Lean Into Fall
Get lean with a planned workout
Have a plan and stick with a solid workout routine and stay svelte year-round.
Summertime is a notorious time of year to get in shape and stay in shape, at least for the duration of bathing suit season. But with cooler temperatures on the horizon, shorter days, and hectic schedules the summer shape up could be slacking. Don’t let yourself get sidetracked. Keep up with your cardio and strength training and keep your hard earned summer body all year long.
You’ve heard it all before- strength training to maintain and build lean muscle mass keeps your metabolism on overdrive and delivers a shapely lean physique. Hitting the weights often can help you drop dress sizes, gain strength, and reclaim your athletic physique and abilities. Hours of cardio alone can’t do this so embrace the iron.
It’s important to include strength training into your weekly routine at least 2-3 days per week. Not bad, right? 30-60 minutes a few times per week results guaranteed. Here’s the catch though, you have to implement progressive overload- keep making it more challenging, and you have to be consistent.
With consistency comes patience. It may take over 2 months of diligent work on a regular basis to see your hard earned efforts. 30-60 minutes of exercise on most days of the week doesn’t sound like much, but in reality it is a lot easier said than done.
Making time for exercise is half the battle, but once you get to the gym there’s another obstacle looming- “what exercises do I do?” Without a plan you could be wasting a lot of precious time and become discouraged. When you have a goal and a plan to accomplish it you’ll be amazed by how much you can get done in a short amount of time and even more amazed by the results.
September’s Workout:
Here’s the Plan: Full-Body Workout, 2-4 days per week (nonconsecutive days), 5 exercises, 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions, 30-60 seconds rest in between sets, 75% intensity (you feel the burn by rep 8 or 10, but you can still complete the last rep with perfect form even though it’s difficult.)
Muscles worked: Glutes, Quads, Hamstrings
How to: Stand with a stability ball in the small of your back. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your side, take 1-2 small steps out in front of you, bend both legs to form a perfect right angle at the knees bringing your thighs almost parallel to the ground and keeping your torso erect and abs contracted. Push through the bottoms of your feet to return to the starting position.
Muscles worked: Trapezius, Rear deltoids, Biceps
How to: Gripping a barbell with both hands (underhand grip) slightly bend the knees and lean forward from the hips with a flat back and arms extended. Pull the barbell up towards your navel bending at the elbows. Lower the barbell slowly to the starting position.
Muscles worked: Core, Shoulders
How to: On all fours place a stability ball behind you at your feet, place your lower legs on the ball and push the ball backwards coming up into pushup position with your legs fully extended, arms straight, hands flat on the ground shoulder width apart. Draw your navel in towards your spine and squeeze your glutes. Hold for 30-60 seconds.
Muscles worked: Latissimus Dorsi, Biceps
How to: On a lat pull-down machine grasp the lat bar with both hands about 2-4 inches from each end. Sit upright with your chest lifted. Pull the bar to the top of your chest, hold for half a second and slowly return to the starting position.
Muscles worked: Core, Pectorals, Deltoids, Triceps
How to: Resume position from plank on the ball (see above), bending at the elbows lower your chest to the floor while you keep your body rigid and stable on the ball, push back up to the starting position.
Get lean this fall with a little bit of planning and preparation. Set your goals for your workout before you even set foot in the gym. I recommend writing it down and keeping track of your progress in a workout log. Not only will this help you apply progressive overload- challenging yourself in reps and sets, intensity, different exercises, etc, but it will also keep you motivated as you notice strength and endurance gains.
Look for inspiration, stay motivated, be consistent, and keep up the hard work!
For training and nutrition consulting and programming please contact me. Programs are available online.
Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Fowler, www.sharperimagery.com
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