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    Try This Tough-ish Workout To Really Build Your Strength

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    Let’s admit it: most workouts are tough going. There’s always the element of challenging yourself every time you step up and throw down. But this workout, by Willow Way trainer and gym owner Alida Hendrikz, is tough as nails (ish) and will really test your mettle. At Willow Way, workouts work in six-week cycles. “Through our signature workouts, Strength, Effort, Grind and Speed, we focus on different strength movements, cardio, engine-building and gymnastics,” says Alida.

    Keen to give it a try? This tough-ish workout incorporates strength moves along with functional full-body movements that combined, make for an all-over torch that’ll burn calories like it’s nobody’s business.

    This workout consists of a warm-up and strength training circuit.

    Warm-Up

    For the warm-up, do three rounds of each move.

    10 Ring Rows

    Lateral Box step-ups, 8 per side

    10 Band pull-aparts

    The Tough-ish Workout

    Strength builder

    For this section, do a superset of moves for four minutes, completing three rounds.

    Barbell lunges, 8 per side

    Start by lowering your one leg into a lunge position, being careful to stabilise through your glutes and through your feet. Stand and return to start. That’s one rep.

    Pull-ups, between 9 and 12 reps

    The strict pull-ups can be performed with or without bands to help with assistance. You can break up the reps into smaller sets taking a quick break between reps to see if you can reach the top end of the reps range.

    EMOM (Every Minute On The Minute)

    For five minutes, work as hard as you can, completing this circuit before resting and going again for four rounds in total, giving you a quick 20-minute workout. “It is important to choose the right weight that will allow you to hit the rep ranges and challenge you to get the correct stimulus of the workout,” explains Alida. And don’t go too fast, she cautions, rather keep up a consistent tempo throughout that you can sustain.

    Minute 1: 15 Dumbbell floor presses

    Start by laying on the floor and bring your feet up closer to your body. Engage your core and keep your lower back pressed into the ground. Then, get your dumbbell ups and have your elbows not straight next to your body but more at a 45-degree angle from your body. Press the dumbbell up and breathe out when pressing up. Move through the movement with control.

    Minute 2: 20 Weighted box step-ups 

    Stand in front of the box and step up with one foot pressing through the heel to straighten your leg and make sure you are extended at the top before stepping down from the box. Make sure to engage your core, keeping your back straight and don’t drop your shoulders.

    Minute 3: 8 – 10 per side Dumbbell bent-over rows

    Keep your core engaged and your torso parallel to the floor. Exhale as you pull the dumbbell to your hip – control the movement on the way down and focus on keeping your shoulders square. Exhale as you pull the dumbbell to your body.

    Minute 4: 8 – 12 Knee tucks / Toes to bar 

    Jump onto the rig in an active position making sure your core and lats are engaged and that you have a full grip on the bar. From the active hanging position use your core to drive your knees to your chest and back down. Control the movement and perform as slow and strict as possible. If you’re doing toes to bar, the principle remains the same.

    Minute 5: 10 Calorie row  

    See exactly how they’re done with this video below: More

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      This Strength Leg Workout Will Build Strong, Sexy Legs

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      By Rachel CosgroveThe easy exercises in this strength leg workout will reward you with a flat stomach, tight butt and slim thighs so you can rock a skirt with total confidence.

      Carrying extra weight on your thighs? That could point to a dependence on steady-state cardio. To lean out your legs, you need to supplement your slow-and-steady routine with fast-and-furious interval strength training. Along with burning kilojoules, you’ll also be building lean muscle, which sets off a chain reaction that boosts your metabolism, fires up your fat burners and sculpts the lean, toned legs you long for.

      For this strength leg workout, perform 10 reps of each move without resting between exercises. Do as many rounds as you can in two minutes. Then rest for two minutes. Repeat two or three times.

      Time: 30 Minutes | Equipment: A pair of dumbbells (start with four to six kilos and increase the weight as that becomes too easy) | Good For: Legs

      The Strength Leg Workout

      1/ Dumbbell squat to overhead press

      Hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with your elbows bent and feet hip-width apart. Keeping your chest upright, bend your knees and lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor (A). As you stand, press the weights overhead until your arms are straight (B). Return to start. That’s one rep.

      2/ Alternating lateral lunge

      Holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides (A), step out to the left with your left leg; bend your knee and sit back to lower into a side lunge, keeping your back flat as you lower the right dumbbell to the inside of the left foot (B). Press through the left foot to return to start. That’s one rep. Repeat on the other side and continue alternating for five reps on each side.

      3/ Straight-leg deadlift with row

      Hold a pair of dumbbells in front of your thighs and stand with your feet hip-width apart (A). Bend forward and lower the weights until your back is parallel to the ground, keeping your back flat and the weights close to your body (B), then bend your elbows and pull the dumbbells up towards your chest (C). Return to start. That’s one rep.

      4/ Dumbbell squat jump

      Holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides, sit your hips back and lower into a squat (A), then push through your heels and jump as high as you can (B). That’s one rep.

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      The 15-Minute Countdown Workout For All-Over Quality Gains

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      Productivity experts often tell clients to tackle the most challenging task on their to-do list first. The reason: a feeling of accomplishment gives you momentum to check off other less-daunting tasks throughout the rest of the day – even as your attention span diminishes.

      The same logic can work at the gym: a reverse pyramid – or countdown – format forces you to do the hardest part of the workout first, when you’re physically at your peak, says strength and conditioning trainer Albert Matheny. Then it’s downhill from there: as the number of reps decreases during the workout, the mental momentum you’re building allows you to finish strong, even as your body starts to fatigue.

      Follow this countdown workout from Matheny two or three days a week. Perform five reps of each of the following exercises in order, moving from one to the next without resting. Take a short break (30 to 60 seconds) if needed, then repeat the circuit, completing four reps of each move. Continue until you reach one rep of each move.

      You’ll need: a set of dumbbells that allows you to complete the reps with proper form. Try three to four kilograms to start.

      The 15-Minute Countdown Workout

      Dumbbell Thruster

      Hold a dumbbell in each hand just above your shoulders, palms facing in, then sit your hips back and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor (A). Push through your heels to stand, pressing the weights overhead (B). Return to start; that’s one rep.

      Reverse Lunge

      Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides (A). Step back with your right leg and bend both knees as you lower until your left knee is bent 90 degrees (B). Push through your left foot to stand, then repeat on the other side. That’s one rep.

      Renegade Row

      Grab a pair of dumbbells and get into push-up position with your hands on the weights and your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart (A). Brace your core, then bend your right elbow to pull the weight towards your chest, keeping your hips parallel to the floor (B). Slowly lower the weight back to start, then repeat on the other side. That’s one rep.

      Spiderman Plank With Dumbbells

      Start in push-up position with your hands on a pair of dumbbells and feet slightly wider than hip-width apart (A). Brace your core, then bend your right knee towards the outside of your right elbow (B). Pause, then return to start and repeat on the other side. That’s one rep.MAKE IT HARDER: do a push-up between each rep after returning to start position. More