Exercises for Every Setting

Strength training isn’t just about lifting heavy weights, it’s about building a strong, resilient body that supports you in everyday life. Whether you prefer working out at home or maximizing your time in a personal training studio, incorporating the right exercises can help you gain strength, improve mobility, and prevent injuries.

Here are five effective strength exercises you can do at home and five more that take full advantage of our fully equipped private, personal training studio equipment.

5 Strength Training Exercises You Can Do at Home

No gym? No problem. These bodyweight and minimal-equipment moves will challenge your muscles from the comfort of your home.

1. Bodyweight Squats

Why it works: Strengthens your legs, glutes, and core while improving balance.
How to do it:

• Stand with feet hip-width apart.
• Lower your body as if sitting in a chair, keeping your chest up.
• Press through your heels to return to standing.

ISO-HOLD BONUS: Once you feel comfortable, confident, and able to get through a few reps without issue, try holding at the bottom of your squat for a short 5-count, giving you a bit of a burn on each rep.

2. Push-Ups

Why it works: Builds upper body and core strength while reinforcing good posture.
How to do it:

• Start in a plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
• Lower your chest to just above the floor, keeping your elbows at a 45-degree angle.
• Push back up to the starting position.

ISO-HOLD BONUS: Try holding at the bottom of your push-up, with back, shoulder, and even core muscles engaged, for a short 5-count, giving just a bit more while getting better gains!

3. Glute Bridges

Why it works: Targets the glutes and hamstrings while reducing lower back strain.
How to do it:

• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Press through your heels to lift your hips toward the ceiling.
• Squeeze your glutes at the top, then slowly lower back down.

ISO-HOLD BONUS: Like with the other holds, try to hold at the top of the rep, with an intentional squeeze of the glutes. Be sure to keep your abs engaged with your belly button to the spine. Keep the glute bridges going and your backside and core will be summer ready in no time!

4. Reverse Lunges

Why it works: Improves balance and strengthens legs without added strain on the knees.
How to do it:

• Step one foot back into a lunge, lowering your back knee toward the floor.
• Push through your front heel to return to standing.
• Repeat on the other leg.

ISO-HOLD BONUS: Truth be told, this is Kevin’s least favorite exercise but… when it is time to get in a leg day, holding the lunges at about a ¼ off of the bottom of the rep is the way to get the extra burn. Think about going down (almost touching the floor with the back knee) and then lifting a couple of inches for the hold. That’s a good ouch!

5. Plank Hold

Why it works: Builds core endurance and reinforces full-body stability.
How to do it:

• Start in a forearm plank with elbows under shoulders and core engaged.
• Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Hold for 30-60 seconds without sagging or arching your back.

HOLD BONUS: Planks are the understated champions of core workouts. While ISO doesn’t really count on this one, holding for longer and longer periods of time will ensure you are targeting your core and making strides towards a strong posterior chain and core. We find it best to do these in front of a floor length mirror to check on your back positioning, so you don’t get out of straight-line posture while holding the plank. The record in the studio is somewhere around 8 minutes for one of our long-term members. They didn’t start at 8 minutes, but hard work is paying off and they have an amazing core to show for it!

5 Strength Training Exercises in our Personal Training Studio

When you train with one of our professional trainers, you get access to equipment and techniques that can take your workouts to the next level. Here’s how a few of these advanced movements translate into real-world performance.

1. Hex Bar Deadlifts

Real-world benefit: Whether lifting heavy boxes at work, carrying groceries, or picking up your kids, deadlifts train you to lift properly and avoid back injuries. By strengthening your posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings, and lower back), you’ll improve functional movement and resilience.

2. Functional Trainer Rows

Real-world benefit: If you spend hours at a desk, hunched over your computer or phone, this exercise helps counteract poor posture by strengthening your upper back and shoulders. This leads to better alignment, reduced tension, and less risk of chronic pain.

3. Bulgarian Split Squats

Real-world benefit: Whether climbing stairs, hiking, or simply getting up and down with ease, this single-leg exercise builds leg strength and balance, ensuring that everyday movement remains fluid and pain-free. Our trainers can safely help you to increase weight without risking injury on this complex exercise.

4. Squat-to-Press

Real-world benefit: Remember when you could lift your child, grandchild, niece, or nephew – sweeping them off the ground and raising them high into the air? Well, it might have been a while, but it is one of the fun benefits that our clients enjoy from this type of exercise. For a bit more every day, practical (to some at least) application, think of lifting something from the ground and placing it overhead—loading luggage into an overhead bin, putting items on a shelf, or lifting your child or grandchild into a car seat. This movement integrates lower-body power with upper-body strength for seamless, full-body coordination… and creates superhero family members who can impress with amazing feats of strength. 😉

5. Landmine Press

Real-world benefit: This movement builds shoulder strength and stability in a safe, joint-friendly way. If you’ve ever struggled with overhead lifting due to past injuries or discomfort, this exercise provides a practical alternative that keeps your shoulders strong and pain-free. Beyond overhead lifting, this is a great exercise for built-in cardio and nice deep chest, back and shoulder muscle development. It is really a sheer power move and is sometimes just what the trainer ordered to get over-the-top on shoulder development.

6. Buddy Curls on a Pyramid Stack Count

BONUS WORKOUT: This is one you can do at home or in the studio, if you can convince our trainers to participate – you’ll soon understand! This exercise is actually pretty advanced, even though it builds on a simple bicep curl, so be sure you are physically ready for this one, with enough core and posterior chain strength to maintain a solid posture through a lot of reps. Now that you’re ready…

How to do the exercise: Stand facing a training partner with a curl bar (can be an easy curl or Olympic bar) at the down position. Complete a single curl and then hand the bar to your partner for their rep, repeat but do two reps each this time, continue alternating up to a 5-count of reps and then start working your way back down. Even with just 5 reps on the max set, you end up doing 25 total reps with minimal rest in between. Once you are both able to safely progress through the full set of reps at that weight, try increasing the weight or going higher on the pyramid (top out at 6 instead of 5). Now, if you’re a woman reading this and thinking it is only for the guys… think again, toned arms are sexy at all ages and extremely practical for everyday tasks.

Which Exercises Are Best for You?

Choosing the right strength training exercises depends on your fitness level, goals, and access to equipment. Whether you’re working out at home or training in a professional studio, consistency is key. We regularly get new clients who have complete home gyms or even other gym memberships because they need guidance and accountability to finally get fitness results. To each their own but if you find you need some help with your fitness, at home or in the studio, reach out and we can help.

Looking for a structured, guided approach to strength training? Book a free consultation today (Get Started Today) and get a personalized plan designed to fit your lifestyle.