Free weights are the best way to tone up and lose fat.
Free weights aren't the product of an over-generous sports shop owner. They are weights, usually dumbbells or barbells, that are not attached to any machines and, when lifted, rely solely on the person lifting them for their stability. They allow for more natural movements, they require more muscles to work and they allow for far more variety than a single-plane machine weight. Yes, it's slightly old-school, but there is no better form of weight training.
Putting the program together
Today's workout is designed to be performed in supersets. Rather than six separate exercises, group them into three groups of two. Keep rotating through two exercises until you've completed the sets. When you've finished exercise one and two, move to exercise three and four and so on.
1a. Barbell cleans
Targets: Whole body
Place a barbell on the ground. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart under the bar. Reach down and grab the bar with your arms outside your knees, knees bent to almost 90 degrees, gaze up and forward and back straight or slightly concave. Driving through your legs, pulling through your back and lifting through your arms, lift the bar off the ground. The force you produce should have the bar rising quickly up your body and staying close to your body until it reaches chest level.
Then soften your knees and flip your elbows under the bar so that you catch the bar at the top of your chest. Straighten your legs to finish the lift. Reverse the movement to put the weight back down again.
Reps and sets: 3 to 4 sets of 10
1b. Barbell push presses
Targets: Whole body, but particularly the shoulders
Hold a barbell at your shoulders and brace your abdominals. Perform a mini-squat and, as you rise, push the bar up and above your head. As you do this, jump up and land in a lunge-type position, with one foot forward and one up on its toes at the back. Bend your knees as you land. When you catch the bar overhead, lock your elbows and don't arch your back. Step your feet back together again and lower the bar back to your shoulders.
Reps and sets: 3 to 4 sets of 10
2a. Swiss ball chest-presses
Targets: Whole body, but particularly the chest and arms
Sit on a ball with a dumbbell in each hand, hands on your thighs. Walk your feet forward, rolling your body down the ball, until your upper back, shoulders and head are on the ball. Hold the dumbbells outside your chest, elbows out to the sides. Push your hips up and squeeze your glutes. Press the dumbbells up towards the roof. As they rise, the dumbbells will arc together and finish 1cm apart. Clench your chest. Lower the weights back down to outside your chest.
Reps and sets: 3 to 4 sets of 10
2b. Swiss ball bent-over rows
Targets: Whole body, but particularly the chest and arms
Place your left hand on a ball and hold a dumbbell in your right hand. Bend forward at the hips, knees bent and feet shoulder-width apart. Starting with the weight directly below your shoulder, slightly twist your torso and reach the weight to the ground, then pull it up, elbow wide and away from your torso. Keep pulling the weight up until it reaches the side of your chest. Lower to the start.
Reps and sets: 3 to 4 sets of 10 each side
3a. Dumbell front swings
This is a dynamic exercise that should focus on your lower body, not your arms. Hold the dumbbell in your right hand and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Swing the dumbbell between your legs and then swing it up, keeping your elbow almost straight, to nose level. Use your legs to swing the weight, not your arms. As you swing low, go down into a squat, and then come powerfully out of the squat, which will propel the weight up. Your arm and shoulder only act as a guide. Keep your back straight throughout by keeping your gaze up, sticking your backside out and keeping long through your spine.
Reps and sets: 3 to 4 sets of 15 each arm
3b. Weighted russian twists
Sit on a Swiss ball, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Walk your feet forward and allow the ball to roll further up your back. Stop when your shoulders and head are resting on the ball. Reach your arms up in the air at full extension and push your hips up so that your body is straight. Twist your upper body one way, rolling the ball underneath you, until your entire back is off the ball and your arms and chest are facing out to one side. You'll end up on the point of your shoulder. Roll slowly back and repeat on the other side.
Reps and sets: 3 to 4 sets of 10 each side
Our model
Megan Holbrook, 24, is a human resources advisor and Channel 31 TV presenter. She trains three to four times a week at her local gym doing free weights, machine weights and cardio.
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