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Exercise is required to shape and tone your body, to achieve the shape that you desire.

Types of Exercise

Exercise is not just about burning calories. Of course, you will burn additional calories when you exercise, but the true benefit of exercise is how it changes your metabolism. The change in your metabolism will have a much greater impact, over a much longer period, than simply the energy burnt whilst exercising.

Low intensity cardio:
Low intensity cardio is the typical ‘steady state’ cardio that most people have tried. Things such as walking, jogging, cross trainer, cycling or swimming for 20-90 minutes. Low intensity cardio is good to burn some additional calories and improve your health and endurance. It should be included in a training program for health reasons, but is not the best way to lose weight or tone your body.

High intensity (interval) cardio:
Interval training is a form of high intensity cardio that usually last 5-20 minutes and involves periods of high exertion (sprinting) alternated with periods of low exertion (rest or slow pace). This can be performed outdoors (sprinting, sprint swims) or indoors on traditional cardio machines such as a treadmill, rowing machine or exercise bike. This style of training will improve fitness extremely quickly, and also cause a large increase in metabolism over 12-48 hours. This means that for the next 2 days following this style of exercise, you will burn significantly more calories than normal, as the body recovers from exercise. This makes it a good option for weight loss.

Resistance training:
Resistance training is training against weight, whether your own body weight or external bars and dumbbells at the gym. This type of training is the best way to lose weight and tone your body. Let me tell you why. First resistance training will have a similar metabolic increase in the short term like high intensity interval cardio does. Not only that, but as you build lean muscle tissue, you will permanently increase your metabolism.

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories you burn every day to sustain your body. As you build lean muscle tone your BMR will increase, meaning you have to burn more calories each day to sustain your body. This makes it easier to lose weight and also to keep it off after you have lost it.

Resistance training also allows you to shape and tone the muscles, to create the kind of look that you desire. Included below is a resistance training programme that you can follow at home. This will be the most effective way to train for weight loss and toning.

Training Plan

The resistance workouts use supersets of exercises, or two different exercises back-to-back with no rest between, that hit different muscle groups and movements patterns.

Within the programme we refer to reps, sets and A1, A2 notation.

Reps are how many repetitions of the exercise you do, e.g. do 12 or 8 or 6. Sets are how many times you repeat that set of x reps. The A1, A2 refer to the different exercise within a superset.

For example superset A pairs hip lifts and planks. You do 12 reps of the hips lifts, or A1, followed straight away by 30 seconds of the planks, or A2. A1 and A2 make one set of the superset. Rest 60 seconds. Then repeat these 3 times to make 3 sets. Then move onto the next superset; B1 and B2.

All the exercises that are in the programme are listed over the next few pages, with diagrams and instructions on how to perform the movements.

Weight Loss Naturally Resistance Training Plan

All the exercises for the resistance program are laid out below the programme.

A1- Hip Lifts

For this you need a step or a bench. 

Initiate the movement by squeezing the buttocks muscles and pushing through the heels to raise the hips up, until knees, hips and shoulders are all in alignment.

Slowly lower the hips to the floor under control.

A2- Plank

Place the elbows on the floor underneath the shoulders and the legs out straight. When in the plank position make sure the hips stay level by squeezing the stomach muscles and buttocks.

If you feel your hips drop finish the set and then aim to increase the time in the next session. The aim is keeping a stable and controlled position.
B1- Squat

Stand with the feet shoulder width apart and turned slightly out. Lift the chest by pulling the shoulders back, tighten the abs. This position should be held throughout the set.

Start the squat by pushing the knees out and sitting the hips down. Squat as far down as possible. Your aim should be to get all the way down so the hips are below the knees. At the bottom drive up by pushing the heels down and pull the hips through, squeezing the buttock muscles at the top.

B2- Press Ups

Depending on fitness levels either choose a kneeling or full press up. For both squeeze stomach and buttocks. Bend at the elbows to lower the chest down towards the floor. Whilst lowering make sure your hips stay in line. Watch for them dropping or shooting up in the air.

Maintaining a stable body and the hips in line push back up to the start position, straightening the arms.