Fitness programme Stage OneWEEK 1–2A. Cardiovascular Every other day: do five minutes of cardiovascular exercise (for example a brisk walk or slow jog). You should increase this every other day by two minutes so by the end of week 2 you should be doing 17 minutes continuous at a workout pace.

B. StrengthEach of the following exercises should be done two to three times a week:

THREE-QUARTER PRESS UPÞ Kneel on the floor with your hands resting on the floor, arms shoulder width apart Þ Slowly bend your elbows lowering your chest towards the floor – breathing in as you go Þ Slowly come back up to the original start position – breathing out as you do soRepeat x 10-15

SQUATÞ Stand with your feet hip width apart, gently holding in your stomach and with your arms out in front of you (weights are optional)Þ Slowly bend your knees as if you are going to sit on a chair – breathing in as you do so Þ For a full squat bend your knees to 90° (a right angle) or for a half go as far as 45° Þ Slowly straighten your legs back to standing – breathing out as you do so Repeat x 10-15

BAck ExT. Þ Lie on your stomach with your hands lightly resting on your bottom, keeping your eyes focused on the floor Þ Slowly lift your chest off the floor – breathing out as you do so Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position – breathing in as you do so Repeat x 10-15

cRUncHESÞ Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands lightly supporting your head Þ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, lifting your upper body up towards your knees keeping your chin the same distance off your chest Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Repeat x 10-15

STATIc LUngEÞ Start with one foot a metre in front of the other, both legs straight with the heel of the back foot on the floorÞ Gently tighten your stomach muscles and keep them tight throughout the exercise Þ Bend both knees lowering your body down towards the floor – breathing in as you do soÞ Slowly straighten up back to the start position – breathing out as you do soÞ Repeat using the opposite leg Repeat x 10-15

TWISTIng cRUncHESÞ Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands lightly supporting your head Þ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee (try and keep your chin the same distance off your chest)Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start positionÞ Repeat bringing your left elbow to your right knee Repeat x 10-15

BIcEPS cURLÞ Stand up straight holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in each handÞ Slowly bend your left elbow so you lift the tin up towards your shoulderÞ Slowly lower your arm so that it returns to the resting position Þ Repeat with your right arm Repeat x 10-15

TRIcEPS kIckBAck Þ Stand with the left foot in front of the right one (about 0.5m apart), bend your front knee so you will be leaning slightly forward with your back in a straight line Þ Holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in your right hand, lift your whole right arm out behind you Þ Slowly bend JUST your right elbow whilst keeping your arm behind youÞ Slowly straighten your arm Repeat x 10-15 times then repeat with your right foot in front and work your left arm

A. Cardiovascular Three times a week: begin each time with a five-minute warm up at a steady pace. For two sessions maintain a continuous workout pace for 20 minutes and for one session try one minute quick, three minutes easy and repeat this six times.

B. StrengthEach of the following exercises should be done two to three times a week and on one occasion repeat the whole set twice:

THREE-QUARTER PRESS UPÞ Kneel on the floor with your hands resting on the floor, arms shoulder width apart Þ Slowly bend your elbows lowering your chest towards the floor – breathing in as you go Þ Slowly come back up to the original start position – breathing out as you do so Repeat x 10-15

SQUAT Þ Stand with your feet hip width apart, gently holding in your stomach and with your arms out in front of you (weights are optional)Þ Slowly bend your knees as if you are going to sit on a chair – breathing in as you do so Þ For a full squat bend your knees to 90° (a right angle) or for a half go as far as 45° Þ Slowly straighten your legs back to standing – breathing out as you do so Repeat x 10-15

BAck ExT.Þ Lie on your stomach with your hands lightly resting on your bottom, keeping your eyes focused on the floor Þ Slowly lift your chest off the floor – breathing out as you do so Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position – breathing in as you do so Repeat x 10-15

cRUncHES Þ Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands lightly supporting your head Þ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, lifting your upper body up towards your knees keeping your chin the same distance off your chest Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Repeat x 10-15

STATIc LUngEÞ Start with one foot a metre in front of the other, both legs straight with the heel of the back foot on the floorÞ Gently tighten your stomach muscles and keep them tight throughout the exerciseÞ Bend both knees lowering your body down towards the floor – breathing in as you do soÞ Slowly straighten up back to the start position – breathing out as you do so Þ Repeat using the opposite legRepeat x 10-15

TWISTIng cRUncHES Þ Lie on your back with your knees bent up and your hands lightly supporting your headÞ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee (try and keep your chin the same distance off your chest) Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Þ Repeat bringing your left elbow to your right knee Repeat x 10-15

BIcEPS cURLÞ Stand up straight holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in each handÞ Slowly bend your left elbow so you lift the tin up towards your shoulder Þ Slowly lower your arm so that it returns to the resting position ÞRepeat with your right arm Repeat x 10-15

TRIcEPS kIckBAckÞ Stand with the left foot in front of the right one (about 0.5m apart), bend your front knee so you will be leaning slightly forward with your back in a straight lineÞ Holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in your right hand, lift your whole right arm out behind you Þ Slowly bend JUST your right elbow whilst keeping your arm behind youÞ Slowly straighten your arm Repeat x 10-15 times then repeat with your right foot in front and work your left arm

WEEK 3–4

A. Cardiovascular Four times a week: begin with a five-minute warm up at a steady pace. For two of the sessions try and maintain a continuous workout pace for 25 minutes and for one session for 35 minutes. For the last session try one minute quick, three minutes easy and repeat this six times.

B. StrengthEach of the following exercises should be done three times a week and on two occasions repeat the whole set twice:

THREE-QUARTER PRESS UPÞ Kneel on the floor with your hands resting on the floor, arms shoulder width apart Þ Slowly bend your elbows lowering your chest towards the floor – breathing in as you go Þ Slowly come back up to the original start position – breathing out as you do so Repeat x 10-15

SQUAT Þ Stand with your feet hip width apart, gently holding in your stomach and with your arms out in front of you (weights are optional)Þ Slowly bend your knees as if you are going to sit on a chair – breathing in as you do so Þ For a full squat bend your knees to 90° (a right angle) or for a half go as far as 45° Þ Slowly straighten your legs back to standing – breathing out as you do so Repeat x 10-15

BAck ExT.Þ Lie on your stomach with your hands lightly resting on your bottom, keeping your eyes focused on the floor Þ Slowly lift your chest off the floor – breathing out as you do so Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position – breathing in as you do so Repeat x 10-15

cRUncHES Þ Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands lightly supporting your head Þ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, lifting your upper body up towards your knees keeping your chin the same distance off your chest Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Repeat x 10-15

STATIc LUngEÞ Start with one foot a metre in front of the other, both legs straight with the heel of the back foot on the floor Þ Gently tighten your stomach muscles and keep them tight throughout the exercise Þ Bend both knees lowering your body down towards the floor – breathing in as you do so Þ Slowly straighten up back to the start position – breathing out as you do so Þ Repeat using the opposite leg Repeat x 10-15

TWISTIng cRUncHES Þ Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands lightly supporting your head Þ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee (try and keep your chin the same distance off your chest) Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Þ Repeat bringing your left elbow to your right knee Repeat x 10-15

BIcEPS cURLÞ Stand up straight holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in each handÞ Slowly bend your left elbow so you lift the tin up towards your shoulder Þ Slowly lower your arm so that it returns to the resting position Þ Repeat with your right arm Repeat x 10-15

TRIcEPS kIckBAckÞ Stand with the left foot in front of the right one (about 0.5m apart), bend your front knee so you will be leaning slightly forward with your back in a straight line Þ Holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in your right hand, lift your whole right arm out behind you Þ Slowly bend JUST your right elbow whilst keeping your arm behind you Þ Slowly straighten your arm Þ Repeat 10–15 times then repeat with your right foot in front and work your left arm Þ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, lifting your upper body up towards your knees keeping your chin the same distance off your chest Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Repeat x 10-15

STATIc LUngEÞ Start with one foot a metre in front of the other, both legs straight with the heel of the back foot on the floor Þ Gently tighten your stomach muscles and keep them tight throughout the exercise Þ Bend both knees lowering your body down towards the floor – breathing in as you do so Þ Slowly straighten up back to the start position – breathing out as you do so Þ Repeat using the opposite leg Repeat x 10-15

TWISTIng cRUncHESÞ Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands lightly supporting your headÞ Slowly ‘crunch’ your stomach, bringing your right elbow towards your left knee (try and keep your chin the same distance off your chest) Þ Slowly lower yourself back to the start position Þ Repeat bringing your left elbow to your right knee Repeat x 10-15

BIcEPS cURLÞ Stand up straight holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in each hand Þ Slowly bend your left elbow so you lift the tin up towards your

WEEK 5–6

shoulder Þ Slowly lower your arm so that it returns to the resting position Þ Repeat with your right arm Repeat x 10-15

TRIcEPS kIckBAck Þ Stand with the left foot in front of the right one (about 0.5m apart), bend your front knee so you will be leaning slightly forward with your back in a straight line Þ Holding a small weight (e.g. a tin of beans) in your right hand, lift your whole right arm out behind you Þ Slowly bend JUST your right elbow whilst keeping your arm behind you Þ Slowly straighten your arm Repeat x 10-15 times then repeat with your right foot in front and work your left arm