Fat-Frying Gym Workout

Not-so-newsowrthy: IT'S SPRING!

And you have come to me for some toning workouts. Whether or not it's swimsuit, beach, and pool weather for you, it will be before you know it. Or at the very least, you're bound to find your beach at least once this season.

So this is a gym workout. I know I've said it before, "gyms = germs" but we're going to move past that for an hour or so (the workout shouldn't take more than that), and just sanitize yourself when you're done.

What you're going to need:

• An elliptical
• A medicine ball (between 4-10 lbs)
• A mat for ab exercises
• A treadmill

Let's get to it!

The Warm-up Segment:

10-12 minutes on the elliptical

• Really we could say this is an extended warm-up. Start as slow as you need, and gradually get your heart rate up during this intro to the workout (around 130-140 beats per minute). If your machine doesn't have a heart rate monitor, then just go by your rate of perceived exertion (RPE), which I look at on a scale of 1 to 10. Your warm-up should be around a 6 or 7. For a better idea of this "scale," you can think of this:
• 1 RPE = lounging around, pressing buttons on the remote
• 10 RPE = sprint like all hell has broken loose and you're being chased by a bear
• What I did for my warm-up was like a mini-interval workout, repeated twice:
• 3 minutes moderate pace
• 2 minutes hard
• 1 minute recover (easy), and switch direction of pedaling

The Body Toning Segment: 

• Medicine ball push-ups:
• Get into the push-up position and place a medicine ball under one hand and leave the other hand on the floor as usual.
• Do 3 push-ups with the ball under that hand.
• Roll the ball over to the other hand and do 3 more push-ups.
• Repeat this pattern until you have done 12 push-ups total (6 on each side).
• You will look something like this:

• Bicycle crunches:
• Lie on your back with your feet off the ground and knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Make sure there is a wide open space between your chin and your neck, and your eyes are focused on the ceiling. Gently place your hands behind your head, keeping your elbows pointed out to either side. 
• Simultaneously lift your right shoulder blade off the ground, turn and twist your upper body to the left, turn your right elbow to the left as your upper body twists, and straighten your right leg as you extend it to the ground without letting any part of your leg actually come in contact with the floor. 
• Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Do these at a relatively slow pace - it's easy to let your form get sloppy on bicycles. And under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you let your knees come in over your chest. The further your legs are from your body, the more this exercise will engage your core. 
• You should look something like this:

• Squats holding the medicine ball:
• Get into the basic squat position: toes pointing forward, feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, back straight, and eyes looking forward. 
• With a medicine ball (or dumbbell or weight plate) in your hands, hold it in front of you like this as you perform your squat:

• Women's Health calls this a braced squat because you are bracing yourself, contracting your abs, and maintaining good posture the entire time. 
• Do 10 reps. 

• Plank with pendulum taps:
• Start in basic plank position.

• Holding your core tight and your upper body steady, lift your right foot up and inch, then move your leg out laterally, tap your toe to the floor gently, then return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. 
• Repeat for the first 20 seconds of the exercise, moving at a moderate tempo.
• Hold the last 40 seconds of the plank without moving. 

• Lunge jumps holding the medicine ball:
• Holding a medicine ball straight overhead with both hands, get into a lunge position.
• Make sure there is plenty of distance between your feet and you have a stable base. You may want to take each foot an extra inch or so out to either side to make sure your base is stable.
• Quickly sink down into your lunge, do a powerful jump, switch the position of your legs, and land with your feet again in a stable position.
• Your exercise should resemble this, except you will have that medicine ball overhead in your hands the whole time:

You're definitely warm now, if you in fact did do that 3 times. I was sweating halfway through!

If you're a beginner, you may feel better doing those 5 workouts only twice through. If you're more advanced, try for 4 or 5 rounds. 

So moving on to...

The Sprinting Segment:

Repeat that 10 times.

That's right...10 sprints, 10 recovery periods. Personally I prefer to end on a sprint, but if you'd rather start with one and end on a recovery interval, then by all means - do what you gotta do to get it done!

I'm not a fan of workouts that tell you the exact mph you should be moving at during a treadmill workout. We're all at different levels, and while 6mph is torturous for some, it's just not going to cut it as a decent workout for others. 

• Your "easy" pace should be strong but sustainable. Maybe just a hair faster than what you would do for a warm-up. RPE should be around 6. 
• Your "hard" pace should be one that you would not be able to sustain for the whole workout. You should be gassed and needing to catch your breath by the end of each 1-minute interval. RPE should be 9 or 10. 

You may have to feel it out for the first few rounds of running before you find your stride. Don't be afraid to speed it up a bit faster than you think is right. You just may surprise yourself and get through it! And remember, it should be hard during the sprints...that's what the recovery segments are for. 

Have yourself a little cool-down (RPE = 2 or 3) when you're done (3-5 minutes jogging slow or walking on the treadmill), and take a few minutes to stretch, specifically focusing on your legs and glutes. 

Happy spring!