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 With summer just around the corner, Simon Richman, Fitness
Manager at British Military Fitness (BMF), has compiled this
fifteen minute work-out to help you look great in your bikini.
For the Stomach
This exercise will help to give you a flat, stomach
Tummy Crunches
Lie on your back with your arms either crossed over your chest
or on by your head and place your legs a 90o angle at the hip
and knee joints
Slowly raise your shoulders off the floor by contracting your
stomach muscles
Make sure that your eyes stay focused straight ahead and that
your neck is kept in line with your spine
Repeat this exercise slowly twenty times. As your muscles get
stronger, aim to perform another twenty repetitions with a
minute gap between the sets
Tip: All the effort should be made by the muscles in the
stomach (not the neck) to avoid injury
For the Buttocks/Legs
A squat is the perfect exercise to keep your legs toned. The
main emphasis is on the thighs and buttocks but it also involves
the hamstrings, calves and lower back.
The King of Exercises – The Squat
Stand with your feet just under shoulder width apart, bend knees
and hips, lowering torso between the legs.
Once your knees are at a 90 degree angle, reverse direction to
stand up straight again.
The torso remains upright throughout the movement.
Once you have returned to your original position, start again.
Repeat this twenty times.
Tip: Increase the resistance by performing a jump between
each squat
The Chest
This exercise helps to strengthen the Pectorals (muscles of the
chest) to create the perfect cleavage
The Press Up to Plank
1. Lying horizontal and face down, place your hands under your
shoulders with your palms on the ground. Curl your toes upward
so that the balls of your feet touch the ground.
2. Raise yourself using your arms, supporting your weight by
your hands and the balls of your feet. This is your ‘start’
position
3. Bending your elbows, lower your body towards the ground. Your
neck and head, neck and back should remain perfectly straight
throughout the movement
4. When your elbows reach a 90 degree angle, push away from the
ground and return to the start position
5. Repeat this movement ten times. Once this becomes easy,
increase the number of repetitions to twenty
Tip: Breathe out while pushing up on the press ups. Do
not hold your breath.
For Overall Conditioning
This is the ultimate exercise for exercising your chest, arms,
front deltoids, thighs and abdominals giving you a total body
conditioning. Your natural bodyweight provides plenty of
resistance for a workout that improves your stamina and aids fat
loss.
The Burpee
The perfect burpee is otherwise known as a squat thrust followed
by a jump. Follow the steps below to execute the exercise
correctly:
Stand with your feet just under shoulder width apart, bend knees
and reach down and place hands on the floor so that you are
sitting on your heels in a crouch position of a squat thrust.
Transfer all your weight onto your hands
Thrust legs out and back as a normal squat thrust
From the squatting position jump up, feet leaving the floor
before hitting the ground again and returning to the squatting
position and start again.
Tip: To boost the intensity of the workout BMF uses the
burpee in conjunction with running.
If you want to know more about BMF’s workout at local parks
throughout the UK, designed for all abilities aged 16 to 70
plus, go to www.britmilfit.com
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