Libby Christensen, a GymShark trainer and fitness influencer, frequently shares her workout routines and fitness tips on Instagram. Recently, she posted photos modeling new purple workout gear, playfully captioning it, “Makes me want a tall glass of grape juice reaaaalll bad.” From hip thrusts to pull-ups, here’s how Christensen stays in top shape and stays motivated on her fitness journey.
Christensen shared some of her favorite lower body exercises in this Instagram post. In it, she is seen doing hip thrusts with a barbell. She captioned the post, “In my delulu mind, I am growing my pickup truck to a dump truck & nobody can tell me otherwise 🙂↔️☝🏽 Smashing legs today post 2 mile run last night & I’m feeling ~ALIVE~” Gymless reports that the exercise is very beneficial. “Hip thrusts are a controlled and powerful movement, mainly focusing on the glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and core. This exercise is vital for developing a stronger posterior chain, contributing to improved athletic performance, alleviating lower back pain, and enhancing overall physique. Considering that about 65 million Americans experience some form of back pain, hip thrusts are a great exercise to include in your routine.”
In the previous Instagram post, Christensen is seen doing RDLs to keep herself in shape. ACE Fitness reports that these have a lot of benefits. “The Romanian deadlift (RDL) is a traditional barbell lift used to develop the strength of the posterior chain muscles, including the erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings and adductors. When done correctly, the RDL is an effective exercise that helps strengthen both the core and the lower body with one move. Unlike the traditional barbell deadlift and other quad-dominant exercises such as leg presses, which place significant loads on the anterior portion of the knees, the RDL focuses most of the physical work on the muscles responsible for extending the hip and the knee from the posterior.”
Christensen is also seen doing split squats in her Instagram video. According to Allina Health any type of squat can have a lot of benefits. “The squat is one of the all-around best exercises to do for your lower body. It strengthens and tones muscles in your thighs, butt and calves and improves posture, balance, flexibility and inner core strength. Squatting also improves bone mineral density to keep your bones strong.”
For Christensen, working out means feeling capable. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram video. “Oooof 😌☝🏽 we’re making the longest story short but in my little moments of reflection on my fitness journey, my overall goal has been to feel ✨capable✨ which is a byproduct of staying consistent, aligning my priorities, & enjoying the process to achieve the progress over time, purr 💅🏽18 year old Libby’s goals were never focused on numbers — & the same still stands true, they were as simple as ~I want to build muscle~ ~I want to feel strong~ ~I want to document my journey~ & 8 years later and many times along the way I’ve constantly been able to say sister you have, you do, & you are 🙂↕️ and I’m just enjoying every bit of the journey 🫶🏽“
One workout that Christensen enjoys doing are pull-ups. She shared this video of herself doing them on Instagram. Asphalt Green states that pull-ups have a lot of health benefits. “Pull-ups are a fantastic way to improve upper-body strength. This exercise primarily targets your back and biceps, but involves many stabilizing muscles in your core, arms, and shoulders. Depending on the way you grip the bar, you can even work your chest.”