According to personal trainer Bill Phillips, author of Body for Life, getting lean by exercise means burning calories through cardio and doing resistance exercises to tone up the muscles underneath. A full body workout program using a boxing bag and running is a fun and inexpensive way to fulfill both of those requirements.
Cardio
Step 1
Walk 10 to 20 minutes every day. If possible, do this with a buddy or as your daily dog walk. The more people you will disappoint by cancelling, the less likely you are to skip out.
Step 2
Run for 40 minutes three days per week, preferably on alternating days. If it works for your situation, consider using your daily walk as a warmup for these sessions. Triathlete and Team in Training veteran Kelly Dodge notes that these workouts should make your breathing labored, but not so much so that you have trouble talking.
Step 3
Take one day off each week even from walking. This lets your body rest, and gives you a day off to look forward to when you feel unmotivated during the week.
Bag Workout
Step 1
Perform a bag workout three days each week, preferably on days that you don't do your cardio.
Step 2
Put on your boxing gloves. Don't use hand wraps. Boxing coach Bill Packer says that although hand wraps protect your wrists in a bout, they prevent wrist muscles from developing if you wear them during practice.
Step 3
Do 10 each with both arms of the following punches: hook, jab, straight punch. For each punch, involve your legs, hips, waist, back and shoulders as much as possible. This is what turns the routine from an arm workout to a whole-body workout.
Step 4
Do 10 each with both legs of the following kicks: roundhouse, inward crescent, outward crescent. For each kick, twist your waist as a counterbalance. Again, this turns the routine to a whole-body workout instead of a leg workout.
Step 5
Repeat steps three and four, this time at nine strikes each. Repeat again at eight each. Continue cycling through this pyramid until you finish with one of each strike.
Tips and Warnings
- If you're not certain on the technique for any individual punch, you can find free instructional videos on user video sites such as youtube and veoh.
Things You'll Need
- Boxing bag, 40 to 80 pounds
- Running shoes
- Journal
- Boxing gloves
References
- Ben Cohn; Fitness Coach; Hillsboro, OR
- "Body for Life"; Bill Phillips; 2006
- Kelly Dodge; Triathlete; Portland, OR
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