Drop 10 pounds by summer!

So you’d like to lose 10 pounds by bikini season? Well, you can if you want to, but you’ll have to get started right away! It’s no secret that to lose weight healthily, you have to eat adequate amounts of high quality foods and do regular cardiovascular and muscular exercise.

So that you achieve your goals, I have a 6-week exercise program for you to give you a leg up. Each week, the exercises will become increasingly demanding as your fitness level improves, thus making sure you burn enough calories. I prefer you do circuit training for your muscular exercises, but I’ll leave the choice of cardiovascular training up to you, as long as you work at an appropriate target heart rate.

Besides exercising, you’ll need to adjust your food intake, meaning you’ll have to reduce the number of calories you eat while making sure the foods you choose are varied and nutritionally sound. You can check out the article How to assess your daily caloric needs? to know how to establish your calorie profile. This way, you’ll have enough energy left at the end of the day for your routine activities and those training sessions that will shave off the extra pounds. You can expect to lose between 1 and 3 pounds a week, depending on your initial weight and level of fitness.

Do you want to start shedding those 10 unwanted pounds without delay? Then follow the Nautilus Plus 10-4 program!

Go for broke and lose 10 pounds in 4 weeks with the Nautilus Plus 10-4 training program. The “10-4” includes: an appraisal of your fitness level and eating habits, a personalized food plan and training program, and the close supervision of a nutritionist and personal trainer. This formula will allow you to achieve spectacular results! Take advantage of the special offer valid only during the month of April, enjoy a discount of up to 100$ on the purchase of the 10-4 program (please visit the promo section of the Nautilus Plus website from April 1st for more details on the offer).

Week 1 exercise program

Complete this program 3 or 4 times this week at 48-hour intervals. Do 30 minutes of moderate to high intensity cardiovascular activity on the days you don’t do your muscular circuit. You should feel out of breath, but still be able to talk. Your target heart rate zone should be between 70 and 80% of your maximum heart rate (maxHR, calculated by deducting your age from 220).

Your circuit training should take between 25 and 30 minutes. You’ll need a pair of weights (5 to 10 lb, depending on your fitness level) and an exercise ball. You perform 30 seconds of each muscular exercise, in sequence, taking a 30-second to 1-minute pause between each. Once you have finished the circuit, walk on the spot for 1 to 3 minutes to recover before repeating the exercises a second time. Make sure you are sufficiently hydrated throughout the training session by drinking water regularly.

Each session should include a general warm-up (brisk walk or leg curls) for about 3 to 5 minutes and finish with walking in place for 3 minutes.

Exercise 1: Wall squat with ball
Hold the ball against the wall at lower back level. With the feet slightly forward and hip width apart, bend the knees to a 90o angle. Then fully straighten the legs without locking the knees.

Exercise 2: Front lunges with weights
Step one foot forward, bending the front knee to 90o. Position the back leg so that, in the starting position, the knee is just below the hip. Fully extend both legs without locking the knees. Return to the starting position without releasing the load.

Exercise 3: One arm row
With the torso parallel with the floor, pull the elbow up (row) lifting the dumbbell up to chest level. Avoid trunk rotation at the top of the movement.

Exercise 4: Chest press on a ball
Lean on the ball with the back on an incline and hold the dumbbells, above the chest, with an overhand grip. Keeping the elbows wide, lower the elbows until the dumbbells are 1 cm from the upper chest. Fully extend the arms without locking the elbows.

Exercise 5: Biceps curl
Hands at shoulder width, hands holding the dumbbells in an underhand grip, flex the forearms keeping the elbows close to the body. Return the dumbbells slowly to the starting position. Avoid leaning backwards. You may alternate the arms during this exercise.

Exercise 6: Triceps overhead extension, sitting on the ball
Sitting with a straight back, holding a dumbbell with both hands behind the head, fully extend the arms without locking the elbows. Lower the weight again until the elbows are at a 90o angle. Keep the elbows close to the head throughout the movement.

Exercise 7: Plank
Contract the abdominal muscles and keep the legs, torso, and head in good alignment. Avoid letting the lower back sag. Hold the position.

Next Monday, April 8, the training program for week 2 will be posted on our blog. Make sure to visit www.imtakingcharge.ca !

By Karine Larose

Drop 10 pounds by summer! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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