The 2-Week Total Body Turnaround Jump-Start Routine
If you’ve already tried the 2-Week Total Body Turnaround plan, you know that the secret to success lies in the program’s slow-motion strength routine. Instead of lifting and lowering for 2 counts each, you’ll double the lengthening “eccentric” phase of an exercise (i.e., straightening your arm during a biceps curl) to 4 counts. “In eccentric training, each muscle fiber works harder so you get firmer faster,” explains Freytag. An East Carolina University study found that, after just 1 week, women who did eccentric training increased their strength by nearly twice as much as those who lifted weights at a normal pace. You’ll also build more muscle and rev up your metabolism to burn fat faster.
As you’ve seen in the stories throughout the book, when we put a group of readers on the plan, the results were eye-popping: Testers lost an average of 6 pounds and 10 inches in 14 days, with the most successful volunteers losing up to 12 pounds and more than 22 inches all over.
If you haven’t tried the plan yet, get started today with this abbreviated jump-start routine. Adapted from the original program, it will help you shed pounds, lose inches, and feel confident in just 14 days! And for more super-effective strength exercises and cardio routines that work superfast, pick up a copy of 2-Week Total Body Turnaround.
| YOUR !"WEEK TURNAROUND | |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Strength Plan A; Speed Ladder |
| Day 2 | Strength Plan B; Power Walk |
| Day 3 | Strength Plan A; Speed Ladder |
| Day 4 | Strength Plan B; Power Walk |
| Day 5 | Strength Plan A; Speed Ladder |
| Day 6 | Strength Plan B; Power Walk |
| Day 7 | Active rest (no formal workout, but keep moving throughout the day) |
| Day 8 | Strength Plan A with Make It Harder options; Speed Ladder |
| Day 9 | Strength Plan B with Make It Harder options; Power Walk |
| Day 10 | Strength Plan A with Make It Harder options; Speed Ladder |
| Day 11 | Active rest |
| Day 12 | Strength Plan B with Make It Harder options; Power Walk |
| Day 14 | Strength Plan A with Make It Harder options; Speed Ladder |
| Day 14 | Strength Plan B with Make It Harder options; Power Walk |
| For continued success, repeat or modify to alternate cardio and strength workouts. | |
*Adapted from 2-Week Total Body Turnaround by Chris Freytag with Alyssa Sha! er and the editors of Prevention (Rodale, 2009).
THE STRENGTH PLAN WORKOUT A
1. HIP DROP | TARGETS: Abs, obliques
A. Lie face down on the floor, with your legs extended, and your elbows and forearms on the floor. Lift your hips, keeping abs tight while forming a straight line from your head to your heels.
B. Tip slightly to the right, keeping your back straight, as you lower your right hip to the floor in 4 counts. Return to the start position in 2 counts. Tip toward your left side for 4 counts. Come back to the start position in 2 counts. Continue for 8 to 10 repetitions on each side.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Do 12 to 15 times each side.
2. BEACH BALL HUG | TARGETS: Chest, abs, hips
A. Lie face up on the floor, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold dumbbells above your chest with your arms extended, elbows slightly bent, and palms facing each other. Lift your left leg, keeping your knee bent 90 degrees, and your shin parallel to the floor.
B. Slowly lower your arms out to sides in 4 counts, keeping your elbows slightly bent while simultaneously “reaching” your left foot out to straighten your leg. Pull your knee back to the start position in 2 counts while lifting your arms back above your chest, squeezing your chest muscles as if you’re hugging a beach ball. Repeat 6 times with your left leg, then do the exercise 6 times with your right leg.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Raise both feet off floor.
WORKOUT AT A GLANCE
THE STRENGTH PLAN
What you’ll need: 2 sets of dumbbells (2 to 5 and 8 to 10 pounds); a chair. Week 1: Do the routine 6 days a week, alternating between Workout A (for your chest, back, and abs) and Workout B (for your arms, legs, and butt). Week 2: Follow the same schedule, but challenge yourself by trying the Make It Harder options.
THE CARDIO PLAN
Weeks 1 & 2: Walk for 30 minutes 6 days a week, alternating between the Speed Ladder interval routine and Power Walk workout (page 257).
3. FULL-BODY ROLL-UP | TARGETS: Abs
A. Lie face up on the floor, with your legs slightly bent and your arms extended next to your head, and your shoulders relaxed, palms facing each other. Pressing your shoulders down, slowly roll up off the floor in 4 counts, keeping your abs pulled in and your arms extended.
B. Finish by reaching forward toward your toes. Slowly roll back down to the floor to the starting position, taking about 6 to 8 counts to lower. Repeat 6 to 8 times.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Hold a light weight (2 to 3 pounds) in both hands.
GOOD FORM TIP: Keep your heels on the mat as you roll up; use just your abs to move you up, not your hip flexors.
4. BREAST STROKE | TARGETS: Upper and middle back
A. Lie face down on the floor, with your arms extended overhead and your palms facing each other. Lift your head and arms off the floor, keeping your abs tight and your head in line with your spine. Hold here for 2 counts.
B. Lift your chest a few inches off the floor and “swim” your arms down in 2 counts, sweeping them out in semicircles toward the middle of your back. (Finish with your thumbs pointing down,) Use the middle back muscles to keep you up. Be sure to keep your abs tight and your feet on the floor. As you lower your chest, draw your arms in toward your body, bending your elbows, then “swim” them back overhead to the start position in 4 counts. Do 8 to 10 reps.
Make It Harder (Week 2): As you lift your chest and swim your arms, raise both feet off floor, then lower.
5. READ THE PAPER | TARGETS: Abs, obliques
A. Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your heels on floor. Hold your arms in front of your body, as if holding a closed newspaper.
B. Slowly lower your upper body toward the floor, rounding your back. Stop about halfway down, and twist to your left, as if opening the paper on your left side, in 4 counts. With a big exhale, take 2 counts and pull yourself back to the start position, using your obliques (the muscles in the sides of your torso). Repeat on the right side. Do 8 to 12 times total.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Hold a light weight (2 to 3 pounds) in each hand.
THE STRENGTH PLAN WORKOUT B
1. PLIÉ WITH BICEPS CURL
TARGETS: Biceps, butt, quads, inner thighs
A. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned outward, holding dumbbells in front of your thighs with palms facing up.
B. Slowly lower your body straight down for 2 counts, bending your knees 90 degrees while simultaneously curling weights toward your shoulders.
Slowly stand back up for 4 counts, squeezing your butt and inner thighs, as you lower your arms back to the starting position. Repeat 8 to 12 times.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Use heavier weights.
GOOD FORM TIP: Keep your tailbone tucked under your pelvis and your elbows close to your sides.
2. FORWARD LUNGE AND RAISE THE ROOF
TARGETS: Shoulders, quads, butt, core
A. Stand with your feet together, holding dumbbells overhead, palms facing forward.
B. Lunge forward with your right foot in 4 counts, bending both knees 90 degrees while lowering weights toward your shoulders, by bending your elbows 90 degrees. Push back to starting the position and straighten your arms in 2 counts. Repeat 8 to 12 times; switch sides.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Swing your left knee forward to hip height as you stand up.
3. SQUAT WITH STRAIGHT"ARM PRESSBACK
TARGETS: Shoulders, arms, quads, butt
A. Stand with your feet about 4 inches apart, holding dumbbells at your sides with palms facing behind you. Slowly lower into squat position for 4 counts, keeping body weight over your heels your as your arms move forward.
B. Stand back up in 2 counts while pressing your palms behind you. Repeat 8 to 12 times.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Lift your left leg back and squeeze your glutes as you stand; switch legs halfway through the set.
4. CURTSY LAT RAISE
TARGETS: Shoulders, butt, quads, outer thighs
A. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding dumbbells at your sides. Cross your right leg 2 to 3 feet behind your left, bending your knees. At the same time, lift your right arm out to the side at shoulder height. Take 4 counts to perform.
B. Stand up in 2 counts, bringing your right leg back to the starting position as you lower your arm. Repeat 8 times. Switch sides, repeat 8 times.
Make It Harder (Week 2): As you stand up, lift your right leg out to the side.
GOOD FORM TIP: Keep your front knee over your ankle and facing forward (don’t turn it); point your back knee down. Use your shoulder to raise your arm out to the side; don’t scrunch up your neck.
5. TIP IT OVER
TARGETS: Arms, shoulders, hamstrings, butt
A. Start with your feet staggered, right foot in front of left. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand while holding the back of a chair or seat with your right hand. Keeping your spine straight and your abs tight, lean forward in 4 counts. Reach your left arm toward the floor while lifting your left leg behind you, slightly softening your knee.
B. Return to the start position in 2 counts, curling the weight toward your shoulder in a biceps curl while lifting your left knee to hip height. C. Slowly press the weight up toward the ceiling in 2 counts and lower it in 4 counts. Repeat 8 times, then switch sides.
Make It Harder (Week 2): Use a heavier weight and skip the chair.
THE CARDIO PLANS
SPEED LADDER
This challenging workout features intervals that get increasingly harder but shorter, followed by brief recovery periods.
| TIME | ACTIVITY (SPEED*) | INTENSITY** | HOW IT FEELS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Warm-up (3.0 MPH) | 4 | Breathing harder; can speak in full sentences |
| 4:00 | Moderate walk (3.5 MPH) | 5 | Slightly breathless; can still speak in full sentences |
| 9:00 | Brisk walk (3.75 MPH) | 6 | Somewhat breathless; can speak in short sentences only |
| 13:00 | Moderate walk (3.5 MPH) | 5 | |
| 15:00 | Power walk (4.0 MPH) | 7 | Mostly breathless; can speak in phrases only |
| 18:00 | Moderate walk (3.5 MPH) | 5 | |
| 20:00 | Fast walk (4.5 MPH) | 8 | Breathless; can speak just a few words at a time |
| 22:00 | Moderate walk (3.5 MPH) | 5 | |
| 24:00 | Speed walk or jog (5.0 MPH) | 9 | Very breathless; can’t speak |
| 25:00 | Cool down (3.0 MPH) | 4 | Breathing slows |
| 30:00 Finished | |||
*These are suggested speeds only and may not be appropriate for everyone. The right speed for you should be based on intensity recommendations and how you feel.
**Based on a 1-to-10 scale, with 1 being extremely easy and 10 so hard that you can’t sustain the pace for more than a few seconds.
POWER WALK
This cardio routine is a great way to build endurance while burning calories.
| TIME | ACTIVITY (SPEED*) | INTENSITY** | HOW IT FEELS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Warm-up (3.0 MPH) | 4 | Breathing harder; can speak in full sentences |
| 5:00 | Power walk (3.5–4.0 MPH) | 5–7 | Somewhat breathless; can speak in short sentences only |
| 25:00 | Cool down (3.0 MPH) | 4 | Breathing slows |
| 30:00 Finished | |||