If you’ve looked at purchasing at-home workout equipment (especially dumbbells!) you may have noticed that it is in short supply! And whatever supply there is will cost you the very arm and leg you were trying to make stronger with the purchase.

Covid-19 and the resulting stay-at-home orders have increased demand for fitness equipment dramatically. In normal times, you could typically get weights for between $1.00-1.50 per pound. Recently, I’ve seen people selling dumbbells for between $3.00-5.00 per pound!

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly shown how much we rely on gyms for exercise, which is not a bad thing. I LOVE teaching and attending classes at Shred 415, and gyms offer great equipment that we may not have access to otherwise.

BUT we don’t need access to a gym, or even a dumbbell to get a great workout in, and I’m talking about more than running, biking, hiking, etc. I mean a great STRENGTH workout.

Many of you have been asking me for ideas about how to adapt our Total Bodi workouts for when you don’t have dumbbells. This has become especially relevant now, because you would have a hard time finding any if you wanted to get any!

With that in mind, I decided to put together a small video series showcasing how you can use common household items to replace formal weights and still help you get an awesome workout in.

This first video showcases using waterbottles. These would help replace things you may do with lighter weights (such as shoulder exercises) and also serve as markers for HIIT workouts (jumping, plank taps, etc.). 

Obviously, the bigger the bottle the heavier the weight, so you can adapt for your needs.

I’ll be creating and posting more videos to my Youtube channel showcasing how to use some of the following household items to help you get a great workout:

• Water bottles
• Bucket filled with rocks, flour, sugar, books, whatever you want!
• Backpack filled with books
• Dish towels or rags
• Books
• Milk jugs/Laundry Detergent
• Thick blankets
• Children! This one is as much play as exercise
• Resistance bands (yes, these are technically gym equipment, but they’re much cheaper than weights and really versatile). The first one shown below is a set Erik got me and I've enjoyed them. Second set is a bit cheaper.

• After my time running with BYU, where we had great strength coaches, I kind of lost the strength aspect of fitness. With cardio alone, I was missing out on pretty much all of those core functional movements besides gait. Yes, I was in great running shape, but ask me to do push-ups and I was toast in seconds! You don’t have to know a ton, or be familiar with “fancy moves” to see some awesome functional benefits from strength training. ​

​

• Strength training can burn just as much, if not more, energy than cardio or aerobic training. What?! I know, I thought the same thing. But strength training is more effective in increasing your overall metabolic rate than cardio, which means your body will be burning more calories all the time and not just when you are working out.

Those three points debunked what my concerns were, but that’s not even all of the awesome benefits we can gain from strength training!

To continue:

• Strength/weight training is so important in building bone density to prevent things like osteoporosis in the future. The peak time for you to build up bones density and strength is in your mid twenties! This sets you on a trajectory for the next 60+ years of your life in terms of bone strength and deterioration. It’s never too late to start, though. Anything you can do with weight bearing or strength building activity (with appropriate guidance) will only help you now and in the future.

• Strength training benefits cardiovascular health as well as blood glucose levels. Your heart will be stronger and more efficient, and your body will have more muscle cells to uptake glucose from your blood for utilization - thereby decreasing blood sugar.
• One of the hardest things after losing weight is keeping it off. Strength training is more effective at maintaining weight loss than cardio/aerobic exercise alone.
• Strength training helps you to connect and become more in tune with your body. You gain greater awareness of your body’s functions and learn the best and proper ways to move and perform different physical tasks.

And finally…

• Strength training will help you to feel confident, capable, and gain a greater appreciation for your body. This is my biggest “why”. I have always struggled with self-confidence, and I’m sure we all do at times! However, the more I get into strength training, I feel myself getting stronger and more capable of doing things I couldn’t before. I have gained a much greater appreciation for my body that (before) I would shame and degrade.

​
Gaining physical strength and challenging myself in this way has crossed over into mental, emotional, and even spiritual strength. I believe that our bodies house our spirits and the more we strengthen and care for our physical bodies, the better our spirits can thrive!

These are some of the main reasons why Total Bodi focuses on strength training. There are so many health benefits, as well as just lifestyle benefits. I can also say that there are some huge confidence benefits as well.

If I had to sum it up in one word, what I hope you will gain from participating in my Total Bodi program is that you feel EMPOWERED. Empowered to challenge those misconceptions about yourself, your circumstances, and what you can and can’t do; EMPOWERED to accomplish your goals, do hard things, lift those heavy weights and get in 1 more rep; and most of all EMPOWERED to be your best self and be happy doing it!

So, if you haven't already, try the Total Bodi free week trial, and see how strength training can challenge you in new ways! If you're in the program, reflect on YOUR "why" and share in the comments below! With strength training you’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain!

Xo,
Ang