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Five-Kilometer Challenge Boost your strength and endurance with this fast-paced workout. Record the number of reps you are able to do and your run time. Retest yourself each month. 1. Crank out as many push-ups as you can. 2. Resting a minute between exercises, do one set each of chin-ups and dips, completing your maximum number of repetitions for each exercise. 3. Go for a five-kilometer run. Hoops Fat Blaster Sculpt your body on the basketball court. Repeat the entire sequence four to six times. 1. Sit at one baseline, holding a basketball in front of your chest. Stand up and sit down without letting your arms, hands or the ball touch the floor. Repeat 10 times, then sprint to the other baseline. 2. Assume a pushup position, but with one hand on the ball. Do a push-up, then roll the ball to the other hand and repeat. That's one rep. Aim for 10, then sprint back to the other baseline. 3. Hold the top of a push-up on the ball for a minute. Rest. Muscle Express Use your bicycle as a barbell to build your upper body. Continue the pattern of lifting and riding described below until you've done each exercise three to five times. 1. Pedal hard for two minutes in a high gear. 2. Hop off the bike, flip it and grab it by the frame. From this position, you can train your back, arms and shoulders, using the bike as resistance. For example, do 10 reps of single-arm bent-over rows, arm curls or front raises. 3. Ride for another two minutes. High-Speed Rope Circuit Alternate between skipping and strength exercises to build a leaner body. Do four to six sets of the complete sequence, adding 10 seconds to your rope-skipping time each round. 1. Skip for 20 seconds. 2. Do eight walking lunges forward, then turn around and lunge back to the starting position. 3. Skip for another 20 seconds. 4. Do as many push-ups as you can (to failure). 5. Skip for 20 seconds. 6. Do pull-ups to failure. Rock-Hard Abs This three-day-a-week plan is fast yet brutal. 1. Lie face up on the floor with your arms and legs open and straight, in an X shape. Lift your arms and legs 15cm off the floor, toes pointed out. This is the starting position. 2. Reach up towards the ceiling with your right arm, then lower to the starting position. Repeat with your left arm. Do five reps. 3. Raise your left leg above your hip and reach towards the ceiling with our foot, then lower back down. Repeat with your right leg. Do five reps. 4. Do the first two moves simultaneously. High-Power Muscle Add air to classic body-weight exercises for an athletic challenge. Alternate between two movements, such as squats and push-ups, but make them explosive by pushing yourself up with enough force so your feet leave the floor on squats and hands leave the floor on push-ups. Do 10 reps of each exercise and rest 10 seconds. Then do nine reps of each exercise and rest 10 seconds. Continue with this pattern down to one rep. Repeat the sequence up to five times. Leaner in Five Perform this lower-body strength workout before you pound the pavement. Go from one exercise to the next without resting. 1. Do 24 body-weight squats. 2. Do 24 body-weight lunges, alternating legs. 3. Do 24 jump lunges, alternating legs. 4. Do 24 jump squats. 5. Hold a plank (as in the exercise, not the piece of wood) for two minutes. Rest for five minutes before running sprints. Sandra Prior runs her own bodybuilding website at http://bodybuild.rr.nu.
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