STROOPS GIVE YOU STRENGTH!

I love working with women in the health, fitness and lifestyle arena. From clients I’ve had the honor of meeting through clinical weight loss, to the young mom in the gym looking to get back in shape, to the 40 something professional who has zero time to waste in busy day, to motivated athletic women who attend my circuit training and toning classes at bikini bootcamp retreats in Tulum – there are a few thingsI hear over and over again…

Two of the big ones?

“I have no upper body strength!”

“Push ups are too hard and don’t even talk to me about how many pull ups I can do!”

My response?

#1 - YES, you do have upper body strength and no, you don’t have to do struggle through push ups or pull ups to get the results you want.

#2 – Stroops!

Stroops is my all time favorite brand of resistance band exercise equipment. Stroops are portable, affordable and can be used for workouts anywhere and anytime. Choosing a band will depend on the type of workout you are doing. If you are performing upper body strength training exercises such as chest presses, rear deltoid rows, shoulder presses, punching and bicep curls with high reps of 50 to 100, you will probably use a thinner band. Thinner bands marked with light colors on the Stroops.com website have a lower resistance. If you are planning on performing between say 10 to 20 reps per set in your upper body program, you would want to choose a thicker band which is marked with darker colors on the Stroops site. Your fatigue level while performing circuit training (combined cardio and strength training) will also play a roll when choosing a resistance band. One easy choice would be to choose a medium-high level band (like the one I have in dark orange in the video) depending on how intense you conduct your training.

For more information check out - https://stroops.com/

Below are 2 basic exercises that will tone your chest & back.  No push ups or pull ups required!

CHEST PRESS EXERCISE

 Orange Stroops Band (medium-heavy resistance level)

 2-4 sets of 10-15 reps or 30-60 sec rounds

• Stagger feet in a lunge like position
• Hook thumbs in handles and lean forward to balance on one leg with a bent knee
• Arms are bent at 90 degrees to start (with tension)
• When you’re stable, exhale and press arms forward
• Return arms to 90 degrees & switch legs

REAR DELTOID ROW & SQUAT

Orange Stroops Band (medium-heavy resistance level)

2-4 sets of 10-15 reps or 30-60 sec rounds

• Grab the handles of the band and walk back to establish tension
• Stand in a wide squat position with arms reaching like the video
• Pull the band  behind you (row) as you stand/jump
• Return to squat position and continue the set