Your total body workout from CUT to FIT!

You don’t need fancy equipment or an expensive gym membership. These basic exercises are guaranteed to rid you of excess baggage. Just do them four days a week.

Here’s a customized, four-times-a-week workout regimen.

MONDAY WORKOUT:

For a shapelier lower body!

Lunges: 12-15 repetitions (3 sets) +

Squats: 12-15 repetitions (3 sets) +

Power walk for 20 minutes

WEDNESDAY WORKOUT:

For a stronger back and chest!

Bent-over-rows: 15 repetitions (3 sets) +

Push-ups: 12-15 repetitions (3 sets) +

Interval training for 30 minutes

FRIDAY WORKOUT:

For boosting metabolism!

Abdominal crunches: 15-20 repetitions (5 sets) +

Push-ups: 8-10 repetitions (5 sets) +

Walking for 10 minutes, either straight or at an incline

SUNDAY WORKOUT:

For full body and core strengthening!

Squats: 12-15 repetitions (3 sets) +

Push-ups: 8-10 repetitions (3 sets) +

Abdominal crunches: 15-20 repetitions (5 sets)

Don’t have time for a full-fledged exercise schedule in the gym? Spare some time for these seven basic moves that target multiple muscle groups, help burn calories faster and get you that hot, sculpted body. Just make sure that while you follow the workout regularly, you eat sensibly as well.

1. WALKING 101

Walking is one of the most natural forms of exercise. It burns calories, boosts energy and has several health benefits like lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and the risk of type2 diabetes.

Simply squeeze 30 to 40 minutes of walking into your daily routine. Start slow, let your muscles warm up before your increase your pace to a challenging level. Maintain the right posture— stand tall and look up to avoid strain on the back and neck. Keep your elbows at an angle of 90 degrees, moving your arms vigorously.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE WORKOUT

Be sure to wear good shoes with shock absorbers, and dress in loose-fitting clothing made from fabric that allows your skin to breathe.

2. AB CRUNCH BASICS

This basic abdominal exercise tops the list of everyone yearning for a flat tummy. If proper form is maintained, crunches help tone and tighten the mid-section. As you progress, you can attempt several variations of abdominal crunches using weights.

• Lie on your back, knees back, feet flat on the floor.
• Keep knees hip-width apart.
• Beginners can place hands across the chest and intermediates must clasp their hands behind their head.
• Breathe out as you raise the head and shoulders off the floor, using your abdominal muscles to lift.
• To start, complete one set of 15-20 crunches and increase as fitness levels improve.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE WORKOUT

Avoid pulling on the neck or crunching the chin into your chest. Also never arch the back.

3. RULES FOR BENT-OVER ROWS

This weight-training exercise targets the upper back and bicep muscles. Learn to grab your dumbbells carefully. To prevent injury, squat and pick them up, rather than bend the back.

• Keep feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend forward from the waist so that your chest is learning forward over the feet.
• Lock the elbows to the waist and lift both hands towards the side of your body.
• Eight-10 repetitions will suffice.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE WORKOUT

Never arch your back or perform the exercise with jerky movements.

4. SWEAT-IT SQUATS

If you’re aiming for a shapely derriere, reach for the basic squat. Besides the glutes, it utilizes the large muscles of the legs— quadriceps and hamstrings. Squats work out the large muscle groups, so expect to really break out into sweat.

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes parallel to each other
• Place arms across the chest or on the hips.
• Squat down by bending hips and knees, sitting back like you would do on a chair.
• Ensure that the knees don’t travel beyond the toes.
• Extend the knees and hip and return to initial position.

5. INTERNAL TRAINING HOW-TOS

This involves spurts of high intensity workouts to aid weight loss and strengthen the cardiovascular system.

Sprint for one to two minutes, then go back to the normal jog for a few minutes, before increasing the pace again. This should be done for about 20 minutes in total, after which you must cool down.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE WORKOUT

If it’s done without proper warm up and cool down, it can lead to blood pooling in the extremities. So stretch and then jog/run for 15 minutes, before starting interval training.

6. LEARN TO LUNGE

Tone your glutes, quads and calves all at once, with the body-sculpting lunge.

• Keep hands at the hip or hold dumbbells in both hands.
• Take a step forward, bending your knee at 90 degrees.
• Lower the upper body, keeping torso erect and maintain balance.
• The back knee should also bend to a 90 degrees angle.
• Keeping weight on the heels, go back to the starting position.
• Alternate sides till you have done about 20 repetitions on each side.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE WORKOUT

Don’t take a very long stride if you have a weak back. Remember not to push your knee forward as this puts unnecessary stress on the knee joint.

7. LOWDOWN ON PUSH-UPS

The dreaded push-up actually does wonders for your upper body— chest, biceps, triceps, shoulders and core muscles. Change the distance between arms: close, normal width or wide grip, depending on the area you wish to target.

• Lie down with arms touching the floor, palms placed slightly narrower than shoulder width and directly beneath the shoulders.
• Push yourself up. Make sure your toes are on the floor balancing the body. The knees should not touch the floor.
• Now lower the body till your chest touches the floor and then push your body up, till the arms are locked.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE WORKOUT

Keep your spine straight and move your body as a unit, from shoulder to heels. Don’t look up or else you might injure your neck, don’t be in a hurry. Even if you do only six repetitions, ensure that you maintain the correct form. Beginners should do partial push-ups (knees on the floor), before trying out a regular push-up.