Durban - It’s that time of the year when everyone shows off their bodies while enjoying a day at the beach. If, like most people, you skipped the gym during winter, you probably don’t want to reveal how much weight you gained.
Fear not. If you are in a hurry to tone up for summer, we have the right tips for you. We spoke to wellness and fitness experts Lisa Raleigh, Annie Phillipeos and Leshma Ghela.
Lisa Raleigh's tips
Push yourself
Choose quality over quantity. Make your time at the gym count by upping your intensity, replacing long, medium-intensity workouts with short bursts of hard training
Just 20 to 30 minutes can be all it takes to change your body, and you’ll spend less time waiting for equipment. Getting your heart rate up appropriately means you'll burn calories after your workout as well.
Make your cardio count
If cardio for you is usually a steady run or cycle, you need to switch things up. Skip the moderate intensity workout and include intervals of sprinting and recovery to get you into your fat-burning zone. Uphill sprints are also great for added resistance.
Including your upper body in your workout will also boost your overall calorie expenditure. Aerobics classes or rowing and elliptical machines will help you practise full-body cardio workouts.
Get heavy with the weights
It’s hard to add much to our frames without heavy supplementation, so there is slim chance of the dreaded “bulking”.
Building lean muscle takes up far less space than fat, and keeps our metabolism burning much higher. Build and maintain lean muscle by lifting heavy and aiming for failure by the end of your sets.
For quick results, compound exercises are key. These target more than one muscle group at a time and are responsible for greater calorie burn during sessions. They also increase lean muscle tissue at a greater rate, meaning a faster metabolism overall. This is the best way to burn more calories quickly.
Here are three killer compound moves to work the whole body. Aim for three sets of 10 to 15 reps of each move, include rests of 20 to 40 seconds between each set, and repeat.
Push-up with row:
Targets: core, arms, back
Start with your body flush against the ground, elbows bent and holding on to a dumbbell in each hand. Rise into a push-up, pause, then pull one arm back into a row. Return to your start, then repeat with the other arm.
Lunge with press:
Targets: quads, glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, arms
Start with one foot behind the other and a dumbbell held at shoulder height in each hand. Sink into a lunge, hold for a moment, then rise back to your starting position, pushing your hands up into a press as you do so. Pause, then return to your start.
Squat with side reach:
Targets: quads, glutes, hamstrings, core, chest, shoulders
Stand with feet hip-width apart and dumbbells in each hand. Slowly sink into a squat, pause and then rise. As you do, raise your arms up above your head and out to one side, swivelling your torso slightly as you do. Pause, then return to your start, and repeat, this time raising your arms to the other side.
Annie Phillipeos loves Barre X
When it comes to fitness trends, I’ve tried them all – from Crossfit to Bikram yoga, spinning and boot camp, but Barre-X classes are my new addiction.
After all, who wouldn't want a ballet dancer’s body? These classes are very much like the training ballet dancers go through but it’s taken to another level of hard work. Classes are high-energy, low-intensity, positive and motivating.
Best of all, the results are visible and immediate. After just my first week of doing the popular classes in London, I noticed an increase in visible body tone, metabolism, and flexibility, as well as improved posture, alignment, and overall body awareness.
These goals have been either unattainable or took much longer to accomplish with the other programmes and regimens that I tried.
We are doing the Barre-X classes at MovementX in Umhlanga and our clients are loving the results for summer.
We even have some guys who do the classes to secretly be one step ahead of the game thanks to this awesome new craze.
Benefits of Barre-X:
l Firm, elongated muscles.
l Reduced body fat.
l High muscle definition.
l Strong, flat abs.
l A toned physique.
l Strength and endurance.
l Improved body alignment.
l Increase in energy and well-being.
Leshma Ghela’s tips
If you can’t make it to the gym, there are more than enough ways to work out at home. Some might seem weird, but they show results.
While you are walking from the lounge to your bedroom, you can do lunges or even squat while you are cooking.
The following help with every part of your body.
l Skipping for two minutes.
l Squats on any chair in your home.
l Bicycle crunches.
l Sit-ups.
Sunday Tribune