Hammer your conditioning at home with this full-body blast
YOUR SETUP:
You want to lose pounds, shed fat and preserve muscle through the magic of high-intensity interval training (HUT], but you need a break from cardio machines and want a progression that'll take 10 minutes or less. Our old-school setup — a barbell and plates, some floor space and a measure of testicular fortitude — will give your conditioning the boost it deserves.
YOUR SOLUTION: The workout below is as adaptable as it is convenient. It consists of four rounds of four exercises, five reps each, with only one minute of rest between rounds to push your heart rate through the roof — and you don't have to move more than 3 feet in any. direction. We've provided a terrific starter routine here, but these circuits can be arranged in any permutation you're comfortable with. Just remember, the Olympic lifts we've listed — the power clean, burpee clean and snatch — will take the most out of you, so designate them as your anchor exercises and experiment from there.
The basic idea behind HIIT is to perform a specific period of all-out exercise followed by a relatively short rest period, then repeat for an allotted total workout time or until you complete all the exercises. When you're looking to improve your endurance — your anaerobic capacity, in this case — it's important to monitor your work-rest intervals, or the ratio of how long you're moving to how long you're at rest. Make sure you keep your rest periods uniform between each round of the circuit, and decrease the amount of time you rest as you increase the amount of work you do in subsequent weeks as your body begins to adapt to HIIT-style workouts.
• G0 T0 MUSCLEANDFITNESS.COM TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE CIRCUIT
BARBELL HIIT CIRCUIT
Round 1: Power Clean, Bent-Over Row, Push-Up, Burpee
Round 2: Power Clean + Clean-Grip Snatch , Bent-Over Row, Push-Up, Burpee
Round 3: Burpee Clean3, Bent-Over Row, Push-Up, Burpee
Round 4: Snatch, Bent-Over Row, Push-Up, Burpee
* Perform each round of the routine as a circuit with no rest between exercises. Do five reps of each exercise. Once you complete a round, rest one minute and then begin the next round.
* If you've never done a taxing circuit like this before, you may need longer rest periods. Start with 90 seconds; after a few weeks, begin reducing the rest by 10 seconds each week.
* Begin with a manageable amount of weight — 95 pounds for Olympic lifting novices — and try to complete at least two rounds with perfect form before you add weight to the bar.
* 1 a power clean followed immediately by a snatch, using a clean grip (hands narrower than traditional snatch grip)
* 2 a burpee performed with your hands on the bar, not the floor, followed immediately by a clean
Monday, November 2, 2009
Super-Simple Tricks to Drop Lbs
Skip the fad diets and give these seven new science-based strategies a try
47%
That's the percentage of carbs that should be in your diet if you really want to stick to your plan and reach your ideal body weight, says a new Canadian study. Why? Diets that are low in carbs (but high in protein) are hard to maintain. And good carbohydrates (fruit, whole grains) deliver lots of appetite-busting fiber and less saturated fat, which is better for your heart.
250 calories gone!
You'll eat that many fewer calories if you dine with a man instead of chowing down with a group of your female friends, a new study says. Women eating together ate almost 800 calories each; a woman eating with a man had about 550.
Tweet off the pounds
Microblogging can power up your weight loss. TweetYourEats.com categorizes the foods you eat and tracks and tallies your calories. Create an online food diary at TweetWhatYou Eat .com, then send direct messages to @TWYE to log calories. Get group weight-loss support at Tweet works.com.
16 ounces
That's how much water you should drink before each meal to lose an additional 4½ pounds every three months when you're dieting, according to a new study in Obesity. Makes sense: Researchers think you eat less because the water makes you feel full.
45 minutes of fall hiking will burn off the 300 calories in your morning bagel.
Stay full longer with omega-3s
Omega-3 fats can help your body burn more calories and trigger hormones in your tummy that help you feel full longer, Australian researchers say. Get yours the yummy way.
* Purslane Make a big salad with these tasty greens; they have more omega-3s than any other leafy green.
* Flaxseed Grind up flaxseed (below) and sprinkle it on your yogurt or cereal.
* Scallops Pan-sear or broil scallops for omega-3s from the sea. Pacific halibut and wild Alaskan salmon are good choices, too.
Weigh better! A few small changes can push you (and your scale) in the right direction.
The sweet smell of dieting success
You eat when you're bored? Next time, sniff coffee beans instead — a sneaky way to slow down your urge to snack, from psychologist and mindfulness expert Susan Albers, PsyD, author of the new 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food.
47%
That's the percentage of carbs that should be in your diet if you really want to stick to your plan and reach your ideal body weight, says a new Canadian study. Why? Diets that are low in carbs (but high in protein) are hard to maintain. And good carbohydrates (fruit, whole grains) deliver lots of appetite-busting fiber and less saturated fat, which is better for your heart.
250 calories gone!
You'll eat that many fewer calories if you dine with a man instead of chowing down with a group of your female friends, a new study says. Women eating together ate almost 800 calories each; a woman eating with a man had about 550.
Tweet off the pounds
Microblogging can power up your weight loss. TweetYourEats.com categorizes the foods you eat and tracks and tallies your calories. Create an online food diary at TweetWhatYou Eat .com, then send direct messages to @TWYE to log calories. Get group weight-loss support at Tweet works.com.
16 ounces
That's how much water you should drink before each meal to lose an additional 4½ pounds every three months when you're dieting, according to a new study in Obesity. Makes sense: Researchers think you eat less because the water makes you feel full.
45 minutes of fall hiking will burn off the 300 calories in your morning bagel.
Stay full longer with omega-3s
Omega-3 fats can help your body burn more calories and trigger hormones in your tummy that help you feel full longer, Australian researchers say. Get yours the yummy way.
* Purslane Make a big salad with these tasty greens; they have more omega-3s than any other leafy green.
* Flaxseed Grind up flaxseed (below) and sprinkle it on your yogurt or cereal.
* Scallops Pan-sear or broil scallops for omega-3s from the sea. Pacific halibut and wild Alaskan salmon are good choices, too.
Weigh better! A few small changes can push you (and your scale) in the right direction.
The sweet smell of dieting success
You eat when you're bored? Next time, sniff coffee beans instead — a sneaky way to slow down your urge to snack, from psychologist and mindfulness expert Susan Albers, PsyD, author of the new 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food.
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