3 Week Body Make Over
3-Week Body Makeover

All you need are walking shoes, a set of dumbbells, and 21 days

by Michele Stanten

Related Articles

> Athlete: 4 Weeks to Your First 5-K
> The Pragmatist: 10 Minute Interval Workouts
> The Socialite's Walking Plan
> The Romantic's Walking Plan

Discussions

> Walking

Related Topics

> Strength & Weight Training
> Walking
> Walking Programs
> Walking and Weight Loss
> Workout Intensity

You can get a new body in less than a month--one with more energy, a revved up metabolism to burn extra calories, and a firmer, shapelier figure that will turn heads whether you're wearing jeans or a little black dress.

The secret to dropping pounds and inches quickly is high-intensity workouts. But don't panic--you don't have to run for miles or lift 50-pound dumbbells. What's high intensity for someone who's less fit may be low for you, or vice versa.

The point is to push out of your comfort zone so you boost your calorie burn an extra 25 to 50 percent in the same amount of time--and incinerate another 75 calories over the course of the day to boot.

This firm-up plan consists of three parts: a walking workout to burn fat, body shaping with weights, and tummy-toning calisthenics. The walking workout includes four walks (easy, interval, speed, and long), and the weight workout includes three routines (basic, light, and heavy). Mixing and matching them will keep you speeding along toward fabulous results.

Firm Up Plan At-a-Glance
Here is an overview of what you'll be doing. Most days you'll combine two of the three workouts.

Monday
Easy walk
Body shaping (basic)

Tuesday
Interval walk
Tummy toning

Wednesday
Easy walk
Body shaping (light weights)

Thursday
Interval walk
Tummy toning

Friday
Easy walk
Body shaping (heavy weights)

Saturday
Speed walk
Tummy toning

Sunday
Long walk

** Adapted from Prevention's Firm Up in 3 Weeks by Michele Stanten (Rodale Inc., 2004). To order, call (800) 848-4735 or visit www.rodalestore.com.

Fat-Burning Walking Workout
Crank up your calorie burn by starting with a variety of walking routines--from moderately paced jaunts to high-speed intervals--each week. Start and finish each of your workouts with 5 minutes of slow walking to warm up and cool down. Afterwards, move on to either the Body-Shaping Workout or Tummy-Toning Workout, depending on the day of the week. On Sunday, simply enjoy the walk--you've earned it!

Easy walk (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
It's "easy" because you don't have to really push yourself. Just get out and walk at a good pace, as if you were 5 minutes late for an appointment.

Week 1: 30 minutes
Week 2: 35 minutes
Week 3: 40 minutes

Interval walk (Tuesday and Thursday)
Here you'll pick up the pace--and your calorie burn--for about 30 to 90 seconds before slowing down to catch your breath. During the speed interval, you should be walking so that you're breathing hard and talking in full sentences is difficult.

Week 1: 4-minute moderate pace, 30-second speed interval; do 4 times = 18 minutes total
Week 2: 4-minute moderate pace, 60-second speed interval; do 4 times = 20 minutes total
Week 3: 3-minute moderate pace, 90-second speed interval; do 4 times = 18 minutes total

Speed Walk (Saturday)
Pick an easy-to-remember route that will take about 20 minutes to complete at a fast pace. Each week, try to cover the same distance in less time.

Long Walk (Sunday)
This is your endurance workout. Walk at a pace you can comfortably sustain for the recommended time. Focus on enjoying your jaunt, not on getting out and back fast.

Week 1: 40 minutes
Week 2: 50 minutes
Week 3: 60 minutes


Body-Shaping Workout
After your walk, do the Body-Shaping moves on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Lunge*

Bent-Over Row

Overhead Press

Push-Up

Reps
Basic (Monday)
Complete three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions for each exercise. Use weights heavy enough to make your last few reps challenging.

Light Weights (Wednesday)
Use lighter weights and do 3 full-rep, then 3 pulse-rep sequences three times for a total of 18 reps. For example, for the pulse reps of the overhead press, instead of bringing the weights down to shoulder height, stop at about the top of your head, then press them up three times from that position.

Heavy Weights (Friday)
Grab heavier weights and do three sets of 6 to 8 reps for each exercise.

Tummy-Toning Workout
After your walk, do the Tummy-Toning moves on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Balance

Plank

Bridge

Twisting Crunch

For each workout, you'll do the same moves on the appropriate days, with weekly variations to make them more challenging.

Chart Your Progress
Make tracking your 21-day fitness plan easier by hanging this Fitness Log in plain sight--and using it. After every workout, simply check off the appropriate box (no, the walk times don't include warm-ups and cool-downs, but you have to do them anyway).

Prevention Articles and Diagrams