TO A LEANER,CALMERYOU!WEEKS

By choosing the right kind of workout, you can decrease cortisol, the ‘stress hormone’ and increase endorphins, your body’s ‘feel-good’ chemicals.

Despite these stress-crushing properties, when life is posing an extra big challenge, getting your daily

Each week, on alternate days, you’ll complete an interval cardio session, a functional circuit workout and then a remedial/recovery session.

The first three weeks will ease you into your new routine and make sure you set down some good quality movement patterns, then in the last three weeks, we’ll take it up a peg.

dose of exercise can seem like the hardest thing in the world. Consistency is incredibly important when it comes to fitness, so the worst thing you can do is stop altogether - you need a plan to keep you on track!

The following six-week exercise program is designed to keep you calm, clear-headed and on track with your fitness goals by using the best stress-busting workouts around, in a way that’s scientifically proven to keep you smiling and clear your head, fast!

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6EXERCISE IS ONE OF THE BEST STRESS BUSTERS AROUND

HOW IT WORKS

This is what your schedule might look like

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

WEEK 3

WEEK 4

WEEK 5

WEEK 6

Cardio 1

Cardio 1

MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

Cardio 1

Cardio 3

Cardio 3

Cardio 3

Cardio 2

Cardio 2

Cardio 2

Cardio 4

Cardio 4

Cardio 4

Circuit A

Circuit A

Circuit A

Circuit C

Circuit C

Circuit C

Circuit B

Circuit B

Circuit B

Circuit D

Circuit D

Circuit D

SUN

Off

Off

Off

Off

Off

Off

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

Remedial

WEEKS TO A LEANER, CALMER YOU!

When you’re stressed, the body releases hormones that inhibit the production of dopamine, a key neurotransmitter that helps us to concentrate, focus and feel pleasure. Strength training helps to boost dopamine levels and as a result, reduces stress and helps to clear your mind of clutter.

With the below circuits, complete 12-15 repetitions of each exercise, with as little rest as possible in

Make sure you always warm up well by going for a light jog or brisk walk, then complete some bodyweight movements that are similar to those you’ll be doing in your workout, such as hip raises, lunge walks, squats and prone rows or slower pushups.

between. When you finish all four, rest for 60 seconds before repeating. You should complete 3-4 sets of the circuit all up before finishing. In Week One, start with a lower number of repetitions and build towards 15 in your final week (and remember, when doing lunges, one on each leg equals one total rep).

You’ll notice that all of the circuit sessions featured here only take around 16-20 minutes to complete. Don’t worry, this is all part of the plan! When you’re stressed out, the last thing you need is a trainer forcing hour-long workouts on you and every single move from these workouts uses multiple muscle groups to make sure you get max effect in the minimum amount of time. With these sessions, you should be in-and-out of the gym within half an hour or so, which is perfect because there’s no excuse not to get them done and remember, the aim here is consistency!

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6FUNCTIONAL CIRCUIT WORKOUTS TO GET YOU FOCUSED

WARMUP

Stand with your legs in a wide squat stance, toes pointed slightly outwards and holding your weight of choice (we’ve used a kettlebell but you could use a dumbbell, ball or even a big book!). Keeping the weight held tight against your chest, sit back into a deep squat before driving back up into a standing position by pressing through your heels. Keep your elbows in tight to connect the resistance from the weight to your core and score an ab workout too.

GOBLET SQUAT

CIRCUIT A

Start in a regular pushup position, hands just outside your shoulders. Lower yourself towards the ground and then, as you push back up and your body rises, twist your body and roll your feet so that your weight is resting on the outside of one foot and your hand is raised towards the sky, creating a straight line between one hand and the other. Come back down into a normal pushup position before repeating on the other side.

T-PUSHUP

First, take a dumbbell in each hand and stand upright with your feet together. Now simply walk forward, stepping into a forward lunge by dropping your back knee down towards the ground. Now pick up your back leg and in one fluid motion, step forward with it and repeat on the other side.

DUMBBELL LUNGE WALK

Start lying on your stomach, arms stretched out in front of you and both arms and legs held a couple of inches off the floor. Now, keeping your arms straight, sweep them behind you, bringing them close to your body as you lift your torso off the ground. At the same time, move your feet apart, squeezing your glutes as you do so. Return to the start position and repeat.

SEA TURTLES

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WEEKS TO A LEANER, CALMER YOU!

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6

Start by looping your band around something sturdy. Now grab the handles of your band and take a few steps backwards to create a little resistance. From here, lower yourself down into a squat, keeping your arms held straight out in front of you. As you stand up out of your squat, pull your elbows back towards your ribs and squeeze your shoulder blades together to perform a rowing motion.

SQUAT-&-ROW WITH RESISTANCE BAND

CIRCUIT B

Stand with your feet slightly apart, holding a kettlebell, or set of dumbbells just in front of your thighs. Now keeping your shoulders back, abs in and back straight, bend from your hips and lower the weights towards the floor. Imagine that you’re trying to touch the sky with your butt, a little like you would while performing a hamstring stretch. Lower yourself down as far as your flexibility allows (you should feel a nice stretch up the back of your legs but not a pull and it’s ok to bend your legs slightly too), then squeeze your glutes and return to the starting position. Keep the weights close to your legs throughout the entire movement.

WEIGHTED DEADLIFT

Begin this move by sitting on a fit ball with your dumbbells resting on your thighs. Slowly walk your feet forwards until your shoulders and head are resting comfortably on the ball and ensure that your butt stays raised. Start with the dumbbells held just to the side of your chest, elbows in. Now raise the dumbbells into the air until your arms are almost completely straight, twisting your hands inwards slightly as you do, so that the dumbbells come together, almost meeting in the middle to form a straight line. Slowly bring the dumbbells back down towards your shoulders and repeat.

FIT BALL CHEST PRESS

Start in either a kneeling or standard plank position, with your elbows resting on the fit ball. Brace your core and glutes and then begin to make a stirring/circling movement with your arms in a clockwise direction, then repeat moving anti-clockwise. Keep your core strong and hips straight throughout. You can also do this exercise on your knees if it's a bit too strong to begin with.

FIT BALL CIRCLES

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WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT STRESS AND YOUR BODY

To create a lean shape and flatten your tummy, you need a mix of both high intensity workouts and relaxing sessions that help quiet your mind and slow your body down. Why? Because when it comes to shedding the KGs, you need to make sure certain hormones, like Cortisol (the stress hormone) are kept in control. So it’s not about smashing yourself with tough sessions every day after all, phew!

When you’re stressed out, being consistently active is the most important thing you can do for yourself. Aim for at least 30 minutes of gentle movement (walking, stretching, yoga), or purposeful exercise every single day.

Sleeping well is just as important as exercise when it comes to losing weight. Without a good night’s rest, your body can’t create enough of the right hormones to help burn fat and keep you trim, so make sure you switch off the TV at a reasonable hour and hit the sack!

Meditation is such an important thing for everyone to practice BUT don’t worry, you don’t have to join the monastery, or start setting aside an hour each day to work on your chanting skills. Try practicing a counting or walking meditation. To do a counting meditation simply sit still, close your eyes and slowly count out ten in/out breaths. If your mind goes into overdrive and you start thinking about other things, that’s OK, just acknowledge each thought and then bring your focus back to your breath/the counting again. You can practice a walking meditation absolutely anywhere - to get started, next time you’re walking between appointments, just focus on really experiencing everything around you. Feel the ground under your feet and the breeze on your skin, listen to the sounds around you, notice all the colours and tell yourself how grateful you are for this moment of solitude.

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6

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand in front of a bench or chair. Place one foot into the middle of the bench and press up, lifting your other leg off the floor and into a knee-drive position in the air. Step back down, lightly tapping the ground with your foot before repeating the move again for the required number of repetitions. Change legs and do the same on the other side.

DUMBBELL BENCH STEP-UPS

CIRCUIT C

Start standing upright with your feet shoulder width apart and one dumbbell held in each hand. Slightly bend your knees and hinge forwards at the waist, keeping your back straight and allowing the dumbbells to hang straight down so they are approximately in front of your knees. From here, pull the weights up towards your bellybutton, keeping your elbows tucked into your sides. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top before slowly lowering the weights back into the start position.

STANDING DUMBBELL ROW

Start in a standard pushup position, either on the knees or toes. Place one hand on a medicine ball and keep the other on the floor. Complete one pushup, then roll the ball across the floor to the other hand and lower into a second pushup there.

MEDICINE BALL PUSHUPS

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Start by standing with your feet shoulder width apart and the dumbbells held at shoulder height. Now use your left leg to take a step backwards and across to the right, sinking that knee down towards the ground as you do so. Your right thigh should also descend until it is parallel with the ground. Now push off your left leg, straighten up and return to your starting position. As you do this, drive your arms up over your head to perform a shoulder press, keeping your elbows close to your ears. Repeat on the other side.

CURTSY SQUAT WITH DUMBBELL PRESSBegin in a high plank position on your toes, shoulders directly above your hands. Now brace your abs and bring your right knee up and across your body towards your left elbow. Repeat on the other side. That’s one repetition.

PLANK KNEE-IN

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6

Begin this move by sitting upright on a fit ball, then slowly walking your legs out until your shoulders and head are resting on the ball. Your hips should be raised up so that your body forms a straight line. From here, lower your hips down towards the floor, before squeezing your glutes to return to the start position, hips raised. That’s one repetition.

FIT BALL HIP RAISES

CIRCUIT D

This supercharged move targets your arms, abs, shoulders, back and legs all at once! Start in a high plank position, hands resting on two light dumbbells. From here, first lift your left hand, picking the dumbbell up off the floor and pulling the elbow backwards into your ribs. Make sure you squeeze your left shoulder towards the middle of your back as you do so. Return the dumbbell slowly to the ground (that’s one rep) before repeating on the other side.

DUMBBELL PLANK ROWGrab your rope and channel your inner child as you skip for 60 counts!

SKIP ROPE X 60

Start with your feet in a wide squat position, toes turned slightly outwards and holding a med ball close to your chest. Slowly squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground, now explosively stand up out of the squat and release the med ball into the air. As it comes back down, catch the ball and bring it close to your chest again, as you lower yourself back into a squat and repeat.

SUMO SQUAT WITH MED BALL THROWStart in a pushup position, on either your knees or toes and with your hands a lot closer together than usual, about a hand span apart. Lower yourself towards the ground, keeping your elbows tucked into your ribs to target your triceps. As you push yourself back away from the ground, jump both your feet in until you’re in a crouching position. Now jump them back out so you are again in your start position, ready for a second pushup.

TRICEP PUSHUP WITH SQUAT THRUST

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WEEKS TO A LEANER, CALMER YOU!

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6Interval training using sprints is a brilliant way to blow off steam and get the endorphins (happy hormones) circulating ASAP! Working your body in this way increases heart rate, blood

• 4 x 200m (half oval) sprints at a medium pace (45-55s), resting/walking for 2 minutes in between each sprint.

• 8 x 100m sprints at a medium pace (20-25s), resting/walking for 1 minute in between each sprint.

First, warm up with a 10 minute walk or slow jog, mixed in with some dynamic stretching such as high knees on the spot, kicking your own butt with your heels, lateral lunges, toe touches, plank, hip raises.

flow and oxygen uptake, a chain of events that will zap any stress you’re feeling. Working your bod in this way also means you’re pushing your body to its limits without putting it under the amount of physical stress it would take to complete a distance run, so it’s great for letting go of the day’s frustrations but won’t suppress your immune system in the slightest. Double win!

Forcing yourself to slow down, breathe and smell the roses is just as important (if not more so!) as working up a sweat. Practices like yoga and meditation teach you to form a strong connection between mind and body, turning your focus inward and helping

you to confront and deal with the issues that are causing you to stress out in the first place. But if yoga’s not your thing, even taking a nice, long walk in the open air (with a friend, even better!), having a good stretch and focused breathing session before bedtime, or taking a swim in the ocean can work wonders on your wellbeing. If work’s the thing stressing you out, try taking a long walk in your lunch hour and notice how much better you feel throughout the afternoon. Choose two of the below remedial exercise options to complete each week.

INTERVAL CARDIO WORKOUTS TO BLOW OFF STEAM

WARMUP

REMEDIAL WORKOUTS TO HELP YOU BREATHE

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INTERVAL SESSION 1

• 3 x 400m (full oval) at easy pace, resting for double the time it took you to complete the distance (so if this took you 90 secs, rest 3 mins).

• REST 6 MINUTES

• Another 3 x 400m (full oval) at easy pace, resting for double the time it took you to complete the distance.

• 30-40 minute walk• Long, slow jog• Swim (or a surf!)

• Yoga class of your choice• Take home stretch/yoga session (see our video for ideas)

INTERVAL SESSION 2

• 3 x 200m at medium-fast pace (38-48s), resting/walking for 2 minutes in between each sprint.

• 6 x 100m at medium-fast pace (18-23s), resting/walking for 50 seconds in between each sprint.

• 8 x 50m at medium-fast pace (9-12s), resting/ walking for 30 seconds in between each sprint.

INTERVAL SESSION 3

• 3 x 1200m (3 full ovals) at easy pace, resting for 3 minutes in between each run.

INTERVAL SESSION 4