New York-based personal trainer Morit Summers, NSCA-CPT, is well known in the fitness industry for her inclusive approach to personal training. Summers has recently released her first book, Big & Bold: Strength Training for the Plus-Size Woman, which is comprised of 83 strength training exercises meant for every body, so readers can learn the fundamentals of strength training.
“One of my goals in life is to be able to help people, and so I was like, this [book] is a way to reach a much broader audience,” Summers told POPSUGAR. In an Instagram post, Summers explained that the title of the book reflects her lens as a plus-size woman, but that the exercises and tips within it are meant for everyone.
Summers explained, “so many times as a personal trainer, I’ll have people come in that have said they’ve gone to group fitness classes and they can’t keep up or they get injured,” so she developed this book as a beginner’s guide on the “most important fundamental movements to learn and understand in strength training.” While this book is geared towards strength training, Summers made it clear that these movements can be applied to anyone’s unique fitness journey.
Summers’s fitness journey began at 14 years old. Growing up, she wasn’t a fan of gym class but did enjoy personal training as it was a space in which she didn’t feel like she needed to fit in with her peers. She then took that love of fitness all the way through college, studying kinesiology, to then opening her own gym called Form Fitness.
In her journey toward her life’s goal of helping as many people as she can, Summers has also joined the fitness app Boostcamp. Through this ad-free app, users are able to take classes and follow trainer’s programs at no cost, unless they would like to leave a tip, but it’s not required. Summers has three programs available through the app, two of which are bodyweight and one which is based off of the book – so you’ll need to use dumbbells and kettlebells.
For Summers, being able to offer a free training program is really important to her because the journey of inclusive fitness also includes economic inclusivity. As she mentioned, “training with me is expensive, but this is an opportunity to work with me for free, and I think that’s really important.”
Along with her free offerings through Boostcamp, Summers has also developed a six-move full-body strength training GIF workout exclusively for POPSUGAR. Grab a pair of dumbells and follow along to feel super strong as you complete the supersets, ahead.
Directions: Complete a full-body warmup, then take each of the exercises below in supersets by doing exercises 1A and 1B for two to four sets, then the same with exercises 2A and 2B, then 3A and 3B. Once all three supersets have been completed, be sure to cool down.
| EXERCISE |
REPS |
SETS |
| 1A: Front squat |
8-12 |
2-4 |
| 1B: Alternating chest press |
8-12 per arm |
2-4 |
| 2A: Lateral lunge |
8-12 per leg |
2-4 |
| 2B: Alternating shoulder press |
8-12 per arm |
2-4 |
| 3A: Alternating bicep curls |
8-12 per arm |
2-4 |
| 3B: Weighted deadbugs |
8-12 per leg |
2-4 |
Courtesy of Morit Summers
1A: Dumbbell Front Squat
- Holding the dumbbells at your shoulders, letting them rest on your shoulders, while still holding tension.
- Keep you chest tall and almost think about pressing your elbows up to the ceiling. This will prevent the weights from falling forward.
- Drive your hips back and knees out as you find the bottom of your squat, which is just below parallel thighs to the ground. Then drive your feet into the floor and stand back up.
- Complete 8-12 reps.
Tip: If holding both dumbbells is bit too challenging, hold one dumbbell between your hands at your chest, keeping it close to you as you sit into your squat.
Courtesy of Morit Summers
1B: Dumbbell Alternating Chest Press
- Lying on your back (either on a bench or the floor), have the weights at your chest with your palms facing towards your legs.
- Press one weight up over your chest and find your stability at the top before slowly lowering back down towards the floor. Once your arm has returned, you will alternate sides and repeat.
- Complete 8-12 reps per arm, then repeat exercises 1A and 1B for two to four sets to complete the superset.
Courtesy of Morit Summers
2A: Dumbbell Lateral Lunge
- Standing tall with the dumbbells at your sides, step out to one side while also pushing your hips behind you and sit into that hip.
- As your hips drive back, your upper body will naturally come forward a bit, but keep your back long to not let your chest round down. The weights will frame the now-bent leg.
- Once at your appropriate depth, drive through the floor and push back to the starting point.
- Complete 8-12 reps per leg.
Tip: You can stick to the same side or, for a challenge, you can alternate sides.
Courtesy of Morit Summers
2B: Dumbbell Alternating Shoulder Press
- Hold your dumbbells in hand at the shoulders, similarly to the front squat. Hold your belly strong, keeping your ribcage and hips in line.
- Press one of the dumbbells overhead. Making sure that the arm is in line with the ears, press straight up to the ceiling. This is the most efficient place to hold the weights.
- Take a moment at the top to make sure that your shoulder feels stable and your core is in a strong position before slowly lowering the weight back down to your shoulders and repeating on the other side.
- Complete 8-12 reps per arm, then repeat exercises 2A and 2B for two to four sets to complete the superset.
Tip: This exercise can be done standing, seated, or even kneeling.
Courtesy of Morit Summers
3A: Dumbbell Alternating Bicep Curls
- With dumbbells in hand at your sides, keep your elbows locked.
- Bring one of the weights towards your shoulder. Make sure that you are holding your belly really strong in order to not use too much momentum and avoid leaning into the lower back.
- Once at the top, slowly lower the weight back down to your side and repeat on the other arm.
- Complete 8-12 reps per arm.
Tip: This exercise can be done standing, seated, or kneeling.
Courtesy of Morit Summers
3B: Dumbbell Weighted Deadbugs
- Lying on your back, have your arms straight up over your chest with weights in both hands.
- Bring your legs up to bend at 90 degrees with knees over the hips while pressing your lower back into the floor and holding the belly strong.
- Extend one leg out straight until your heel lightly taps the ground, then return to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite leg.
- Complete 8-12 reps per leg, then repeat exercises 3A and 3B for two to four sets to complete the superset.
Tip: If you are really looking to challenge yourself, you can hold a crunch position while holding the weights up over head, the whole time.
