- It’s strength training for women of a certain age.
Let’s go ahead and get moving and grooving.
And that means that we’re going to get started with
some arms circles and high knees you guys.
Oh my goodness doesn’t this feel wonderful already.
I’m excited about this one.
Welcome to the workout.
I’m Pahla B and your best middle-aged fitness friend
and today and every day, actually (laughs loudly).
We’re all about making peace with your menopausal body.
And one of the best ways to make peace with your body
is to make it strong.
You guys, as we go through menopause,
or as we have passed through menopause,
our bodies start to do something unpleasant.
They start to lose muscle.
They start to lose bone density.
They start to lose strength.
And the only way to get stronger, to keep your bones,
to keep your muscles is to do a beautiful,
simple strength training workout like this one today.
We are all about strength.
There’s no cardio.
There’s no jumping, obviously because there’s no cardio.
There’s no transitions to the ground.
There’s nothing I’m gonna say there’s nothing
complicated about today.
It is a simple strength training workout,
but we are using all complex moves.
And what that means
is that we are recruiting several different muscle groups
at the same time for a super effective,
super efficient workout.
Let’s go ahead and do some Arm Crossers with Booty Kickers .
You guys, I’ve got the handy-dandy [indistinct],
say for intervals of 40 seconds of work
and 10 seconds of rest.
And honestly the 10 seconds of rest isn’t really
because you’re gonna need so much rest (laughs)
from the exercises.
It kind of just to shake out a little bit
and get your mind ready to do the next exercise.
It’s much more about making sure
that we are very intentional about what we’re doing today.
Thinking about excellent form,
thinking about pulling in our core,
thinking about using our muscles in a way
that’s really going to benefit them.
And probably the best thing that I can tell you about that
is that we’re going to use moderate weights.
I’ve got a very manageable pair of dumbbells here for me,
which by the way,
you should have in your hands right now (laughs)
the way, gosh, darn it.
I always forget to tell you that before we start the warmup,
I feel like, you know, you know,
we don’t have dumbbells in our hands right now, (laughs)
but I know there are lots of trainers who want to tell you
that you have to lift heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy.
And sometimes you might, that’s totally okay,
once in a while, but it’s not something
that we need to do every day.
Let’s go ahead and do some welcome to my homes
because welcome to my home.
Welcome to the chair that holds my dumbbells, now (laughs).
The thing about using moderate weights,
I know that some of you might be wondering,
Oh, how in the world can I get results?
From using moderate weights.
Here’s how, you don’t get results from doing one workout.
You get results from doing one workout repeatedly,
consistently, maybe two or three times a week.
Not necessarily this exact one,
but something like this.
A couple of times a week,
you don’t have to knock yourself out to get results.
Honestly, they come over time with repeated actions.
And one of the best way to be consistent
is to do something manageable, to do something doable,
to do something simple.
And dare I say it fun,
we always have fun around here (laughs)
especially if you are new.
Welcome to the Pahla B Fitness channel.
We laugh, we talk a lot and we sweat.
We’re gonna go ahead and pick up our dumbbells here.
And we’re gonna get started with an exercise
that I call because it is sidestep or not.
Excuse me, step back, press ups,
because we are going to step back while we press up.
We’re go have a dumbbell in each hand,
but we’re going to step back with one foot
while pressing up with the opposite hand.
So we’re going across the body.
Let me go ahead and get my timer (timer beeps) here started.
The only reason I have a timer going today.
So step back, press up and then on the other side as well.
And oh my goodness.
Did you notice that we’re already working
on our balance today?
Oh yes, that is foreshadowing.
I do have some balance works for us today.
That means that you’re gonna wanna pull in your core,
really be thinking about excellent form
with moderate dumbbells.
You might be able to go fast and with the timer going,
you might be thinking that this is a speedy workout.
It’s really not meant to be.
We’re thinking about moving with intention
and we’re getting done as many as we get done,
the reason I have a timer,
so I don’t have to count.
I don’t like counting (timer beeps).
I’m not good at counting (timer beeps).
Here’s 10 seconds of rest.
Coming up next, we’re gonna do Side Step-up Curls.
Go ahead and lock your elbows right into your waist.
Don’t let your elbows come off of your waist (timer beeps).
We’re going to step to the side while we curl up,
put our feet together while we curl back down,
step to the side, curl up,
step together, curl down,
moving with intention on both the sidestep and the curling.
We’re moving our inner and outer thighs here
while doing our biceps curls.
This is a very simple (chuckles), complex exercise.
We’re toning muscles in both our upper and lower body,
as well as our abs.
Of course, when you’ve got your core pulled in,
we’re always working our abs,
but it’s not complicated.
And that to me is probably the best thing (timer beeps)
about today’s workout.
Here’s 10 seconds of rest
and coming up next, we’re doing Bent Over Flys.
Pull your core in nice and tight.
Gonna have your feet a little bit wider
than hip width apart.
Push your butt back (timer beeps).
And then from that position (timer beeps),
your hands are gonna face each other.
And then we’re gonna widen out those arms
until your hands face the ground,
keeping your core pulled in the entire time
and engaging your glutes the entire time
having your butt squeezed
is how you keep your back straight.
Then your big back muscles can lift the weights
to about shoulder height, more or less.
Your neck is nice and neutral.
We’re thinking good, strong thoughts
while we’re flying these dumbbells
squeezing, squeezing, squeezing
to keep your abs pulled in tight
so your back is straight (exhales)
not letting yourself shrug (timer beeps)
into that motion is probably the smartest thing we can do.
10 seconds of rest here and coming up next,
we’re doing something I call Tipping Stars.
So what this means is that (timer beeps)
we’re going to kick out to one foot to the side.
While we kick that foot out to the side,
the same hand is going up overhead
and the opposite hand is coming out to the other side.
Then we’re all coming back to the middle
and then we’re going to tip out the other way.
This is honestly (laughs) the most.
It’s complicated and complex.
Feel free to keep it a little bit closer, if you need to.
However far you can extend
is where you should get to.
That’s why I’m doing moderate weights today
so that I can actually get a nice full extension.
We’re working on our balance.
We’re pulling our core in.
We’re working those big back muscles.
We’re still doing some biceps (timer beeps)
and triceps work here too.
10 seconds of rest okay?
Coming up next is something I’m calling Dead Squat.
It’s neither a deadlift nor a squat.
It’s a little bit of both.
Feet about hip width apart maybe a little bit wider
back is straight.
You’re gonna roll the dumbbells
down the front of your thighs
till they get to your knees.
Then from there, you’re gonna bend your knees
without bringing them over your toes
to get your butt down a little bit.
And then back up with those straightened knees
and then stand all the way back up.
It’s half of a deadlift,
half of a squat,
really thinking about your excellent form here
keeps all the work in your rear chain.
You honestly shouldn’t feel this in your thighs,
kind of at all.
This is really, really finding
and moving your gluteal muscles,
half of a deadlift, half of (timer beeps) a squat,
and then stand it back up 10 seconds of rest.
I know, I know.
Coming up next, we’re gonna do Triangles,
feet a lot wider than hip width apart,
almost (timer beeps) uncomfortably wide honestly.
Weight start here at your chest.
One of is going to go up overhead
while you’re rolling the other one
all the way down your leg.
Let that hip jut out to the other side.
This is a hip complex exercise
that also uses a whole lot of abs
and upper body muscles.
I know you feel that having that one dumbbell
up overhead facing the ceiling the entire time,
really using those big back muscles,
triangles are one of the most complex
and yet simple exercises that we do
every inch of your body is involved in this kind of work
going from side to side (exhales).
And we’re not (timer beeps) super concerned.
10 seconds of rest.
Coming up next is wide open High Knees,
which is exactly what it sounds like.
We’re gonna have our elbows wide open,
weights start here at our chest (timer beeps).
As we bring up one high knee,
we’re gonna open up (exhales) those hands (laughs)
and then close them back up (exhales).
Keeping your elbows at shoulder height the entire time
means that you really need to have your core pulled in tight
the entire time.
Anytime we have our hands
above where they would naturally fall.
Your lower back really could volunteer to help with that.
So you really want to make sure that your abs
are pulled in nice and tight.
Keeping that belly button
as close to your spine as you can.
Nice job (exhales).
We don’t need to go fast.
We don’t need to get a bunch of these done.
Thank goodness (laughs).
Oh my goodness (timer beeps).
‘Cause some of these exercises are tougher than others.
10 seconds of rest.
And then coming up next,
we’re doing a Front Raise Side Raise,
which means that gonna have our feet (timer beeps)
about hip with the part, pulling your core.
We’re gonna do a front raise with one hand
and a side raise simultaneously with the other.
And then we’re gonna switch sides,
front raise, side raise.
Now this one does not engage your lower body quite as much,
except for the fact that you’ll notice
when you’re standing still with your core pulled in tight,
it actually really helps to engage your glutes as well,
gives you a nice firm stance.
You can’t be tipped over
when you’re holding yourself
squeezed, but not locked.
When it beeps again,
of course, we’re gonna get 10 seconds of rest.
Ha and you guys,
we are almost finished with the circuit.
I’ve only got a couple more exercises (timer beeps)
and I forgot to mention earlier.
I apologize 10 seconds of rest here,
coming up next.
We’re gonna do Peek a Boo Side Steps.
So the same kind of side step
that we were doing with the curls.
But this time we (timer beeps)
have our hands up a little bit higher,
elbows at chest height or shoulder height.
We’re gonna open them up,
open up those elbows and then close them up again.
When we step together,
open your elbows, open your feet (chuckles),
close your elbows, close your feet.
We’re not trying to get a certain number of reps done
because we are gonna go through this circuit two times,
we’re going to get plenty of reps of each exercise.
And honestly,
one of the nicest things that you can do for yourself
is to not worry so much about how much volume
you’re doing nearly so much as making sure
that what you are doing is excellent form..
Whatever you can get done (timer beeps)
and if that means that you’re not doing the whole interval,
here’s 10 seconds of rest.
Coming up next, we’re doing Delt Raise Side Kicks
palms face your body.
You’re gonna bring the dumbbells up to your chin
(timer beeps)
or your chest, wherever you can get them to
keeping the, your palms facing your body
while we’re kicking out to one side
and then kicking out to the other,
really not trying to shrug into this,
but thinking about moving with your elbows,
which uses the top of your back.
Muscles that feel a lot of tension sometimes,
but don’t necessarily do a lot of work
by asking them to work really deliberately.
It helps them get toned.
Oh my goodness.
And also (chuckles) it helps them
find out how they should be working normally.
Not just hunched up because we’re looking (timer beeps)
at our phone or 10 seconds of rest
or feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders.
Coming up next.
It’s our last exercise, it’s Side Bends.
The most deceptively difficult (timer beeps) exercise
one weight at each side, we’re going to bend to the side.
Now, you know how earlier we let our hip jut out
this time or squeezing our glutes
and not letting our hips move at all.
This is a teeny-tiny motion.
I’m barely even getting my hand down to like mid thigh.
All we’re doing is bending to the side
and then standing back up.
This is all abs and obliques.
This is about as isolated as we can get
our abs and obliques.
When we’re asking none of the rest of our body
to do any kind of movement,
still surprisingly complex though, right? (timer beeps)
‘Cause we’re holding everything else still.
Here’s 10 seconds of rest.
And then you guys, we’re starting the whole circuit again.
That was it.
You’ve seen everything.
It doesn’t get more complicated than that.
We’re gonna do step back (timer beeps), press ups.
So as you step back, we’re pressing up,
as you step forward, you’ll bring it down.
Find your balance, by holding in your core.
We don’t have to move quickly.
I know I’m already moving a little bit slower
than I did on round one.
On round one, I was like raring to go.
Here we go, woo hoo.
And then, you know on round two even moderate dumbbells,
they feel like work.
That’s the trick of moderation.
It’s still plenty of work,
but you don’t have to knock yourself out.
You will still have energy
to go about the rest of your day
to do whatever you need to do.
And you’ve made (timer beeps) your bones stronger
and you’ve made your muscles stronger.
Here’s 10 seconds of rest coming up next.
We’re gonna do the Side Step Curls,
and you’ve done something wonderful your body for your body.
We’re toning (timer beeps).
Here we go with this sidestep and curl up,
put your feet together, curl down,
curl up, curl down.
Thinking about the curl down.
Almost as much as the curl up
really helps use your triceps as well as your biceps,
but also keeps your core pulled in nice and tight.
Keeps your movements intentional
for your inner and outer thighs and your abdominals.
And obliques by holding
those elbows super close into your body
and keeping your core pulled in tight.
My friends, when it beeps again,
we’re gonna get 10 seconds of rest.
And then we’re moving on into those Bent Over Flys.
You guys (timer beeps) a workout like this one, okay.
A workout like this one
feels nice and simple while we’re doing it right?
Here comes Bent Over Flys,
Feet a little bit wider than hip with the part,
(timer beeps)
push your hips back
and then fly those arms out to the side.
Simple is absolutely the name of the game.
Here at this certain age,
my friends, there is no reason to knock yourself out,
to be getting any of the results that you want.
In fact, here at this age,
the more you knock yourself out, quite honestly,
the worse results you might get.
When we were younger,
it was easier to work hard,
but also our body could recover from it
much faster than it does now.
Now when we try and go hard, lift heavy,
do something (timer beeps) high intensity every day,
here’s 10 seconds of rest.
We can actually get injured a lot easier.
coming up next.
We’re doing those Tipping Stars,
the most complicated, complex exercise (timer beeps),
which is kinda why we’re getting it over with.
The foot that kicks out, is the hand that goes up,
the opposite hand, pushing out to the side.
So honestly your leg and one hand
are going opposite of each other.
And then the standing leg and the pressing up hand
are going opposite each other.
The almost making like a plus sign.
It’s a lot more like multiplication for me,
cause I can’t get all the way over.
But that’s what you’re aiming for
is something like
a weird, complicated plus size (laughs loudly).
Oh my goodness, you guys.
The thing about our age
and being near abouts menopause (timer beeps)
10 seconds of rest.
When it beeps again, we’re doing those Dead Squats.
Is that estrogen actually helps us recover
from hard workouts too (timer beeps).
I mean aside from its obvious job,
here we go with a half a deadlift,
feet a little bit wider than hip with the part
and then half a squat.
And then back up to that half a deadlift position
and then stand it up.
Roll the dumbbells down,
squat halfway just a little bit
don’t let your knees come forward too far.
Really feel this work in your booty?
Estrogen helps your muscles recover from workouts.
So if you’re still doing
super hard workouts and not recovering
as well as we used to,
or as quickly as we used to,
the damage could be done to your muscles,
your ligaments, your bones (timer beeps),
all kinds of things in your body
because it’s not recovering.
Coming up next.
We’re gonna do those Triangles.
So feet almost uncomfortably wide,
weight start here at your chest (timer beeps).
And then what happens is your body feels a lot of stress
because it’s not recovering from the exercise stress
and what your body does when it feels stress,
any kind of stress, mental stress, exercise stress,
any kind of stress,
Your body’s one and only biological response
is to store fat (laughs).
You guys, the harder you work,
the harder it is to get results at our age.
So that’s why we’re going moderate.
We’re being simple.
We’re being gentle.
And yet, we’re getting nice and strong.
We’re doing great things for our bones, our muscles,
our balance (timer beeps), our brain and our whole body.
10 seconds of rest,
Coming up next,
we’re doing those wide open High Knees.
And this, this is where the balance work comes in (laughs).
This is one of my (timer beeps) favorite things to do
elbows at chest height,
not necessarily this exact exercise (laughs)
this exact exercise is tough for me.
But this kind of,
kind of gentle balance work
where we’re just, we’re picking up one foot at a time.
We’re either kicking forward or kicking out to the side
or bringing up a high knee.
It’s not a ton.
I mean, this is, this is what like three seconds,
three to five seconds of balance work.
It’s small doses,
but small doses are how we get better.
And when we get better at balance,
we can stay on our feet for years to come.
This kind of work has a little bit of good for you.
And then (timer beeps) when we do it consistently
10 seconds of rest,
it adds up to a whole lot of good for you.
Coming up next, we’re doing Front Raise Side Raise.
We get to keep both feet on the ground (timer beeps)
for this, so just go ahead and find a comfortable stance.
One hand is doing a front raise.
The other arm is raise a side raise.
Then we switch core is pulled in tight.
Knees are both soft but strong.
You don’t want to lock your knees to be able to balance.
You always want to be engaging your glutes,
the fronts of your thighs, the backs of your thighs,
even your inner and outer thighs to a certain extent.
You wanna be engaging the muscles of
your legs when we’re standing,
who in a balancing position,
even, even with both feet on the ground (laughs),
you still in a balancing strong position.
When it beeps again, we’re gonna get 10 seconds of rest.
(timer beeps)
Oh golly,(exhales) had not a moment too soon,
except for the fact that the next thing that we’re doing
is Peek a Boo Side Steps (laughs loudly).
This is again arguably one of the more difficult ones
from me (timer beeps) we’re gonna have our elbows
at chest or shoulder height,
elbows together, and then elbows nice and wide
while we step apart.
Elbows back together when we stepped together,
wide apart and step together,
a little bit of Peek a Boo (chuckles)
and then close it up to
really thinking about keeping your core pulled in tight.
Once again, once you have hands,
anywhere above their natural position,
especially with something heavy in them,
your lower back can really volunteer for this kind of work
by pulling in your abs.
You’ll make sure that you keep the work exactly
where it’s supposed to be, which is your upper back.
Actually, it’s your big swimmer muscles (timer beeps)
doing this kind of work, 10 seconds of rest.
Coming up next (exhales) doggies.
Coming up next.
We’re doing that Delt Raise Side Kick
palms facing your body (timer beeps)
dumbbells nice and close together.
As we bring those dumbbells up to what your chin,
maybe your chest somewhere around about there
by raising your elbows as high as you can.
You’re gonna be kicking out to the side
when you’re kicking out to the side.
I know sometimes the idea here is
to be kind of thinking about your arms.
Think about your leg to your standing leg.
That knee is soft, but strong.
Your core is pulled in tight.
You’re engaging all those leg muscles.
That kicking leg, you’re squeezing
from the side of your booty.
That my friends, oh my goodness,
is how I’m gonna tell you we can get rid
of [Indistinct] bags, that’s not what I’m saying.
But that is how we can make that area of our body stronger.
(timer beeps)
10 seconds of rest coming up next.
Oh my gosh, you guys, this isn’t, we’re doing Side Bends.
This is the end of the second circuit.
The second and final circuit.
Feet about hip width apart (timer beeps)
hands are just at your side.
We’re gonna bend.
Oh my gosh.
Wherever your spine can take you
over to the side and then stand it back up.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze from those abs and obliques
bend over to the other side and back up.
Oh my gosh.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze to get over
and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze [indistinct].
You guys, I’m gonna tell you right now when it beeps again.
We’re done.
Oh, but we’re definitely not finished.
We got 10 seconds of rest.
And then we’re gonna do my favorite exercise.
And those of you who have been around
the Pahla B Fitness channel, you knew this was coming.
We’re working on balance and strength and core strength
and everything that we could possibly work on (timer beeps).
It’s Drinky Birds.
Of course your palms are going to face your body
and Drinky Bird.
In case you don’t know is a single leg, deadlift.
You’re going to raise one leg behind you
by squeezing from (timer beeps) your booty,
that leg that’s raising up behind you.
Keep those toes pointed at the ground.
Don’t let them kick out to the side.
Kicking out to the side is a compensation
that moves the work away from your glutes.
When in doubt, we always, always, always
want to work our major muscles
so that we can get the most bang for our back
from these simple
but complex exercises.
We are going back and forth.
This is one interval only.
We’re not gonna do more than that.
I know how much you guys love Drinky Birds.
Yes. I know how much you love Drinky Birds.
That’s why we’re not doing a ton of them.
Once again, small doses of balance (timer beeps).
Add up to big benefits.
Oh my gosh.
What a great job you did.
Go ahead and get your dumbbells completely
all the way out of the way.
We’re gonna cool it down (timer beeps)
and let our muscles come back to the position
that they like to be in.
Now here’s the thing.
After we do a strength training workout like this,
I know sometimes you’re like,
okay, I got to get on with my day and I totally agree.
I will have here for you onscreen.
I slightly longer cool down though,
because it’s really nice idea.
Even with moderate weights
to really stretch out your muscles
and let them know that it’s totally okay to go back
to their normal position.
That’s why we stretch and cool down
after any kind of a workout
is to remind your body that it doesn’t have to stay
in that clenched up position that it’s been in for the last,
however long (timer beeps) by 20 something minutes.
Oh, I totally forgot that I still had the timer on.
I meant to turn that off,
tapping a little bit while I goes (timer beeps)
there it is (laughs),
let’s go ahead and do some arm openers.
Oh my gosh, open up.
And then of course, close it up.
Give yourself a big hug and a pat on your back.
My friend, no matter if you love strength training
or this was the first time you’ve done strength training
or anything in between this workout was so good for you.
And I do hope you had a super fun time with it.
That it was simple enough
and yet complex enough (laughs)
that it feels like you’ve done some great work
because you really, really have my friend
super, super proud of you.
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