Body Fitness

21 Days to Whole-Body Fitness

This efficiency comes with a caveat: You have to commit. You may be inclined to blow off the warm-ups. Don't. They mobilize muscles so they can grip what's ahead, and they're not easy, either. Follow the instructions to the letter. If a exercise calls for 16 reps, hit that exact number; if it prescribes 60 seconds of rest between sets, that's all you get; and when we inform you to take a day off, do it. If you go all-in, we guarantee you'll see results — and you'll realize that receiving your fittest is a complete lot easier than you thought.

  

Day 1: Strength

To move more mass and get better muscle definition, this dumbbell exercise focuses on the body’s most fundamental motions: squatting, lunging, pushing, and pulling. You’re done in 30 minutes.

  

WARM-UP

Perform two rounds of the following with no resting.

Toy Soldiers 

Stand holding arms straight in front of you, palms down. Step forward and kick right leg to touch left palm, knee locked. Do again with left leg for one rep. Do 10 reps.

Body Weight Squats

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands at the back of head. Squat as low as you can, back straight and chest open; stand. Do 10 reps.  

Bear Crawls

Start on all fours with hips raised. Fast step hands and feet forward for five steps, then move slowly backward for five. do again twice. 

WORKOUT  

Do 16 reps each of the following three workout, without rest between moves. Take a 60-second breather at the end, then do again, for five whole rounds. Use lighter dumbbells for the first two rounds, then scale up to do the remaining rounds with a mass that feels challenging but can still be handled with good form, and complete all rep.

Curl-Squat-Press 

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand, arms straight and palms facing body, knees soft. twist bells to shoulders, maintenance shoulder blades down and back. Without delay lower into a squat, pushing hips back, chest open — this is key — and mass in heels. Lower until hips are equivalent with or even below knees, then drive through heels to stand and force down dumbbells straight overhead, elbows locked. Repeat. 

Trainer’s Tip: Move with control and power: You shouldn’t jump out of the bottom of the squat to press on the dumbbells overhead. Also, try mixing up the twists to hit more muscle angles in your biceps. Alternate palms facing in (a hammer twist) and palms facing forward (a traditional biceps curl).

Walking Lunges 

Stand with arms extended, a dumbbell in each hand at sides. Lunge forward with right foot, keeping torso upright, until back knee grazes floor. Force down through right heel to stand; do again on opposite leg. 

Trainer’s Tip:As the upper back fatigues, it’s common for the shoulders to slump and the back to round. Don’t let them. Make sure posture at the top of each rep, pulling shoulder blades down and back.

Renegade Rows 

Start in push-up position with a dumbbell in each hand on floor, back flat, abs engaged. Keeping hips level, pull right hand to right side, driving elbow back; lower mass to floor. Do again on opposite side. That’s one rep.

Trainer’s Tip:It’s OK if feet are positioned wide. Squeeze shoulder blades together at the top of each rep to get more time under stress, and above all, be sure hips stay level to defend your spine. If you have to curl your torso to raise the mass, it’s too weighty.

Day 2:Light Endurance

This is an easier day — your aim is to strengthen the lungs and raise blood flow to muscles to speed recovery from yesterday's lifting. Resist the temptation to press on or add extra minutes to the exercise.

WARM-UP

Perform each exercise for 30 seconds; Do again once.

High knees

Lift one knee, then the other, as high as you can, staying light on toes. Imagine doing a munch each time you bring knee toward chest.

Butt kicks

Kick one heel, then the other, back toward butt; keep torso vertical and shoulders down.

Side Shuffles

With feet wide and hands in front of you, squat low and shuffle five paces to right, then turn around.

Jumping Jacks

Clap hands at top and slap thighs at bottom to ensure complete range of motion.

WORKOUT

Choose one of the cardio exercises below. During the first third of the session, go simple; for the second third, crank the intensity up to moderately solid; and for the final third, press on it (on a scale from 1 to 10, you should be at 8 or 9). Because different activities need different metabolic demands — rowing is more taxing than cycling, for example — the sum of time you'll work varies by sport.

1.Row:15 minutes

2.Swim:15 minutes

3.Run:30 minutes

4.Bike:60 minutes

Trainer's Note:Hitting the prescribed intensity for this workout is crucial to improving lung power and endurance; your effort should feel like a gradual crescendo. Mental cues can be incredibly helpful to dial this in. Try repeating one word in your mind for each section of the exercise — "simple," "moderate," "strong." If attention drifts, bring it back by saying the word aloud.

Day 3: Strength & Speed

Today’s session is equipment-free and can be done anywhere. The dynamic warm-up will prime you for an intense exercises: Part A is a strength circuit that obtains the heart racing; targets the chest, abs, and legs; and acts as a warm-up for Part B, a series of all-out sprints to build lung power and sharpen your reaction time.

WARM-UP

Perform two rounds of the following with no resting.

Fold-Over Walk

Stand with knees a little bent. Hinge forward to force down palms into floor; rise back up a few inches to step feet forward, and press palms down again. Carry on 30 seconds.

Pause Push-Ups

Start in push-up position with back flat, abs engaged. Lower until chest hovers over floor, and pause three full beats; press on up to go back to start. Do five reps.

Hands-Free Step-Ups

Stand in front of a low box or bench, hands at the back head. Step up, pushing through heel to stand. Step down with same foot; switch sides. Do five reps on each leg.

• 5 push-ups

• 10 sit-ups

• 15 squats

Push-Ups

“Before you lower into that first push-up,” says Danny Arnold, “tense your core to keep your spine straight.” This should be a mental check you do each time you start a rep. As your chest and arms get fatigued, try varying hand position. “Do some with elbows tight to your body, some with elbows wide,” he says. If the push-ups feel too simple, “try raising one leg off the ground as you lower down, then switching to lift up the other leg as you press on back up.”

Sit-Ups

Do reps with hands at the back head — this prevents your arms from swinging to propel you up — and check feet stay glued to floor. Breathe out as you sit up, rising all the way so back is flat and chest is up. Lower back to floor with control; don’t failure.

Squats

Don’t get sloppy. Squat as low as probable each time, and stand to lock hips at the top of all rep. There’s no such thing as too low if chest is up and back is flat.

WORKOUT (Part B)

Every minute on the minute for 10 total minutes: Sprint 20 strides, then walk the remainder of the minute to recover. The first three sprints, go simple. Sprints four through seven should be moderately solid. Then go all out for the final three (on a scale from 1 to 10, you should be at 9 or 10).

Lean In

For high-intensity sprints, your body point should be tipped forward, forming a straight line from heel up to head.

Relax Hands

Keep palms open and light. Clenching fingers or balling hands into fists makes energy-sapping tension.

Day 4: Mobility

This entire day is dedicated to active recovery. That means workout designed to keep you flexible, functional, and injury-free. You’ll start on the foam roller, one of the most effective ways to loosen tight muscles and the tissues that connect tendons and ligaments to bone. Then you’ll do four workout that stretch and strengthen the back muscles (hammered by the previous days’ regimens), loosen the hamstrings and glutes (both are likely shortened from life in a chair), and open the hip and shoulder joints to increase your range of motion and get better performance for the final exercise in the week.

WARM-UP

Pay out two minutes on each of the following foam-rolling moves.

Hamstrings and Quadriceps

Sit on a foam roller, palms on floor at the back you, legs extended; roll to backs of knees. Flip over and do again (as shown), starting at kneecaps and rolling up to hips.

Upper Back

Place roller under shoulder blades, hands at the back head, feet on floor. Roll to neck and then back to start.

IT Band or Glutes

On your side, roll from knee up side of leg to hip. Shift body position to strike glutes.

Shins or Calves

Kneel on roller, palms flat on floor in front of you; roll from ankles to kneecaps. Flip over, and rotate from backs of ankles to backs of knees.

WORKOUT

Do the following four workout, moving slowly and deliberately through the reps, for three total rounds. Rest as needed.

Shoulder Pass-Throughs

Stand holding a PVC pipe or broomstick in front of you with a wide grip, arms straight. Keeping arms locked, lift up the stick up, over your head, and at the back back. Reverse the movement, bringing stick back over head to starting position. Do 10 reps.

Trainer’s Tip: If elbows curve, slide hands farther apart. If you can rotate with no trouble, slide hands closer together.

Squat Stretch

Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes out. Squat as low as probable, pushing hips back and keeping chest up and back flat; place elbows at the inside of knees, and force down palms together to press on knees out. Hold 20 seconds, then stand. Do three reps.

Trainer’s Tip:Keep heels glued to floor, and do not round your back in the bottom of the squat. If you feel yourself rounding or pitching forward, go up an inch or two until back is flat.

Deep Lunge or Twist

Stand with arms in goalpost position, shoulder blades pulled down. Lunge forward on right leg, creating 90-degree angles with knees, and, keeping arms raised, turn around torso to right. Force down through front heel to stand; do again on opposite side for one rep. Do 10 reps.

Trainer’s Tip:Resist the urge to twist rapidly — pay out two or three seconds rotating to fire the deep core muscles fully.

Downward Dog

Start on all fours, hands and feet shoulder-width apart, hips raised as high as probable. For 10 seconds, force down into palms to depress shoulders and press on hips farther back. Release, coming down to hands and knees. Do three reps.

Trainer’s Tip:Maintain shoulders down. It’s OK if heels don’t touch floor; the aim is to loosen hamstrings to obtain heels closer to flat.