Personal trainer Julia Buckley says short, intense workouts are key if you want to tone up and slim down.
It’s that time of year when everyone vows to get fit and fight the flab to become fitter and healthier.
But after the initial early January enthusiasm, many people will struggle to keep up with their proposed fitness regime.
Some will complain that they just don’t have time to fit the exercise in, while others will do too much too soon and get injured or give up because it’s too tough.
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Push up: A great move to tone up the stomach and legs, beginners should start on the knees as demonstrated by fitness trainer Julia Buckley
Steam engines: This exercise will raise the heart rate, raise the knee to touch the alternative elbow
So what’s the solution?
Personal trainer Julia Buckley says short, intense workouts are key if you want to tone up and slim down.
And she has an all body workout, which you can view and follow in the video below, which will tone you up and burn fat with the added bonus that it can be completed in less than 15 minutes.
She told MailOnline: ‘At this time of year a lot of people are looking to shed fat and sculpt, strong lean bodies – for those aims, a healthy diet is key, of course, but on the exercise side, high intensity workouts are the ticket.
Jumping jacks: Another move for raising the heart rate and burning calories
Burpees: Push the feet out behind you, left, and then jump up into the air, right
‘Shorter, more intense workouts challenge our body by making it do things it isn’t used to. You’re not simply doing more of the same activity just for a bit longer, you’re really pushing your body to places it hasn’t been before.’
The workout in the video, taken from Julia’s book The Fat Burn Revolution, contains just six moves that are all you need to shape up.
Julia demonstrates three ways in which you can do the moves depending on your current fitness – so if it doesn’t hurt, you need to move on to the next level.
One circuit of the exercises, as described below, should be done with 30 seconds of doing the move repeatedly followed by a 30 second rest. Then repeat the circuit again (or do the more advanced version if you found the beginners’ moves too easy).
Way to a flat stomach: Hold the plank position for 30 seconds
The six exercises are as follows:
PUSH UPS
Beginners, start on knees, advanced with feet propped up on a bench or chair
Julia explains: ‘Press ups are an awesome all-body move, again you’re bracing the core and engaging the abdominal muscles to maintain a straight position, which is great for shredding the belly and at the same time you’re sculpting the chest and arms.’
To do it, start lying flat face down, position your palms face down under your shoulders and then push up so your body is balanced on your hands and toes and your back is straight. Slowly lower and repeat.
STEAM ENGINES
Start in a standing position then raise one knee to opposite elbow and repeat on the other side. Move with more speed if you are fitter.
This move will raise your heart rate while toning the stomach, bottom and legs.
THE PLANK
This move engages your core muscles leading to a tighter, flatter stomach.
Julia explains: ‘The plank is one of the best exercises for tightening the tummy because it works the whole midsection of your body, including the deep abdominal muscles. It is also great for improving posture and balance and will build core strength to help you perform better many other exercises.’
Begin by lying flat face down. Position your arms under your shoulders and then rise up onto your hands or your body is balanced on your hands and toes and your back is straight.
JUMPING JACKS
From standing, do a star jump splitting your legs apart and then jumping back to bring them together. At the same time, raise your arms up and apart.
Beginners can do the move more slowly. This exercise again raises the heart rate burning calories.
BURPEES
Burpees are renowned as one of the toughest exercises around – which means they must do you good.
From standing, lower yourself onto your hands and then push your feet out and back in, then leap up into the air. Beginners should do the move more slowly or could put one foot back instead of both.
The moves works up a sweat as well as toning the stomach, arms and legs so is one of the best all body exercises you can do.
STEP UPS
If you don’t have an exercise step, use a stair or just mimic the action by raising your knees up and down.
As the name suggests, the move involves stepping up and down leading with each leg alternatively.
Step up: Use a stair if you don’t have the equipment
Julia said if people follow this workout, which takes less than 15 minutes, twice a week, ‘you’d get fitter and possibly notice some subtle changes in your body shape after just a few weeks.’
She added: ‘Obviously, if you did a workout every day, those results would be more dramatic. But over time, those results would almost certainly plateau and you’d need to up the ante by doing longer and/or more intense sessions.
‘One thing is for sure, doing 15 minute workouts is a million times better than not exercising at all.’
To stay motivated, Julia recommends setting yourself a goal and then sharing it with other people so you become accountable to follow it through.
She also recommends seeking support from like-minded people online.
While Julia’s workout can be done at home, there are also short exercises you can do while getting some fresh air that will also take little time but will improve your fitness.
Iain Reitze, 49, head trainer at Prestige Boot Camp, said it’s easy to get fit in just 15 minutes if you are using the time to working the muscles and raise the heart rate.
Time to get fit: A running session known fartlek (aka speed play) can take just 15 minutes
He said: ‘If you combine these things with good nutrition it will lead to a fitter, healthier, happier life.’
Iain recommends the short sessions below to tone up and burn calories.
He explains: All of these sessions can be done by any level or standard. It is about individual work rate during each session. Just do what you can and do it as best as you can.
‘They can be adapted to any level, made longer or shorter and you can change the exercises to train different parts of the body.
‘Depending on your individual work rate you could burn 20-30 calories every minute, so the harder you work, the more you burn.’
SESSION ONE: Fartlek Session – 15 mins
This session can be done anywhere and for as long as you wish. First, warm up with a steady jog for three minutes.
Then alternate 30 seconds at a fast jog, followed by 30 seconds sprinting then 30 seconds walking. Do this six times.
To warm down either steady jog or walk for three minutes.
SESSION TWO: Cardio – 15 minutes
This is a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) with five exercises that will condition the whole body.
Start on the minute and complete every exercise as quickly as you can. Warm up for three minutes with a gentle jog and warm down by stretching for two minutes at the end of this session.
The time you have left remaining before the next minute starts again is your rest time. If you feel you are not getting enough rest then just cut back on the reps until you feel your fitness improving.
- 10 High knee sprint (raising knees up) – 10 each leg so 20 in total
- 10 Squats
- 10 High knee sprint – 10 each leg so 20 in total
- 5 Burpees
- 10 Jumping jacks
Source: Six simple exercises in less than 15 minutes is all you need to tone up | Daily Mail Online
