While some of us have completely changed our workouts or given up on exercising all together during the pandemic, others have used the time to learn new skills and to crush our personal records. Such is the case with supermodel Kate Upton. Earlier this year, Upton hit a personal record with her hip thrusts and now, she’s mastered the dumbbell squat to press.
Upton’s trainer Ben Bruno, posted a video on Instagram with Upton crushing multiple reps of the compound exercise. “Yesterday @kateupton crushed 3 sets of 10 dumbbell squat-to-press with 25 pound dumbbells for a new personal record. Strong! 25 pound dumbbells is no joke for this exercise,” the post reads.
“Kate has made big improvements on both her upper body strength and her squat technique in the past six months, which is great to see. She’s super consistent and always brings her best effort, which is the recipe for success. PS- we do a rotational press both to make it more shoulder-friendly, and also because holding the dumbbells in front of the body encourage a better torso position on the squat. Her form is great,” the post continues.
Don’t be fooled with how effortlessly Upton completes the move, mastering weighted squats with 50 pounds takes a lot of hard work and practice.
Upton makes even the hardest exercises like single-leg Romanian deadlifts and pushing her husband up a hill, look effortless.
Her strength comes with a lot of training, Bruno told Shape that he trains with her five to six days a week and that the workouts are 45 minutes to an hour long. Upton’s workouts are usually 80 percent strength and 20 percent cardio.
If you’re looking for some motivation to stay fit, Bruno says, “The goal is to make the most of the quarantine period and try to get strong. Kate has made the best of it and continued to train even with minimal equipment. We set strength goals to give purpose to her workouts.”
