Strength Training Made SIMPLE

ALL YOU NEED IS ONE PAIR OF LIGHT DUMBBELLS TO MAKE A POWERFUL DIFFERENCE FOR YOUR HEALTH: You can build lean muscles, ease achy joints, lower chronic-disease risks, and lose weight-no matter where your fitness is right now. Take a sneak peek at Prevention's new book Lift Light, Get Lean here, then give your life a lift!

- BROOK BENTEN, M.ED.

FOR YEARS WAS A CARDIO JUNKIE.

I would run up to 50 miles per week-until I got injured and my doctor gave me a stern warning: If I didn't take a break, the injury might not heal and could get worse. So I started doing three days of light weight lifting and three days of low-impact cardio. It was gentler on my joints, but I became stronger and still worked my cardiovascular system.

Light weight training hasn't worked just for me-it's worked for women of all ages and fitness levels. I'm an exercise physiologist certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, and I've seen it in data I've collected from conducting numerous research studies for Prevention on resistance-training programs over the past decade.

For this project, I created a low-impact resistance-training regimen to help people learn new mobility patterns, raise their heart rate, tone muscles, and lose weight if they combined the routine with low-impact cardio and smart nutrition choices. I tested the program on 20 women over two successive 28-day plans. In under two months, participants lost up to 16 pounds and 14 inches. To kickstart your transformation, do 16 reps of each exercise here, then buy Lift Light, Get Lean to finish what you've started.

SUMO SQUAT TO UPRIGHT ROWS

WHAT IT WORKS

Quadriceps, glutes, inner thighs, core, and shoulders

HOW TO DO IT 

SETUP Stand erect with your feet more than hip-width apart and toes pointing out to the sides. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms dangling in front of your body.

STEP 1 Keeping your chest lifted, bend your knees and sink into a squat. Drop as low as you can, optimally until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold momentarily.