TRIMMING THE FAT

Talk about sculpted:  Ryan Lochte’s hypertrophied abdominal, pectoral and trapezius (just to name a few) muscles are the results of his vigorous strength- training workouts.  That they are clearly visible, however, stems from not only proper nutrition but the cardio workouts he tears through in the gym and the pool.

No matter how strong you are, if you do not do your cardio, you will not get sculpted.  Without burning through the layer of fat that resides annoyingly on top of the muscle, all the time you’ve been spending in the gym will go unnoticed aesthetically.   The great thing about cardio is that you can do it anywhere with little to no equipment.  The following two exercises are relatively low impact and are therefore easier on your back, knees and other body parts than most at-home cardio moves.   Turn your circuit into an interval-training, fat-blasting sculpt session by incorporating these two exercises:

Burpees:

1) Stand with feet hip distance apart, arms down by your sides and navel drawn in.  Lower into a squat and place hands on the floor in front of feet.

2) As fast as you can, jump your feet backward so that you end in a plank position on your hands and toes.

3) Without rest, jump the feet back to their starting position and return to standing.   Continue moving for 30 seconds.

A modified version of the burpee can be performed by replacing the jump with a quick step.

Squat Kick:

1) Stand with feet hip distance apart.  Bend elbows 90 degrees and hold fists in front of the body, like a boxer.

2) Raise your right knee as close to your chest as possible and extend right foot in front of the body, without locking the knee.

3) Return right foot to its original position on the floor and lower into a squat.

4) As you rise out of the squat, raise left knee and repeat kick movement on the left side.  Alternate sides for one minute.

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