Core Envy

NOW IT’S TIME to put all of the sculpting routines and cardio workouts into a weekly schedule. Don’t worry; you won’t have to figure out how to best design a workout program—I’ve done it all for you! In the following pages you will find an 8-week guide to the Core Envy program.

The progression of intensity in these weekly schedules is based on researched principles of exercise science, and I strongly encourage you to stick to the parameters even if you’re tempted to throw something together on your own. I have carefully alternated high-intensity and low-intensity days and have strategically placed rest days when your body will need them most. In addition, there is a science to the 8-week progression: Weeks 1–3 will see a gradual increase in intensity and duration, then Week 4 will allow you to recover from your hard work, and then the cycle is repeated again. In this manner you will build core strength and endurance without overtaxing your body.

RULES FOR WORKOUTS

If you have to skip a cardio day during the week, make sure it’s not a HIIT workout. These should be your highest priority! Conversely, don’t be tempted to make all of your cardio work high intensity. The physiological effects of overtraining are just as harmful as those of not training enough.

Don’t do HIIT workouts on successive days. Your body needs at least 48 hours between workouts to fully recover.

Choose the level you want. I have designed the cardio programs to be completely flexible, meaning that you can perform a Level 1 workout on Monday and then step up to a Level 2 workout on Wednesday if you feel ready. Within the sculpting routines, choose the appropriate level for each exercise.

Do your sculpting routine before your cardio workout. This gets your body into a fat-burning mode by the time you begin the cardio.

When doing sculpting exercises, don't rush the movement. Momentum is the enemy of an effective core workout.

When given the option of doing 1 or 2 (or 3!) sets of an exercise, I suggest doing the lower quantity first. When you have completed all the exercises, take stock of how you feel. If you want to get a little more bang for your buck and your body says yes, then start from the beginning and do the exercises again for that second (or third) set.

In this second week you will be asked to commit more time to both your cardio and your sculpting workouts. Make these workouts a priority—it’s how you will build a kick-ass core!

Week 3 is the final push before we head into a Recovery Week. Stay focused and try to maximize the quality of your movements. You’ve seen all the exercises at this point—make sure you aren’t just phoning it in. And on those Tabata-style cardio workouts, push yourself! These are short workouts, which means the focus is on intensity.

You’ve made it through the first three weeks of building your core strength and your cardio endurance, and now your body is ready for a much-deserved recovery week. You’ll notice that both the duration and the intensity of the workouts have been pulled back from Week 3. Listen to your body, and allow yourself to rest if you need it—the low-intensity cardio workouts are optional this week to allow you more time off if you need it.

After your Recovery week, you should feel rested and be champing at the bit to dive back into some intense workouts. In Week 5 we pump up the volume on the sculpting aspect of your schedule, meaning you’ll see both more frequency and more volume in the number of sculpting workouts.

You’ve been melting fat since you started the Core Envy program, but in this sixth week I have bumped up the caloric burn a little by adding some cardio workouts and increasing the intensity with another round of Tabata-style intervals. My challenge for you this week is to see if you can turn up the heat on the intervals. Can you push yourself a little harder during those intervals when you are at a 7–9 on the RPE scale? I know you can!

This is it—the most challenging week yet! You have 6–7 days of workouts this week, so set aside the time to make this happen. You should be feeling stronger, more confident, and more familiar with the workouts. Most importantly, you should be feeling like you need a different set of workout clothes because your old ones are too big! Put your head down and focus this week; the finish line is in sight.

You’ve made it to the final week of your Core Envy program! You have been building core strength, burning off fat through intense cardio interval workouts, and creating a solid base of aerobic endurance thanks to the lower-intensity workouts. Weeks 5–7 saw a gradual yet substantial increase in workout volume and intensity. You have been climbing the relentless hill that is fitness, and now you have officially crested the top! In Week 8, you get to step back and enjoy the view. Look back through the workouts to appreciate how far you’ve come, and then look in the mirror to see how bright your fitness future is. You have achieved a stronger, sexier core!

TOOLS FOR TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS

You’ve committed to the Core Envy plan—now it’s time to keep track of your results with weekly measurements and weigh-ins. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve stepped on the scale or taken a tape measure to your tummy, and maybe that’s because you know you won’t be happy with the numbers. It’s one thing to have a suspicion that you’ve gained weight; it’s another to actually have it quantified. I’ve gone through long periods when I refused to step on a scale or have my body fat checked, and when I finally did face the numbers, I was inevitably disappointed. How did I let it get so out of hand? I swear I thought it was only a few pounds! How long has this been going on?

In order to hold yourself accountable, you need to know the facts about your body. No one but you has to know the numbers, so get on that scale and grab that tape measure. Write it down, follow the Core Envy plan, and then watch those numbers go down. Your weekly check-in should be something you look forward to because it will confirm how hard you’ve been working.

Tips to ensure that your measurements are consistent and accurate:

Always weigh yourself first thing in the morning with no clothes on

If you have a scale that reads body fat, try to make sure your hydration level is consistent every time you do a reading. These scales use bioelectrical impedance to measure body fat, and your hydration level will affect the number.

Take before and after pictures in a swimsuit or workout clothes. This is for your eyes only, but you will be really glad to have that before picture. Seeing a side-by-side of how far you’ve come is excellent motivation to keep going!

BOOTY BONUS

The purpose of this section is not only to give you glutes that fire on command but also to sculpt those muscles into the roundest, firmest version of themselves!

The term “booty” refers to the gluteal muscles, which are the largest and most important muscles of the posterior side of the pelvis. If your glutes are weak, shut off, or just not firing on all cylinders, you will have a hard time both stabilizing and mobilizing your pelvis. When your pelvis isn’t moving correctly, it can negatively affect all your other core exercises and can contribute to chronic low-back pain.

The exercises that follow will help activate and strengthen your glutes so that you can better utilize them during your core sculpting routines. I’ve included exercises that work the top, bottom, and sides of the glutes to ensure that none of the muscle fibers are ignored. Even if you don’t need to work on getting your glutes to fire correctly, you might want to throw in these exercises just to get a little extra booty sculpt!

These first three exercises are all done from a quadruped position, which means on your hands and knees. Be sure to keep your hands directly below your shoulders and knees below your hips. During all three movements, work to stabilize your pelvis and low back by engaging your deep core muscles and slightly tilting your tailbone down toward the ground.

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