Over-indulging over Christmas is almost inevitable but now is the time to put it right.
South east London-based experts, Root Fitness aka Mike Fitzgerald and Nannette Archer have put together five quick and easy exercises and some simple but effective advice to help you shed fat fast with little or no equipment.
EXERCISES
Mountain climbers
A fantastic whole-body, do-anywhere exercise. In the full push up, position drive your knee towards your elbows, alternating as if running. Keep your abdomen tight to prevent your hips from twisting and therefore protecting the lower spine. Climb for 20 seconds, rest for 10, repeat this cycle for four minutes.
Beginners – perform at walking pace and eventually speed up to running pace. If your hips are twisting, slow it down.
Squat
Fab at getting your glutes, legs, core and heart active. Remember to pace yourself; quality over quantity. The slower you move, the better the motor control and the more tension the muscles are under, therefore more energy required and thus more fat burn.
Glute Raise
This is a fantastic exercise for hitting your glutes, hamstrings and core - all while lying down. Have your knees bent at 90 degrees with your feet flat on the floor.
Lift your hips up as high as you can keeping your shoulders on the ground. Pause for a second at the top and then lower. You can change the emphasis of the exercise by moving your feet further away (hamstring) or closer (glutes) to your torso.
SLEEP
We need to be getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night. It is essential for the mind, body and soul.
Blackout blinds and technology being switched off (and out of the room) will ensure quality sleep. Get to bed nice and early and relax the mind by reading for half an hour to an hour. All of this will make you bright eyed, sharp minded and a fat burning machine when you wake up.
FOOD
Stick with the meat and veg approach. Drop calorie-dense and nutritionally dead white carbohydrates such as bread, rice and pasta which tend to turn on our fat storing hormones.
Get your fill of vegetables and try to go high protein to keep you feeling full. Avoid snacking if you can to help regulate leptin levels.
If you have any questions, get in contact at rootfitness.co.uk and like Root Fitness on facebook.com/rootfitnessltd
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