Workout Of the Week April 1st

I haven't posted a workout for awhile so I think it's time. You all know I am all about intervals. I don't think any of us has time to waste so don't do it by getting on a piece of cardio equipment and slogging along for 45 minutes while you zone out to whatever is playing on the club's televisions. Walking outside has tons of benefits - nothing can beat fresh air, especially now that Spring has arrived - but don't forget, fat loss is not one of them.

Here's the workout:

First start out with Dillon lunges. I call them that because the owner of the studio where I train my clients does them with her clients all the time and they are awesome.

Take a GIANT step forward, lean down and touch the ground with BOTH hands just to the inside of the front foot. Continue that same movement as you walk forward (find a long hallway or place in your gym that you can cover some space). Perform a set of about 20 total steps. Immediately follow the Dillon lunges with squat and drop. Perform a wide squat then pivot to the right and drop into a lunge. Repeat left and continue R then L for a count of 10 - R/L counts as one. The lunge in this pattern is slightly diagonal, not completely to the side. It should feel fairly natural to perform. Take a short break and then complete two more cycles of both exercises.

Now find a treadmill or a 3 mile route outside with a steep hill somewhere around the middle of the route. I prefer outside just because of all the other benefits associated with being outside (fresh air, sense of well-being, anxiety/stress release because of the wide-open space, etc). Jog to warm up, about 5-10 minutes. If you are outside the route will dictate how much you will warm up. Once you get to the hill run up it as fast as you can and jog slowly back down, taking small steps. Repeat the hill runs 10 times. Jog home. If you are on a treadmill take the incline up to the highest setting which is usually 15%. You will also need to increase the pace to something that is super hard. Run that hill for 15-20 secs then decrease both speed and incline. Repeat 10 times. As you can see running this routine on a treadmill is somewhat more cumbersome so I suggest you go outside.

You should be gasping for air at the top of the hill. Have fun.