Boost your body power with this bone and muscle-strengthening workout from Orangetheory Fitness coach Che Lau, who says these simple exercises will make everyday activities easier.

Words: Che Lau. Images: Action Group.

The strength element of an Orangetheory workout is an essential part of your fitness routine, integrating bodyweight and dumbbell exercises to build muscle, and strengthen the tendons, ligaments, and bones. These workouts will help build functional strength that transfers effectively to your daily life, making must-dos such as carrying groceries, lifting your child, gardening, or cleaning much easier, helping you do more and feel better.

Strength workout

Complete this series of moves for three rounds of 12 repetitions.

Sumo Squat to Upright Row

  • Grab your dumbbells and stand up, taking a wide stance with your toes pointed out. Hold the dumbbells in front of you with your palms facing towards you.
  • Squat down until you’ve reached about 90 degrees, keeping your knees tracking over your toes and your back flat with a proud chest (left).
  • Squat back up and as you get near to the top, begin the upright row. Pull with your elbows nice and high, maintaining a soft wrist until your hands reach your upper chest (right). Lower the dumbbells to the start position and repeat from the squat.

Bicep Curl to Shoulder Press

  • Hold your dumbbells by your side with palms facing forwards and curl up nice and slowly to the top of your shoulders (left).
  • Start to open your chest by pulling the dumbbells out to the side, rotating your palms until they are facing forwards, then press the dumbbells up to the top position (right).
  • Reverse the movement back to the start position and repeat.

Hip Bridge to Chest Fly

  • Lie on your mat facing up, bend your knees, and bring your heels up towards your bum. Press your dumbbells up and hold them with your arms locked in a neutral grip, palms facing each other.
  • Press your feet into the floor and squeeze your glutes to bridge your hips into the air, then hold this position (left).
  • Begin to lower your hands out towards the ground, softening your elbows slightly and keeping your arms in line with your chest. Go as low as you feel comfortable, or until your elbows touch the ground (right), then fly your arms back up to A and repeat. Keep your glutes activated and bridged up.

Reverse Lunge to Torso Rotation

  • Stand at the top of your mat, feet around shoulder-width apart, holding one dumbbell with both hands (left).
  • Lunge your right leg back and as you lower down, rotate over your left leg, keeping your spine as straight as possible (right).
  • Reverse the rotation to face front, lift your back leg up to the top of the mat, and repeat on the other side.

Half-Kneeling Woodchopper

  • Begin in a half-kneeling position, both legs bent at 90 degrees, with the back knee on the ground and toes tucked under. Hold one dumbbell in both hands by the side of the rear leg, making sure to rotate your torso – this is the start position (left).
  • Lift your arms up and across your body until just above shoulder height, keeping your elbows slightly bent and twisting with your whole torso, not just your arms (right).
  • Reverse and repeat for 12 reps and then switch sides.

Dumbbell Alternating Lateral Raise

  • Stand up with feet around shoulder-width apart, holding your dumbbells by your side.
  • With soft elbows, raise one arm out in front of you, and the other out to the side, lifting until your hands are around shoulder height (left).
  • Lower back down to the start and repeat, alternating which arm goes forward and which goes to the side (right). Continue for 12 reps.

Reverse Lunge to Scaption (Front Raise)

  • Stand at the top of your mat, feet around shoulder-width apart and dumbbells held by your side (left).
  • Place one leg back into a reverse lunge, and as you do so lift your arms up out in front of you, keeping your hands neutral, palms facing in, lifting to around shoulder height with hands slightly wider than shoulder-width (right).
  • Push up from the bottom of the lunge, bringing your back leg to the start position, lowering your arms as you do. Repeat with the other leg.

Che Lau is a head fitness coach for Orangetheory Fitness, whose latest passion is Olympic weightlifting. She loves the discipline and technical aspects of the sport, plus the Orangetheory community has helped her mental health and wellbeing. Orangetheory Fitness offers full-body group workouts, focusing on heart rate-based interval training. Each workout is backed by science, tracked by technology, and led by a certified coach for impressive strength and cardiovascular benefits. Find out more at orangetheory.com.