The Women’s Health Fast-Track Tone-Up Plan potx

Pushup position dumbbell row Grab a pair of hex dumbbells and assume a push-up position, your arms straight [A].. Dumbbell push press Stand and hold a pair of dumbbells so that your pal

The greatest workout you’ll ever get—inside

a gym, or out

The biggest obstacle between you and the body

you want might come from an unexpected source:

Your gym Big crowds, complicated machines, and

limited space can slow your workouts—and your

transformation

Think about it: Every moment you spend

stand-ing around waitstand-ing for the leg press machine or

a cable station is less time you spend

challeng-ing your muscles and ignitchalleng-ing your metabolism

More sitting around means less intensity, and that

undercuts your ability to make quick gains from

your time in the gym And with less time than ever

to exercise, you need a workout that guarantees

results, fast

This fat-burning, muscle-toning workout

re-quires only a single set of dumbbells—meaning

there’s never been a simpler way to sculpt a

bet-ter body It’s so basic, your home can instantly

become the ultimate gym The workout combines

10 exercises performed as a high-intensity circuit

that works every muscle in your body

But this isn’t your traditional program filled with

the routine 3 sets of 10 reps Those are arbitrary

goals set by some gym teacher back in sixth

grade This plan works by using time—the

ulti-mate motivator—and it allows you to challenge

your body and push your fitness to new levels

Instead of worrying about completing a

predeter-mined number of reps, you will focus on

perform-ing as many reps as possible usperform-ing perfect form

This approach allows you to choose if you want

to perform more reps or add more weight, putting

you in control of your goal You’ll be changing your

body, strengthening your heart, and doing

every-thing you need to look and live healthier than ever

Directions

Do this circuit 3 days a week Perform 1 set of each exercise in succession Each set consists of doing the exercise as many times as you can in 30 seconds Use only perfect form—it doesn’t count if you cheat—and when your 30 seconds is up, give yourself 15 seconds to rest before moving on to the next exercise Rest for 2 minutes after you’ve completed the entire sequence Then repeat the whole process two more times for a total of 3 circuits per workout

If you get tired and can’t continue exercising for the entire 30 seconds, stop and rest for a few seconds, and then resume performing reps until the time is up For each exercise, you should start with a weight that you can use for 10 to 12 reps

Dumbbell straight-leg deadlift

The Women’s Health

Fast-Track Tone-Up Plan

Grab a pair of dumbbells with an overhand grip,

and hold them in front of your thighs, arms

hang-ing straight down Stand with your feet hip-width

apart and your knees slightly bent [A] Without

changing the bend in your knees, bend at your

hips, and lower your torso until it’s almost parallel

to the floor [B] Pause, then raise your torso back

to the starting position

Pushup position dumbbell row

Grab a pair of hex dumbbells and assume a

push-up position, your arms straight [A] Keeping your

core braced, balance your weight on your left arm

as you row the dumbbell in your right hand up to

the side of your chest, bending your arm as you

pull it upward [B] Pause, and then quickly lower

the dumbbell Repeat with your left arm

Dumbbell front squat

Stand and hold a pair of dumbbells so that your palms are facing each other, and rest one of the dumbbell heads on the fleshiest part of each shoulder [A] Keep your body as upright as you can at all times Brace your abs, and lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees [B] Don’t allow your elbows to drop down as you squat Pause, then push yourself back to the starting position

Dumbbell push press

Stand and hold a pair of dumbbells so that your palms are facing each other, and rest one of the dumbbell heads on the fleshiest part of each shoulder [A] Keep your body upright as you bend slightly at the knees [B], then explosively push up with your legs as you press the dumbbells over your head [C] Pause, then lower the weights to the starting position

Dumbbell hang pull

A

B

Hold a pair of dumbbells just below your knees

with your palms facing your legs, your hips

pushed back, and knees slightly bent [A] With

your back flat and arms straight, pull both

dumb-bells upward as fast as you can by thrusting your

hips forward and explosively standing up Keep

the dumbbells as close to your body as possible

and bring them up to shoulder height (At the top

of the movement, your elbows should angle out

like you’re doing the funky chicken.) [B] Return to

the starting position

Cross-body mountain climber

Assume a pushup position with your arms

com-pletely straight [A] Lift your right foot off the

floor, then bend your right knee and bring it up

under your body, toward your left elbow, without

changing the arch in your lower back [B] Lower it

back to the starting position, and then raise your

left foot off the ground, and bring your left knee

to your right elbow Alternate back and forth until

time is up

Alternating split jump

Stand in a staggered stance with your feet 2 to

3 feet apart, your left foot in front of your right Keeping your torso upright, bend your legs and lower your body into a lunge position At the bot-tom of the movement, your left thigh should be parallel to the ground, and your right thigh should

be perpendicular to the ground [A] Now jump with enough force to propel both feet off the floor [B] While you’re in the air, scissor-kick your legs

so you land with your right leg forward and left leg behind you [C] Repeat, alternating your for-ward leg for the duration of the set

Make it harder: Perform the move while holding

one hex dumbbell in each hand Keep the dumb-bells by your sides

T-Stabilizer

Assume a pushup position Your body should form

a straight line from your head to your ankles [A] Keeping your arms straight and your body rigid, shift your weight onto your left arm and rotate your torso up and to the right until you’re facing sideways [B] Pause for 3 seconds, then lower back down to the starting position Rotate to your left That’s one rep Continue to rotate back and forth

Make it harder: Perform the move with a hex

dumbbell in each hand and/or do a pushup each time you return to the starting position

A

B

A

B

C

A

B

A B

Dumbbell lunge and rotation

Grab a dumbbell with both hands Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms straight out (A) Take a big step forward with your left foot and, bracing your abs, twist your torso to the left as you bend your knees and lower your body until both of your legs form 90-degree angles (B) Twist back to center, push off your left foot, and stand back up Repeat on the other leg That’s

1 rep Do 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps Keep your elbows straight but not locked

Dumbbell row

Grab a pair of dumbbells, bend at your hips (don’t round your lower back), and lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor Let the dumbbells hang at arm’s length [A] Without moving your torso, row the weights upward by raising your upper arms, bending your elbows, and squeezing your shoulder blades together Keep the dumb-bells close to the side of your body at the top of the movement [B] Pause, lower the dumbbells, and repeat