Workouts designed to get you fit, fast
The Workouts
Lose Weight with Boxing Training
Feb 10th
Aint’ it strange that you can never really notice weight loss in yourself until someone else spots it. A couple of weeks ago a person I hadn’t seen in years told me I had lost weight. The same day, a girl at the gym asked me if I had lost weight. Of course, I have been doing my usual weight training and skipping workouts and much less spinning. It’s so strange. Then I weighed myself at weekend and found that I had put half a stone on.
So perhaps I’ve added a lot of muscle tissue, which obviously weighs more than fat, although I have a fairly athletic build, but I don’t think I have added seven pounds of muscle. That is way too much.
Anyhow, I need something quick to get me fit and I’m now attending boxing training twice a week, body pump once a week and body combat once a week. That’s enough for me. I’m already aching after my gym session last night and boxing training tonight.
If you’re serious about conditioning your body, I would highly recommend boxing training. The hour and a half session started off with skipping. I used a weighted rope, which makes it a little harder but tones the shoulders nicely. Then there were sprints on the spot, high jumps, press-ups, burpees, star jumps, and sit-ups. Then it was out into the nippy air for a mile and half job followed by tiring two minute heavy bag punches non-stop. Sit ups and press-ups followed, then knees up throwing shots at the bag thirty seconds, heavy blows for half a minute, and alternate punches for a final thirty seconds. Two sets of these were performed.
Finally the last twenty minutes contained some seriously hard body weight training, some of which I coudn’t do (throw your body off the floor press-ups) but at least I tried but almost splatted my nose on the carpet. More tough sit-ups followed and then it was a stretch and warm down.
I am not sure what attracts me to hard training such as this but I know that the pain is worth it in fitness and the positive changes it gives to the body. Even my punching power has gained in strength and I am able to keep my guard up. I have big respect for boxers. I struggled throwing punches for just two minutes, let alone twelve rounds of three minutes.
Tone The Breasts
Feb 1st
I hate bras and underwear and avoid them at all times. Because I hate bras so much I have my own little discipline programme that I undertake every day – 20-30 pressups. This has always kept my breasts toned and full, even when I do the pen test.
Pressups are wonderful and tone the surrounding breasts tissue wonderfully. I first started getting into pressups when I started attending boxing training in 2003. Performed regularly, pressups will help to make your breasts appear fuller. Breasts do not contain muscle so you must strengthen its surrounding tissue. Please do not waste your money on expensive breast toning creams. Why do people think that these work anyway? They are ridiculously expensive, probably contains some seaweed or firming extract, and will not work over the long term. The best way to tone the breasts is through exercise.
I would highly recommend pressups. Obviously, the more challenging the pressups the better the workout. As well as toning the chest area, pressups will also tone the triceps, back, and abdomen. Pressups are wonderful and so verstatile. Beginners can perform effective pressups on their knees.
Other much easier exercises to tone the chest are is to press the hands together in a prayer position and clench the chest area or try the bench press. This is a wonderful exercise for both men and women. The pen test is a test to find out if your breasts are toned or saggy. Simply hold one arm over your head, place the pen under the breast. If it drops, your breasts are pert. If it stays, your breasts are starting to sag slightly. I would highly recommend toning the breasts with pressups. They are free and can be performed anywhere, even against the wall while you are waiting for the kettle to boil.
I have not worn a bra for years and years. I really do loathe them for some reason. My breasts have remained the same because I like to put in the effort through exercise.
Burn Fat in 15 Minutes
Jan 11th
This tough workout is so effective. It gets the heart pumping, burns fat, and builds important lean muscle tissue. This short circuit has no rests, which keeps the heart pumping and burns calories.
Equipment required
- Stability ball
- Medicine ball
- Skipping rope
- Exercise mat
The workout
- Skip for 4-5 minutes to warm up the muscles.
- Perform thirty high jumps non-stop to work the heart. This requires mental strength to perform the exercise correctly. Try to jump to waist height. Motivate yourself with mantras.
- Grab your medicine ball and jump on the stability ball. Roll the ball over your abs and push the medicine ball over your head. Perform 20-30 non-stop.
- These are tough. Press-ups on a stability ball. Place your hands on the exercise mat, your feet on the stability ball. Steadily push down into press-up position without your legs falling off stability ball. Raise up and then pull your legs in to your chest slowly on the ball, then push out again. That’s one rep. Try to do 5-10. These are very tough but work effectively to tone the core muscles.
- Perform thirty squat thrusts to further kill the arm muscles after press-ups.
- Do 20-30 tricep dips on the stability ball. If you can hold your legs out straight for a harder burn or keep the knees bent for an effective exercise.
- To finish off, perform 20-30 squats. Place your hands behind your head and squat down so that your thighs are parallel with your feet. Keep the back straight and feel the burn in your thighs and buttocks.
How’s that for a short, intensive, fat burning, muscle building workout?
Music is my motivation
Dec 9th
After several weeks of not carrying out my short little workouts due to stresses at home, writers block, and pretty much feeling out of sorts with myself, I today finally set off to the gym with a mission in mind…to get sweaty in less than thirty minutes.
This workout took a little over 30 minutes including stretches afterward. It was tough, probably because I have not performed body weight training for a short while. When I pressed play on my iPod it was almost red (red when running out green when full battery power) and I hate working out with no music. Music is my motivator. Anyhow, weirdly the music stayed on. I had Eye of the Tiger, Heart’s on Fire, Creeps, bit of Bobby Brown, K Klass and a few other funky tunes and the best one of all, Take me to the Hospital by The Prodigy, my fav group.
This little workout can be performed at home or the gym.
Items required:
- Skipping rope
- Boxing gloves
- Punch bag
- Mat
- Medicine ball
The Workout
- First off, start with a little skipping for three minutes. Pick out a funky track and skip non stop. Finally finish with ten double unders if you can.
- If you’re at the gym and you have a punch bag to hand, put on your boxing gloves and perform jabs, uppercuts, and straight jabs at the punch bag. Remember to keep your guard up and when the arms are fatigued stay on the balls of your feet to keep the heart rate up. Time yourself for three minutes or a short song length. If you do not have a punch bag perform three minutes of shadow boxing. With the sit-ups, throw punches with every crunch.
- Grab your mat beside the punch bag and try your best to raise your body and punch the bag with every sit-up. After a minute or two the abs will start to ache heavily. Use a mantra to push yourself through the pain. Your abs will thank you for it with strength and burn off fat.
- Take a minute break. Grab your barbell or free weights and perform thirty weighted squats. Push the weight into the ankles and keep the back straight. Your back should not feel any strain, only your buttocks. Perform it in front of a mirror to view your posture.
- Thirty chest presses with 10-40 kg if you can.
- Grab your mat again and perform thirty press-ups on an incline to make it that little bit tougher, just like I love it.
- Straight into thirty squat thrusts.
- Grab a medicine ball and pick it up while in the squat position and use your arms to pull it slightly over your head. Keep the arms slightly bent and keep the back straight as you bring it back down and perform twenty.
- Using the medicine ball again start off in the middle and bring the medicine ball up to the right of your head, slightly using your torso to twist to the right but keep your body facing the front. Perform one on the right and then the left. Try to perform twenty on each side.
- Perform thirty high jumps non-stop.
- Use the medicine ball and holding your arms out slightly bring the medicine ball as fast as possible to your left hip and then swivel it to you right. Perform twenty on each side. Boxers usually work with a partner on this and throw it backwards after spinning it round and then picking it up from the right side to spin to the left again. This works the oblique and hip muscles.
- At this time, Hearts on Fire from Rocky came on so I had to skip to this motivating music. I skipped non-stop for four minutes and finished off with ten double unders.
- I grabbed the medicine ball and performed twenty side bends.
- Finished with twenty lunges on each leg holding the medicine ball straight to tire the arms. After the twenty I pulsed my legs for another ten lunges to kill my leg.
- Finally stretch out the legs and arms.
Drink plenty of fluid throughout. This workout uses body weight exercises, cardio, and works the entire body. Eat well afterward and rest for a day or two before another workout. Give the muscles time to grow stronger.
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