FEAT Fitness: Introducing the Summer Workout Series (Week 1)

Tip of the Week: Use a progressive workout structure when first starting exercise or returning from a long period of no exercise. You’ll be more likely to stick with it and less prone to injury.

Summer is right around the corner. Some may be scrambling to shed a few pounds to fit into that new bikini or to look good in your awesome new summer tank-tops. When it comes to exercise, it’s never to late to get started on the looks and comfortability you want. Now some of you may have signed up for summer gym access, but aren’t really sure of what you’ll be doing when you go there.

Starting this week, I’ll be giving some weekly workout plans that include cardiovascular exercise and some weight lifting. You can choose to do both or just one depending on your goals. I would say if your goal is to slim down as fast as possible, do both.

The weeks will be progressive in intensity so that it’s easier to stick to the plan and not burn out. If you feel that you can safely push yourself harder, then by all means add a bit more to each workout.

I recently had a slight hamstring injury while playing some pick-up football. The cardio program I will be presenting is a modified version of what I used in my recovery process. The focus was on retraining the muscle strength with a gradual increase of the load of work on my hamstring.

The first week in the Summer Workout Series: The lower bounds are the minimum goals that you should be trying to achieve, while the upper bounds are there for those who would like to push themselves a bit more.

3 to 4 times this this week do

• 15 – 20 mins stationary bike
• 15 – 20 mins elliptical or stair-stepper
• 3 sets of 15-20 crunches
• 3 sets of 10-20 push-ups (or modified push-ups)
• 2 sets of 30 second side planks (each side)

For those who want to rock the guns out while the sun’s out, this week’s goals will consist of only body weight exercises:

• 150 – 200 push-ups by the end of the week.
• 15 – 30 pull-ups by the end of the week.
• 30 – 60 dips by the end of the week.
• 80 weightless squats by the end of the week.
• 200 sit-ups by the end of the week.

Be sure to subscribe to receive weekly updates on the new workouts for the week.  I will try to post them at the beginning of each week so that you have more time to figure out your schedule.

BONUS Tip: Take a picture of yourself now, so that you have photos for reference and comparison down the line, a month from now, two months, six months, a year, and beyond. It’s very motivating seeing the progress you’ve made, and it’s often hard to notice by just looking at the mirror day-to-day.