Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down (Day 4)

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down

Day 4

Yoga
Flow from move to move, focusing on your breath.


 
1. Cat/Cow

On all fours, exhale and round back, tucking pelvis. As you inhale, reverse the motion, arching back and  looking up. Do 8 times.



2. Arm/Leg Extension

Extend right arm and left leg as you exhale. Inhale and switch sides. Do 8 times on each side.



3. Child's Pose

Sit back on heels, lower forehead to mat, and reach arms forward. Hold for 6 to 8 deep breaths.



 4. Downward-Facing Dog

Tuck toes and lift hips toward sky so body forms an upside-down V. Press heels and hands into ground;   relax head and neck. Hold for 6 to 8 deep breaths.



5. Plank

Lower hips into a push-up position. Keep shoulders over wrists, abs tight, and spine long. Hold for 4 deep breaths.

6. Hover
Bend elbows, keeping arms close to body, and lower chest almost to mat. Hold for 4 deep breaths.

7. Cobra
Lower body to mat, tops of feet on mat. Press into hands, lift and extend spine, and raise chest. Hold for 4 deep breaths.

8. Repeat from Downward-Facing Dog at a slightly faster pace (2 breaths per move). Do 4 times, ending in Downward-Facing Dog.



9. Warrior 2
Step right foot forward to lunge, right knee bent. Hips face side. Extend arms. Hold for 4 to 6 deep breaths.

10. Reverse Warrior
Lower left hand to back leg, reach right arm overhead, look up. Hold for 4 to 6 deep breaths.

11. Side Angle
Lower right forearm to right thigh. Reach left arm overhead. Look up. Hold for 4 to 6 deep breaths.

12. Lower hands to mat on either side of right foot, and step foot back into Downward-Facing Dog. Repeat from Warrior 2 with left foot forward.

13. Do entire sequence, from Move 4, 4 times total. Finish in Child's Pose with some deep breathing.


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Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down (Day 3)

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down

Day 3

Core Circuit
For all moves Do 8 slow reps, then 16 fast ones.

  

1. Knee Lift With Twist

Stand with feet apart, hands over right shoulder. Raise left knee and pull arms down across body. Repeat all reps with opposite leg.

  

2. Legs-Up Crunch

Lie on back with legs straight up in air, arms extended over chest. Curl head, shoulders, and upper back off ground, reaching fingers toward toes.

 
 

3. Side-Plank Hip Lift

Lie on right side, left foot crossed over right, right elbow under shoulder, and left hand on hip. Press into right forearm and raise right hip and thigh off ground. Lower hip without touching mat, then lift again. After the fast and slow reps, hold in up position for 8 counts. (Do opposite side next round.)

  

4. Power Drill

Knee Lift With Hop: Alternate lifting knees as you hop about an inch off ground. Reach opposite arm overhead as if climbing a rope.

http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/Day-by-Day-Workout-Plan-to-Help-You-Slim-Down?page=2 

 
 

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down (Day 2)

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down

 

Day 2

Lower-Body Circuit
For both moves: Do 8 slow reps (2 counts down, 2 up) per leg, alternating sides. Next, hold and pulse (up and down 2 to 3 inches) 3 times. Do 4 sets per leg. Then do 8 fast reps per leg, alternating.




1 Side-Step Squat
Hold dumbbells in front of chest. Step right foot to side, wider than shoulder width. Bend hips and knees; sit back, knees behind toes. Stand, bringing feet together. Repeat stepping with left foot.




2 Curtsy Lunge

Hold a dumbbell in each hand at sides. Cross right leg 2 to 3 feet behind left leg. Bend knees and lower until left thigh is almost parallel to ground. Keep front knee behind toes. Return to start and repeat with left leg.

3 Power Drill (30 seconds)
Split Jump: Hop, scissoring legs forward and back. Arms swing in opposition.

http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/Day-by-Day-Workout-Plan-to-Help-You-Slim-Down?page=2

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down (Day 1)

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down

 

Day 1

1. Arm Arc
Upper-Body Circuit
For both moves: Do 16 reps, then do 8 more with a balance challenge (knee lifts for Move 1; rear leg lifts for Move 2).

Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms at sides, holding a dumbbell in each hand.* Raise arms out to sides to shoulder height (not shown). Bend elbows so arms form a goalpost. Press dumbbells up overhead. Reverse actions to lower weights.




2. Row With Rear Fly
Hold dumbbell in right hand, arm extended below shoulder. Lunge with left leg bent, right one straight behind you. Rest left hand on left thigh. Bend right elbow and pull dumbbell toward hip. Slowly lower. Then raise right arm out to side to shoulder height. Slowly lower. (Do opposite arm next round.)


3. Power Drill (30 seconds)
Jumping Jacks: For less impact, you can alternate stepping out to sides.

Choose a weight that you can lift with good form for the recommended number of reps. If the last few reps don't feel hard, pick a heavier weight.


http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/Day-by-Day-Workout-Plan-to-Help-You-Slim-Down

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down (Workouts At A Glance)

Day-by-Day Workout Plan to Help You Slim Down

 

Workouts At A Glance

Short Routines, Fast Results

Rather than lift weights for 20 or so minutes, then do another 30 or so of cardio, you get both in just 20 minutes with circuit workouts. Yoga and your favourite cardio round out the week for variety.

Day 1
Upper-Body Circuit

Day 2
Lower-Body Circuit

Day 3
Core Circuit

Day 4
Yoga

Day 5
Total-Body Circuit

Day 6
Favourite Cardio

We all want exercise that works us hard in hardly any time at all and slims us down fast, so we challenged Prevention fitness expert Chris Freytag to create a routine that packs about an hour's worth of fat blasting into just 20 minutes. When a panel of Prevention readers tried the exercise and diet program, they lost an average of 4 1/2 pounds in just 2 weeks—and two women lost twice that, and another shed 10 inches off her arms, chest, waist, hips, and legs. All the testers found the short workouts easy to fit into their crowded schedules, whether in the morning, at lunch, in the evening, or even after 10 p.m.

What makes this plan super-efficient and extra effective is that most of the workouts are circuit routines. By performing high-energy strength moves with little rest in between, you burn 25 percent more calories during the workout and double your post exercise calorie burn—all while building firm, shapely muscles. These pumped-up circuits go one step further: The 30-second power drills you do between circuits will rev your metabolism even higher than regular circuits.

For best results, follow a balanced 1,600-calorie eating plan.

The Basics

What you need: One or two sets of dumbbells (3 to 8 pounds), yoga mat, and supportive sneakers.

Warm-up: For circuit workouts, march in place, do arm circles and half squats, and twist and bend your torso, all without weights, for 2 minutes. For your favourite cardio workout, begin at an easy intensity and build up to a moderate or vigorous level over 2 to 3 minutes. A warm-up is already built into the yoga routine.

Cool-down: Finish circuit and favourite cardio workouts by stretching the muscles you just worked for 2 minutes. A cool-down is already part of the yoga routine.
Days: 1, 2, 3 + 5
Do Circuit moves and Power Drill sequence 6 times. After each Power Drill, rest 20 seconds (easy march or side-to-side steps) before repeating.


http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/Day-by-Day-Workout-Plan-to-Help-You-Slim-Down

Aerobic V/s Anaerobic For Fat Loss – Which is Effective?

  

Aerobic means in the presence of oxygen. Any activity performed at a low to moderate intensity for more than 90 seconds, allowing oxygen to release energy through metabolism, is called an aerobic activity.

 The benefits of aerobic activity are…

• Increased Cardiovascular Function
• Decrease in Body Fat                   

But prolonged aerobic exercise has its negatives…

• Decreased Muscle Mass
• Decreased Strength
• Decreased Power
• Decreased Speed
• Decreased Anaerobic Capacity                                

You should start realising why combining cardio and anaerobic exercise is a better option.

Anaerobic means in the absence of oxygen. Any activity performed at a medium to high intensity for less than 2 minutes, where energy is derived without oxygen, is usually called an anaerobic activity.


 The benefits of anaerobic activity are…

• Increased Cardiovascular Function
• Decrease in Body Fat
• Increased Muscle Mass
• Improved Strength
• Improved Power
• Improved Speed
• Increased Aerobic Capacity

Combining these two exercises is necessary because it is impossible to exercise at the high intensity level of anaerobic exercise for the entire workout. Even if you try to work at such a high intensity, you eventually become fatigue and drift back into the aerobic zone. So, while it is possible to exercise in the aerobic zone for the entire workout, it is impossible to exercise exclusively at an anaerobic pace. This is why combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise is a must for an optimal fat loss workout!

Here is the bad news. Most people that want to lose fat and build a muscular body ARE combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise the WRONG way! The sad fact is, most workouts claiming to burn fat by combining both exercises are doing “bodybuilding” style weight training followed by an aerobic activity. And unless you plan to spend hours a day in the gym (like bodybuilders do), then you won’t get the results they do. Think of it this way.

There should be two “types” of exercise you perform… resistance training and energy system training. And when you are combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise, it is not just in the energy system training portion. You should be intelligently combining aerobic and anaerobic activity during the entire workout.
So, combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise is key to your fat loss success.

But how you combine the two is even more important, If you’ve been combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise with bodybuilding weight training followed by aerobic exercise and failed to get the fat loss results you wanted… you’re not alone. Combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise is not enough… you need to combine both to get maximum fat loss results.


http://fatlosspro.com/aerobic-vs-anaerobic-for-fat-loss-which-is-effective.html

8 New Exercises to Triple Your Calorie Burn (Part 4)

8 New Exercises to Triple Your Calorie Burn

 

Skip Crunches, Do: Leg Drop

Lie on back with arms by sides, palms down, legs long with a stability ball between lower legs. Engage abs and lift legs, bringing ball directly over hips. Keeping lower back pressed firmly into floor, slowly lower legs toward the floor (try not to let them touch floor). Do 3 sets of 15 reps.

Why it’s better: Not only does it target the rectus abdominus muscles (your inner six-pack) in the same way a crunch does, but it also works the muscles in the lower abs.

Skip Bicep Curl/Tricep Extension, Do: Single Arm Cut

Stand with feet wide, left toes turned out, a 5- to 10-lb weight in your right hand, arms by sides. Bend right knee and pivot right toes toward left foot, rotating body; at same time, lift weight up and left, ending in upper-cut position with elbow bent and upper arm shoulder level.

Rotate back to right, bringing weight down toward right while bending knees and pivoting left foot and knee toward right. Extend right arm to outside of right knee. Do 15 reps; switch sides and repeat. Do 3 sets.

Why it’s better: It’s a much more dynamic move than a curl or extension, so you get a bigger burn.

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20553038_10,00.html