Summer-fit plan

Source: Best Health Magazine, Summer 2008; Photo: JupiterImages

It’s finally here! Summer is the time of year when you want to look and feel your best in shorts, sundresses and sleeveless tops. But it’s also the season when days can be less structured, making it easy to fall out of your daily fitness routine. So we developed this 14-day, do-it-anywhere exercise regimen to help you get slim and toned. Each day, choose one of our 30-minute workouts. Feel free to repeat the ones you like, or switch up: They each burn about 200 calories. (Just be sure to get two toning days and one rest day per week.) Tack on a five-minute warm-up and five-minute cool-down per workout to prevent injury and offset any extra calories. Then repeat the 14-day fitness program throughout the summer. The routines require little or no equipment, so you can do them at home, at a gym, at a campground or at the beach’wherever!

‘Working out increases both your metabolism and the number of calories you burn during and immediately after exercise,’ says Gregory Anderson, chair of the kinesiology and physical education department at B.C.’s University of the Fraser Valley. The result: You lose weight’and keep it off’more easily. For a one-two fat-blasting punch, combine this fitness routine with our summer-slim meal plan. Hello, summer wardrobe!

Pace yourself

To hit the right intensity for zapping calories while sidestepping injury, match how you feel during your daily workouts with these helpful pace-intensity guidelines.

Warm up/cool down You’re breathing normally and the pace feels easy.

Light Your breathing is slightly faster than normal, but you can talk in full sentences.

Moderate You’re breathing faster but you can still talk comfortably.

Challenging Your breathing is fast, and you can talk only in very short sentences.

Very challenging It’s tough to keep this pace up; you can only say a few words at a time.

The workouts: Exercise à la carte!

Choose one of the 30-minute workouts below to burn about 200 calories a day. (Plan on getting two toning days and one rest day per week.) Tack on a five-minute warm-up and five-minute cool-down per workout to prevent injury’and burn more calories.

DAY 1 (CARDIO)
20 minutes Hike on mostly flat trails. Calories burned: 120
10 minutes Hike on hilly terrain, or speed up to a challenging pace. Calories burned: 80

DAY 2 (TONING)
20 minutes Toss a Frisbee or play tag, non-stop. Calories burned: 110
5 minutes Jump rope. Calories burned: 55
5 minutes 1 minute each of toning squats, abdominal planks, crunches, push-ups and triceps dips. Calories burned: 45

DAY 3 (CARDIO)
30 minutes Swim laps (moderate pace) in a hotel, rec centre or community swimming pool. Calories burned: 200

DAY 4 (TONING)
30 minutes Alternate 1 minute of jogging or marching on the spot with 1 minute of toning exercise. (Get toning moves for your shoulders, arms, chest, back, abs, thighs and calves here.) Calories burned: 200

DAY 5 (CARDIO)
3 minutes Do step-ups on stairs, alternating legs each time. Calories burned: 50
24 minutes Walk at a fast pace. Calories burned: 130
3 minutes More alternating stair step-ups. Calories burned: 50

DAY 6 (CARDIO)
30 minutes Do walking intervals, alternating between challenging and moderate speeds for 1 minute each. Stand tall as you walk, holding your shoulders back and head up. Calories burned: 200

DAY 7 (REST DAY)
Walk the dog, take a stroll or splash in a pool (no laps required!).

DAY 8 (CARDIO)
20 minutes Mix 1 minute of walking and 1 minute of jogging, keeping up a challenging pace. Calories burned: 150
10 minutes Walk at a moderate pace. Calories burned: 50

DAY 9 (TONING)
21 minutes Alternate between 2 minutes of walking at a moderate speed and 1 minute at a very challenging speed. In the final 3 minutes of your walk, push yourself to go for 1 minute at a moderate pace and 2 minutes at a very challenging pace. Calories burned: 130
9 minutes Complete 1 set of 8 to 10 toning exercises, targeting your major muscles. Calories burned: 60

DAY 10 (CARDIO)
30 minutes Cycle outdoors or on a stationary bike at a moderate to challenging pace. To maximize calories burned and avoid a backache, resist slumping over and resting on the bike’s handlebars. Calories burned: 210

DAY 11 (TONING)
20 minutes Alternate between 4 minutes of walking at a challenging pace and 1 minute of jumping jacks. Calories burned: 130
10 minutes Do a toning circuit that includes lunges, pliés, push-ups and crunches.
Calories burned: 90

DAY 12 (CARDIO)
10 minutes Walk at a moderate pace on a hiking trail, grassy field or beach’ changing your terrain helps you zap extra calories by challenging your muscles. Calories burned: 50
10 minutes Speed up, going from a moderate to a challenging pace. Calories burned: 60
10 minutes Gradually pick up your pace from challenging to very challenging.
Calories burned: 80

DAY 13 (TONING)
15 minutes Climb stairs at a moderate to challenging pace; speed up to a very challenging effort when you’re 5 to 10 steps from the top. Descend at an easier, light pace. Calories burned: 110
9 minutes Walk on a flat surface at a moderate speed. Calories burned: 40
6 minutes Alternate between crunches and push-ups for 1 minute each. Calories burned: 50

DAY 14 (REST DAY)
Garden, take a canoe out for a leisurely paddle or go for a walk in the park.

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