Brinda Sapat takes you through some real super-easy moves that burn fat like nobody's business. Ready?
High-intensity interval training pushes the body to the max and gives you a high fat burn.
This is a 16-minute workout with includes eight exercises done for 20 seconds, with a rest period of 10 seconds between.
The cycle repeats 4 times.
Do the workout 4-5 days a week.
Let's go!
Note: Please consult your doctor before beginning this workout. Stop if you feel any pain, breathlessness or any other discomfort.
You will need:
- A clock with a seconds hand
- A carpeted, wooden, grass or sand surface to workout on.
- Surface-appropriate training shoes
- Music you enjoy
- A bottle of water
Begin with a five-minute warm up of jogging on the stop, stair climbing, jumping jacks, dancing; etc
Do exercise number one at your best intensity for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Repeat the same exercise again for 20 seconds; and so on until you have done that same exercise four times. Then move on to the second exercise and so on until you finish all eight.
1. Jumping jacks
- Jump taking your legs wide out and arms up overhead from the sides.
- Do them as fast as you can.
2. Mountain climbers
- Get into a plank position.
- Maintain a straight line from head to shoulder to hip to feet.
- The back should not arch, nor should the hip rise up.
- Bring your right knee in towards your chest then extend it back again.
- Next bring the left knee in.
- Keep alternating legs going as fast as you can while maintaining the proper hip position.
3. High knees
- Jog bringing your knees as high up in the front of you as you can
4. Squat and Side-Leg Lift
- Stand with your feet a little more than hip distance apart; hands by your sides.
- Push your hip back, bend your knees and lower your thighs till they are almost parallel to the floor.
- Make sure your knees stay in line with your ankles and don't come forward.
- Press your heels into the floor, push yourself up to standing and as you do lift your right leg out to the side, and lift your arms up overhead.
- Bring the leg down and lower down into the next squat. As you come up this time, lift the left leg to the side.
- Continue with the reps, lifting alternating legs each time.
5. Skip sideways and lunge
- Skip to the right by taking two steps sideways with a little skip, allowing you to travel across faster and reach down towards your right foot with the left hand, then skip to the left.
- Keep going side to side.
6. Plank with leg raises
- Get into a plank position.
- Face down, hands on the floor and legs extended.
- Maintain a straight line from head to shoulder to hip to foot.
- Hold this position and raise alternating legs up and down.
- Keep the hip in line with the body as you lift the leg.
7. Switch
- Stand and with a hop take the right leg forward and left backwards, then switch.
- Keep alternating and move at a fast pace.
8. Swimming
- Lie face down on your tummy.
- Extend both your arms out in front of you.
- Raise your upper body (till the chest comes off the floor), right arm and left leg, lower them and raise the left arm and right leg.
- The movement mimics freestyle swimming. Go as fast as you can, alternating sides.
- When you are done round off with some relaxing stretches.
- Couple this workout with a low fat, well balanced diet and you are on your way to a slim and trim body!
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Lead image (used for representational purposes only): Calibe Thompson/Creative Commons
Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com