Original photo by Duncan

Too many people get turned off from getting fit, because they start the wrong way. In our society of quick-fix, instant results everything, the idea that something may actually take time and some work is a painful one to accept.

As such, people bounce from fitness program to fitness program over the years, never sticking with one for long enough that it will actually have enough time to work.

This one however is different. I’m not going to promise instant results, I’m just going to promise results, if you stick to it. That means doing what I’m going to show you, and being patient and allowing your body time to change. Don’t like it? Go somewhere else. There are programs, don’t get me wrong, that can change your physicality much faster, and make you drop more weight and gain more muscle quicker than this one. The only problem is though, once you’ve finished it, there’s no real motivation to keep it up. They’re so focused on muscle gain or weight loss, that they lose sight of the real goal: to be more fit for the rest of your life.

These exercises that I’m about to outline shouldn’t take you too long. In fact, if you’ve got a spare half hour or so every couple of days, you could quite easily manage them in that time. And if you think you haven’t got a spare half hour, then frankly you’re lying to yourself. You have, you’d just rather do something else instead. So how about instead of watching something in front of the TV, you record it and watch it on the weekend, and do this instead.

I’ve made a PDF of this entire workout which you can pick up here, so you don’t have to worry about sorting out a printable version.

Warm Up

When you’ve done each once, work through it all again. This will stretch out most of the major muscle groups, and lessen the chances of injury when you start to work out. Hold each stretch for a ten count.

• Wall pushups. Stand in front of a wall, feet shoulder width apart. Put your hands against the wall, with your arms straight. Now lean forward, bending the hips slightly. This will stretch your calves and loosen up your shoulders.
• Shoulder stretch. With one arm, reach across your body at shoulder hight. Now with your other arm, grab the opposite elbow, and pull gently, to stretch out your triceps and shoulders. Repeat on your other arm.
• Hamstring stretch. Sit on the floor with one leg in front of you and the other bent at the knee, with the foot against the inside of the opposite thigh. Now lean forwards from the hip, and reach towards the toes of the outstretched leg. You should feel a good pull on the hamstring of the outstretched leg. Stretch out, then swap legs.
• Quad stretch. Kneel down on the floor with your back facing a wall, making sure you keep your back straight. Put your hands against the wall, and lean back. You should feel a hefty stretch in your quadriceps. Hold then kneel up.
• Groin stretch. Sit on the floor with your back against the wall, with the bottoms of both feet together, knees bent. Pull your heels as close to your body as is comfortable. Now gently push down on your thighs, to lower your knees towards the floor. You’ll feel a gentle stretch in your groin. Don’t try and push too hard.
• Lower back stretch. Stand facing the wall, with your hands against it at chest hieght. Now put your feet together, and rock back on your heals with your arms straight, to form a 90 degree angle with the wall. Make sure you keep your back straight. This will stretch out your lower back, shoulders and hips.

The Exercises

These exercises are designed to work out the major muscle groups, develop tone and muscle endurance, and to prepare you for the cardio we’re going to do later. That’s not to say this is the best workout, or that it’s better or worse than any other. It’s just what I’ve found works for me.

• Push ups. Lie on your stomach, with your hands and feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Now, keeping your back and body straight, push up for a five count, then lower yourself for a five count. Repeat about ten times. If you don’t have enough upper body strength, don’t worry. Just keep your knees on the ground instead, and do them like that until you can. Similarly, if you find that too easy and you want to take it up a notch, then lift your right leg off the ground so it’s parallel with the floor, and do them like that. After you’ve done five reps, swap legs.
• Sit ups. Good form in sit ups is so important if you’re really going to work those abs, so pay attention. Lie on your back, and bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Now place your hands under your head, with your elbows out to the side. Lift your body from your abs for a three count, hold for three, then slowly lower back down for another three. However, don’t let your back lie down completely. You’re going to do ten reps, and at no point between any should your abs stop being contracted. The moment you do, you lose all the tension, and the workout becomes half as good. Make sure as you’re coming up you pull your elbows in a little too, and keep those abs taught!
• Split squats. This is a great exercise for your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Take a sizable step forwards with one leg, slightly bigger than one pace. Now bend your knees and hips to a five count, keeping your back vertical and straight, with your head up. Lower yourself until your front leg reaches an angle of around 60-90 degrees. Then extend the knee and hip of the front leg to push yourself back upright for a five count. Swap legs and repeat. Do each leg seven to ten times. Make sure you keep that back straight, and hold your arms out, with your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle, so your forearms are vertical. For a more advanced workout, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
• Bench dips. Get a chair, and whilst back first to it, put your hands palm down on it. Now walk your legs out until your back is vertical. You should now have your legs out in front of you, bent at the hips, with your arms support you off the ground, hands on the seat of the chair. Lower yourself down for a three count, then push back up on a three count. Don’t go down too far, or you’ll pull your biceps pushing back up again. Repeat five times. To make it harder, put your feet on a stool.
• Back extensions. This is a great exercise for your lower back, and any triathletes out there. Lie on your front on the floor, with your hands clasped behind your head. Now lift your legs from your hips and your back to clear your elbows and knees from the floor. We’re not looking to lift too high, just enough so that they’re off the ground. Hold for a three count, then lower back down again. As with sit ups, you don’t want to go all the way back down though. When you’re about to touch the floor, repeat again, so you keep that tension. Do five reps. If you want to make it harder, hold your arms out to your sides, and have something heavy in each hand.
• Leg extensions. Stand with your back against a wall, then lift your right leg. Raise until your thighs are at about a 60-90 degree angle with your body. Now, for a three count extend your leg until it’s straight. Hold for a three count and then lower again. Do five reps on each leg. If you want to make it harder, try holding a football between your toes and shins to add weight.
• Opposite raises. We’re going to kneel down now, and work your legs, arms and abs. When kneeling, on a three count extend your right leg and left arm. Hold for three, then lower for three. Do five, then swap to your left leg and right arm. To make it harder, lift a dumbbell as you do it. Make sure you keep your back completely straight throughout.
• Cat raises. So we’re on the last exercise. This is a great way to relax and wind down after the workout, and to get you ready for the cardio section. What you’re going to do is go down on all fours, so you’re kneeling with your hands about shoulder width apart, knees about six inches apart. Make sure your back in flat. Then lift from your lower back, keeping your shoulders still, and arch your back upwards for a five count, and then lower back to being straight. Exhale as you come up, and then inhale as you come down again.

The Cardio

The final part of our exercise program is going to be working on cardio. There are nine different workouts here, and you should do each one each time you exercise for a week, or until you can do the next level.

• Cardio week one. After you’ve done your warm up and work out, alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking. Do that four times the first time you do it, then the next time do six, then eight.
• Cardio week two. Again, after you’ve done your warm up and work out, alternate 90 seconds of jogging with two minutes of walking. Do that for about twenty minutes.
• Cardio week three. Now we’re going to change the interval methods slightly. We’re going to jog for 90 seconds, then walk for 90 seconds. Then jog for three minutes, followed by three minutes of walking. When you’ve done that, repeat.
• Cardio week four. This week, we’re going to jogging more than walking for the first time. You’re going to jog for three minutes, then walk for 90 seconds. In the second part, jog for five minutes, then walk for two and a half minutes. Then jog for three minutes, and walk for 90 seconds. Finally, jog another five minutes.
• Cardio week five. Five minutes jogging, followed by three minutes walking done, done twice with a five minute jog at the end should do you for this week.
• Cardio week six. Jog seven minutes, then walk for three. Do that twice, and you’re done.
• Cardio week seven. Jog for 15 minutes, then walk for five.
• Cardio week eight. Jog for 20 minutes, then walk for five.

Once you’ve got to the point where you can do all that happily, all you have to do is keep doing it, a couple of times a week, for the rest of your life. Doesn’t sound exciting? Maybe not, but it’s a heck of a lot better than being unfit.

Welcome to a whole new fitter you.