I am a 47-year-old wife and mother of two beautiful children (ages 18 and 15). I was in the best shape of my life when I turned 46, working out 5-6x a week on my Total Gym combined with free weights/dumbbells. Unfortunately, in January 2017, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer which had spread to my lymph nodes. As part of my treatment I had to endure a bi-lateral mastectomy, 4.5 months of dose-dense chemo, and 6 weeks of radiation and am now on targeted therapy for 10 years. Early on, I was told by my oncologist the importance staying active during treatment to help combat fatigue and the daily stress. I was so thankful to have my Total Gym because, after I recovered from my surgery, I was able to work out with it 4-5x a week throughout my chemo and radiation treatments. I can confirm that it really did help keep my energy up during the hardest time of my life and also helped manage the stress I was under through treatment.
My love of the Total Gym started approximately 4 years ago when I purchased the Total Gym Supreme. I had been dealing with an injury that made weight lifting too difficult but was still able to do resistance training safely on the Total Gym. The Total Gym was not only fun, but it helped to build my strength back up, helped me recover from my injury, while still staying active. Once I fully recovered, I opted to purchase a Total Gym XLS because I loved that I could add weight plates to it for added resistance and strength training. I now own the Total Gym XLS and The Total Gym Fit (their newest model which also has the ability to add weight plates as well). My Total Gym XLS is at our summer home so I can continue my workouts there and have the Total Gym Fit in my home gym–The best of both worlds!!
Now that my active cancer treatment is over, I am starting over to regain my strength, overcome nerve damage in my shoulder caused from treatment, and lose the 20 lbs. gained from the high doses of steroids given during chemotherapy. In the last few months my energy has finally returned and I have been able to step up my training and incorporate Total Gym workouts 5-6 days a week. In just the past few months of consistent workouts and eating clean, I am happy to report the weight has been coming off. I am down 15 lbs. and have lost more than 10” off my body (4” off my waist alone!!). I’m just getting started—still have a ways to go but I’m having fun doing it on my Total Gym!
I recently joined an amazing accountability group called Total Gym Addicts on Facebook which informed me about the Total Gym Supreme workout with trainer Rosalie Brown. This is a super-challenging workout and really keeps your heart rate up while challenging your muscles throughout the workout. I now alternate the Total Gym Supreme workout with several drill workouts that I created. If you are looking to get fit and just feel healthier, I encourage you to try Total Gym. Get your glide on, have fun, and get fit all at the same time!
Today I’ll show you an example of one of my Total Body drills I do in rotation throughout the week. Each exercise has 10 reps and 5 sets for a total of 50 reps for each exercise. Complete all 50 reps for each exercise before moving on to the next exercise. If you are a beginner, then you can do 1-2 sets of each exercise instead of 5 until you build up your strength. I hope you enjoy this workout!
Karima’s Total Body Drills
Leg Drills: (10 reps x 5 Sets Each)
Attachment: Squat Stand
- Jump Split Squats
- Single Leg Squats (Right)
- Single Leg Squats (Left)
- Jump Squat
- Runners Lunge (Right)
- Runners Lunge (Left)
Upper Body Drills: (10 reps x 5 Sets Each)
Attachments: Tri-Shaper Bars, Wing Attachment and/or Press-Up Bars
- Pull Ups
- Chin Ups
- Tricep Pull Ups
- Inverted Shoulder Press
Upper Body Drills: (10 reps x 5 Sets Each)
Attachments: Cables (can be performed seated or on knees)
- Surfer
- High Rows
- Bicep Curls
- Triceps Kick Back
- Single Arm Bicep Curl (Right)
- Single Arm Bicep Curl (Left)
Workout developed by a Total Gym user, not a fitness professional.
