Your Buck

As compound movements utilize more muscle groups at once, your working harder, burning more calories and building strength all over your body in less amounts of time. Compound exercises also allow you to lift a bit heavier weight because you're engaging your entire body. Front squats and deadlifts, for example, are one of the best exercises that can be done (especially for you ladies!) because they require essentially every muscle in your body to work hard! And I'll tell you this - my core is sore every time after I do front squats because our cores work so hard to stabilize in a front loaded movement, and NEVER after I do crunches. Forget the endless crunches and work various muscle groups at once! 

3. Increase Lean Muscle Tissue All Over

Contrary to popular belief, heavier compound movements are really the tools you need to "tone" and "tighten" your entire body. Lifting heavy weights with proper and safe form will most definitely not make you bulky or spike your testosterone levels! It will do just the opposite: burn fat, boost your metabolism, define your muscles and make you one strong, badass lady. 

Here are some excellent resources around the web to help you learn more about adding compound exercises into your workout: 5 Compound Exercises You Should Add To Your Workout, ACE Fitness 5 Best Strength Moves For Weight Loss, Health Magazine Difference Between Isolation & Compound Exercises, Livestrong Here's a couple of my favorites! The first one is a side elevated squat with an upright row and lateral leg raise, phew! This one works literally your entire body and gets your heart rate up like no other. I also can't live without my sumo squats! 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbfNLeyn2nE[/embed]

Now tell me, do you incorporate compound exercises into your workout? Would you like to start? Would you like to see more workouts on my blog incorporating movements like these? Have a great day!! XO- Rach