Yes! 30mins of exercise is plenty, of course there are several factors, how intense is your work out? Are you making healthy food choices? I’m not saying your diet has to be squeaky clean but if you are grabbing the pringles after a work out you are limiting the amount of weight you can lose. Follow the 80/20 rule if you struggle to be consistent in your diet, eat well 80% of the time and take it from there or give yourself a day off or two in a week until you feel in control of your diet enough to tighten it up further. Without further ado I am going to give you six quick fire work outs that will be sure to help you lose weight. Take any 3-4 of the below or even all 6 to help change things up and have some variety to prevent boredom setting in. If you are going to do any of the below twice in a week then I would recommend the steady state running sessions and the strength work outs. The jogging will increase your cardiovascular endurance, aid recovery and help you regulate your weight and the weight training will provide the finishing touches, help tighten you up, give you a better more aesthetic look and of course make you stronger and more athletic.
1. 30mins steady state cardio. Running at a low to moderate intensity is still a great way to work out and the most appropriate way for beginners to start. If you cannot run continuously for 30mins then jog at a steady pace for as long as you can and then add a minute each time you run until you reach 30mins(if you want to carry on and add more time after reaching 30mins then by all means go ahead, but for the purpose of this article, 30mins is plenty). The famed ‘fat burning zone’ is also around 65% of your maximum heart rate so these steady state runs will help get you into the zone. Steady state cardio helps to build your aerobic base, regulate your weight and helps recovery, you cannot always train high intensity because you will burn out if you do and you cannot do the high intensity work without having a solid aerobic base, so start off with the jogging before you look to jump into the deep end with the higher intensity work.
2. Sprint intervals. 3min rounds with 1min rest periods to replicate boxing rounds. I like to do this using the width of a football pitch in a local park, sprint to one end then jog back and repeat the sprinting to one end and jogging back for 3mins before taking a minute to recover. Start off on 3 rounds and work up to 5-6 rounds over the weeks. I like to warm up for 5-10min by jogging to the football pitch, you do not want to be sprinting without warming up, that will lend itself to injury.
3. Boxing pad work out. 3min rounds followed by 1min rest. I like to move around as if I am actually sparring when I hold the pads, this makes the round more intense and more realistic than if you are just standing there in one spot, it also gets the punchers whole body moving burning more calories as they are using their hands and their feet, add slips and rolls for increased variety and intensity. Replace with heavy bag if you cannot find a partner. 5-6 rounds is sufficient.
4. Suicide sprints. 10m 20m 30m and once you are comfortable running these you can make it 20, 40, 60m if you want to increase intensity. Find an open space such as a nearby park and place out the markers 10 or 20m apart, you can use anything for these, your bag, a jacket, water bottle etc. Sprint to the 1st marker, touch down and run back, then sprint to the 2nd marker, touch and sprint back again and finally sprint to the 3rd marker, touch down and sprint back again. Take a minute or two to recover and then start again. Aim to continue for around 20mins. As with sprint intervals, ensure you warm up first with some light jogging for 5-10mins to prevent injury.
5. Team Hatton Boxing workout. 5-6 rounds 3min rounds followed by a minutes rest, mixing punches with bodyweight exercises eg push ups, burpees, lunges and sprints. An example of a Team Hatton workout can be found here https://fayzfitness.co.uk/boxing-for-fitness-sample-workout/
6. Strength workout using Olympic lifts, Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Shoulder Press, overhead squat, snatch balance. A exercise routine wouldn’t be complete without a weight training workout. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so more muscle means more calories burned in a resting state. Use the exercises which are the big compound movements effecting large parts of the body. Don’t underestimate the synergistic effect of cardio, diet and weights, it is not simply 1+1+1 = 3 in this case, more like 1+1+1=100! Each feeds off the other to magnify their effects when all 3 are combined as part of an exercise program.
