If you’re looking to change your body shape, we’ve got you covered.

Here, Laura Hoggins, a personal trainer and author, takes you through your new workout plan.

Your New Workout 

Include a few compound movements in each workout, which work multiple muscles and joints at once. Do eight to 12 reps in each set.

“Women should lift heavy enough that the last two to three reps of a set are challenging but doable with good form,” says Laura.

You can use dumbbells or a barbell for these exercises:

SQUATS 

5

• Hold a dumbbell in each hand, letting them hang at your sides. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and core tight.
• Initiate the squat by pushing your hips back, as if you are reaching for a chair behind you.
• Bend your knees and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or as low as you can comfortably go while keeping your back straight and chest up). Keep the dumbbells close to your sides.
• Push through your heels and the middle of your feet to powerfully drive back up to the starting position.
• At the top, fully straighten your legs and squeeze your glutes for a complete repetition.

Try a goblet squat with one, heavier dumbbell held at the chest, or with a barbell on your upper back/neck.

DEADLIFTS

5

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend over and grip the bar with your hands just outside your shins.
• With the bar still on the floor, bend your knees until your shins touch the bar. The bar should be going across the mid-foot. Keep your hips low, chest up, and back straight. Take a big breath and brace your core.
• Drive through your heels, pushing the floor away. Stand up by extending your knees and hips simultaneously. Keep the bar in contact with your body (dragging it up your shins).
• Finish the lift by standing tall. Squeeze your glutes together and lock your hips and knees.
• To lower the bar again, hinge at your hips first, keeping your back straight, and allow the bar to descend down your thighs. Once the bar passes your knees, bend your knees to lower it to the floor with control.

BENCH PRESS

5

• In the gym, set up a barbell on a rack with a flat bench underneath it. Lie on the bench and, planting your feet firmly on the floor, grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down (like you’re pinching a pencil between them). Arch your upper back slightly and drive your feet into the floor to lock in your entire body.
• Take a deep breath and push the bar straight up and off the rack. Move it forward until it is balanced directly over your shoulders. This is your starting position (see illustration above).
• Slowly lower the bar to your mid-chest, just below your collarbone. Keep your elbows tucked to a 45-to-70-degree angle from your body (avoid flaring them out wide).
• When the bar lightly touches your chest, press it forcefully up and slightly back (not straight up) until your arms are fully extended over your shoulders. Exhale, and then repeat the movement for the next rep.

Try with dumbbells if you are at home or are new to the exercise and want more flexibility or range of motion, for example.

BENT OVER ROWS

5

• Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other (neutral grip). Bend your knees slightly, then hinge at your hips so your torso is close to a 45-degree angle to the floor.
• Keep your back straight, chest up, and core tight. Let the dumbbells hang straight down, just below your knees.
• Lead the movement by pulling your elbows up and back towards the ceiling, drawing the dumbbells toward the sides of your chest/lower rib cage.
• At the top of the movement, squeeze your back muscles together (imagine pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades).
• Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position with your arms fully extended, maintaining the bent-over posture for all repetitions.

Try with a barbell too.

OVERHEAD PRESS WITH SQUAT

5

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand by your sides (palms facing inward). Keep your chest up and core tight.
• Initiate the squat by pushing your hips back, as if you are sitting down into a chair.
• Bend your knees, keeping your back straight and the dumbbells hanging close to your body. Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or as low as comfortable.
• Push through your heels and the middle of your feet to drive your body back up to the starting position. Fully straighten your legs and squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.

Add on a couple of accessory lifts, which target specific areas and work only one side of the body at a time.

Think biceps curls or single-leg glute bridges.

Short on time?

“I suggest pairing exercises together from opposite muscle groups (such as quads and hamstrings), or an upper and a lower exercise to get the biggest bang for your time spent in the gym,” says Laura.