The Fat Burn Revolution (40 page)
Read The Fat Burn Revolution Online
Authors: Julia Buckley
If you mastered the basic plank in Phase I, you’re now ready to take it up a gear by adding some movement to the exercise. The good news is this is
going to make it less boring to do and the even better news is that it’s going to be even more effective in flattening and firming the belly. It does make it harder, of course, but
that’s all part of the fun!
1
Set up in the same way as a standard plank (
here
) balancing on your elbows (which should be placed under shoulders) and the
balls of your feet, ensuring that your body is straight from head to heels.
2
While keeping your body tight and rigid, place your right palm onto the mat beneath your shoulder and straighten the arm. Then do the same on the
left, rising into a straight-arm plank.
3
Now return to the starting position by replacing your right forearm and then your left. This is one repetition. Repeat starting with the left
arm.
TIPS
Do not attempt this exercise until you can hold the standard full plank for at least 30 seconds |
Exhale as you raise the body into the straight arm plank, inhale as you lower |
Maintain straight body alignment and keep the core tight throughout |
Palms should be placed on the mat below the shoulders as should the elbows when returning to the low position |
Congratulations on
reaching the final phase of the Fat Burn Revolution!
If you are following the standard schedule you only have four weeks to go and then you’ll have finished the entire programme.
By now, your healthier habits have probably become more natural to you as you have repeatedly practised them and regular exercise has become an established aspect of your life. Your
tastes in food may have started to change and sugar and carb cravings may have eased or perhaps even disappeared entirely. You can look forward to increases in these benefits and many more rewards
during Phase III as the commitment, energy and time you continue to put in pays dividends.
Once again, in Phase III you have three Metabolic Workout sessions. This time they are: arms and shoulders; legs and glutes; chest, back and core.
The Plyo Blaze workout uses some of the plyometric moves you already know from the Total Body Blast and Metabolic Blaster workouts, bringing them together in a single fast-paced, calorie
massacre of a session! This workout is intense, but short. You get out what you put in with this type of training, so give it your all and you can look forward to fantastic results both in terms of
improved fitness and speed and, of course, accelerated fat loss.
You also now have a new supplementary workout, the Belly Shred. This combination of exercises will strengthen and shape your abs and core muscles. Do Belly Shred regularly and you are
going to love what happens to your abdominal area! You can perform this workout every other day if you want to, but you will most likely get some soreness after the first couple of times you do it
and you should not repeat the workout until this has passed.
Belly Shred takes about 20 minutes to complete and can be done immediately after one of your other workouts or your 30 minutes’ steady state activity. It could also be done as a
session on its own, but for this you will need to warm up for 10 minutes beforehand.
Here is the standard recommended schedule for Phase III:
day | | workout |
1 | | Metabolic Workout 1 – chest, back & core plus Belly Shred |
2 | | Plyo Blaze |
3 | | Metabolic Workout 2 – arms, shoulders & core plus Belly Shred |
4 | | Rest or Phase III Furnace Workout |
5 | | Metabolic Workout 3 – legs, glutes & core plus Belly Shred |
6 | | Phase III Furnace Workout |
7 | | Rest |
Metabolic Workout 1 | chest, back & core
After performing your warm-up and
the upper-body dynamic stretches, start with the warm-up combo. Each of the exercises should be performed
once for the stated number of repetitions. You can then move straight onto superset #1. You do not need to start with a warm-up for every set in this workout as the stretches and warm-up combo
should be enough preparation.
Perform the upper body static stretches at the end of the session.
warm-up combo
•
Alternating bent-over row (
here
) x 20
•
Chest fly (
here
) x 10
• |
Perform once through doing each of the three exercises using a comfortable weight (around ¾ of your top weight). |
1-minute rest |
Start superset #1 |
superset #1
•
Bent-over row (
here
) x 10
• |
First full set then 1-minute rest |
Second full set then 1-minute rest |
Move on to next superset |
superset #2
•
Chest press (
here
) x 10
• |
First full set then 1-minute rest |
Second full set then 1-minute rest |
Move on to next superset |
superset #3
•
Reverse grip bent-over row (
here
) x 10
• |
First full set then 1-minute rest |
Second full set then 1-minute rest |
Move on to core sculpt combo |
core sculpt combo
• Wood chop (
here
) x 15 one side
• Saxon side bend (
here
) x 10 alternating sides
• Wood chop (
here
) x 15 opposite to first side
• Saxon side bend ( |
Complete once |
Belly Shred
This workout targets the core
and abdominal muscles. If done regularly, with correct form, these exercises will help you achieve a flat,
toned abdominal area, as well as strengthening and protecting your back.
The session takes around 20 minutes to complete.
The abdominal muscles tend to adapt and recover quite quickly, so don’t worry if you can’t do very much at first, you will see good progress over the next four
weeks.