By Michelle Hering, M.S., Best Life fitness expert
As the weather warms up, your calendar is likely filling up with reunions, weddings and vacations. Don’t panic—there’s plenty of time to get in shape for all these events. Take note of how many weeks you have between now and then, set realistic goals (remember, a pound or two per week is doable) and then design a plan to help you achieve them.
The key to making sure the pounds consistently drop off, you have to keep your body guessing on your next move. If you perform the same exercise over and over, your body will become accustomed to the routine. The result: You don’t burn as many calories. So, every four weeks, change things up—even if it’s just increasing the intensity of your current workout. You can use the fitness plan below to help you get ready for the big event—whether it’s one, two or three months away.
The progression is just as important as your end goal—trying to do too much too fast can cause injury and frustration, which can lead you to give up on your program. So, once you figure out what experience level you are (first-time exerciser or experienced exerciser), start at month one and move on every four weeks as time permits. Be patient and you should see the pounds steadily peel off, so you’ll look and feel great by the time your big day comes around.
FIRST-TIME EXERCISERS
4 Weeks Away
Cardio
The best place to start is cardio because the more you move the more calories you burn. Find something that you enjoy doing. For example, start walking, swimming or biking for 20 to 30 minutes at least four days a week. If you’d like to work out every day, that’s fine, too.
Strength Training
Prepare your body for everyday living by doing the Functional Fitness Exercises.
8 Weeks Away
Cardio
By now, you should have a handle on your routine. You’ve figured out what days and times work best and you’re just starting to feel comfortable. Now, it’s time to try to take your cardio to the next level. You might consider taking a class in the gym or adding a fitness DVD/Video to your routine. Or, you could switch to a different piece of equipment; instead of the treadmill, try the elliptical.
Strength Training
Incorporating strength training into your routine will help build lean muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat, and does so both during exercise and at rest. Try Bob's Basic 8 to get started.
12 Weeks away
Cardio
It’s time to switch it up again—as soon as your rate of effort drops below seven on the perceived exertion scale (see How Hard Are You Really Working? for details), you have to change up your routine to continue to see results. A great way to do that is to incorporate interval training into your workouts. For example, if you’re using a stair climber for 40 minutes, start with 5 minutes of warm-up. Increase intensity to a moderate level and stay there for two minutes, then increase to high intensity for one minute. Go back to a moderate level for two minutes then up for one. This will be your interval training and should be done for approximately 30 minute, performing the three-minute cycle 10 times. When you finish, remember to spend the last five minutes cooling down.
Strength Training
The harder you work your muscles, the more calories you’ll burn. By now, you should be able to perform strength training exercises three days a week and you can increase to three sets of 12 repetitions or two sets of 15 repetitions.
EXPERIENCED EXERCISER 4 Weeks Away Cardio If you have already been doing an aerobic workout, it is important that you switch it up, either increase the time or intensity or change the mode of exercise. If you’re on the treadmill, try walking at a speed of four and an incline of four.
Strength Training Lean muscle mass helps burn more calories, so strength training is very important. If you haven’t already, add in some strength training exercises, start with
Bob’s Basic 8.
8 Weeks Away Cardio Challenge yourself by switching up your routine once again. You can choose a different mode of exercise, for example, if you’re doing the treadmill, try working out on the bike, stairs, or elliptical and really push yourself to reach your potential. It will be a challenge at the beginning, but it will be worth it in the end. Try biking for 30 minutes at a level 7 on the perceived exertion scale.
Strength Training Continue working with Bob’s Basic 8, but add some of the alternate moves he has posted. You could increase the intensity by adding more weight or more repetitions (move away from two sets of 12 to two sets of 15).
12 weeks away Cardio You guessed it: You should switch up your fitness routine again. If you’ve done the treadmill and bike, now is the time to try something new, like the stairs. Or, head back to the treadmill but bump up your routine by increasing the incline or your speed.
Strength Training Your strength is really improving every day so you can really push yourself to the next level. Try adding yoga or Pilates to your routine, or perhaps hire a trainer. Check out
Is It Time for a Trainer? to determine if the time is right for you.
If you have more time, just keep cycling through the program, switching cardio every four weeks and exploring with different strength training exercises to maximize your potential.