The Immortal Body Workout with Cornell McClellan

Last week, I took my first class with Cornell McClellan – personal trainer to the Obamas for over two decades – at Fitness Snob Studio. I wanted to learn more about his Immortal Body Workout, as well as some exercises and tips to help me get closer to those coveted Michelle Obama Arms. The class was great for all fitness levels, Cornell was engaging, and I learned some new exercises and corrections to exercises I thought I was doing right all along.

I loved learning new exercises, as well as different modifications and variations to the exercises I’ve been incorporating into my workouts. (Check out this Instagram video I made with the inchworm variation we did during the class.) Cornell made everyone in the class feel comfortable but also encouraged us to push ourselves throughout the class. He gave us a lot of cues to make sure we were completing each exercise correctly – even if we were all going at different paces.

One exercise that I’ve randomly been struggling with, despite having done it successfully for years, is the reverse lunge. I don’t know when I started having issues with this exercise, but when I realized it, I decided to focus on it. Well, fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask) we did a lot of lunges during this workout. What was great was the cueing Cornell gave that just clicked with me: Act like your legs are on separate tracks (I mean, they are, right), keeping your feet about shoulder width apart, and when you lunge, maintain your feet on those tracks. For some reason, I had been lunging back in basically a straight line, which is no bueno! Making this correction made a world of difference, and it was a simple enough cue that I could understand it mid-workout, replay it in my head throughout the workout, and remember it long after the workout. So helpful! Now I feel like I can get back on track with my lunge improvement! (Pun intended.)

Stray observation: I have gotten pretty good at the endurance exercises, but man if my core ain’t weak! Plus, my balance has been… less than ideal lately. I really have to focus on incorporating more core work into my regular workout routine.

You can live stream tonight’s class if you sign up here. Can’t watch it live? His classes are also available on demand! If you watch carefully, you can see a certain fitness blogger in the video from the first class… 😀

What’s an exercise you’ve been struggling with lately? Have you learned any new exercises recently?