Pregnancy is a time when most women sit up and take notice of their health, scrutinizing behaviors and habits for areas of improvement. You want nothing but the best for your baby.
The great news is if you were healthy and exercising regularly before your pregnancy, there is no reason you can't continue to exercise throughout—provided you have your doctor's approval.

The Benefits Of An Active Pregnancy

When done correctly and with your doctor's approval, physical activity during pregnancy may make you feel better and help you regain your pre-baby body faster once your little one arrives.
That said, you won't want to work out the same way you always have, especially as you move into the later stages of your pregnancy. With the added stress a growing belly puts on your body, some lifting modifications must be made.
Jessie Hilgenberg, who is currently pregnant with her second baby, is still hitting the gym strong.
"My main goal during this pregnancy was to keep my glutes!" says Hilgenberg. "I worked so hard to build this booty, I didn't want to lose it all!"
She notes that although she can't lift as heavy as she did pre-pregnancy, it's still totally possible to be a badass in the gym—if you know what exercises you can do.
Here are Hilgenberg's exercise recommendations while lifting for two.

Hip Thruster With Dumbbells

Hip thrusters are a popular choice for building glutes, but conventional hip thrusters with a barbell are rather difficult once that belly begins to grow.
"Once you get bigger, you obviously can't put a bar across the place you normally would during hip thrusters," Hilgenberg explains. "My modification is to use dumbbells instead, placing them on each hip bone while you perform the hip thrust."
To set your glutes on fire, try different sets with your feet in neutral position, wide stance, and narrow stance.
"Another option is a single-leg hip thrust, which you can do with the same dumbbell modification," she says.

Banded Hip Abduction

"I like to do these with my hips low using high reps," says Hilgenberg. "These really target your glutes!"


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I know, I know. It's not the most popular topic, but we need to talk about leg day—and what you can do to get your lagging legs back on track.
True, you wince at the thought of the muscle soreness you'll feel after working these four moves into your routine, but if you want serious results, you need to do serious work.
Think big, stay strong, and pump up those wheels!

Kettlebell Pistol Squat

Squatting with each leg separately means the muscles in each leg will have to work harder, but at the end of the day, both legs will be stronger.
Doing pistol squats with a kettlebell makes this move easier because you can hold the weight by the horns (sides of the handle) and keep it in the middle of your chest. This keeps the center of gravity where you want it.
Pro Tip: If you're not up to weighted pistol squats yet, use a body suspension strap to help you. Alternatively, practice with your own body weight to make sure your form is on point before adding extra weight. If you think you've got it down, do 3 sets of 10-12 reps per leg.

Good Morning

Most people think of good mornings as a lower-back strengthening exercise or an assistant for the deadlift, but it's a great stand-alone exercise to light up your hamstrings and glutes.
The key with the good mornings is to focus on sticking your butt out and keeping your chest high as you bend over. Simply bending over without maintaining a straight back could lead to a lower-back injury.
Once you've hinged over as far as you can with a straight back, concentrate on pulling in your hips and driving the bar straight up. Feel your hamstrings engage and squeeze your glutes when you stand.
Pro Tip: Warm up with a power band by placing one end of it around your shoulders behind your neck—exactly where you'll put the barbell—and standing on the other end. Or use a PVC pipe to practice the hip-hinging motion before you add weight. After 2-3 warm-up sets, do 3-4 working sets of  15 reps.

Donkey Calf Raise

Calves are a tricky muscle group to build, which is probably why they are all but forgotten on leg day. Everyone seems to have their own secret tricks for building calf muscles, but skipping calf exercises is a surefire way to sabotage your gains.
With donkey calf raises, your calves are isolated and work hard. Performing donkey calf raises on a machine saves time and keeps it simple. If you don't have access to a machine, use a weight belt, plate, or even a workout partner to help add weight.
Pro Tip: Your calves naturally do a lot of work every day, so if you want to see growth, slam them with volume and pump as much blood into the muscles as possible. Use 1-1/2 reps, where you perform a full rep, go halfway down, then lift again. Do 3 sets of 15 reps like this and the results will speak for themselves.

Side-to-Side Box Shuffle

Doing box shuffles at the end of your workout targets all the muscles when they are warmed up and full of blood. Since you'll be tired, stay focused for this exercise so you don't kick the box. You're not trying to set a speed record. Just take your time with each step.
The side-to-side box shuffle is both a great plyometric leg finisher and good extra cardio. Start with a low box or step and go higher as you improve.
Pro Tip: You can use this as a warm-up before you start training if you're too concerned about doing it after your training. Either way, go back and forth for 10 reps. Rest for a minute and repeat for 3-5 sets, depending on your fitness level.

Big, strong shoulders aren't just for bodybuilders anymore. If anything, they're the muscle group that ties together all strength athletes, from the strongman to the CrossFitter to the gymnast. Everyone needs strong shoulders to perform at their best—and look the part.
So how do you build your shoulders? Blistering lateral-raise dropsets and dumbbell presses will do a great job, but they're not the only moves you should consider. These moves—some old, some new—are up to the task if you're up to the challenge!

Standing Barbell Press

This is a classic, but you don't see it as often as you did back in the day. It poses more mobility demands than many other staple shoulder moves, but if you really don't have them, maybe it's a sign you need to shift your priorities. Consider backing off on the bench and getting seriously strong in the strict press instead!
This move will not only help you improve your delts, it will force you to work your core, glutes, and plenty of other muscle groups—even your legs, since you have to control the weight while standing. That said, don't use your legs to provide momentum during the move.
Pro Tips: Warm up with a few lighter sets, and make sure you pay attention to your form before going heavy. There's not a lot to be gained by going for heavy singles here, so keep it to a manageable 5 reps or so per set, minimum. (5x5, anyone?) Also, I don't recommend locking out the weight at the top unless the sport you compete in calls for it. Not locking out will keep the focus on the delts rather than triceps.

Seated Single Lateral Raise

You've no doubt done seated lateral raises. So why do them one arm at a time? The fact that you're seated will help you work your shoulders while restricting extra body movement. Focusing on one side at a time will also help with balance, symmetry, and strength on each side. I've never seen a competition with prizes on the line for this movement, so skip the heavier weight in favor of lifting correctly.
Pro Tip: Straight sets work fine here, but for fun and torture, consider a laddered set: 5 reps on one side while the other side is held out, then switch, then 4 reps, then 3, 2, and 1. When you reach the end of the set, keep the weight up as long as you can before lowering it back down. Do the same for the other shoulder.

Reverse Pec-Deck

There's nothing at all wrong with bent-over lateral raises, machine cable rear-delt raises, face pulls, and all the other stuff people do for their rear delts. I would just argue that the reverse pec deck, hit with correct technique and adequate volume, might provide the same benefits in an even simpler package.
Using a machine allows you to keep tension on your rear delts throughout the movement. The rear delts can be difficult for some athletes to feel working because they can't see them and they think going heavier will work better. But on the reverse pec deck, the mind-muscle connection is often easier to find and maintain. Working on the machine also allows you to take longer to perform each rep and maximize that crucial squeeze at the top.
Pro Tip: If possible, use the backs of your hands to separate the handles instead of holding them. You'll feel even more emphasis on the backs of your shoulders.

Battling Ropes

This is probably a different move than you were expecting, but if you've ever tried it, you know it burns the shoulders like almost nothing else.
How is this possible? It works for you in two ways. First, it makes intense demands on all three heads of the shoulder as well as the rotator cuffs, which are often neglected. Second, if you start your workout with this, it makes a killer warm-up or pre-exhaust. You can perform this any way you feel comfortable, but the simplest and most brutal—alternating and going for speed—is what I like best.
Pro Tip: Perform 3 rounds of 30 seconds each. Try to increase the intensity of each set to prepare you for lifting, or to burn you out after you've done all the other moves on this list.

The deadlift is where it all gets serious in the weight room. There are so many moving parts, and so many things to remember, that plenty of lifters would rather just skip it altogether. The number of people who claim that deadlifts "ruined their back" doesn't help anything, either.
So here I am, a bodybuilder—definitely not a powerlifter—speaking up in defense of the deadlift. Why? It's one of the best movements you can do, period. If you want to add muscle, it can help you. If you're looking to lose weight, it burns tons of calories. It will even help strengthen your lower back over time, as long as you do it right

Why Learn the Deadlift From A Pro Bodybuilder?

Those of you who have studied the deadlift and made it an art form will likely be too advanced to benefit from most of my advice here. I'm thinking of my fellow Animal athletes like Dan Green and Pete Rubish, for example, who have already created complete deadlift guides and crushed heavy sets with the world watching.
But for the rest of us who are not focused on competing in the "big three" movements, you might find this info helpful, and find some surprising cues that will make you stronger and safer with the bar.

Why Deadlift from the Top Down?

I have always preferred to deadlift from the rack instead of the floor, for the simple reasons that it:

• I feel it not only allows me to be more forceful in the rep
• It also feels better in my lower back.

The deadlift is one of the only movements that normally begins at the bottom of the rep—hence the name. You don’t begin the bench press with the bar at the chest, nor do you normally begin the squat in the hole. In my experience, starting at the top of the movement allows you to better “load” the muscles involved in the movement.
If I had to guess, it’s probably a neurological thing. Lowering requires you to turn everything on—hips, core, hamstrings, lats—before actually doing the first rep.
Of course, some people prefer to start from the floor and of course, that’s fine too. The only thing I would advise against is resetting at the bottom of each rep. From a bodybuilding perspective, I think constant tension is preferable, and stopping each rep at the bottom to reset prevents that.
This top-down approach has earned me a lot of questions over the years, but I find this to be a strong, safe, way of lifting, and before you knock it, I recommend you try it. Of course this approach definitely requires a different set-up from a ground-up dead.
Here are the essential things to remember:

1. Bend at the Knees First, Not the Hips

Once I step back and set my feet, I bend my knees first—not my hips. Do not—I repeat, do not—start the movement by bending forward at the waist. You have to resist every temptation to simply bend over.
The bar should graze your thighs, just barely clear your kneecaps, and come as close as possible to your shins. The further the bar drifts forward, the greater the likelihood that the weight will touch the ground and not move back up.

2. Keep Your Chest Up

When you step out from the rack, think "chest up" right away. Then keep thinking it as you break at the knees.
This is a classic deadlift cue, but when you perform them top-down, it's even more essential. It's the difference between simply bending over—which is bad news and puts you at a serious disadvantage at the bottom—and loading your hips, legs, and glutes for action.

3. Keep Your Butt Down

You'll hear people say that cueing "butt down" makes for an overly squatty deadlift, but in action, I find that's not the case, particularly when performing reps top-down. As long as you keep your chest as high as possible, and the bar tight to your body, you'll find the right line for a conventional deadlift.
Ideally, keep your back at as steep an angle as possible, with your chest as high above your ass as your body will permit. If your chest is high, your ass should be down, and vice versa.
It is essential to think about the deadlift as a pushing movement. Deadlifting as a push movement? Have I lost my mind? Bear with me. If you approach deadlifting as a pull movement, you are far more likely to destroy your lower back.
It is essential to make full use of your lower body—namely the hips, legs, and glutes—in this movement. The simple act of thinking "push" rather than "pull" turns this switch on for me.
Once you reach the bottom of the movement and the plates hit the floor, try to push the floor away using your heels. Some lifters find it helpful to imagine falling backward with the weight as they descend. Of course, with all that weight being held in front of you, you won't actually fall.
If your chest is up and ass is down, driving with your heels will force you to use your hips and glutes to drive the weight out of the hole rather than your knees and lower back. This is more powerful, and it is much safer.

5. Don't Squeeze Your Back Until the End

It is not until the top 25-30 percent of the lift that I will actively try to contract my back. Once the bar has cleared your knees on its way up and is approaching mid-thigh, begin to roll your shoulders back and emphasize the squeeze in your back.
As far as the back muscles are concerned, the majority of the deadlift is a static hold. You are doing all that you can to maintain posture and use the muscles of the lower body to move the weight until the back muscles finally have to contract.
To recap: At the bottom of the movement, forcefully push the floor with your legs. At the top of the movement, actively squeeze your back. Push, squeeze, push, squeeze, and so on.

Two Other Crucial Deadlift Details

• Even if you have to do it with extremely light weight, do it! Lifters often feel like they have to be moving 3, 4, or 5 plates in order for a lift to "count." Don't lift to look like a hero. Use the bar. Use a quarter or a single plate. Take your time with it. Master the movement. It's worth doing.
• Do it in your socks. If you come to the gym wearing some kind of running shoe with cushioning and a big heal, doing deadlifts in socks is far more stable because there's nothing that can shift. Furthermore, you bring yourself a tiny big closer to the ground. Try it, and over time, it'll be hard to go back.

Proper Form Not Maximum Power

While it's awesome that more lifters than ever before are doing deadlifts on a regular basis, it's crucial to practice the mechanics of proper form—not only for maximum power output and muscular development, but to ensure safety. Squat aside, the deadlift is one of the most technical lifts, and probably the one that's most likely to cause you injury if you fail to perform it properly.
However, perform the deadlift correctly, and you'll be setting yourself up to gain tremendous strength in your posterior chain. This will then carry over into other movements like squats and barbell rows. Whether you're training for maximum muscle gain, strength, conditioning, or even fat loss, the deadlift should always be a part of your program. Good luck, be strong, and train safely.

Looking to improve your athletic prowess? There's more to it than just ramping up your sets and reps. To improve your overall athleticism, you need to work on not just your strength, but your power, endurance, balance, agility, and flexibility. Such a diverse set of skills calls for a diverse set of exercises, and we've got six great ones to add to your daily mix.

1. Burpee: A Royal Invention

When you're looking to improve your total body movement, look no further than good ol' burpees, developed in the 1930s by physiologist Royal H. Burpee. This time-tested exercise helps you build strength and power while improving your cardiovascular fitness. One set of 10-20 burpees and you'll quickly see why it makes your average treadmill session seem about as hard as sitting down.
Burpees do it all. They'll torch your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core—and give your shoulders and chest something to think about, too. They can be done as is, or supersetted with other lifts as part of a metabolic training protocol.
When you do the jumping part of each burpee, make sure your knees always land directly over your toes. This will help prevent the improper tracking that can lead to knee pain.

2. Box Jump: It's Not Always About Height

Box jumps are a go-to movement for boosting athleticism. And you don't need a very tall box or platform to reap big benefits. Start by jumping up the height of just one stair. Then add height as you get stronger.
Pause each time you land and step back off the box or platform one foot at a time, instead of jumping off with both feet at once. Stepping instead of jumping helps prevent impact injuries that can derail your training.
Box jumps are a total lower-body movement that, like burpees, hit your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core.

3. Push Press: When Exercises Collide

If you prefer heavier lifting using compound lifts, the push press will be a great addition to your workout routine. What's not to like about an exercise that combines a deadlift, a squat, and an overhead press? It's the gym version of a Heffalump.
With every rep, you'll hit your quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Because it has such total-body activation, the push press is a great way to both increase your strength and burn more calories. You'll torch fat not only while you do this exercise, but for hours after you've laid this strange beast to rest.

4. The Walking Lunge: Stroll to Get Swole

If it's a lower- or full-body workout you're after, walking lunges are a must. There's no denying that heavy squats provide an unsurpassed lower-body pump, but walking lunges tend to do more to improve overall athleticism.
First, they'll test your balance and agility as you transfer your weight from step to step. Squats, and many other lower-body exercises, don't involve this same kind of weight transfer, so they don't challenge your stability to quite the same extent.
This lunge is also terrific for improving core strength, as your ab muscles contract with each lunge to help stabilize the weight over your center of balance.
Walking lunges are also good for building strength and power. By loading up enough weight and focusing on the upward movement of the lunge, you'll quickly see improvements in strength and power.

5. Unilateral Dumbbell Snatch: Boost Your Athleticism

Another great move for boosting your athleticism is the unilateral dumbbell snatch, which is great for improving overall performance levels.
This compound lift will challenge—and change—your body if you do it consistently. There are many ways to perform dumbbell snatches. You can time them, alternate them, or use ascending reps with them.
Like the other exercises I've described, the unilateral dumbbell snatch is a great full-body exercise that works your hamstrings, glutes, quads, core, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps in one fluid movement. You'll get your heart rate up, build strength and power, and improve your agility.

6. Plank Hold: The Ultimate Test For Your Core

Finally, don't forget about the plank. In 2016, a Chinese policeman named Mao Weidong established a new world record by staying in the plank position for more than eight hours. Don't be intimidated, though. A realistic goal for most people is to hold the position for a minute or so at a time.
While this exercise itself may not actually build significant power, it'll seriously strengthen your core while building endurance. Both core strength and endurance can improve your performance on any other power-building exercises you perform.
When you can sustain a strong core, you can also improve your body's ability to transfer energy from your lower to upper torso, a valuable skill in athletic pursuits from pole vaulting to pitching.

All you need for these 10 bodyweight core exercises is some space, a few minutes, and a motivated attitude—no suspension trainers, stability balls, ab wheels, or dumbbells necessary. The one apparatus you might want on hand is a foam mat to protect your lower back from whatever firm surface you'll be doing these exercises on.
Ab exercises can improve your posture, reduce and prevent lower-back pain, and advance your athletic performance. With enough reps and a good meal plan, these exercises might even trim up your waist a bit more.
Add these 10 bodyweight moves to the beginning, middle, or end of your routine to make sure your abs get the attention they need.

1. Burpee

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat and place your palms on the floor. Keeping your hands on the floor, immediately kick your legs behind you so that you end up in the top of a push-up position. Do a push-up and return to the top position. Still keeping your hands on the floor, quickly draw up your legs so your feet land back between your hands. Now, jump vertically with your hands reaching overhead above your ears. That's one rep.
Trainer Tip: To do a "mobility burpee," squat down and kick your legs back. Now, instead of doing a push-up, bring your right leg forward and place your foot on the outside of your right hand. (Getting into this position is sometimes known as "doing a groiner.") Bring your right leg back to the push-up position and repeat the process with your left leg, bringing your left foot up to the outside of your left hand. Return your left leg back to the top push-up position, quickly bring both legs back up to the low squat position, then stand and jump. That's one mobility burpee rep.

2. Jackknife Sit-Up

Lie on your back with your legs straight out on the floor, your arms extended above your head, and your hands touching the floor. This is the starting position. Bring your body to a "V" shape by lifting your legs and torso toward each other, keeping both your legs straight and your arms extended. Lift your shoulder blades off the ground as you raise your legs as close to perpendicular to the floor as you can. Touch your hands to your legs, then lower your torso, arms, and legs back to the floor. That's one rep.
Trainer Tip: A modified version is called the X-Up. To do this, lie on your back with your feet and legs spread apart to form an "X" shape on the floor. Keeping your right arm and left leg straight, lift your right shoulder and left leg off the ground and touch your right hand to the outside of your left knee or ankle. Return to the X position and repeat the movement, this time touching your left hand to the outside of your right knee or ankle.

3. Mountain Climber

Get into the top of the push-up position. This is the starting position. Keeping your back in a straight line, bring your right knee toward your chest, then quickly bring it back to the starting position. Now, bring your left knee in towards your chest and return to starting position. Now speed up the movement, alternating legs quickly as if you were running in place with your hands on the ground.
Trainer Tip: To increase tension on your abdominal muscles, place the palms of your hands on sliding discs such as Valslides, SKLZ Slidez, paper plates, or weight plates.

4. Cocoon

Lie on your back with legs extended and your heels touching the floor. Straighten your arms above your head with your hands touching the floor. This is the starting position. Simultaneously bend both legs and bring your knees to your chest as you bring your arms down to hug your knees. Now, release your knees and extend your legs and arms again, returning your heels back to the ground. That's one rep.
Trainer Tip: To increase the difficulty, keep your heels off the ground for all of the reps.

5. Oblique Crunch

Lie on your back on the floor. Keep your legs bent in the air at a 90-degree angle. Place your hands on the back of your head with your elbows flared out to each side. This is the starting position. Twist (rotate) your torso to move your right shoulder toward your left thigh until your upper back is off the floor and your right elbow is close to or touching your left knee. Lower yourself back down to the starting position. Repeat the movement, this time rotating your left shoulder toward your right knee. Alternate reps between your right and left sides.
Trainer Tip: This is not a bicycle crunch or air bike, where you pedal your legs above the ground the entire time. Once your elbow and knee touch, return to the starting position before switching sides for the next rep. For a more intense exercise, kick one leg out straight as you bring your elbow to the other.

6. Hanging Leg Raise

Hang from a pull-up bar with your hands shoulder-width apart. Grab the bar using an overhand (pronated) grip. This is the starting position. Lift both of your knees until they make a 90-degree angle with your torso. Hold this position for 2 seconds, then fully extend your legs below you. That's one rep.
Trainer Tip: To increase intensity, instead of bending your legs as you raise them, keep them straight. Raise them up as high as possible, hold that position for 2 seconds, then return to the starting position.

7. Plank

Assume the top push-up position. Now bend your elbows and place your forearms flat on the floor beneath you. Tighten your ab muscles to keep your back flat. Make sure your toes are pointed into the ground. Hold the position for the prescribed duration.
Trainer Tip: Incorporate side planks into your routine for oblique strength. To do a side plank, rotate from the plank position so that you're supported by your right forearm. Stack your left foot on top of your right foot and extend your left arm towards the ceiling. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Roll your body so that you're now supporting your body on your left forearm with your right arm extended toward the ceiling.

8. Dead Bug

Lie on your back with your knees bent in the air at 90 degrees and your calves parallel to the floor. Raise both arms up above you so they are pointed toward the ceiling. This is the starting position. Now, straighten your left leg without touching it to the ground. Your back will want to arch, but use your abdominal muscles to keep it pressed firmly into the floor. Return your left leg to the starting position and repeat the movement with your right leg. Return both legs to the starting position. That's one rep.
Trainer Tip: Instead of keeping both arms pointed to the ceiling, extend them one at a time. As you straighten your left leg to the floor, extend your right arm above your head until your hand touches the floor. One arm should always be in the starting position (above your chest and pointed towards the ceiling) while the other is extended above your head with the hand close to or touching the floor.

9. Reverse Crunch

Lie down on your back with your legs fully extended, your arms along your sides, and your palms on the floor. Move your legs up so that your thighs are perpendicular to the floor and your feet are together. This is the starting position.
As you breathe in, pull your knees toward your chest as you roll your pelvis backward and raise your hips and upper back off the floor. Hold this position for 1-2 seconds, then exhale as you move your legs back to the starting position.
Trainer Tip: Keep your arms straight along your sides throughout this movement.

10. Seated Scissor Kick

Lie down with your back pressed against the floor and your arms fully extended to each side with your palms facing down. With a slight bend in your knees, lift your legs up so that your heels are about 6 inches off the ground. Contract your abs and bring your back slightly off the floor. This is the starting position.
As if your legs were a pair of scissors, open and close them by crossing one extended leg over the other, alternating which leg is on top. Keep your abs flexed at all times.
Trainer Tip: Don't let your back round. Keep your abs tight to maintain a strong, straight spine. For more intensity, raise your arms up and make small, slow clockwise circles with your shoulders as you scissor kick your legs.

Many bodybuilders have seen good results from following ketogenic diets. Known as an LCHF (low carb, high fat) diet, keto is designed to force the body to get its energy from ketones the liver produces from fats, instead of from glucose the liver produces from carbs. If you can sustain the diet long enough for your body to enter ketosis, you can lose some major body fat. That said, you can't remove all the carbohydrates from your diet and expect to continue your workouts as usual.

Who Needs Glucose, Anyway?

You do. Glucose provides the primary fuel source for intense muscular contractions. Whenever you're sprinting, going for your set of max squats, or performing box jumps, your body is burning through glucose to fuel that effort.
The keto diet is defined as a dietary approach in which you consume 65 percent of your calorie intake from dietary fats, 30 percent from protein, and just 5 percent from carbohydrates. As you can see, this is an exceptionally low-carb approach to eating.
The idea behind keto is that in response to a drastic reduction in carbohydrates, your body creates an alternative fuel source called ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are a perfectly good fuel for many activities, just not for sustaining an intense exercise program.

Don't Try To Out-Exercise A Bad Diet

Why are you interested in keto? Do you just want to lose body fat? Do you want to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight? If either of those sounds like you, you might do better by cutting back on your regular exercise program and spending more time focusing on creating and following a rock-solid nutrition plan. Get your eating down first, then start hitting the gym.
For some people, this nutrition-first approach is the easiest and least complicated way to start shedding weight. Go for a few long, brisk walks each week to sustain a base level of physical fitness as you improve your diet. Once you've got that nailed down, resume your intense strength-training program when the diet ends.
If you don't want to shortchange your strength workouts, you at least need some alternatives.

Switch To A Timed Keto Diet Plan

One of the better options is to simply modify your keto diet to a targeted keto diet. In this approach, you follow the same ground rules as with the keto diet plan, but you add carbohydrates directly before your workout. Eating carbs then will give your body the glucose it needs to successfully complete the workout session—and to adequately replenish your muscle glycogen levels once you finish.
Opt for simple carbs at this meal. This might sound counterintuitive, but it's the fastest way to put some pure glucose into your system. A burst of glucose will quickly take you out of ketosis and provide quick energy for the workout at hand. This approach will also enable your body to quickly clear glucose from your bloodstream so you can go right back into ketosis.
Dextrose or maltodextrin will likely be your best bet for a simple carb, but you can also use things like sugary cereal or similar foods.
On off days, you'll simply maintain the standard ketogenic diet. Since you aren't needing glucose to power through intense exercise, there's no need for adjustment.
If you are trying to lose some major body fat and are following this approach, make sure you're accounting for these extra carbs as part of your total daily calorie intake. When you consume more carbs, you must also cut back on your fat consumption.

Fuel Up With Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT)

If you don't want to eat more carbs, choose MCTs before your workout. You can get your MCTs from coconut oil or coconut milk, or from medium-chain triglyceride oil.
Your body can break down this form of dietary fat fast enough to give you the energy you need for your workout, as was suggested by research appearing in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition.[1] It may even give you a bit of an extra energy boost as you head into your workout, enabling you to exercise with greater intensity.
The only downside is that some people report gastrointestinal complaints when they consume MCTs.[2] It just depends on how your body reacts to them.

Match Your Workouts To Your Energy Levels

Finally, re-examine your current exercise protocol. When you're getting your fuel from a few extra carbs, you might be able to do your usual high-volume lifting session, completing set after set of all the major lifts. If you take the MCT approach, you may need to lower your objectives a bit.
In any case, make sure your body has had a chance to adapt to your keto diet before you continue the current strength-training program. Once you are fully adapted, your body can use fats for fuel better than it does glucose when you do moderate-intensity work. It may take you some time to become adapted to the keto approach, so don't rush into exercise too soon.
You'll also want the overall intensity of your workout to come down. As noted, ketosis supports moderate-intensity exercise better than it does high-intensity exercise. Metabolic conditioning such as treadmill sprints may be incompatible with your keto diet.
Reduce the overall intensity of your lifting sessions by either doing fewer reps per set or lifting less weight. Most people respond best to lifting less weight, since ketosis supports endurance training quite well. A lighter weight with a higher rep scheme falls more along this line of programming. If you don't take the weight too light, you can still maintain lean muscle mass.
Going on the ketogenic diet doesn't mean you should avoid exercise. Put some time into thinking about what type of exercise you want to perform when you're doing keto, then look at ways you can do them in a more moderate but still challenging way. It is possible!

Need a total-body workout to round out your weekly split? NutraBio-sponsored athlete and amateur Olympia bikini competitor Sarah Hunsberger has you covered!
Building a stage-worthy bikini physique requires intense focus and careful training. Every muscle group warrants its own special workout within the weekly split to help you sculpt amazing lines and killer curves.
But as NutraBio-sponsored athlete Sarah Hunsberger knows, the end of the week is a great time to give your muscles a little extra attention en route to achieving your goals. As an NPC Collegiate Bikini Champion and amateur Olympia competitor, Hunsberger knows how to get the most out of her training schedule.
"I like to do this workout after I've already hit the other muscle groups in the beginning of the week," she explains.
The rep ranges are flexible, so you can use this total-body workout as an extra muscle-building opportunity, or a head-to-toe, calorie-burning conditioner at the end of the week.

Barbell Military Press

Hunsberger uses the barbell military press to warm up her shoulders for what's coming next in the workout. Starting with the barbell across your collarbone, press the weight straight overhead in one fluid motion. Move your head back and out of the way as you bring the bar back down. As with all shoulder exercises, keep your core engaged and your back straight.

Superset: EZ-Bar Upright Row With EZ-Bar Shrug

For the shoulder superset, choose an EZ-bar you know you can lift for at least 10 reps. The challenge of this set is the complete lack of rest between the upright row and the shrug, since you'll be holding the same bar for both exercises.
Lift your elbows up high as you pull the bar up to just under your chin for the upright row. During the shrug, focus on squeezing the bar up as you draw up your shoulders to your ears. Lower the bar with control for each exercise. Rest 45-60 seconds between each superset.

Superset: Machine Incline Press With Seated Cable Row

Supersetting front and back exercises is a classic technique for total-body workouts. Hunsberger pairs the incline press with the seated cable row to hit all the major muscle groups in her upper body in one set.
At this point in the workout, your target rep ranges increase to 12-15. So, push yourself and choose weights that challenge your muscles.

Triset: Good Mornings With Dumbbell Pull-Over and In-and-Out on a Bench

This set hits it all—legs, back, chest, and core. Hunsberger starts with a deep hip hinge on the good mornings to hit the glutes, hamstrings, and core before moving to dumbbell pull-overs, which target the lats and chest.
Finish the total-body set with in-and-outs on a bench. Balance on your hands as you extend your legs straight out before crunching hard through the abs as you draw your knees back in. For an added challenge, hold a small dumbbell between your feet. Rest 60 seconds between each triset.

Superset: Biceps Curl to Arnold Press With Russian Twist

You're halfway through the workout now, which means you've worked every major muscle group. Now it's time to focus on smaller details.
Hunsberger combines biceps curls with Arnold presses for the first exercise and medicine ball Russian twists for the second, giving you a three-in-one superset to hit your arms, shoulders, and abs. Keep each movement slow and controlled. Focus on the muscle contraction and engaging your core at all times.

Superset: Lateral Raise to Front Raise With Hanging Knee Raise

Keep your elbows slightly bent as you raise the dumbbells to the side, pausing when you reach shoulder height. Keeping your chest up and back straight, bring the dumbbells to the front, pause, then extend your arms back out to the side, keeping the dumbbells at shoulder height throughout the movement.
For the hanging knee raises, Hunsberger chooses a neutral grip pull-up bar, but you can use any bar or grip that feels comfortable for you. Keep your legs slightly bent as you contract your abs and raise your toes. Knee raises also can be performed on the dip bars or using ab slings, if your grip is not strong enough to hang.
Tuck your hips to fully engage the abs. If a straight leg raise is too difficult, try bending your knees slightly. If the movement is too easy, hold a dumbbell between your feet or wear ankle weights. Lower your legs with control each time back to the starting position.

Superset: Triceps Cable Push-Down With Cable Crunch

On the final superset of this total-body workout, hit the last few details in your arms and abs with push-downs and crunches. Bend slightly forward from the hips to give you more room to fully extend your arms on the push-down. Squeeze your triceps at the bottom of the movement and pause on each contraction. Keeping your elbows in one place and your shoulders back will help you better isolate the triceps.
To perform the cable crunch, kneel in front of the stack, facing away from the pulley. Hold the rope attachment behind your head with one end over each shoulder. Keep your hips off your heels and pull your abs in tight as you bend at the waist—not at the hips—drawing your elbows to your thighs as if you
were doing a sit-up. Exhale for a better contraction, then return to the starting position