In the second in our series, fitness and nutrition expert Steve Mellor shares his get fit from home workout plan with us
HIIT needn’t hurt, but it should HIRT to reap optimum rewards. Combining cardio with strength training, high intensity resistance exercises are the moves we should all be doing to blitz more calories, tone our tummies and take fitness levels to new heights in 2015.
A gym-free workout that we can do from the comfort of our own living rooms, we asked fitness and nutrition expert Steve Mellor of Freedom2Train for his print-out-and-keep plan with his top exercises you can do at home. A top to toe metabolism booster, it targets abs, agility and helps you to lose weight in one fell swoop.
Sounds good to us. Here’s how to get started...
The warm up
Skipping or running on the spot for 5 minutes. Followed by:
1. Inchworms: press up position (on your hands and feet), walk (inch by inch) your feet in towards your hands, keeping the hands on the floor and legs completely straight. This warms up the backs of the legs. Complete 5 reps, 2 times.
2. Lunging lizard: press up position, bring your right foot up so it is to the right of your right hand. Keep your left foot where it is and keep the leg straight. Try to lower your chest towards the floor and hold for 60 seconds. Repeat on both legs twice.
The workout
Blaster (5 rounds of):
1. 10 lunges: big stride forwards, lower back knee down towards the ground, touch the ground then drive back up to standing, keep the feet hip width apart at all times. Alternate legs.
2. 10 squats: feet shoulder width apart, reach hips back and knees out wide as you sit down into a chair behind you, touch the chair with your bum and stand up. The lower your hips go, the more bum you use. Keep the chest up and core tight.
3. 5 press ups (chest to deck): on your toes or knees, with your hands shoulder width apart lower your chest to the ground, touch, and push back up until arms are straight. Keep elbows close to the body to target the triceps and fight the bingo wings!!
Tabata (20 seconds effort, 10 seconds rest, alternate between exercise A and B until you have completed 4 efforts of each – 4 minutes total):
Exercise A: Skipping or sprinting on the spot.
Exercise B: V-sits – lying on your back with feet in the air, arms straight and resting on the ground behind your head, crunch up touch the toes, repeat as many times as you can in 20 seconds making sure you always touch the toes then the ground on every rep.