Last updated 07:35, Friday, 25 April 2008

One of the biggest improvements over the past few years is the diversity in interval training. Tabata Intervals were mentioned last week but HIIT provides you with something equally as hard. HIIT was developed to maximise the body in a given time with variation.

The whole idea was not to stick to the same exercise but jump from one exercise to another. It is heavily utilised in Crossfit and UFC training. Don’t get this mixed up with circuit training however, when we talk about high intensity we mean high intensity. Work up towards 80-90 per cent MHR and you will improve your aerobic threshold by double.

An example of one is to pick five aerobic machines in the gym and perform one minute high intensity workouts on each machine without rest. At the end of the five minutes have a one minute rest and start again. As time moves on you will feel more and more fatigued which will reduce glycogen stores and burn the fat.

Yes would you believe the key to the summer body is rest. Rest is vitally important in making the body better and fresher. f you don’t have rest you will gain negative results and your body will burn out quicker. Have at least two days rest during the week and after a six week workout have a week off. It will recuperate the body which in turn will make it grow.

A very simple alternative to protein powders and everything else nutritional organisations throw at you. Smoothies are full of goodness and help your body fight against disease and illness. Why does it, you may ask? It’s very simple because smoothies can be full of anything you want it to be. Imagine vitamin enriched berries, protein packed yoghurt, ice cold water, a little bit of ice cream the perfect ingredient after any training session.

Introduce hill walking at the weekend and you will find it’s the perfect alternative to resting. Yes, rest is in my top 10 but if you feel like you want to get some fresh air then go for a walk up a hill. Dent is perfect for that because it hasn’t got much of an incline and is ideal for keen walker. Walking burns a lot of calories and will be a nice finish to the week.

The best aerobic machine the world of fitness has ever invented. Better than the treadmill and burns more calories in 20 minutes than the treadmill does in 30 minutes. It’s hard and the key to good training on this machine is rhythm, although after time you will gain that. Take it one step at a time, first of all perform five minutes on the machine then work to 10 after a couple of weeks you will be hitting the 20 minute no problem.