I realize that strength training is typically thought of as a male dominated activity but I did not create this video for just men. Kelli and I have been trying for a long time to get across to both men and women the incredible importance of incorporating strength training into the fitness regimen for the young, old, and in-between.

When most people think of strength training the first thing that comes to mind is "that guy at the gym" that grunts, bangs the weights around, flexes in the mirror, and has arms and legs the size of tree trunks.  Just keep in mind that "that guy" example is just the most extreme version of strength training and unfortunately for those who take body building seriously gives the rest of them a bad name.  There is also a version of strength training that is more moderate than that.

Training for increases in strength does not have to end in bench pressing a small car. Instead, focusing on increasing strength to make your life easier and making your body more capable can have incredibly positive repercussions.  For example, increasing muscle mass will increase your resting metabolism, meaning you will burn more calories while not doing any physical activity. The training required to increase muscle mass also increases bone density, which in turn makes your bones stronger and less susceptible to osteoporosis later in life.

On top of all of this the only way to truly change the shape of your body is to train for more muscle. Want a rounder butt? Strength Train. Want an hourglass figure or a tapered V shape? Lift weights.  Want to increase your chances of dropping fat content and keeping it off? Muscle building is the way to go!

So, women, let go of the idea that touching more than 5 pounds will make you look like a body builder and get on board with lifting more weight and I promise you, that you will not regret it. And for both men and women, remember that form is always more important than the amount of weight you lift and free wights (dumbbells) and body weight strength training is always better than machines for strength you can use in every day life.

Workout Structure:
- 10 Repetitions Each
- 6 Exercises Total
- 3 Sets per Exercise
- AB, AB Super Set Format

Equipment:
- Dumbbells
- Bench (optional)

Warm Up / Cool Down:
- Not Included

Exercises:
- Hammer Curl
- Tricep Kick Back

- Incline Curl
- Overhead Tricep Extension (palm down)

- Overhand Curl
- Overhead Tricep Extension (palm forward)

Though you might not think that this workout burns a lot of calories because it is only using the arms, it actually burns calories at a very respectable rate. Though you can definitely burn more targeting larger muscle groups like the upper legs or chest and back these medium sized muscles still use up a lot of energy. It is difficult to give a calorie burn range for strength training routines because depending on the amount of weight you are lifting the amount you burn can drastically change.
But, for general purposes the calorie burn for this video is around 5 calories per minute on the low end and 10 calories per minute on the high end.  Keep in mind that if you are using very light weight then you could be below this range and if you are using very high amounts of weight then you could be over this range.