The ultimate,fat burning, outdoor workout

Spring is the right season to move our workouts outdoors.

Exercising outdoors offers besides the undisputable benefits – of which the importance we have repeatedly stressed – some additional, very important indeed:

– valuable fresh air

– serenity, relaxation and rest for the eyes and the mind

– the beneficial influence of the sun on our moods

– triggering of precious vitamin D production. Lack of adequate vitamin D can negatively impact us in many ways.

– avoidance of crowded gyms. Ample room to move freely.

This is a workout I like to perform in the hilly, Thessaloniki surrounding forest of Sheikh Sou (the forest of Sheikh).

WARM UP (5 MINUTES)

Spend 5 minutes to warm up your muscles and joints, elevate your temperature and gradually raise your heart rate.

Warming up is crucial to prepare the body for a strenuous workout.

You can do some jogging, brisk walking, jumping jacks, walking lunges, rope jumping etc.

Raise your heart rate to about 140 bpm.

STRENGTH TRAINING (10 MINUTES)

Here you will need some weights. Since it is mostly impracticable to carry your dumbbells – or whatever else – with you, you will have to use something else: By far your best choice is to use your own body’s weight.

Yes, you can perform a nice and vastly effective total body workout.

I consider this cruel, functional, versatile workout as the best investment for my limited time. It helps me preserve my muscle mass while in synergy with other exercises it allows for the control or even reduction of my body fat percentage.

Actually it’s a circuit of compound, multijoint exercises that involves all important muscle groups.

You will execute three types of exercises:

LOWER BODY EXERCISES

Emphasis is given on squats and lunges. There are practically limitless versions.

CORE (BACK + ABS) EXERCISES

You will perform exercises as:

* spiderman lunges

* mountain climbers (many variations) and especially mountain climber twists

* from a push up position: touch your right foot with your left palm in a coordinated movement. Go on.

In this workout you should avoid static exercises: planks etc.

UPPER BODY EXERCISES

– Push ups (endless variations)

– Bear crawling etc.

Alternate these exercises with minimal breaks to have a tough and very demanding total body workout.

Your heart rate will be almost permanently over 140 bpm and it may reach 160 bpm. This is a very exhausting workout which combines aerobic with anaerobic training.

H.I.I.T.: 60m sprints (about 13-14 min.).

Sprinting is a very powerful form of exercise. Great for the body, great for the spirit!! It combines harmony, coordination, power and will.

Nothing else – I speak for sports – can leave me more ecstatic and with a magic feeling of fulfillment!

Sprinting is unbeatable if you want to keep a lean, muscular physique. Either you need to lose fat or you want to gain muscle – and why not both? – sprinting is for you one of the best choices.

Sprinting will increase both your aerobic and anaerobic cardiovascular fitness.

Need more?

HOW TO DO SPRINTS?

Count a distance of about 60m. The path should be slightly uphill. After your body workout you are warm and ready to jump to sprints. Wait until your pulse falls to about 120 bpm.

Run at full speed the 60m distance. Your time for the first 2-3 sprints should be in the region of 12-14 sec.

Your pulse after the first sprint will rise to about 160 bpm.

Come back to the starting point by walking in a relaxed way (Don’t jog. You have to recover!).

This is the slow, resting part of your H.I.I.T. The time break between two sprints should be somewhere between 90-120 sec.

Repeat this ritual for a total of 8 sprints.

Your last 6 sprints should last less than 12 sec, if you want to reap the maximum benefits.

Sprinting will keep your metabolism raised for 1-2 days. This is a most welcome side benefit.

But the best with sprinting is that is a very effective natural way to increase your human growth hormone levels. This has positive influences on many facets of your fitness profile.

COOLING DOWN

After sprinting, decrease gradually your intensity until your heart rate falls to 100 – 110 bpm.

Permit lactic acid and other waste products to be removed.

Do some static stretching and you are finished. It was a really great workout.

– Do this workout 2 times/per week.

– Adopt an active lifestyle and a sound nutritional plan and leave the life you deserve!

Chris Strogilis

Civ. Eng. – MBA – DipM

http://totalfitness-christos.blogspot.com