Jenny Pacey & Wayne Gordon share their tips
Finding the time (and the motivation) to fit in a workout after a long day at work can be hard work, but if you think about it logically it shouldn't be really.
Swap sitting on the couch whilst watching the soaps, for doing some exercises whilst watching the soaps. I promise, you'll feel better for it.
Fitness celebrities Jenny Pacey and Wayne Gordon appreciate that the majority of people think that they can't find the time for a workout, but explain that it's just another excuse.
Here is their perfect guide to getting fit without noticing that you're even doing it.
Fit Tip 1: At Home
Jenny & Wayne know the average person spends a lot of their free time relaxing on the sofa. People associate this area of the home as the "Comfort Zone", a place to unwind and relax. The Fitness Experts explains you should take this opportunity of down time to burn some extra calories whilst distracted by the TV.
Tone your legs and raise your heart rate with some squat jumps by pushing the hips back to the sofa seat and then explode into the air; repeat 20 times.
Instead of puffing up a cushion to make yourself more comfortable, try sitting on the floor with your heels raised and your abs pulled in. Now, hold the cushion with your arms straight and directly in front of the chest, rotate your body and the cushion round to the right; tap the floor before rotating to the left, repeat 30 times for a great abs and core workout which will help define your waist through the twisting motion.
Use the armrest of the sofa as a platform to perform triceps dips and tone those bingo wings. Move the feet further away from the body to increase difficulty, dip low and see how many you can do without collapsing, Set yourself a personal challenge and next time aim to increase this number.
Invest in some home fitness equipment to encourage you to work out without leaving the house or having to make the effort to go to the gym. Don't be distracted by your favourite TV show and try an hour's slow walk, or a fast pace interval session on a static bike.
Fit Tip 2: High Intensity interval training (HIIT)- fast results!
If you're short of time but want to see fast results try HIIT for an immediate fat burn and weight loss. This form of training is all about speed and intensity. Use a timer to keep you motivated and on course with your workout.
30-second intervals are the ideal place to start with Interval training. You need to work hard enough so that the last few seconds feel almost impossible to keep working-out. Everything in your body should be burning, so go for it.
Try 60-second intervals to completely exhaust your muscles of their stored energy, which will take 24hr to 48 hrs to replenish.
Or try Jenny and Wayne's favourite the 40/20 sessions. Work as hard as you physically able to for 40 seconds, followed by an active recovery for 20 seconds, repeat for 15 exercises and super-setting arms, legs & trunk exercises for maximum calorie burn.
Fit Tip 3: Walking
You can burn up to 300 calories an hour just walking and if you increase the speed for a brisk 45 min walk you will dip in and out of your fat burning zone, as well as gaining a low intensity workout.
Little tricks Jenny & Wayne use to increase daily calorie burn and stay slim includes; always walking up escalators, and taking stairs instead of the lift.
Park as far away as you can from the supermarket entrance. This way you have further to walk back and forth with the shopping or the trolley and this will burn even more calories. Ensure you pull in your belly button, and squeeze your shoulder blades when walking to help create perfect posture, and squeeze the backside to activate the glutes and leg muscles.
Fit Tip 4: At Work
Jenny and Wayne lead active lives and active jobs, from training celebrities to motivating young people and competing for GB. They appreciate many people have inactive jobs and spend long periods of time sitting. Try their fit ideas to keep you active at work no matter how long you're in the office
Stand up to make phone calls.
Make regular trips to the water fountain, your body cannot mobilize fat unless you are fully hydrated. And the extra trips to the bathroom will increase calorie burn.
Use a headset, rather than squeezing a phone between your shoulder and ear. You are less likely to suffer shoulder and neck discomfort.
Have an active lunch break. Walk to pick up your lunch, go and meet a friend in the park, schedule a midday session with your personal trainer or walk up and down the office stairwell 5 times before you tuck into your lunch box.
Use your office chair as your new gym try-doing 100 squats to the seat or even dips off the arm-rests.
Fit Tip 5: Make the most of wasted time
Jenny and Wayne suggest squeezing in exercise whenever you can throughout the day, for instance;
Try plie squats when you're washing up
Jog on the spot when you're waiting for the bus
Perform triceps dips off the side of the bathtub while you are waiting for the water to fill the tub
Pedal on your exercise bike while you’re watching your favourite soap on TV
Walk the kids to school instead of driving
Add 5 minutes to your daily dog walk
See how many crunches you can do during a commercial break on TV
Dance to your favourite music rather than just listening to it
Do press ups off the kitchen counter while your waiting for you dinner to defrost in the microwave.
Jenny Pacey and Wayne Gordon are proud ambassadors for ICON Health & Fitness products
Tagged in Health exercise fitness tips