Summer Fitness Program

Let’s start 2019 feeling fit, strong and ready to take on a new year

The Fit My Day Summer Fitness Challenge is designed to develop long lasting, healthy habits improving both muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness.

Almost all training sessions recruit both the musculatory and cardiovascular systems. Active muscles demand huge amounts of oxygen, and the cardiovascular system works hard to provide it.

In saying this, it can be useful to focus some training sessions on muscular strength in order to build a strong base, and other sessions on cardiovascular endurance. Therefore, in our Summer Fitness Challenge we are going to complete 4 training sessions each week – 2 focussed on strength and 2 focussed on endurance.

The challenge begins on December 1st. For 9 weeks, until January 31, you can choose any exercise you like, as long as you complete the 4 training sessions each week (see below).

Two Cardiovascular Sessions:

In order to challenge the cardiovascular system, you need to increase your heart rate to a level which makes it difficult to talk without puffing. It could be a fast walk, run, swim, bike ride, game of soccer, basketball, tennis etc.

By working effectively, a 30 minute session twice a week can be enough to improve your fitness.

In order to make your cardiovascular training sessions effective, it’s helpful to include short, intense periods of work.

For example, if you are out for a walk, find a hill or set of stairs and power up them a few times until you are puffed. If you are swimming, challenge yourself to swim lap-repeats in set period of time. When you are out for a run, run hard for 1-2 minutes every km or so.

Always start with a 5-10 minute warm up and cool down, making the body of the session as effective as it can be.

Two Strength Sessions:

These training sessions should focus on increasing muscular strength and include weight training, or bodyweight exercises. You could lift weights at the gym, use park equipment such as benches and bars, or complete a bodyweight circuit at home. If you are working effectively, 20 minutes is enough to complete a good training session. Below are two 20 minute circuits which can be done in the comfort of your own lounge room.

STRENGTH TRAINING CIRCUITS

45 second rounds

Complete each of the 5 exercises below for 45 seconds on with 15 seconds recovery. Once you have done all 5 exercises, go back to the start and repeat the circuit 3 more times (a total of 4 rounds and 20 minutes).

Example: Run on step for 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds. Squat jumps for 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds. Push-ups for 45 seconds rest for 15. Sit-ups for 45 seconds rest 15 seconds. Plank hold 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds. Then go back to exercise 1 and start the circuit again.

Run on step
Squat jumps
Push-ups
Sit ups
Plank hold

HIIT Training

Complete exercise 1 for 30 seconds, with 10 seconds rest. Repeat the SAME exercise for 30 seconds for 3 more rounds (total of 4 rounds). Move on to exercise 2.

Example: Side skate 30 seconds 10 seconds rest. Side skate 30 seconds 10 seconds rest. Side skate 30 seconds 10 seconds rest. Side skate 30 seconds 10 seconds rest. Move to exercise 2.

Exercise 1: Side skate

Exercise 2: Mountain climbers

Exercise 3: Tricep dips

Exercise 4: Burpees

Exercise 5: Deep Squats

Exercise 6: Bicycles

by Angie Black