The Fantastic Workout That Could Flatten Your Belly

If you’re constantly hiding your abs under a floaty top, it’s time to get rid of it for good. We’ve got a workout that will boost your fitness, reduce your weight and also improve your wellness and wellbeing along the way.

 

This combines fat-burning cardio and moves that target the full core of your body rather than individual ab muscles, meaning that you burn fat and tone up at the same time.

 

You should aim to do this workout three days a week, making sure that the days are non consecutive. Start by doing the most basic version of the moves and then gradually advance to the harder moves when you feel that you are ready. The best way to do things is to perform the exercises listed here as a circuit. Do one set of each move and then rest for 30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise, and rest for a minute between circuits.

 

This workout will fire up your metabolism and burn off fat, and intervals are the best way of intensifying your workout. You should also be sure to include a warmup and cooldown period.

 

Start with a basic plank, which is when you go to the top of a pushup position but with your arms slightly closer together. Your body should be raised up and in a straight line. Hold it for 60 seconds (or as long as you can manage at first).

 

Next, move on to a side plank. Lie on your right side and keep your legs straight. Prop yourself up on your right forearm so that your body becomes a diagonal line. Rest your left hand on your hip and then hold your abs tight for around 60 seconds or as long as you can manage.

Categories: Belly, flatten, moves, nbsp, Rest, seconds, Workout

Travel-Friendly Running Circuits To Maintain Fitness

If you enjoy travelling, you’ll know just how much of a strain it can place on your fitness routine. The bad diet you eat, the stuffy hotel rooms and different climates don’t make for a great environment for keeping fit, but if you plan ahead you can ensure that you maintain your running record while you’re on holiday. There are some great indoor workouts you can do while you’re on the road, and all you need to complete them is a smart phone or watch, and a skipping rope. You may also want to download a tabata app for some of the workouts, which is a form of interval training where you perform an exercise at a high intensity for 20 seconds then 10 seconds of rest, for a series of eight rounds. Another workout which is really effective is eccentric training, which is the lowering phase of an exercise. Such as when you perform a push-up then lower your body as slowly as you can to the floor. When you reach it, you hold the position for three seconds, then return to the starting position. As a warm up, you can do the following routine: run or use the skipping rope for two to four minutes, perform ten air squats, ten arm circles – both forward and backwards, 20 lunges then five to ten push-ups. To cool down, you should walk for two to four minutes, then do five to ten minutes of static stretching.

These workouts should be done as a circuit, in which you should do each exercise consecutively without taking a break. The first workout begins with ten air squats, ten push-ups, ten sit-ups, ten lunges, a one-minute plank then rest for 30 seconds. You need to repeat the circuit five to ten times, then cool down with the above routine. Another routine which is great for getting your heart rate up is one minute of skipping rope followed by ten burpees; one minute of skipping rope followed by ten squats; one minute of skipping rope followed by ten sit-ups, then one minute of rest. As before, do five to ten rounds of the circuit then rest with a cool down session for five minutes. The third circuit is a Tabata circuit which you’ll complete for 32 rounds. You need to set your tabata timer for repeat 32 times for 20 seconds. Do each exercise for 20 seconds, rest for ten seconds then move onto the next exercise. Each of the exercises you’ll need to complete are as follows: skipping rope, squats, plank and lunges. Depending on how fit you are, you can always do the 32 rounds twice, with a two minute break in between.

 

Another tabata round, for eight rounds this time, consists of burpees, mountain climbers, sit-ups and jump squats. If time permits, you can always double this and do 16 rounds with a short break in between. The final workout requires you to set your timer to 12 to 15 minutes – remember that the goal of this particular circuit is not to take any breaks. See how many times you can get through it! It comprises 30 lunges, 15 push-ups, one minute of skipping rope and 30 seconds plank or 15 sit-ups. These workouts are tough enough to make you feel like you’ve had a workout, but simple enough that you don’t need to bring your entire gym with you in order to complete them. Circuit training such as this is ideal if you’re travelling – all you need is 30 minutes to yourself and enough room to move, and you can create an effective training session to maintain your fitness on the road.

Categories: air squats, circuit, Circuit Training, fitness, minute, Push ups, rope, Running, seconds, sit ups, skipping, skipping rope

Can HIIT Help You Find Time for Your New Year’s Resolutions?

You set your New Year’s wellness resolutions with the best of intentions but, let’s be serious, when are you going to have time to fit them in? Sure you want to lose weight, take care of your wellbeing, or up your fitness levels but now you’re catching up on work after the holidays and getting your kids back on their school routine – what do you do? This is where high-intensity interval training (HIIT) comes in. Not only does it help you to squeeze your New Year’s resolutions into your busy schedule, but it also provides a way to exercise even when your motivation begins to wane. But what exactly is HIIT?

 

In order to complete a HIIT workout, you need to do short, intense bursts of exercise and, in-between, completely rest or take part in active recovery, or less intense exercise. Whether you want to do more cardio workouts, strength routines or both, you can fit any exercise goal into a HIIT circuit. Both cardio and strength exercises can get your heart pumping and fire up your metabolism thanks to a phenomenon known as after-burn. This means that your body will still torch unwanted calories even after you’ve finished working out, so you can get the results you need even if you don’t have time to wait around for them.

 

It’s possible to get a very effective workout in less than 20 minutes. In fact, you can take as few as four minutes to workout if you do Tabata-style training, or 20 hard seconds followed by 10 easy ones. Is it any wonder that HIIT is predicted to be one of the hottest fitness trends of 2014? So get a jumpstart on a fitter you for the new year by trying one of our cherry-picked high-intensity workouts. This one comes courtesy of Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist Jen Ator, author of Shape-Up Shortcuts, who explains, ‘It’s a shortcut, fat-burning workout that actually works. It’s also one that leaves you with zero excuses.’ For this workout, you choose one of the interval patterns and then complete the exercises in order to burn calories, build muscle, and blast fat.

 

The Interval Patterns:

• 30:30 Do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds, and then move on to the next exercise. If you’re doing more than one round, rest for 60 seconds at the end.


• 50:10 Complete as many reps as you can in 50 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds before moving on to the next exercise. Again, rest for 60 seconds at the end if you’re doing more than one round.

 

1. Marching Glute Bridge: Ator instructs, ‘Lie face-up with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Raise your hips so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees (a). Lift your right knee toward your chest (b). Hold for two seconds; lower and repeat with your left leg. That’s one rep.’

 

2. Inverted Shoulder Press: ‘Place your hands on the floor outside your shoulders and raise your hips so that your torso is nearly perpendicular to the floor,’ Ator advises. ‘(a). From that position, bend your elbows to lower your body until your head almost touches the floor (b). Pause, then push back to start. That’s one rep.’

 

3. Alternating Switch Lunge: Ator notes, ‘Step your right leg forward and bend both knees to lower into a lunge (a). Press through your right heel to return to standing, keeping your foot lifted, then immediately step your right foot back and lower into a lunge (b). Press through your left heel to return to standing. That’s one rep.’

 

4. Skater Hops: Ator details, ‘Stand on your left foot with your left knee slightly bent and your right foot slightly off the floor (a). Jump to the right and land on your right foot, bringing your left foot slightly off the floor (b). That’s one rep. Jump to the left and continue alternating as quickly as possible.’

 

5. Rotating T Extension: ‘Start in a push-up position,’ says Ator. ‘(a). Keeping your arms straight and your core engaged, shift your weight onto your left arm, rotate your torso to the right, and raise your right arm toward the ceiling so that your body forms a T (b). Hold for three seconds, then return to start and repeat on the other side. That’s one rep.’

Categories: body forms, Convenience, foot slightly, high intensity, HIIT, interval patterns, left, left foot, nbsp, rep nbsp, seconds

Want to Become a Runner? How to Get Started With Running

Running is one of the best things that you can do to help improve your fitness. It is also massively beneficial for your wellness and wellbeing, as it can increase your bone density, strengthen your cardiovascular system or clear your mind.

 

In order to avoid burnout or injury, however, you need to start slowly. Before starting any kind of running programme, the first thing you should do is get fitted for some supportive running shoes, from a good running store. Grab a stopwatch, too, so that you can track your time the first time that you go out running. If you do this as a routine, whether it is outside or on a treadmill, you will build up an idea of your running speed and endurance and this will give you something to work forwards with and improve.

 

Start slowly, with a walking and running programme. For the first minute of your workout you should also focus strongly on form, without worrying about how fast you are going. Roll back your shoulders and concentrate on them being back and down, drawn away from your ears. Keep your arms swinging in an even motion. Ensure that your head is up, and that your hands are relaxed as they swing by your sides. Walk for 30 seconds and run for 30 seconds as you ease your way into the exercise.

 

As you get a bit more into your rhythm, ease into running for one minute and then walking for a minute. You will find your stamina increasing. Make sure that you breathe in through your nose and then out through your mouth. Try counting silently while you breathe, such as in for two counts and out for two counts to help you maintain a steady pace.

Categories: beginner, ease, minute, nbsp, runner, Running, running programme, seconds