Slim down your body as well as your workout time with a pair of circuits you can do anywhere. As little as 15-20 minutes of intensive resistance exercise can help to flatten your belly in 45 days, say researchers from Southern Illinois University. “The first set of an exercise switches on the hormones that control your metabolism, and doing any more than three sets won’t help,” says study author, Erik Kirk. We got John Beall, a former US Marine and personal trainer, to devise a fat-burning technique that has you training for 20 minutes a day, five days a week. “The workouts are made up of bodyweight exercises done circuit-style [without rest between moves] to raise your heart rate," says Beall. Do Giant Set 1 and Giant Set 2 on alternate days.
Squats
Glutes, quads, calves, abs
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Bend your hips and knees. You can stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor. The deeper you go, the more muscles you’ll activate, helping to burn more calories. Rise to the start position.
Lunges
Glutes, quads, calves, abs
1. Stand with your feet roughly hip-width apart.
2. Take a big step forward with your right foot and bend your right knee until your thigh is parallel to the floor and your knee is at 90 degrees. Reverse the motion, stepping back into the starting position. Repeat with your right leg.
Bicycle Crunches
Core, abs
1. Lie with your feet in the air and knees bent to 90 degrees. Lace your fingers behind your head. Bring your knees into your chest.
2. Straighten your right leg and turn your upper body to the left, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee. Switch sides, pumping your legs back and forth. Giant set 1 done.
EXERCISE-SPECIFIC BENEFITS:
The lateral stepup is a lower-body exercise that increases strength and power in the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. As a unilateral exercise, muscular balance is achieved on both sides of the body.
The archer pushup is an upper-body exercise that increases strength and power in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Performing the exercise in a side-to-side, “archer-like” motion will improve balance on both sides of the body.
Tip: Maintain a neutral spine and brace your core throughout the entire movement. Position your “lower” hand farther up or down to increase or decrease the difficulty.
The ice skater lunge is a lower-body exercise that increases muscular strength, power, and endurance in the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Performing the exercise rapidly will also improve cardiovascular endurance.
The pushup pike with feet on a box is a combination exercise that increases muscular strength and endurance in the upper body, specifically the shoulders and triceps. The pike position also actively engages and strengthens the core.
Tip: Consciously remember to keep your core braced to prevent any rounding or slouching during the entire exercise. Perform a decline pushup if the pike is too challenging.
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