I’VE asked my friend Mollie Millington, better known as health and wellness coach PTMollie, to show you some of her brilliant routines because our research at Thinking Slimmer shows that your Slimpod’s probably making you feel motivated to become fitter – and that needn’t cost you money, because you don’t need gym membership or fancy equipment to get in shape and workout. Here’s her advice:
Did you know that “strong is the new skinny”? Running may seem like the easiest way to get fit, but actually strength training will help whip your body into shape much faster. Government health experts recommend that people are physically active for 30 minutes each day so here’s a way to get at least half of that achieved in a home workout.
You don’t need a gym membership or costly equipment. Many exercises can be performed using your own body weight and things lying around the house (you won’t look at tins of soup or bottles of squash the same again).
Like every workout, it’s important to warm the body up at the start with some light cardiovascular exercise (not stretches without any other movement first). This helps prevent injury to your muscles and joints. A good warm up will leave you with a nice glow, indicating you are ready to get to work.
Here’s a quickie workout you can do at home which should take about 15 minutes. If you finish the list and feel ready for more, start back at the beginning.
If you haven’t been active in a while, start with the basics such as the movements described below. Soon you’ll be ready for new challenges!
Note how the routine alternates muscle groups but keeps you active. Do the best you can for each minute. If you aren’t sure what the exercise is, there are hyperlinks to explanations with photos. Please remember to check with your doctor before engaging in any strenuous fitness scheme.
Stepups to warm up
Warm up: 1 minute walking on the spot; 20 star jumps; 2 minutes of step ups
(you can change your lead foot if you want halfway through)
1 minute of modified press ups
1 minute of squats
1 minute of Plank
1 minute of tricep dips
1 minute of right foot forward lunge
1 minute of lunge foot forward lunge with frontal raise
2 minutes of step ups (see above)
1 minute of lateral raise
1 minute of wall sit
1 minute of Supermans