Daily Health Workouts

Love Your Legs with the Pop Squat

09:30

Get lean, sculpted legs with the pop squat. This plyo move will tone your lower body and inject some excitement into your workout.

Target Muscles: gluteus maximus, quadriceps

Set up: Begin in a squat position, feet wider than hip-width apart and hands on hips. Don’t allow the knee to extend past the toes [A].

Action: Jump in the air with your toes pointing out [B]. Land into the squat, knees at a 90-degree angle, and squeeze your butt tight. Do four sets of 15 reps.

health tips

Your HIIT Workouts

09:29

Get the most out of your cardio workout with these two high-intensity interval routines.

Maximize your cardio workout with high-intensity interval training. Four times per week, choose one of these HIIT cardio plans and perform it after the strength portion of your program. Before you get started, warm up for five minutes with light activity, such as walking or jogging. And, FYI: “rest” means that you stop altogether. Option 1: In the Gym Try this interval workout on a treadmill, elliptical or recumbent bike.

Sprint for 1 minute

Rest for 1 minute

Sprint for 45 seconds

Rest for 45 seconds

Sprint for 30 seconds

Rest for 30 seconds

Sprint for 15 seconds

Rest for 1 to 2 minutes

Repeat the entire sequence 3 to 5 times. Option 2: Take It Outside Find an area with enough room for you to run straight for 30 to 45 seconds (when running for one minute, turn around when you reach the end and sprint back in the other direction). Continue the sequence in this manner. Working against the wind and elements can help you burn even more calories than you would at the gym!

Sprint for 1 minute

Walk for 1 minute

Rest for 1 minute

Sprint for 45 seconds

Walk for 45 seconds

Rest for 45 seconds

Sprint for 30 seconds

Walk for 30 seconds

Rest for 30 seconds

Sprint for 15 seconds

Walk for 15 seconds

Rest for 2 minutes

Repeat the entire sequence 3 to 5 times.

health tips

Tone Your Triceps

09:27

Endless reps aren't necessary to build triceps that pop. Get sleek, trim upper arms in a matter of weeks with these three moves.

Target Muscles: triceps brachii, pectoralis major

Set Up: Place your hands on the edge of a bench so that your thumbs and index fingers form a diamond shape. Extend your legs straight behind you, toes touching the ground [A]. Action: Keeping your upper body straight, bend your arms to bring your chest close to the bench [B]. Extend your arms to return to the starting position.

Tip: Beginners can start out with their knees on the floor.

health tips

Hip Thrusts for a Tight Butt

09:26

Add this lower-body move to your routine. It's a great glutes exercise for both at home and at the gym.

Target Muscles: gluteus maximus

Set Up: Lie on your back on the floor with your feet comfortably apart (15 to 20 inches). Place a weight plate across your pelvis (as shown), holding it in place with your hands.

Action: Raise your hips as high as possible [B], lower and repeat. Your feet can be flat on the floor or you may choose to keep only your toes on the floor [C]. The up-on-the-toes position will activate additional stabilizer muscles in your core and isolate the hamstrings a bit more than the flat-footed version.

Tip: At the conclusion of your set, you can perform a dozen quick pulses to maximize the intensity in the glutes area (i.e., at the top of the movement where your hips are raised, perform a series of quick pulses where the up-down action is limited to just two to three inches).

body workout

Killer High-Intensity Cardio Workout

09:24

Whether you're just starting on the road to fitness or you've been trotting it for years, we've got the perfect treadmill plan for you.

Safety note: For the sprint section (minutes 30 to 35 in the advanced program), stand with your feet on the side rails while you increase the belt speed. Support your body weight using the machine arms and start running on the belt; let go when your pace matches the belt speed. When your sprint interval is through, step onto the side rails to recover.

Beginner

Time	Speed
0–5	3.0
5–10	3.5
10–11	4.0
11–13	3.5
13–14	4.5
14–16	3.5
16–17	5.0
17–19	3.5
19–25	2.5

Intermediate

Time	Speed
0–5	3.0
5–10	4.0
10–11	5.0
11–13	3.5
13–14	6.0
14–16	3.5
16–17	6.5
17–19	4.0
19–20	6.5
20–22	4.0
22–23	7.0
23–25	4.0
25–30	3.0

Advanced

Time	Speed
0–5	3.0
5–10	5.0
10–11	5.5
11–13	4.5
13–14	6.0
14–16	4.5
16–17	7.0
17–19	4.5
19–20	8.0
20–22	4.5
22–23	8.0
23–25	4.5
25–30	5.5
30:00–30:30	8.0–9.0
30:30–31:00	Rest
31–35*	Repeat the sprint intervals from 30–31 four times
35–40	3.0

health tips

Kick Calories to the Curb

09:22

Got 12 minutes? Then you've got enough time to get in a killer workout.

Microblogging sites like Twitter prove on a daily basis that we live in a society built upon the “quicker-is-better” mentality. Fortunately for the time-pressed among us (isn’t that everyone?), this belief may actually be true when it comes to exercise. In fact, when it comes to workouts, speedy bouts can be just as effective as longer ones, if not more so.

The Science

Ever heard of EPOC? It stands for “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption,” and it refers to the process your body goes through postworkout to return to its preworkout state – and the higher it is, the more calories you’ll burn even after you’re done sweating it out. Here’s the thing: high-intensity exercise elicits more EPOC than slower, drawn-out exercise (think: running a marathon). Since you can’t keep up a vigorous intensity for very long, short but tough workouts are where it’s at if you want results fast.

The intervals in this workout will up your EPOC with only two pairs of light- to medium-weight hexagonal dumbbells (for stability when you are on the floor, like in the weighted burpees and plank rows) and a mat. Do it two to three times per week, leaving at least 48 hours of rest between bouts and supplementing it with total-body resistance workouts and less-strenuous cardio sessions.

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Love Your Legs with the Pop Squat

Get lean, sculpted legs with the pop squat. This plyo move will tone your lower body and inject some excitement into your workout.

Your HIIT Workouts

Get the most out of your cardio workout with these two high-intensity interval routines.

Tone Your Triceps

Endless reps aren't necessary to build triceps that pop. Get sleek, trim upper arms in a matter of weeks with these three moves.

Hip Thrusts for a Tight Butt

Add this lower-body move to your routine. It's a great glutes exercise for both at home and at the gym.

Killer High-Intensity Cardio Workout

Whether you're just starting on the road to fitness or you've been trotting it for years, we've got the perfect treadmill plan for you.

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Kick Calories to the Curb

Got 12 minutes? Then you've got enough time to get in a killer workout.

The Science

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