The sculpt and blast routine

Ok guys, you have last week’s overview of the four week plan, follow this regime and you’ll see results. Email me tom@alicampbell.com letting me know how you’re getting on…

Here’s the Sculpt and blast routine !!
Warm up
Perform each one for approx 1 min. You should feel warm and slightly out of breathe by the end of your warm up.

Step 1
Marching on the spot – for 1 min

Step 2
Side step – stepping from side to side

Step 3
Increasing intensity
Wide side steps and adding arms back and forth – as feet come together at the side, drive arms back and forth.

Step 4
Leg curl – heel squat to bum then change leg

Step 5
Squats with arms overhead – as you sit back drive your arms over your head

Step 6
Standing Hamstring stretch – take one leg in front of you, bend the other leg and push your bottom back with hands on the bent knee, push your tail bone backwards and you will feel a stretch in the back of the thigh of the straight leg.

Step 7
Quadriceps stretch – Stand near a wall for support and bend your right leg behind you and grab your ankle on the back of your trainer. Gently pull your heel up and back until you feel a stretch in the front thigh. Keep the knees together and supporting leg a little soft. Hold for 15 seconds and change legs.

Step 8
Chest Stretch – With feet hip-width apart and legs slightly bent, clasp your hands behind your back and lift your arms behind you until you can feel the stretch across your chest. Hold for 15 seconds.

Main Workout
Do each of these strength-training moves once before moving on to the next exercise. Try to keep your rest time between exercises to a minimum. This will keep your heart rate up and maximise your calorie burn:
Press ups – (targets chest and arms) Kneel down on the floor and place your hands shoulder width apart in front of you. Adjust your body position so that your knees are as far away from your hands as you can tolerate. Make sure your backside is tucked in and your tummy muscles are pulled in tight! With weight on hands, slowly lower yourself towards the floor, before pushing back up to the starting position. Aim to repeat this exercise 15–20 times.

Jumping Jacks (aerobic exercise, calorie burner)
This is a fabulous calorie burner. Starting in a normal standing position, with arms by sides, jump your feet apart and lift your arms into the air. As you jump your feet back together, bring your arms back down. Repeat as many times as you can and build up to doing them for a minute, putting as much energy into each ‘jumping jack’ as you can!

Dips – (targets backs of arms or BINGO WINGS!)
Sit on a sturdy chair and place hands either side of your hips with fingers pointing in the same direction as you are facing. Slowly lower yourself off the edge of the chair, bending from the elbow to support your body weight. Come down until your elbows are bent at right angles and then push yourself back up. Start with feet fairly close to the chair and progress by taking them further away. Aim for 15–20 repetitions

Hip Raises – (targets backside and hips)
Lie flat on the floor with your knees bent and your feet close to your body. Drive your hips up into the air, focusing on using the muscles in your gluts (bum) to lift your body weight. Hold this for a second before lowering down to the floor.
To progress, try lifting one leg into the air and focusing on each side individually. Aim for 15–20 repetitions.

Jog on the Spot (aerobic exercise, calorie burner)
Revitalise your body with a quick jog. The quicker you jog, the more calories you’ll burn but build up to it!! Keep your arms loose and place feet firmly. Start at 20–30 seconds and
build up to a minute.

Squats – (targets thighs, hips and backside)
Taking care to keep your stomach pulled in tight and your bumtucked under.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and knees slightly bent.
Keep your back straight and hands on hips or out in front slightly clasped together. Bend your knees to about 90°, allowing your body to lean forwards slightly until at right angles to your thighs. Almost imagine there is a chair behind you and you’re going to push your bum back as if to sit on it but instead you are just going to stand back up before your bum hits the seat. Aim for 15–20 repetitions.
You could even use the water bottles or cans of beans to hold in each hand and hold your arms straight down either side of your leg.

Shoulder Press (targets your shoulder muscles and upper arms.)
Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor.
Hold a water bottle or can of something in each hand at shoulder height, elbows out and palms facing forward. Press the bottles or cans up and in, until your arms are almost straight, so they nearly touch above your head. Don’t let them stray back and forth and then slowly lower to the starting position. Aim for 15–20 repetitions

Step Ups (targets your lower body muscles)
Use your stairs but please ensure the step isn’t too high (one step or two) you shouldn’t be lifting your knees higher than your hips.
Stand facing your step. Step up with one foot, placing your whole foot flat on the step. Keep your back straight and your head and neck relaxed but in line with your torso. Step up with your other foot so that both feet are flat on the step. Step down one foot at a time. Aim for 10 step ups on each leg and try to increase to 15–20.

Superwoman – (targets core muscles and improves balance and co-ordination)
Kneel on all fours, making sure that hands are aligned with shoulders and knees are directly under hips. Elevate your right arm and your right leg simultaneously, extending the limbs fully and keeping your back as flat as you can. Aim to create as much length through your body as you can, reaching your hand forward and stretching your toes back. Slowly lower and switch sides. Do 10 repetitions on each side.

Pelvic Lifts
Same as hip raises but emphasises working on the transverse abdominus muscles which is the set of muscles that resemble a big girdle and sit underneath your superficial tummy muscles.
Lie flat on your back, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips towards the ceiling until they are parallel with your knees and hold this position for 10 seconds and then lower your bum back down towards the floor.
Repeat 5 times.

Skipping
Take yourself back to your playground days and imagine you are holding an imaginary skipping rope and just skip. Aim for 20– 30 seconds to start and build up to minute.

Lateral Raises
(works all three sections of your shoulder muscles)
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hold a water bottle or can of soup/beans in each hand, starting with your arms by your side, palms facing inwards. Keep your abdominals tight.
Slowly lift your arms away from your sides, more or less straight but keeping your elbows slightly bent, until your hands are at shoulder level. Keep palms facing down your and return your arms to the start. Aim for 15–20 repetitions.

The only fitness plan you’ll ever need

Ok, today I’m going to set you up with an exercise routine which is simple to follow. I’ll go into more detail through the week, but here’s an overview of what you’ll be doing:

Week 1
Day 1: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 15–20 mins
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Active rest, i.e. walking dogs/washing car/brisk walk/gardening

Week 2
Day 1: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 20–25 mins
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Active rest, i.e. walking dogs/washing car/brisk walk/gardening

Week 3
Day 1: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 25–30 mins
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 25–30 mins

Week 4
Day 1: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 30–35 mins
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 30–35 mins

Week 5
Day 1: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Sculpt and blast workout
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 35–40 mins
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Any CV exercise. Powerwalk, jog, swim or cycle 35–40 mins

Sit down, put your feet up and lose weight!

The exercise today could not be simpler.

I want you to find somewhere comfortable, sit down and close your eyes and just sit.
Sounds too easy doesn’t it? You probably think I’ve lost my marbles.
I’m supposed to be helping you to lose weight and get fit and yet I’ve just asked you to sit down and put your feet up.
Let me explain … In exactly the same way as you can choose to watch a TV channel or not, you can choose to focus on or react to a thought if ‘you’ want to.
You don’t have to and here we are going to break the link between thoughts and actions.
I’d love it if you just took a moment or two now to close your eyes and ‘Just Sit’.
Do nothing except let a thought come to mind, then let it go.
Another one will replace it and I want you to just let that go too … Keep going, just let thoughts come to mind and then let them to go.
Sounds easy and it is if you allow it to be but it’s very effective. You don’t put the thoughts there, just allow whatever thoughts show up to come to mind and then just allow them to go.
As we go forward you will notice that there appears to be a gap or distance opening up between you and your thinking, almost as if you are becoming separated from your thoughts and you can just notice them go by.
What’s this got to do with dieting? I’ll explain more as we go on. Or maybe you’ve worked it out for yourself? Email me if you have so I know you’re on the right path.

Taking on emotional eating

We’ll do a powerful exercise today which will help your fight against overeating considerably.
Think about something that you normally can’t resist.
Rate how upset you feel about the craving on a scale of 1–10 where 1= no craving at all and 10= the most compelled that you could possibly feel. Write it down.
1. Using 2 fingers of one hand, tap a spot at the beginning of the eyebrow, just above the bridge of the nose. Tap 5 times firmly.
2. Using 2 fingers of one hand, tap 5 times under the eye, about an inch below the bottom of the centre of the bony orbit high on the cheek. Tap firmly.
3. Tap the ‘collar bone point’ (to locate it take 2 fingers and run them down the throat to the top of the centre collarbone notch approximately where a man would knot his tie). From here move down one inch and then move to the right one inch. Tap this point 5 times.
4. Tap solidly 5 times under the arm about 4 inches below the armpit. On men this is level with the nipple and on women this is about the centre of the bra under the arm.
5. Find the PR spot. This is located on the outside edge of the hand between the wrist and the little finger. It is sometimes referred to as the karate chop part of the hand.
6. Tap mid way along this edge about 15 times using 2 fingers of the opposite hand.
7. Locate the gamut spot on the back of the hand, about 1 inch below the raised knuckles of the ring finger and the little finger when making a fist. Begin tapping the gamut spot with 2 fingers of the opposite hand, about 3 to 5 times per second while performing the 9 steps below.
8. Tap 5 or 6 times for each of the 9 exercises. It is very important to tap throughout all 9 exercises.
9. Close your eyes.
10. Open your eyes and look down to the left.
11. Look down to the right.
12. Whirl your eyes around in a circle in one direction.
13. Whirl your eyes around in a circle in the opposite direction.
14. Count ALOUD from 1–5 (it doesn’t have to be loud but not into yourself).-
15. Hum a few bars of a tune ALOUD.
16. Count aloud from 1–5 again.
17. Look at the floor.
18. Look at the ceiling.
19. Take another 1–10 rating.
20. To ensure that the improvements you’ve made are complete, hold your head level and move your eyes down then begin tapping the gamut point (back of your hand) as you move your eyes upwards.
Email me and let me know how powerful the craving is now. Let me anything else that’s going on.

Are you a human hoover?

Often when we overeat it’s because we eat too quickly.
Do you inhale your food?
The body has an inbuilt mechanism to let you know when you’ve had enough, to let you know when you’re full.
The problem is that if we eat too quickly we don’t notice we are full until it’s too late.
I had a friend at school who was very overweight. His dad used to joke with him that he didn’t eat till he was full he ate till he was tired.
He simply didn’t notice the signal telling him ‘I’m full’.
He was too busy eating!
So, in the same way you probably seldom feel hungry you probably seldom feel full.

Do you remember to breathe?

I know this might sound a little stupid but you’d be amazed the number of people who forget how important it is to breathe properly.
We can live without food for weeks, without water for days but only minutes without oxygen.
By learning to breathe properly, you can feed your body with this much needed nourishment.
Breathing into the stomach, connecting to your diaphragm then breathing again.
Please take a few minutes to lie down or sit in a nice relaxing chair.
Put one hand on your stomach and take a few nice deep breaths … Did your hand move? Did your stomach expand and contract in time with your breathing?
If it did, well done!
If not, then you are not breathing deeply enough. You may have noticed your chest expanding and contracting.
This is shallow breathing and is probably a result of you living in a state of stress.
I’m guessing that if this is the case you are feeling tight and tense.
Try the exercise again until you can breathe deeply into your stomach, really breathe deeply; hold it for just a few seconds and then breath all the way out.
Get as much oxygen as you can into your system and enjoy really breathing deeply for the next few minutes.
You’ll be amazed how relaxed and calm you will feel just by beginning to breathe properly again. 

Drink!

You need to make sure you drink 8–12 glasses of water daily and drink a large glass of water 30 minutes before meals to satisfy your body and minimize your appetite.
Often we are only thirsty when we think we feel hungry.
Have a quick check in with yourself just now and count how many glasses of water or juice you had yesterday?
Now, rate your emotional fatigue for yesterday on a scale from 1–10 Look again at how many glasses of liquid you had?
Was it less than 8? If it was, then this is your most immediate task for today – Drink!
Tea and coffee don’t count, neither do beer or wine. They dehydrate your body.
Please drink lots of water, believe me this is one of the simplest and quickest ways to increase your energy levels, not to mention your concentration and general feeling of wellbeing. I’m sure your skin will thank you too.

Am I tired?

In our busy lives we all get tired, burning the candle at both ends trying to juggle so many things and get everything done. Make sure you are not depleting your energy and trying to get it from food alone.
We need 7–8 hours sleep per night to ensure our body’s health and well-being.
Some people can function well on less, but on average increasing the amount of sleep you get will decrease the amount of food you crave. (No, it’s not just because you can’t eat while you’re sleeping …)
Research has shown that people who sleep less than 6 hours a night produce more of a hunger-inducing hormone and less of the hormone that balances your metabolism.
You must be thinking this is the best weightloss system ever.
You have just started and already I’m telling you to sleep more.
See, I told you we’d get on just fine …

When was the last time you felt hungry?

I bet you can catch yourself saying ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I feel like a …’ when what you actually mean is ‘I have an emotional need for food’.
I last felt physically hungry …………………………….
I knew it was genuine hunger because ……………………
The time before that was ………………………………….

Dictated by tradition

Now it’s time to have a think about when we eat.
You see again we are all programmed and conditioned to eat at certain times.
Morning coffee, breakfast time, elevenses, lunchtime, afternoon tea, (I’m sounding like a hobbit), dinnertime, teatime and then supper.
Who is it that dictates you should eat at certain times?
I would suggest that a far healthier strategy would be to eat when you’re hungry …