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Nashville-based fitness guru Erin Oprea has always been driven and toughshe graduated from high school at 16, became a certified trainer at 18, and enlisted in the Marines at 21. By her second tour in Iraq, in 2004, Fallujah had been shut down; when Iraqis were finally being let back in the city, all citizens had to be searched for contraband. Males weren't allowed to touch the females, though, so the first-ever all-female platoon was createdand a certain high-ranking badass in the field military police was handpicked to lead that search force.
She returned to Nashville, where she grew up, and immediately began training elite clients at a private studio. She now trains exclusively at her clients' homes, and her minivanstocked with Bosu balls, yoga mats, and assorted dumbbellsserves as a sort of mobile gym.
All-star clients like Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, and Lauren Alaina understandably prefer to avoid getting sweaty in public, and they can afford the luxury of hiring a trainer. But Oprea encourages at-home workouts even for non-celebs, since it's the perfect environment for her fitness philosophy: using your body weight. Below is an Oprea workout you can try at home.
Erin Oprea's At-Home Workout
Perform three sets, resting between each.
• Squat into row with resistance band (15 reps)
• Lunge into shoulder press (12-15 reps on each side)
• Curls with core engaged (15 reps)
• Squat into lateral raise (15 reps)
• Hold sumo squat in down position (15 reps)
• 30 seconds of modified push-ups, immediately into
• 30 seconds of chest presses in bridge position, immediately into
• Chest flies in bridge position (15 reps), immediately into
• Overhead tricep extensions with hips dropped (15 reps)
• Squats back into a lunge (12-15 reps on each side)
• IT band stretch with crunch: Cross one ankle over opposite quad, then lift to 90 degrees; legs come up together then go down together (12-15 reps on each side)
• Butterfly crunches with pulses (30 reps)
• Seated twist (20 reps on each side)
More at opreapersonalfitness.com.
See Oprea's top picks for a stellar at-home workout in the March 2014 issue of Nashville Lifestyles magazine!