Need something to change it up and bust the boredom? How about a hill workout to build strength and cardiovascular efficiency? There is no zoning out on the hills! Sara Fletcher has been a NASM Certified Personal Trainer for 3.5 years and is a competitive road cyclist who sees a steep hill and wants to ride it! Perform her workout 3x this week on alternating days.
Start with a 20 minute cardio workout: Get on an indoor bike (or find a hill in the great outdoors) and start these intervals –
3 minute brisk warm-up
3 minute hill – Pump up the resistance and get your heart pumping! Get into a hard gear and aim for 60 revolutions per minute.)
1 minute easy
5 minute hill
1 minute easy
7 minute hill
3 minute cool-down
Muscle Conditioning – Do each exercise for 1 minute and repeat 3 times.
1-2-3 jump squats – How it’s done: With your feet hip width apart, start the move by sitting in an invisible chair with your butt back and the weight in your heels. End the move by standing back up. Squat three times and end the third squat by jumping straight into the air and landing in a squat again for the next repetition.
Push-up Burpee – How it’s done: Do 1 push up, on knees or toes, and in between repetitions when your arms are strait, jump your feet up to where your hands are, then stand up. To modify it on your knees, you’ll just have to put your knees down for the push-up and then lift them up again to jump your feet up and complete the burpee portion of the move.
The Torso Roll – How it’s done: Lie on your stomach with arms overhead and do a superman move by lifting your arms and legs off the ground using your butt and back. Relax back to the floor and roll like a log over to your back. Here you will perform a roll-up, aka sit-up with your legs straight (modify by bending your knees and only coming up half-way.) Continue rolling back and forth from stomach to back.
Nutrition Tip: I’m a big fan of fruits and vegetables. I challenge you to go to the grocery store and purchase 14 fruits and 14 vegetables and eat them all within 7 days. Go! You can even organize them into 7 groups of 4 so every day you’re closer to your recommended serving. Next week do 21 of each!
For more weekly nutrition and exercise tips from Sara, check out her fitness blog – www.vitaopportunitas.wordpress.com
Sherri McMillan, M.Sc. is the owner of Northwest Personal Training in downtown Vancouver.
