Ivanka Trump‘s “luxury personal trainer” has revealed how you can get your dream body from the comfort of your home—and the items you need to build the ultimate workout center on your property.
Sandy Brockman is an Austin, TX-based fitness expert who has made a name for herself in the workout world for whipping some of the biggest A-listers into shape.
Along with the First Daughter, the 52-year-old is credited with helping a number of other marquee names gain taut waistlines and rock-hard abs.
Now, Brockman has exclusively told Realtor.com® how you can achieve the body of your celebrity idol right from your bedroom.
The strength training expert explained how working up a sweat at home can be more effective than “killing yourself” at the gym—and the household items you can use in place of dumbbells if you are on a tight budget.
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Ivanka Trump’s “luxury personal trainer” has revealed how you can get your dream body from the comfort of your homeâand the items you need to build the ultimate workout center on your property.
Sandy Brockman has exclusively told Realtor.com® how you can achieve the body of your celebrity idol right from your bedroom.
(SandyBrockman/Instagram)
Brockman opened up about the advantages of training at home and which workouts will get you the body of your favorite Hollywood heavyweights.
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She revealed that the things you need to build your ultimate home gym are “dumbbells, a yoga mat, and bands,” adding that advanced fitness enthusiasts can purchase a rowing machine or a treadmill for cardio.
Speaking about one of the biggest perks of a home workout routine, she told Realtor.com®: “I think the benefit is consistency—you’ll actually do it. That’s the No. 1: You don’t have to get in your car and drive to the gym. It’s just right there, so there are no excuses.”
Brockman noted that sweating in the comfort of your home can also help you get more in tune with your body and get rid of any “gymtimidation.” She added that training in one of your rooms can help you establish a “baseline” of what to do when you do step into a gym.
“Definitely get at least a minimum of a 20-minute routine at home that you can take into a gym so that you always have that sort of baseline.
“If you have gym intimidation, it’s like, ‘Okay, I do this at home. I know what I’m doing. Here are the dumbbells. They look like my dumbbells at home.’ That’s a great way to start getting confident to go to the gym,” she said.
The strength-training expert explained how working up a sweat at home can be more effective than “killing yourself” at the gymâand the household items you can use in place of dumbbells if you are on a tight budget.
She revealed that the things you need to build your ultimate home gym are “dumbbells, a yoga mat, and bands.” She adds that advanced fitness enthusiasts can purchase a rowing machine or a treadmill for cardio.
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(Sandybrockman/instagram)
And while exercising at home can have its perks, Brockman warned beginners to avoid getting too comfortable and falling into a non-motivational pattern.
She explained that getting yourself in the mindset is the “hardest” part, suggesting that workout devotees use a training video online or download a “minute on the minute” app to help them stay on track.
“I think motivation is key in your house. You either need to blast music, have a timer keeping you on time and on task, or a video,” Brockman revealed.
The fitness pro revealed that if you commit to it, working out at home can be more beneficial than exercising at the gym.
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She explained: “A 40-minute workout is great at home but a 20-minute workout at home five times a week is just as good as an hour workout at the gym four days a week.”
When it comes to what workouts you should do at home, she recommended “squats, push-ups, dumbbell bent over rows, kettlebell swings, and lunges.”
She called these “the basics,” adding that “you can riff off of these if you are advanced.”
Brockman has previously revealed that she has helped Trump achieve her dream body by urging her to do the same workouts with heavier weights.
And for those on a tight budget, Brockman lifted the lid on household items that can be used in place of workout equipment.
(SandyBrockman/Instagram)
Brockman recommended “three different sets of light, medium, and heavy dumbbells.”
And for those on a tight budget, Brockman lifted the lid on household items that can be used in place of workout equipment.
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She admitted that many of her A-lister clients use “broomsticks” to stretch with when in a pinch, before revealing that you can use “water bottles,” “soup cans,” or anything with a “round shape” instead of dumbbells.
Brockman urged homeowners to consider their fitness goals when buying or renovating their homes.
“Put building a home gym into your plans because you will use it,” she advised. “Don’t make it an afterthought. It will change your life to have a room aside for fitness.”
When it comes to building strong, defined arms, traditional fitness advice will usually point you toward endless sets of bicep curls and tricep extensions. But according to Dr Stacy Sims, a leading women’s exercise physiologist specialising in perimenopause and menopause, isolation movements like these aren’t necessarily the most effective. Instead, she advocates for one functional compound movement: the farmer’s carry.
Speaking on podcast A Life of Greatness, when host Sarah Grynberg asks how to get arm muscles like Dr Sims, the 51-year-old explained: ‘In order to get shoulders like this, heavy farmer’s carries. I’ve been travelling so much this year, and I haven’t been in the gym being consistent with all the push presses and Olympic lifts that I love to do, but what I have been consistent in doing is heavy farmer’s carries.
‘It’s good for grip strength, learning how to walk properly, core strength, shoulders – so if there’s one move everyone should do, it’s heavy farmer’s carries.’
The magic of the move lies in its ability to engage your biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms and hands all at once. And because your arms are working continuously to stabilise heavy loads against gravity, the exercise activates the deep muscle fibres that don’t fire up as efficiently in single-joint arm movements, like bicep curls. Here’s how to do it with proper form, plus how heavy to lift and a workout to try, straight from Dr Sims.
How to do a farmer’s carry
Standing with feet hip-width apart and weights at the outside of the ankles, hinge your hips back and bend the knees, keeping your back flat.
Tighten up your lower back and abdominals before reaching down to grab the weights.
After gripping the weights, begin to stand tall by driving your heels into the ground, maintaining a tight form. Once you reach full standing position, tighten your armpits and make sure your shoulders are pulled back to activate the muscles in the rotator cuff area.
Finally, begin to take small steps forward, maintaining a strong grip and form. If you’re returning in opposite direction, set the weights down, turn around, and then grab the weights again before walking in the opposite direction.
Set/reps for results: Aim for three sets. Try timing your farmer’s carry for 25 to 30 seconds or go for 10 steps forward and back.
Form tips: Start out with a light weight to ensure you don’t end up leaning too far forward or towards one side. Make sure to keep your back straight for safety. When it comes to moving, small strides will do. They’ll keep you balanced as you increase your weights.
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How heavy to lift
As for what “heavy” means to Dr Sims, she says: ‘How many people have heard that you should be able to farmer carry 75% of your body weight for a minute? That is made up from bro science. It’s a good metric but there’s no science behind it. So, a heavy farmer’s carry is you have two very heavy dumbbells by your side and you’re walking back and forth.’
Here’s a weight guide to follow:
Beginners: 2x 4-6kg
Intermediate: 2x 8-12kg
Advanced: 2x 12-20kg
Farmer’s carry workout
Dr Sims shares a descending ladder workout to try.
500m ski
500m heavy farmer’s carry
400m ski
400m heavy farmer’s carry
300m ski
300m heavy farmer’s carry
200m ski
200m heavy farmer’s carry
100m ski
100m heavy farmer’s carry
‘If you really have anything left in the tank after this workout, you go back up in 100m,’ she adds.
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
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As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
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Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
The sun is a welcome addition to our exercise routines come summer – but the novelty of a sunny run or hike can quickly wear off as the temperature climbs. With heatwaves and record-breaking temperatures already this year, it’s important to know the best time to exercise in the heat for the weeks ahead.
Obviously, if you don’t like the heat and would rather be inside, then you can exercise in an air-conditioned gym or studio at any time of day. A good swimming workout is another way to stay cool. However, if you enjoy running, hiking, cycling, or a garden strength training workout, it makes sense to choose the coolest times of day. In the peak of the summer, this is before 10 am and after 5 pm, but the earlier (or later) you can go, the better.
The body reacts differently in the heat, making exercise above 20°C degrees feel harder, even if you’re doing the same workout you did in the cooler months. As the temperature climbs, blood vessels dilate to push blood towards the surface of the skin to cool it down, which means there is less in the muscles. This means your heart has to work harder and beat faster.
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You also naturally sweat more, which is the body’s way of cooling down. However, important micronutrients called electrolytes are lost in sweat, and if they aren’t replenished (through hydrating foods or electrolyte supplements), it can lead to lower blood volume, triggering symptoms like fatigue, rapid heart rate, and dizziness that extend beyond your workout.
As well as checking the day’s top temperature, you should check the heat index. This indicates how humid it can be, which can be more of a problem than the warmth and can leave you sticky and sweaty before you’ve even pulled on your running shoes.
With that in mind, Brian Maiorano, coach liaison for sports-tech company CORE, has some tips for exercising in the heat. “When the weather begins to really heat up, these are the best ways to train during a heatwave, and to really stay safe,” he says.
Don’t be afraid to sweat: You can gradually adapt to the heat within 4 to 5 days by raising your core temperature in a controlled way. Top athletes call this ‘heat training’, and it’s very effective if you’re careful to not overcook yourself.
Stay hydrated: As well as drinking water, you can douse your head and torso in it to stay cool.
Lower your intensity during the heat: Monitor your heart rate and stick to zone 2 if you’re exercising in the heat. This is 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age), and stop at any signs of dizziness, nausea, or headache.
Choose when to do your most vigorous training: During intense sessions, you don’t want the additional stress of heat, so Brian recommends doing it in climate-controlled conditions (like switching your run to a treadmill workout) or choosing the best time to exercise in the heat.
Don’t spend the whole day in an air-conditioned room: “Too much time enjoying the cool air can make you miserable when you are exposed to heat,” says Brian.
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Kylie Minogue has stayed active her whole life, but, refreshingly, she doesn’t follow a punishingly strict routine to stay fit.
‘I wish I was one of those women who do their exercises first thing in the morning, or run straight to the fitness studio as soon as they get up,’ she told Star Magazine. ‘But unfortunately, I’m just not that disciplined!’
Instead, the ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ singer partly relies on her hectic schedue to keep her moving. ‘I don’t really work out, but I’m constantly on the go,’ she told Express.
‘My guilty confession is that there isn’t [a routine]!…I think I stay in shape with an active (read, exhausting!) lifestyle,’ she continued on Reddit. ‘My fitness is really sporadic. I have to thank my mum for good genes.’
Kylie Minogue’s go-to exercises
Despite her self-professed low-key approach, the global multi-platinum recording artist incorporates several workout methods into her day, preferring mainly low-impact and moderate-intensity exercise.
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‘I do Pilates,’ she continued to Star. But she’s careful to keep things balanced. ‘I don’t overdo it,’ she clarified.
‘I like to at the very least do 15 minutes on the Yoga Studio app. I know how to do it without the app but the tone of the woman’s voice and that it’s timed, it goes by so quickly,’ she told WSJ. ‘Then I feel like that’s done and I feel good.’
Often, her exercise of choice also depends on what equipment is available.
‘If there’s a treadmill nearby, I like to do that. We say in my family, “Minogues don’t run.” None of us run. But we like to walk, so that works for me,’ she added. ‘If I’m somewhere where there’s Pilates, I love that.’
Workouts that provide holistic physical and mental benefits are often a favourite.
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‘I’ve also tried Gyrotonics; that was really fun,’ she continued, referring to the gymnastics-and-swimming-inspired movement system developed by Julia Horvath in the 80s. Designed to decompress the body, build strength and flexibility, and improve posture, it’s increasingly being adopted by Olympic athletes and celebrities alike.
‘I loved aerobics and I used to do Callanetics,’ she added to Express. Created by classical ballet-trained Callan Pinckney around 40 years ago, Callanetics uses ‘small, precise pulsing movements’ to ‘activate muscles’. ‘I would travel everywhere with this home workout on a VHS tape and put it on in hotel rooms,’ Kylie revealed.
However, being the ‘Princess of Pop’ does mean that the physical demands are considerable, and often her endurance, coordination and overall fitness are put to the test when she’s on stage.
‘I would say my ultimate workout is being on tour. I’m never as fit as when I’m on tour, so I can’t wait to tour again. My body needs it.’
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
