The number one fitness goal for most people, especially the ladies, is to get leaner and drop unwanted body fat to get a rock hard and sexy physique. It’s been proven over and over again that fad diets and exercise gadgets simply don’t work for keeping the pounds off. Overtime, you get tired of trying out all of these gimmicks while feeling sick to your stomach because of all the time and money you’ve wasted. Once the depression sets in, you end up eating more and it turns into a vicious cycle!
The power to change is in your hands and with the right tools and guide map, you will get there. Nothing can stop you from reaching your ultimate fitness goals if you put in the dedication, hard work and consistency into a solid nutrition plan and exercise program. In order to help you stay consistent and focused on your individual needs, I have designed a program so that you can avoid doing some of the things you tried in the past!
Always make sure to breathe correctly throughout your entire workout. Counting reps usually helps to keep a nice pattern flow to your breathing. The speed and tempo of each repetition should be around 2-3 seconds on the exertion phase (pushing or pulling) and around 4 seconds on the return phase.
Within the program, I have added some general guidelines for repetitions and overall sets. However, you should use this as a guide only since many of you will need to go lighter or more intense in order to achieve the best workout. You want to be able to complete each set and just barely get that last repetition completed. This will tax the muscle group to failure and ignite growth in both muscle mass and strength.
It’s also important to track all of your workouts so you can document your progress and pinpoint where issues might be emerging in your overall workout plan. You can use helpful fitness tracking apps like ShapeFit’s FitTracker which contains a huge database of over 500 exercises along with very easy to use tracking functions to record all of your progress.
Meal Plan
You can pick any of the 3 choices for your meals during the day. You are not forced to follow only one main column the entire day so feel free to mix it up a little. For maximum fat loss results, I suggest the “Go Hard” column for the hardcore individuals out there!
| Meals | Easy | Stickin' to it | Go Hard! |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal 1 | 3 egg whites and a banana | A serving of oatmeal made with water and ¼ cup goji berries | Protein drink, powder and water only. Small banana. |
| Snack 1 | ½ grilled chicken breast with ½ cup green beans | A cup or single serving of no fat plain yogurt | 6-8 grilled prawns |
| Meal 2 | 1 cup of spinach topped with a can of rinsed water packed tuna, 10 raw almonds and a slice of pure rye bread plain. Top salad with 2 Tbs of Udos or similar oil plus vinegar of choice. | ½ of a ripe avocado chopped onto a cup of mixed greens, ¼ cup chopped tomato, ¼ cup chopped cuke, ¼ cup peppers optional. Top salad with 3 oz chopped grilled chicken. | ¼ cup green beans and 3 oz of grilled chicken or fish (salmon or white fresh) |
| Snack 2 | A pink grapefruit | A boiled egg | Protein drink, powder and water only. |
| Meal 3 | 3 roasted garlic cloves spread on a slice of whole rye, 8 spears or half can of asparagus, 3 oz grilled chicken or white fish. | Turkey Meatloaf & have up to half with ½ cup green beans. | 3 oz of grilled chicken or white fish, ¼ cup steamed yams and 1 cup mixed greens salad topped with 2 Tbs Udos or similar oil. |
| Snack 3 | Protein drink, powder and water only. | ½ Cup dry cottage cheese | Protein drink, powder and water only with 10 raw plain almonds. |
*Suggested white fish include halibut, sole, tilapia, orange roughy, snapper, cod and bass.
Cardio Workouts
Week 1 – Kickboxing circuit (4 days)
- 20 alternating front kicks
- Left jab, left jab, right punch combo for 20 reps with your left foot forward and right foot back
- Reverse that combo for another 20 reps
- Left side kicks x 20
- Right side kicks x 20
- Jab left, jab right, left cross then right cross combo
- 2 minutes of jumping jacks
- Single alternating upper cuts for 1 minute (fast)
- 1 minute of ab crunches
- 1 minute of pushups (on knees if needed)
Stretch for 2 minutes and then repeat this circuit 3 more times for a total of 4 sets. Try to keep a high energy flow to your movements and really try to push yourself within safe limits for higher, stronger kicks while keeping good form and balance.
Week 2 – Abs and Sweat (5 days)
- Jump rope for 2 minutes at a pace you can tolerate
- Knee crunches (on back with knees into chest and back) for 1 minute
- Jump rope for 2 minutes
- Ab crunches for 1 minute
- Jump rope for 2 minutes
- Plank for 1 minute
- High knee jogging for 2 minutes
- Oblique crunches or side crunches for 30 seconds per side
- Jumping jacks for 2 minutes
Stretch for 2 minutes and then repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 sets
Week 3 – Good Old Running (4 days)
40 minutes of jogging on flat ground at 5 mph nonstop, or you can throw in some walk intervals if you are not able to run straight through. You will burn more fat and get faster results if you try to jog the entire time.
Week 4 – Stairs Program (4 days)
- 2 days on the stairmaster or step mill on a moderate level for 40 minutes (manual program)
- 2 days of running stairs at a building or stadium, up and down nonstop for 30 minutes (4 days of this if you do not use a gym)
Weight Training Workouts
For those of you training at home, most exercises can be performed using bands, weights, cans, water bottles, etc. I suggest investing in an exercise ball, jump rope, exercise bands and a few dumbbells. Because you will be choosing lighter weights, you only need to rest 30 seconds between sets for great results.
Day 1 and 3 (4 sets of 10 reps)
- Walking lunges
- Seated DB shoulder press
- Single leg deadlifts
- Lateral or side shoulder deltoid raises
- Single standing calve raises
- Internal and external rotations (rotator cuff)
Day 2 and 4 (5 sets of 10 reps)
- DB single arm bent rows using a bench or standing with a ball which is harder
- DB chest flyes on a ball or a bench
- Triceps dips using a bench
- Standing bicep curls with dumbbells
You can take additional days off in-between workouts if you’re very sore or tired. Listen to your body at all times and if you’re completely drained, make sure to get some additional rest to let your body recover fully. Try to increase the weights a bit each week for each exercise, even if is only by ½ pound increments!
