Heather Dees is a multifaceted fitness enthusiast: a personal trainer, IFBB competitor, and a six-time Olympian. She regularly shares her workout routines and wellness journey with her followers on Instagram. In early September, she posted a series of videos showcasing her favorite lower body exercises, including hypers and glute bridges with hamstring extensions. Known for her dedication to fitness, Dees emphasizes strength training, especially focusing on her lower body. She is passionate about maintaining her physical and mental well-being through various forms of movement, whether in the gym or on the dance floor. Her posts inspire her audience to embrace an active lifestyle, stay consistent with workouts, and explore fun and therapeutic fitness activities like dance. Here are some of her favorite fitness habits.
1. She Does Glute Bridges
As you can see in her Instagram post, Dees likes to do glute bridges to stay in shape. NASM states that this is a very effective workout to do. “Glute bridges are a useful exercise for building core stability, building glute strength, and improving overall exercise form and function. When performed as a stabilization exercise, glute bridges activate the glutes to function as they are supposed to in other movements like squats, deadlifts, walking, and running. Adding weight progresses glute bridges into a strength exercise, which can build strength in the glute muscles.”
2. She Does Leg Presses
As you can also see from her Instagram post, Dees doesn’t skip leg day. One thing she likes to do is leg presses. Dees shared this video on her Instagram of herself using the leg press machine. She captioned the post, “I love this quad/glute day movement! 🍑🔥💪🏼 @cybexintl leg press is my favorite.. but you can use any leg press you have available! Start with single leg, focus on keeping your abs tight and glutes contracted. Goes as deep as you can without letting your hips roll up! Protect your low back 🙏 Send me a note if you try it out, if it helps.. AND How pumped your quads and glutes get.”
3. She Dances
Dees likes to dance to stay in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself taking a class. Dees captioned the post, “THERAPY! .. Dance lessons have become therapy through movement and connection. That is the best way I can describe my new found love for soul coast dancing! I have found there’s so many parallels to the way you move through life & how you move through dancing! Grounding, getting out of my head, being in flow not control, trusting myself are all tools that have came through #soulcoastdance … as I have learned from @jakeytrim ! His words & guidance resonate on a deeper level, helping me find my own way of finding & healing internal traumas and patterns. It’s been exactly what I’ve needed, on top of being just so much fun! To flow in healthy feminine energy through music is amazing medicine! If it calls to you, try it! I’ve still got a lot to learn but I love it so much!”
4. She Does Leg Extensions
Dees shared this lower body workout video on Instagram. In it, she is seen using the leg extension machine. Asphalt Green states that leg extensions are extremely helpful. “Leg extensions using this exercise machine work your thighs. In fact, that’s basically the only thing that they work. That’s great if you want to build strength and mass quickly.”
5. She Does Squats
Heather Dees/Instagram
Dees is also seen doing squats in the previous Instagram video. Squats are a great workout to do. Piedmont states, “Squats are a compound, multi-joint movement, which means they exercise several muscle groups. When you perform a squat, you work your calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, core and part of your back.”
