Now, most people know what a push-up is and have probably tried a few at some stage in their life. But, few people know that push-ups can be a full body workout and the corkscrew pushup is no exception. It works:

• the legs
• arms and
• abs all at the same time

We last featured the Corkscrew Push-Up in February 2011, and just had to bring it back as it was one of the most talked about exercises amongst boot campers. And, since including it again in our workouts this month, it has been the talk of boot camp!!

You either love it or dread its appearance in the workouts…yes, it is that good an exercise!

Okay, so how is “the corkscrew push-up” performed? Just check out the video below…

 
The 3 levels of difficulty described in the video, make sure that there is something for most fitness levels…

Make sure you include our exercise of the month in your workouts to help really challenge your body with new exercises. Your body likes variety and this is a great exercise to help you create a varied workout to get the results you deserve. Leave me some comments about how you get on with this one…

So, Fitness Boot Camp & Boot Camp To Go have combined forces to bring you the “Holiday Survival Guide” to help you maintain your weight or lose weight and body fat during the holiday season…

Here is what I have for you:

• Express exercise workouts – 4 minute workouts for when you just do not have time to exercise
• Nutrition Checklist – to help you stay on track with your eating and also be able to enjoy some treats too!
• Exercise Checklist – to help you ensure that you get some exercise in during the busy holiday season
• Workout Music – to help automate your exercise workout so you do not even have to think. You just press play, listen and workout

Just right click on the link below to download the resources:

The Official Holiday Survival Guide

(You will need to “unzip” the folder once downloaded. If you do not have software to do this, you can download “7-zip” which is FREE open source zip software by following the link alongside: http://www.7-zip.org/ )

Before we get into this week’s exercise workouts and eating tips, a quick recap of what we did last week for those of you who need it. I chatted about how processed carbohydrates & sugar have a way of creeping into our diets – white bread, pasta, pies, chips, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks. These are all “convenience foods” and our homework was to reduce these in our eating and to drink more water.

Now, let’s get into this week’s focus:

Make sure you perform your weekly measurements to track your progress as you get into the last week of the programme. Get on that scale, use a tape measure or try on some clothes to establish how you are progressing. Please be sure to post a comment on the blog to let me know how you are doing!

In terms of our nutrition focus for this week, repeat week 3 by focussing once again on eating good quality protein at each food meal. Protein helps make you feel full and increases your metabolism.

In terms of knowing what good quality sources of protein to eat, just remember this little quote:

“If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”.

So, eggs didn’t ever have a face (they didn’t quite make it), but they did have a mother! So, eggs are a great source of protein. So, are lean beef, chicken and fish as they all ran, flew or swam at some stage in their life.

So, remember that: “If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”.

In our exercise focus, we are once again going to focus on the metabolic resistance and interval training workouts to build lean muscle, burn more body fat and maximise your metabolism.

So, your exercise homework for this week is to perform 4 – 5 exercise workouts and eat good quality protein at each meal.

Thank you for all those people who are interacting with me via email and the blog. If this is the first time you are hearing about this programme, then don’t worry as you can still join us to get a firmer, flatter tummy by going to:

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

Next week we have a special feature on the “Holiday fitness and fat loss survival guide”…

Be sure to check back here and discover how you can start the new year fitter and leaner…If you listen next week on CCFM radio (15h40 – 15h55 on 107.5 FM (you can also listen live online here) then you will even get to hear a little from Liam, my 7 year old son, on how he plans to help keep his parents fit during the holidays…

Leave me your comments below…

Before we get into this week’s exercise workouts and eating tips, a quick recap of what we did last week for those of you who need it:

• I chatted about how you need to focus on eating protein at each and every food meal as this will help you:

• • Increase your metabolism
  • Build lean muscle
  • Burn more body fat
  • more on this in the bootcamptogo member area

Now, let’s get into this week’s focus.

Because we are halfway through the programme, you need to take some more measurements. So, get on the scale, use that tape measure or try on some clothes to see if they fit better. You need to know how you are progressing.

NUTRITION:

In terms of our nutrition focus for this week, we are going to go back to week 1 and repeat what we did there. So, that means you need to keep a nutrition diary because this will help you eat healthier and make better choices. And it allows you to check up on how your eating right now has changed compared to when you started this programme.

I also want you to focus on eating more fruit and vegetables – especially vegetables and aim for 4 – 5 portions of vegetables each and every day.

EXERCISE

In our exercise focus, we are once again going to focus on metabolic resistance and interval training workouts to maximise your metabolism. These types of training have been proven to be up to 9 times more effective at helping you lose weight, burn body fat and improve your fitness.

IN SUMMARY:

So, this week you need to focus on once again eating more fruit and vegetables. And track your progress with your nutrition diary.

I have also added a whole set of brand new exercise workouts for the next 3 weeks of the programme to ensure that your results don’t plateau and you keep revving up your metabolism and sculpting a firmer, flatter tummy.

HOMEWORK:

So, your homework for this week is to perform 4 – 5 exercise workouts and eat more vegetables. Don’t forget to let me know how you are doing on the programme, by leaving some comments in the member area at bootcamptogo

Thank you for all those people who are interacting with me via email and in the member area.

However, if this is the first time you are hearing about this programme, then don’t worry as you can still join us absolutely FREE to get a firmer, flatter tummy by going here

Leave me your thoughts or comments below…

Before we get into this week’s exercise workouts and eating tips, a quick recap of what we did last week for those of you who need it. I chatted about how most people eat way too many processed carbohydrates & sugar – white bread, pasta, pies, chips, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks.

And our homework was to reduce these in our eating and to drink more water.

Week 3 Focus

Now, let’s get into our nutrition focus for this week. You need to eat protein at each food meal. “Okay” you say, that sounds easy enough. “But, what is a protein?”

Proteins are what the experts call “Macronutrients”. There are three other food sources categorised as macronutrients. They are: Carbohydrates, Fats and Water. We need to include a balanced amount of these macronutrients in our diets in order to survive.

Excluding any one group of these, will lead to problems. But, protein has the added benefit of making us feel fuller and increasing our metabolism.

Now, if my earlier explanation of what a protein is didn’t help you much, then this one definitely will. Just remember this little quote and you will always know what I consider to be a good source of protein:

“If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”. So, eggs didn’t ever have a face (they didn’t quite make it), but they did have a mother! So, eggs are a great source of protein. So, are lean beef, chicken and fish as they all ran, flew or swam at some stage in their life.

So, remember that: “If it had a face or a mother, ran, flew or swam at some stage in its life, then it is a good quality source of protein”. And, this week you need to focus on eating protein at each and every food meal.

I have also added an extra metabolic resistance training workout for those of you who would like to perform 3 of these this week and then your 2 interval training workouts, taking your total to 5 workouts. If however, 4 workouts is enough for you and you are getting the results you want, then continue with the same 2 metabolic resistance training workouts and 2 interval training workouts you did last week.

Homework:

Here is the summary of your homework:

• Perform 4 – 5 exercise workouts
• Eat good quality protein at each meal

That’s all for this week, so get exercising and eating better and I look forward to us continuing our exciting journey next week where I will be bringing you more of the best exercises and nutrition tips to ensure you have a firmer, flatter tummy in a few weeks…

If you would like to sign up for the “6 weeks to a firmer, flatter tummy programme” (it’s FREE) then click on the link below:

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

If you are part of our journey, THANK YOU so much!! And, if you would like to join us then please visit the webpage below and register now

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

Today we are taking  our nutrition to the next level by focusing on 2 things that have the ability to help you burn more fat and get leaner. We are also adding an Interval training workout routine that will ensure you are burning fat even when you are resting.

Come and see what I am talking about as I would hate you to miss out on this great programme. Join us…it’s absolutely FREE and all your resources are available to download in your private member area.

• exercise workouts
• nutrition tips and strategies
• workout music to automate your exercise routines

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

• Exercise workouts to firm your tummy (in fact they are going to tone, firm and strengthen your whole body…not just those abs)
• Workout Music to help automate your workouts (so you know exactly what to do and when to do it)
• Nutrition tips & strategies (to help you burn body fat)
• And the best thing is that it is all FREE

Just visit the link below:

http://bootcamptogo.co.za/firmer-flatter-tummy/

Leave your comments below…

Now, before we start on our exercise or nutrition plan, you need to know exactly what is required to getting a firmer, flatter tummy. And, there are 2 parts to getting these results:

1). You need to exercise your abs so that they look really good (more toned, firmer and better defined). And there are certain exercises that work a lot better than others…so forget all about sit-ups and crunches (none of those are in this programme)

2). You need to lose some body fat around your tummy area so that you will be able to better see those firmer, more defined abs that you are sculpting. And for this you will need the right exercise and the right nutrition (more on this next week)…

How will this programme work?

I will upload weekly exercise workouts and eating tips for you to follow. But, before we start our exercise and eating plan, I need you to do 2 things for me:

1). Firstly, you must stop and reflect on exactly what it is you want to achieve over the next 6 weeks. You need to set some goals. People who pause to set some goals before embarking on their exercise or diet always get better results. And we want to ensure that you do too. Below is a “goal tracker” worksheet for you to download:

Goal Tracker Worksheet (just right click and choose “save as”)

2). Secondly, you need to take some measurements to establish where you are right now, so that it is easy for you to track your progress. There are a number of things you can track such as weight, centimetres, body fat, clothes size, energy levels and a few more. For this we have a measurement tracker for you. Download it below:

Measurement Tracker Worksheet

Some Homework:

Each week I will have some homework for you to do. This week’s homework is all about getting ready and involves you performing your goal setting and measurements. Do NOT skip this important step.
If you are so excited to get going after setting your goals and you want to start right now, then leave me a comment on the blog so that I can send you the “early bird” exercise programme.

Remember to leave me your comments below. This way I can keep you updated via email on the “How to Get a Firmer, Flatter Tummy in 6 Weeks” programme so that you do not miss out on anything…

In a study at the University of South Wales in 2007, it was discovered that short, max-intensity intervals resulted in greater fat loss than long, slow, boring cardio. The researchers concluded that the greater fat loss was due to a larger release of adrenaline.

How did we apply this research into our boot camps? Well, we constructed a workout that allows our clients to work at a high intensity for short periods of time and thereby maximise the release of adrenaline. We used total body exercises performed for a 10 second interval. Now, that explains the adrenalin aspect of our “adrenalin abs” workout.

So, how about the abs aspect? Well, we simply alternated the 10 second total body exercise with a 10 second abs exercise to help firm and flatten those tummy muscles.

Here is how you can do this workout:

Superset 1

• Set the clock to 5 minutes
• Now perform 5 reps of squat swings, then 10 seconds of front pillar (as pictured below)
• Alternate these exercises for the five minutes
• Then have a 1 minute rest

Superset 2

• Set the clock to 5 minutes
• Now perform 5 reps of “running on the spot”, then 10 seconds of back pillar (as pictured below)
• Alternate these exercises for the five minutes
• Then have a 1 minute rest

Superset 3

• Set the clock to 5 minutes
• Now perform 5 reps of mountain climber, then 10 seconds of side pillar  – alternate sides each time (as pictured below)
• Alternate these exercises for the five minutes
• Then have a 1 minute rest

That’s a great workout to maximise fat loss and firm your abs and tummy!! Leave me your comments about this one below…

We featured this exercise on the blog about 6 months ago, but it is such a great exercise that enables you to get a full body workout without any exercise equipment and that is why we thought it was worth highlighting again as we know that some of you may have missed it.

So, what is a Turkish Get-Up (TGU)? In essence, it is the proper series of movements that will have you safely and effectively coming from lying flat on your back to standing straight up, all while holding a weight directly overhead…and then of course slowly reversing that movement until you are lying on your back again.

How is the Turkish Get-Up performed? What you must first know is that there is a bit of a learning curve associated with performing it as it is not easy to do at first. But, it is well worth taking the time to learn this exercise, because it has so many benefits that can help:
• Build muscle
• Burn body fat
• Boost metabolism

In fact, this may be the most beneficial and difficult exercise you ever perform.

But, it is well worth every second spent learning how to do it because it delivers amazing benefits for your abs, fat loss, fitness and full body strength.

This exercise is best learnt through seeing it and so I am going to suggest that you watch the video below. The video shows you how to perform it in 3 simple stages to make it even easier for you. Ensure you watch right to the end to see me perform a turkish get-up with my son and nephew!!

Alternatively, just check out the pictures below, showing the 3 stages:
STAGE 1:

STAGE 2:

STAGE 3:

Make sure you include the exercise of the month in your workouts for a great full body workout. It really targets the abs, but also works the legs, arms and back all at the same time.