Holiday Blitz - Beach Workout

With holidays just around the corner you'll no doubt want to look your best in your trunks or swimsuit. You'll be more than willing to strip off for that game of volleyball and less likely to use your towel as a screen if you're in great shape. Many people often dread the day when it's time to try on that new swimsuit! Other clothes can conceal unshapely thighs or a less-than-flat stomach, but with bare flesh exposed there's nowhere to hide. But worry no more, BodyMotivators has put together a workout to get you looking Hot this summer, and in great shape for your fun in the sun.

Self Evaluation
So you'll have to look at yourself, be realistic and decide what areas of your body need attention and the type of fitness you need to work at. If you have a well developed chest through years of bench pressing, then you'll not have to emphasise its' development in the same way as you might if you have less strong or well defined legs. Likewise if you have based your previous fitness programme around cycling you'll have less need to emphasise the Cardiovascular (CV) components of the work out. As you will see later, the programme had been devised around a pick and mix format, and there is set of CV workouts and resistance exercises and sessions. The idea is that you adapt the programme contents over the four or five sessions a week and the 8 weeks-or-so average duration that you train. Beginners can also use the programme but will have to reduce loading and duration and select only from certain options, until their fitness level improves sufficiently to handle more intense loading.

Make lifestyle changes- motivate yourself Really get a hold of this 8-week plan and use your holiday as a goal, in much the some way that an athlete may use an important competition - keep it in your mind and train for it.

Use the target of your golden, tanned frame, on an equally golden beach, to keep you going. Additionally, make other changes to your lifestyle, walk up those stairs to the railway station or the offices. Climbing a moderate flight of stairs burns an extra 6-8 calories - do that a couple of times a day over the 8 week period and you'll be shaping up even when you're not training. Eat a banana rather then a chocolate bar, and watch what you eat in general. Go low fat and drink lots of water. Adapting your lifestyle in this way will increase the effects of the training plan.

BodyMotivators Trunk & Sexy Swimsuit Programme

CV Sessions
Seven types of session have been provided, with suggested duration and intensities based around heart levels. It's obviously difficult to provide a suitable 8-week programme for such a potentially huge diversity of fitness levels and abilities. Regular exercisers should be aware of their capabilities, beginners should err on the side of caution and progress slowly. Certain sessions, however, have been denoted as not being suitable for absolute beginners. If you are an absolute beginner please contact me at paul@bodymotivators.co.uk or call mobile 07766 935 002 home 0208 771 8453

CV1 - Beginners
Warm up first for five minutes( any pieces of CV kit) then stretch, stretching lower and upper body hold each stretch for 10 - 30 seconds, then use any pieces of CV kit - treadmill, rower, stepper, cross-trainer, or upright bike.

Duration 10 minutes for the first week then increase by 2 minutes every week until you reach 20 minutes.

Intensity working to 60/65% of your maximal heart rate according to your age. So if you are 37 years old and want to work to 65% of your heart rate it will be: 220 minus your age (37) which is 183. Multiplying that by 65% is 118 beats per minute. (220 - your age) x 65/100.

CV2 - Intermediate/Fat burning
Warm up and stretch in the same way as for CV1. Now it's 30 minutes duration of CV. Use any pieces of CV kit. A little tip: you can change your CV kit on every session (Treadmill, Rower, Stepper, Cross-trainer, Upright bike). Remember you're doing your CV 4-5 days a week just as for CV1.

Intensity working to fat burn at medium heart rate which should be between 65% to 80% of your maximal heart rate, work it out the some way as for CV1. Try to increase your intensity a little each week. Remember, 4-5 sessions a week until you reach your 8 week goal.

CV3 - Intermediate Fitness & Fat Burning
Warm & stretch. Interval training intensity: start at 1 minute, working to 65% of your heart rate. Then take it up to 75% to 80% of your heart rate for 1 minute, for a maximum of 10 minutes, on one piece of CV kit. Then change to another piece of CV kit and do the same. So, total duration of interval training is 20 minutes divided between two pieces of CV kit. Try to increase your intensity and duration a little every week, over 4-5 sessions a week, until you reach your 8 week goal.

CV4 - Fat Burn Plus (Intermediate Level)
Warm up & stretch as in the above programmes.
Use any piece of CV kit. Duration 40 minutes.

CV5 - Intermediate/Advanced only (not for beginners)
Gorilla Cardio.
Start off with one piece of CV kit. e.g. upright bike, duration 6 minutes.

First, intensity 60% of your MHR, duration 2 minutes.

Then intensity 80 - 85% of your MHR, duration 20 seconds alternating with intensity 60% of your MHR, duration 10 seconds.
You need to repeat the above until you have completed your 4 minutes.
(Good luck, as this gorilla cardio programme is very intense).

Resistance, Routine, Lift, Speed.
As you get fitter work your way up to three pieces of CV kit, e.g. upright bike, rower, treadmill.

Reps and RPM.
The number of reps you can perform is based on a percentage of the maximum force you can exert for a single rep. This is called your 1 rep max. 1RPM is the maximum amount of weight you can push for one repetition only - no more. There is an inverse relationship between exercise resistance and exercise repetitions - as the number of reps goes UP, the percentage of the 1 rep max goes DOWN. The table below shows the relationship between the number of reps and the percentage of the 1 Rep Max:

Example:
Mary's maximum bench press is 100 pounds, which is 100%.
She should be able to do 10 reps at 75% of her 1RPM weight,
(75% of 100 pounds = 75 pounds), so she should be able to do 10 reps of 75 pounds.

If she increases her maximum bench press to 120 pounds, she should be able to complete 10 reps of 90 pounds (75% of 120 pounds).

If you are working to R3 (which is doing a circuit format) you would be working to 40% of your1RPM for one minute, or as many repetitions at that weight in the one minute. (Which, for Mary in the example above, would be 40 pounds or 20kg on her bench press).

Try not to stop at one minute. Move on to your next exercise doing the same till you have done all the exercises above in a circuit - for beginners just once round. Then progress to twice around the circuit with about 15-30 seconds rest between each exercise.

"UpDown" is your count, or the speed at which you perform your reps.
For example, if you perform a squat it would be a count of one Down, then a count of one Up, in a smooth controlled manner.

Sessions
You need to continually stress your muscles in different ways in order to maintain progression. The sessions below do just this, and will affect muscle fibre development and strength gains in slightly different ways. R1 and R3 are more toning orientated, R2 and R4 more power/strength orientated.

R1 is for conditioning muscles and tone, working between 12-15 repetitions (reps). Beginners should start at 1-2 sets then progress to 3-4 sets.

R1
3-4 sets of 10-12 Reps at 50%-60% of your 1RPM. 1 up, 1 down

R2
4x80% OR
6x70% OR
2(sets)x8x60% OR
1(set)x15x50% 1 up, 1 down

R3
5x2 at 40% 1RPM
As a circuit with 15-30 seconds rest between each exercise before moving on to the next.

R4
2-3 sets of 4-6 reps at 60% 3 up, 3 down
(lifting this way will recruit more muscle fibres)

1. HALF SQUAT OR LEGPRESS
   Purpose: To shape and power up those thighs and glutes (glutus maximus, buttocks).
   Muscles worked glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps.
   Top tip: keep back straight, shoulders pulled back, chest lifted, hips kept above knees
   
   
2. LEG CURL
   Purpose: to add symmetry to the upper thigh development
   Muscles worked: hamstrings
   Top tip: keep buttocks tight to assist your lower back.
   
   
3. LUNGES
   Purpose: development of more stronger shapely thighs.
   Muscles worked: glutes, hamstrings, quardriceps.
   (Those legs will look hot this summer).
   Top tip: keep back straight, chest lifted, shoulders pulled back.
   
   
4. BENCH PRESS
   Purpose: to provide pectoral/chest definition.
   Equipment used: bench, barbell, dumbbells, and chest press.
   
   
5. PECK DEC OR DUMBELL FLYS
   It adds symmetry and more development right across the pectoral/chest.
   
   
6. LATPULL DOWN
   Works and adds development to the upper back.
   Muscles worked: Latissimus dorsi, biceps.
   
   
7. PRESS BEHIND THE NECK
   Purpose: to balance out rear shoulders and upper back definition.
   Muscles worked: rear shoulders, triceps, teres (major and minor), upper back.
   
   
8. LATERAL RAISE WITH DUMBBELL
   Purpose: to broaden and shape those outer shoulders.
   Muscles worked: outer shoulders, deltoid.
   
   
9. ABDOMINAL CRUNCHES
   Purpose: to isolate the abs and build up a six pack.
   
   
10. OBLIQUE TWIST SIT UPS
    Purpose: to add to that desirable wash board stomach, by working the muscles that run across your stomach.
    
    
11. BACK EXTENSIONS
    Purpose: to add symmetry and development to the abdominals and help pull the abdominals tight and strengthen the lower back.
    Muscles worked: lower back, Erector Spinae.
    
    

8-Week Holiday Fitness weight loss and tone-up programme.