The All-Day Fat-Burning Diet: The 5-Day Food-Cycling Formula That Resets Your Metabolism To Lose Up to 5 Pounds a Week (25 page)

4 reps for each exercise

Tempo = 1—0—6 (1-second push or pull, no pause, 6 seconds to return to start)

30 seconds of rest between exercises

2 sets

1 minute of rest between sets

1.
Pushups (from knees or feet)

2.
Reverse One-Leg Drop Squats (requires box or bench)

3.
Side Plank Drops

4.
Dead Bug (with or without stability ball)

5.
Split Lunges

6.
Supine Alternating Leg Lowers (2 on each side)

PUSHUPS (FROM KNEES OR FEET)

Muscles worked: chest, shoulders, triceps

Place your hands on the floor so they’re slightly outside shoulder-width. Spread your fingers slightly out and point them forward. Rise up onto your toes so that all of your bodyweight is on your hands and your feet, or your hands and your knees if that’s too challenging.

Contract your abdominals to keep your torso in a straight line and prevent arching your back or pointing your bottom in the air. Bend your elbows and lower your chest down toward the floor. Once your torso is just above the floor, push up so that you return to starting position.

REVERSE ONE-LEG DROP SQUATS

Muscles worked: legs

Stand on a box or stable bench, then sit back and lower your right leg off the back of the box/bench toward the floor so that you end up in a single-leg squat position on your left leg. Just before the right leg touches the floor, use your left leg to push yourself back up to a standing position. Repeat for required reps then switch legs.

SIDE PLANK DROPS

Muscles worked: core

Lie on your left side with your legs straight and your right hand resting on your hip. With your left forearm directly under your left shoulder and abdominals contracted, prop yourself up so that all of your bodyweight is supported by your left forearm and your body forms a diagonal line. Slowly lower your left hip to the floor and lift back up to top position. Repeat for required reps.

DEAD BUG

Muscles worked: core

Lie flat on the floor on your back while holding a stability ball. Contract your abdominals and raise your legs off the floor at a 90-degree angle so your lower legs are parallel to the floor. Raise your arms straight to the sky so they’re parallel to your thighs. Simultaneously lower your left leg and right arm until they are just off the floor and pause for a second before returning to start position. Repeat for the leg and arm on the other side. This is one repetition.

SPLIT LUNGES

Muscles worked: legs

Stand tall and then step your left foot out approximately 3 feet in front of your body. Your stance should be long enough so that the heel of your back foot is off the floor. Slowly bend your left knee, lowering your body toward the ground. Your left knee should be bent at a 90-degree angle, with your foot directly under your knee, and your right knee should be just above the floor at its lowest point. Now, use the muscles in your legs to push yourself back up to your standing split stance (hence, you’re not coming back up to a full feet side-by-side standing position). Repeat for required reps, then switch legs.

SUPINE ALTERNATING LEG LOWERS

Muscles worked: core

Lie flat on your back with your arms at your sides and both legs straight up in the air over your hips. Keeping your left leg straight, slowly lower your right leg down to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat with your other leg. Continue alternating for the prescribed number of repetitions.

Eccentric Strength: Beginner

Protocol

4 reps for each exercise @ 85 to 90 percent max weight

Tempo = 1—0—6 (30 seconds to finish each set)

1 minute of rest between exercises and sets; 2 minutes of rest between supersets (1a/1b, 2a/2b, 3a/3b)

2 sets

1a. Sumo Squats

1b. Dumbbell or Bench Presses

2a. Romanian Deadlifts (with dumbbells or bar)

2b. Alternating Reverse Shoulder Presses

3a. Chinups (or Lat Pulldowns)

3b. Ab Wheel (or Ball) Rollouts

SUMO SQUATS

Muscles worked: legs

Use a squat rack for this exercise. If you do not have a squat rack, use a kettlebell or dumbbell between your legs, as illustrated. To begin, first set the bar on a rack that best matches your height. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, step under the bar and place the back of your shoulders (slightly below the neck) across it.

Hold on to the bar using both arms at each side and lift it off the rack by first pushing with your legs and at the same time straightening your torso. Step away from the rack and position your legs using a wider-than-shoulder-width stance with your toes slightly pointed out. Keep your head up at all times (looking down will get you off balance), and also maintain a straight back. Slowly lower your body by bending your knees (as if sitting back into a chair) as you maintain a straight posture with your head up. Continue down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Return to standing by pushing the floor with the heels of your feet as you straighten your legs again and go back to the starting position. Repeat for the recommended number of repetitions.

DUMBBELL OR BENCH PRESSES

Muscles worked: chest, shoulders, triceps

To perform dumbbell chest presses, refer to the
instructions
. To perform bench presses, lie back on a flat bench with the bar overtop the middle of your chest (just below your collarbone). Place your hands on the bar so that your elbows form a 90-degree angle. Lift the bar from the rack and hold it straight over you with your arms locked. Slowly lower the weight until the bar just about touches your middle chest.
Push
the bar back to the starting position as you breathe out. Focus on pushing the bar using your chest muscles. Lock your arms and squeeze your chest in the contracted position at the top of the motion, hold for a second, and then start coming down slowly again. Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions.