The Full Body Workout Warm Up This…

                                 The Full Body Workout

Warm Up

This first part of our session will stretch out most of the major muscle groups, and lessen
the chances of injury when we start to work out. Hold each stretch for a ten count, and
when you've gone through it all, go to the next part.

Wall pushups. Stand in front of a wall, feet shoulder width apart. Put your hands against
the wall, with your arms straight. Now lean forward, bending the hips slightly. This will
stretch your calves and loosen up your shoulders.

Shoulder stretch. With one arm, reach across your body at shoulder hight. Now with your
other arm, grab the opposite elbow, and pull gently, to stretch out your triceps and
shoulders. Repeat on your other arm.

Hamstring stretch. Sit on the floor with one leg in front of you and the other bent at the
knee, with the foot against the inside of the opposite thigh. Now lean forwards from the
hip, and reach towards the toes of the outstretched leg. You should feel a good pull on the
hamstring of the outstretched leg. Stretch out, then swap legs.

Quad stretch. Kneel down on the floor with your back facing a wall, making sure you keep
your back straight. Put your hands against the wall, and lean back. You should feel a hefty
stretch in your quadriceps. Hold then kneel up.

Groin stretch. Sit on the floor with your back against the wall, with the bottoms of both
feet together, knees bent. Pull your heels as close to your body as is comfortable. Now
gently push down on your thighs, to lower your knees towards the floor. You'll feel a gentle
stretch in your groin. Don't try and push too hard.

Lower back stretch. Stand facing the wall, with your hands against it at chest hieght. Now
put your feet together, and rock back on your heals with your arms straight, to form a 90
degree angle with the wall. Make sure you keep your back straight. This will stretch out
your lower back, shoulders and hips.

Wall pushups 2. Another set of wall pushups, same as the first.

Tricep stretch. Raise your right arm until it's perpendicular with your body, then bend it at
the elbow, as if trying to reach down your back. Now with your left hand, reach behind your
back, and grasp your right hand. If you can't reach, don't worry, just hold a towel in your
right hand and grasp that instead. Now slowly pull down gently, to stretch out your triceps.
Afterwards swap arms.

Double hamstring stretch. Stand up, and keeping your legs straight slowly reach down to
your toes. You'll feel a heavy stretch in your hamstrings. Hold and then stand up slowly.

Quad stretch 2. Whilst standing, put one hand on a wall for balance. Then bend your
opposite knee and bring your foot towards your buttock. Take the foot in your free hand,
and gently pull back, until you feel a stretch in your quads. Hold and then lower your leg
slowly. Then swap legs and repeat.

Groin stretch 2. Whilst standing with a chair to your side, lift one leg out sideways and
place your foot on the seat. Now, keeping your hips forward and back straight, slowly tilt
your body until you feel a stretch in your groin. Hold, lower and swap.

Lower back stretch 2. Same as the one earlier. And when you've done that, you'll be
finished.
The Exercises

These exercises are designed to work out the major muscle groups, develop tone and
muscle endurance, and to prepare you for the cardio we're going to do later. That's not to
say this is the best workout, or that it's better or worse than any other. It's just what I've
found works for me.

Push ups. Lie on your stomach, with your hands and feet slightly wider than shoulder width
apart. Now, keeping your back and body straight, push up for a five count, then lower
yourself for a five count. Repeat five times if you're just starting, ten if you're more
advanced. If you don't have enough upper body strength, don't worry. Just keep your knees
on the ground instead, and do them like that until you can. Similarly, if you find that too
easy and you want to take it up a notch, then lift your right leg off the ground so it's
parallel with the floor, and do them like that. After you've done five reps, swap legs. To
make it harder, hold for a five count before pushing back up again.

Sit ups. Good form in sit ups is so important if you're really going to work those abs, so pay
attention. Lie on your back, and bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor. Now
place your hands under your head, with your elbows out to the side. Lift your body from
your abs for a three count, hold for three, then slowly lower back down for another three.
However, don't let your back lie down completely. You're going to do ten reps, and at no
point between any should your abs stop being contracted. The moment you do, you lose all
the tension, and the workout becomes half as good. Make sure as you're coming up you pull
your elbows in a little too, and keep those abs taught!

Split squats. This is a great exercise for your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Take a sizable
step forwards with one leg, slightly bigger than one pace. Now bend your knees and hips to
a five count, keeping your back vertical and straight, with your head up. Lower yourself
until your front leg reaches an angle of around 60-90 degrees. Then extend the knee and
hip of the front leg to push yourself back upright for a five count. Swap legs and repeat. Do
each leg seven to ten times. Make sure you keep that back straight, and hold your arms out,
with your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle, so your forearms are vertical. For a more
advanced workout, hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Bench dips. Get a chair, and whilst back first to it, put your hands palm down on it. Now
walk your legs out until your back is vertical. You should now have your legs out in front of
you, bent at the hips, with your arms support you off the ground, hands on the seat of the
chair. Lower yourself down for a three count, then push back up on a three count. Don't go
down too far, or you'll pull your biceps pushing back up again. Repeat five times. To make it
harder, put your feet on a stool.

Back extensions. This is a great exercise for your lower back, and any triathletes out
there. Lie on your front on the floor, with your hands clasped behind your head. Now lift
your legs from your hips and your back to clear your elbows and knees from the floor. We're
not looking to lift too high, just enough so that they're off the ground. Hold for a three
count, then lower back down again. As with sit ups, you don't want to go all the way back
down though. When you're about to touch the floor, repeat again, so you keep that tension.
Do five reps. If you want to make it harder, hold your arms out to your sides, and have
something heavy in each hand.

Leg extensions. Stand with your back against a wall, then lift your right leg. Raise until
your thighs are at about a 60-90 degree angle with your body. Now, for a five count extend
your leg until it's straight. Hold for a five count and then lower again. Do five reps on each
leg. If you want to make it harder, get some weights to strap to your legs and arms.

Opposite raises. We're going to kneel down now, and work your legs, arms and abs. When
kneeling, on a three count extend your right leg and left arm. Hold for three, then lower
for three. Do five, then swap to your left leg and right arm. To make it harder, lift a
dumbbell as you do it. Make sure you keep your back completely straight throughout. As
with leg extensions, if you want to increase the difficultly, get some strap-on weights.

Cat raises. So we're on the last exercise. This is a great way to relax and wind down after
the workout, and to get you ready for the cardio section. What you're going to do is go
down on all fours, so you're kneeling with your hands about shoulder width apart, knees
about six inches apart. Make sure your back in flat. Then lift from your lower back, keeping
your shoulders still, and arch your back upwards for a five count, and then lower back to
being straight. Exhale as you come up, and then inhale as you come down again.
The Cardio

The final part of our exercise program is going to be working on cardio. There are nine
different workouts here, and you should do each one each time you exercise for a week, or
until you can do the next level.


Cardio catch-up. After you've done your warm up and work out, alternate 60 seconds of
jogging with two minutes of walking. Do that four times the first time you do it, and
increase by one until you can do eight.

Cardio week one. Again, after you've done your warm up and work out, alternate 90
seconds of jogging with two minutes of walking. Do that for about 20 minutes.

Cardio week two. Now we're going to change the interval methods slightly. We're going to
jog for 90 seconds, then walk for 90 seconds. Then jog for three minutes, followed by three
minutes of walking. When you've done that, repeat.

Cardio week three. This week, we're going to jogging more than walking for the first time.
You're going to jog for three minutes, then walk for 90 seconds. In the second part, jog for
five minutes, then walk for two and a half minutes. Then jog for three minutes, and walk
for 90 seconds. Finally, jog another five minutes.

Cardio week four. Five minutes jogging, followed by three minutes walking done, done
twice with a five minute jog at the end should do you for this week.

Cardio week five. Jog seven minutes, then walk for three. Do that twice, and you're done.

Cardio week six. Jog for 15 minutes, then walk for five.

Cardio week seven. Jog for 20 minutes, then walk for five.

Cardio week eight. Jog for 15 minutes, take a five minute break, then job for another 15
and walk five to cool off.


                            Welcome to a whole new fitter you.