Fitness Trainer Living With HIV Offers Easy Workouts Anyone Can Do

One of the biggest obstacles to exercising for anyone is the belief that you need a gym membership, lots of spare time, and special equipment. Not true, says Los Angeles–based fitness coach Sam Page — who trains rock star Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine and the top talent of the ABC reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Page, a former model and actor who is living with HIV, offers up new moves that you can do in your home when you have five minutes to spare.

Kettlebell Shoulder Swing

1. Squat holding a kettlebell in both hands between your legs with your arms straight.

2. Thrust your hips forward and swing  the kettlebell out and up to just above shoulder height with your arms straight. Allow the kettlebell to fall forward and guide it back down along the same path.

Do 12-15 reps.

Sun Salute Push-up

1. Support your body on your toes and hands with your arms straight. Lower into push-up position.

2. Push up to a straight-arm position, then raise one hand to the ceiling while rotating your body to the same side and look up at your hand, with gratitude.

Complete with 10-15 reps on each side.

Step, Bell, Change

Tighten your middle in three easy steps.

 

The figure 8 is one of my favorite (and one of the most fun) movements for strengthening the core—the abdominal and lower back muscles. Building a strong core is foundational and essential to all athletic activity.

 

1. Start in a squat position, lower back tucked in, holding a kettlebell out to one side.  

 

2. Swing the kettlebell around the back of your leg and switch to the other hand as it passes between your knees.  

 

3. Swing the bell around the back of the other leg, switching hands again as you pass between your knees. 

 

This completes one rep. Perform three to four sets of 10–15 repetitions each.

Bottom-up Press

 

The biceps and gluteus maximus are what I sometimes call “vanity” muscles.  Outward appearances aside, muscles support metabolic function, a fact that cannot be overstated. But there isn’t a person I know who wouldn’t like to feel better in skinny jeans, look more toned in a T-shirt, and radiate self-confidence when either article of clothing comes off.

 

 

 

 

This is a smart exercise for developing the shoulders. The thick handle of the bell also engages the muscles of the hand, further strengthening the grip.

 

1. Stand upright, holding a kettlebell upside down by the handle at shoulder height, with your elbow bent and your palm facing in.

 

2. Press the kettlebell overhead, extending your arm fully. Keep your back flat and your abdominals engaged, and the bell upside down throughout the exercise.

 

Perform three to four sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Uni Stiff Leg Deadlift

 

 

This one works the glutes, hamstrings, and calves, with a secondary emphasis on core strength and balance. Beginners can use body weight and move up to bells.

 

1. Stand upright, feet hip width apart, with your arms by your sides.

 

2. Raise one leg behind you, bending the knee at a slight angle, as you lower your torso and reach toward the floor.

 

3. Push off the standing foot to return to the upright position. Keep your abs engaged throughout.

 

Perform 10-15 repetitions, then flip it and reverse it.

 

Trainer to the stars Sam Page can be found at SamPageFitness.com or on his mobile fitness app, PocketSAM, a mobile drag and drop fitness app for iOS & Android that's loaded with over 750 ready-to-go workouts and over 450 full length HD videos.