Sandra Prior

Build a Beach worthy Body in the Dead of Winter

Different strokes. Don't marry yourself to any one cardio machine. Mix it up. 

Despite all of your gravy soaked gluttony, you’ll probably gain only half a kilogram between autumn and spring. Unfortunately, research shows that most guys never lose their winter weight.

Indeed, between the ages of 35 and 45, the majority of us pack on the equivalent of a pork roast. It’s a bleak prospect, especially if you consider the traditional fix; hours spent slogging away on a treadmill.

Allow us to offer a more palatable alternative, albeit with a hard to swallow name; cardio circuit training. By splitting your indoor cardio session between several different exercises, you’ll burn more kilojoules. You’ll also prevent your muscles from adapting to one movement, and the less they adapt, the faster they’ll grow. And if you add intervals (alternating short bursts of all out effort with active recovery) to your training, you’ll torch 90% more fat than training at a consistent pace.

Run through the following 45 minute routine twice a week. Warm up with five minutes of each exercise at a ‘conversational’ pace, then complete a six minute circuit in which you alternate four times between 30 seconds of intense effort and one minute of active rest. You’ll be rewarded with a flatter stomach in record time, without feeling like a hamster on a wheel.

Stair Climber

Face away from the console. We’re not designed to walk backwards and to do so you need to engage many more muscles and work harder to keep your body upright. Mix up the depth and pace of your stepping to prevent your muscles from adapting. If you normally take shallow steps, for example, do deep, slow steps for two of the 30 second interval.

Spin Bike

After your warm up, increase the resistance as if you were climbing a hill, and stand up and sprint for 30 seconds. Not only will you use a different set of muscles, but you’ll break the monotony.

Rowing Machine

Form is everything. Initiate the drive with your legs, then pull the handle into your sternum. On the recovery, keep your legs flat as the handle travels away from your body, then allow your torso to pivot over your hips as you bend your knees to return to the starting position.

Treadmill

After you warm up, increase the angle of the incline to one percent. Researchers found that this angle most closely approximates running outside, causing you to burn just as many kilojoules. Your indoor time might suffer, but you’ll shed kilograms faster.

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