You don’t need giant weights, a room full of equipment, or a ton of time to log a quality strength workout. This 10-minute chest-and-triceps workout from NASM-certified personal trainer and Sweat trainer Kelsey Wells is proof. The workout is inspired by her new four-week program, Redefine Fitness: Strength & Mindfulness, which (you guessed it!) blends mindfulness with strength training and is now available in the Sweat app ($20 per month, or $120 per year).
“I’ve experienced first-hand how detrimental physical fitness can be to your mental health when done out of hate or negativity toward your body. [I] understand deeply the benefit of incorporating mindfulness practices into your life for your mental and emotional health,” Wells said in a release. “This program is for anyone who wants to begin practicing mindful movement — it’s all about getting your mind right before getting your heart rate up.”
This low-impact, beginner-friendly circuit workout incorporates fundamental exercises that will help build strength in your chest and triceps muscles (the ones on the back of your upper arm which primarily function to straighten your elbow). It also incorporates mindfulness techniques such as intention setting and gratitude practice to help you fine-tune your relationship with exercise and experience the benefits of mindful movement. The workout is ideal if you have a lower-body injury or soreness (or if you’re just plain tired), since you can do the whole thing lying down.
“I’ve designed [this chest-and-triceps workout] to give you a taste of what my new program is all about,” Wells tells POPSUGAR. “All you’re going to need is a pair of dumbbells. We’ll start with setting an intention for our workout before moving into the upper-body circuit and finally end with a moment of gratitude.”
Kelsey Wells’s 10-Minute Chest-and-Triceps Workout
Equipment needed: a set of dumbbells (check out our guide on how to choose the right weight) and a yoga mat.
Directions: Before starting the workout, Wells recommends taking a few minutes to warm up. You can do three to five minutes of cardio, such as jogging in place or skipping, to get your heart rate up. Try some dynamic stretches as well (think: arm swings and torso twists) to increase your range of motion.
After the workout, Wells suggests cooling down with three to five minutes of walking and static stretching to get your heart rate down. (You can also stack this workout with Wells’s leg-and-butt workout and core workout to work your whole body.)
For the 10-minute workout, you’ll start with intention setting. Then, do each exercise for 30 seconds, resting for 30 seconds after you’ve done all four. Repeat the circuit two more times, resting in between rounds. Finish with a gratitude practice to complete the workout.