Drop 10 Pounds by Summer Exercise Program: Week 2

I hope your first week of training went smoothly? For this second week, you will continue alternating between muscular and cardiovascular sessions. For your cardiovascular trainings, aim once again at a “moderate-to-high” intensity for 30 minutes. This means you should feel a little out of breath, but still be able to speak. Your target heart rate should stay between 70 to 80 % of your maximal heart rate (Max HR, calculated by subtracting your age from 220). Choose an activity that you enjoy.

As for your muscular sessions, you will do the same exercises (I only modified the abs exercise), but you will increase the poundage of your lifts in such a manner that not only are you able to correctly perform 12 repetitions for each exercise, but that the last one is very hard to perform, but yet you still manage to perform it correctly. For example if you used 5 lb last week, try 8 lb. You will also need an exercise ball. Unlike last week, perform 12 repetitions, but this time take only 15 to 30 seconds of rest between each exercise. For the Half crunch with the ball, perform as many repetitions as possible. Once you have completed all of your exercises, repeat them again after a 2 to 3 minutes pause.

Make sure to stay hydrated and drink enough water throughout the whole session.

Remember that each session (muscular or cardiovascular) should include a dynamic warm up (brisk walk or heels to glutes) for about 3 to 5 minutes, and end with a 3 minute cool down of walking on the spot.

Exercise 1: Wall squat with ball
Hold the ball against the wall at lower back level. With the feet slightly forward and hip width apart, bend the knees to a 90o angle. Then fully straighten the legs without locking the knees.

Exercise 2: Front lunges with weights
Step one foot forward, bending the front knee to 90o. Position the back leg so that, in the starting position, the knee is just below the hip. Fully extend both legs without locking the knees. Return to the starting position.

Exercise 3: One arm row
With the torso parallel with the floor, pull the elbow up (row) lifting the dumbbell up to chest level. Avoid trunk rotation at the top of the movement.

Exercise 4: Chest press on a ball
Lean on the ball with the back on an incline and hold the dumbbells, above the chest, with an overhand grip. Keeping the elbows wide, lower the elbows until the dumbbells are 1 cm from the upper chest. Fully extend the arms without locking the elbows.

Exercise 5: Biceps curl
Hands at shoulder width, hands holding the dumbbells in an underhand grip, flex the forearms keeping the elbows close to the body. Return the dumbbells slowly to the starting position. Avoid leaning backwards. You may alternate the arms during this exercise.

Exercise 6: Triceps overhead extension, sitting on the ball
Sitting with a straight back, holding a dumbbell with both hands behind the head, fully extend the arms without locking the elbows. Lower the weight again until the elbows are at a 90o angle. Keep the elbows close to the head throughout the movement.

Exercise 7: Half crunch with the ball
Place the ball on your thighs and your hands on the ball. Lift your upper torso with a range of motion of about 30 degrees, rolling the ball up towards your knees.

By Karine Larose

Drop 10 Pounds by Summer Exercise Program: Week 2 is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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