Wednesday, April 8, 2009

A Beach Body—Bingo!

Add explosive power to your arsenal this season with these four whole-body drills.
By the Editors of Men's Health

Build muscle and increase stamina in one fast-paced routine. Three days a week, perform this athletic sequence, courtesy of Men's Health Muscle Guy Mike Mejia, M.S., C.S.C.S.

Perform these moves in order, resting only as long as it takes to set up between exercises. Then break for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit once or twice. Rest a day between sessions, but stay active outside the gym.

Stair Shuttle

Stand at the bottom of a staircase.

Place one foot on the first step, with your opposite arm slightly bent in front of you and your other arm behind your torso and slightly bent, as if you're ready to sprint up the staircase.

Begin switching your feet and arms so you're sprinting in place.

Go as fast as you can for 30 seconds.

Crab-Walk Push-up

Assume the classic push-up position.

Perform a push-up, then squeeze your abs forcefully and slide your left leg and left arm out to the side as far as possible.

Do another push-up, then bring your right arm and leg over so you're back in the starting position.

That's one repetition.

Do two or three reps in each direction.

Agility Run

Place three cones or small objects 5 yards apart in a straight line.

The first marker is your starting point. Sprint to the nearest cone and back.

Then sprint to the farthest cone and back. That's one repetition.

Rest 10 seconds and repeat for five reps.

Mix it up to include backpedals, side shuffles, and skips.

Interrupted Pull-Ups

With an overhand grip, place your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart on a bar.

Pull your chin over the bar, then lower slowly.

Perform two or three pull-ups, then rest for 10 seconds.

Continue this sequence until you can no longer complete two pull-ups.

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