So I’ve been hitting the gym for a little over a month now and I have definitely noticed a change in my stamina. My workout plan was set up by Personal Trainer Lawrence Okoye at Nuffield Health, I had told him that I wanted to work on toning rather than weight loss and I wanted to concentrate on my stomach/waist and thighs; prior to this I had no exercise routine whatsoever so he had to make it ‘interesting’ enough for me to work through it.

Lawrence suggested I work towards achieving 45 minutes of cardio using a combination of the Cross Trainer, Summit, and Rowing machines followed by 4 circuits to work the core muscles. Knowing that there was no way I could possibly do 45 mins of straight cardio at the first attempt he suggested I build up slowly, starting with 10 mins on the Cross Trainer, 5 on the Summit, and 10 on the Rower.

Circuit 1

Core Bag – Squats and lifts

Kettle Ball Swings

Viper – “Thread the needle” holding above the head then twisting and treading through legs with a squat

Roll Outs on a mat – kneel down then roll forward using the lil wheely thing

Do each 10 times then repeat the circuit 3 times

Circuit 2

Ball Roll Outs – feet on the ball, hands on the floor using core to pull knees in then back out

Roll Outs on mat – same as in circuit 1

Dumbell Raises – Front raise, Lateral raise, Flys

Do each 10 times then repeat the circuit 3 times

Core Circuit

Canoe – Rowing with the Viper

Heel Touches – lying on your back with knees bent, using core to rock and touch your heels

Leg Chops – again on the back with one leg bent, using core to chop straight leg with opposite arm

TRX

Squat Jumps – holding on to the straps squatting as deep as possible then jumping

Back Rows – kind of like a stand up push up only you’re pulling yourself up at an angle

 

I started of doing 25 mins of cardio followed by these circuits which really worked up a sweat! Over a few weeks I pushed myself to 55 minutes of cardio!!!

Next I’m going to test out the classes, I’ve been told that Combat Aerobics; Legs, Bums, and Tums; Body Pump; and Yoga will do the trick. Stay tuned!