Many people work hard to have their bodies ready for beach season. But, once Labor Day rolls past and the colder, baggy-clothes-wearing months arrive, many exercise programs tend to go into hibernation until spring.
This year, however, we're going to make sure that we stay healthy and fit year round. Not only is this better for your health and wellness, but it will make fitting into your bathing suit next summer that much easier. To make this inter-seasonal fitness a possibility, it's going to take a little lot of work. Diet: clean. Stress: less. And -- what we'll focus on here -- exercise: difficult. Alright, we've already wasted enough time. Let's get to that workout, shall we?
Start first with a five-minute warm-up on a treadmill or stationary bike (or just walk around your neighborhood). Once that five minutes is up, it's time to kick things into high gear.
Do two sets of 12 repetitions of squat thrusts, resting 30 seconds in between sets. Once you've finished your 12th rep of your second set, jump right onto a treadmill (or, if you're outdoors, just start running).
Run for 90 seconds at a very high speed (almost a sprint), and then slow down to a moderately-paced jog for three minutes. Repeat this process three times and then rest for two minutes.
After your two-minute rest period is up, do two sets of 12 repetitions of Burpees, resting 30 seconds in between sets. After finishing your final rep of your second set of Burpees, jump onto a stationary bike (or a real bike if you're outside) and pedal at a moderately-high level of intensity. At each 30-second interval, increase your intensity level slightly. Do this a total of five times. Then, start working your way back down; at each 30-second interval, lower your intensity level. Think of it as riding up and then down a gradual hillside. Once you're done with five interval changes on the lower intensity level (the downward slope of the imaginary hill), rest for two minutes.
Next, do 10 push-ups to pull-ups. Start by performing a standard push-up (do it from your knees if a standard push-up is too difficult). Once you've completed one rep, quickly stand up and reach for a pull-up bar (which, to save time, should already be situated above where you're doing your push-ups) and then complete one pull-up (do horizontal pull-ups or band-assisted pull-ups if you are unable to lift your own body weight). This constitutes one full rep of this superset. Do this nine more times and then immediately jump on either a rowing machine or an elliptical machine. Row or move at a high-intensity level for 60 seconds and then lower your intensity level for 45 seconds. Repeat this process a total of four times.
As you can likely tell, this workout is intense. But one good thing about high-intensity workouts (in addition to the fat loss, of course) is that they usually don't take long to finish -- the workout I just listed being no exception. So, finding time to squeeze in this resistance/cardio circuit program shouldn't be a problem. Finishing it? Well, that won't be so easy. Fortunately, looking fit and trim from October through April will.