HEALTH

Dedicated Diva

You’re a hard worker, and you’re all about challenging yourself. So what you need is a long, hard workout that’ll leave you feelin’ like you’ve earned every minute of that time in front of the TV later. Start off by running an easy half-mile to warm up. Then, run one mile as fast as you would for a 5k. Take a break for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Run three more miles at that 5k pace with 3:30 rest time between each. Finally, close out with some core work. Do 4 sets of 15 push-ups, but switch up the types you do – try holding your arms out wide, or doing diamond push-ups by holding your hands close together. Then do 5 sets of 25 sit-ups. You can substitute planks, bicycles, leg lifts and other core exercises for regular sit-ups, if those get a li’l too repetitive.

In With the New

You can’t stick to one topic for more than two seconds, and you’re always flitting from one activity to the next. So try this speed workout that keeps your bod and mind racin’. Warm up by running slowly for 5 minutes and then doing 3 accelerations over a short distance to get your bod ready for goin’ fast. To begin the workout, jog for 5 minutes. When your watch hits the fifth minute, pick up your pace a little bit and keep it there for 60 seconds. At the sixth minute, pick up the pace a little more and keep that going for 60 seconds. Do the same for the seventh, eighth and ninth minutes. By the time you hit your seventh minute, you should be going at about 75 percent of your full effort, and your ninth minute should be between 85 and 95 percent. On the tenth minute, slow back down to the original jog that you did in the beginning. Then do the entire routine two more times, so that you’re alternating 5 minutes of slow with 5 minutes of fast for a total of 30 minutes of running time.

Chatty Chica

Gotta have someone to talk to while you’re exercising? Get a bunch of your girlies together for this group workout! First, run an easy half a mile to warm up. Then, line up like you’re playing “follow the leader.” The first gal starts off running at a medium pace – comfortable, but still fast enough that you’re all makin’ an effort. After a minute or so, the last girl in line sprints up to the front, becoming the new leader. As soon as she makes it to the front, whoever is now last in line sprints up to be in front of her. Continue like that, with the last chica constantly sprinting to the front, for 25 minutes. And if at any time the line starts going so fast that there’s a gap in it, make everyone slow down (except the current sprinter). Afterwards, have each girl pick a different type of sit-up and push-up for the group to do. Don’t forget to cheer each other on as you go!

Safe And Sound

If you aren’t big on the great outdoors, check out this machine-based workout to make the most of what you’ve got inside. Start out with a 15-minute warm-up on a stationary bike. Then hop on over to a treadmill, and run for 5 minutes at an easy pace. After that, set the speed so that you feel like you could keep it up for a while but wouldn’t be totally comfortable. Raise the incline one degree for 2 minutes. Then, up it to two degrees for 2 minutes. Go back down to one degree for 2 minutes, and skip up to three degrees for 2 minutes. Keep switching the incline every 2 minutes, steadily climbing in degrees but alternating back down to one each time, until you hit 7 degrees. (The degree setting should look like this: 1-2-1-3-1-4-1-5-1-6-1-7.) At the end, do 10 minutes of easy jogging with no incline to cool off.

Not a runner?

No sweat! Apply these ideas to the cardio activity that gets you pumped, like cycling and rollerblading—anything goes!

So babes, which kinds of workouts are your faves?

by Carrie Ruppert | 2/1/2016