The 8-Hour Diet (35 page)

HOW TO DO IT:

1.
Stand with your feet twice shoulder-width apart, push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your torso until your hands touch the floor.

2.
Step to your left, lower your body into a lateral lunge, and place both hands on the floor. Without moving your feet, lift your hands and hips slightly and shift your weight over your right foot, so you end up in a left lateral lunge. (Your right leg should straighten.)

3.
Now shift your weight over your left foot, so you end up in a right lateral lunge. Alternate back and forth for 30 to 60 seconds at a time.

MAKE IT EASIER

Move at a slower, more controlled pace or with less range of motion.

MAKE IT HARDER

Turn it into a monkey shuffle run by simultaneously loading your hands, lifting your hips, and shuffling your feet side to side between right and left lunge positions.

WORKOUT A | EXERCISE 2

WHY IT WORKS:

The ground-zero jump is basically an equipment-free version of a kettlebell skier swing and a lower-impact alternative to traditional jumping activities. Its benefits include:

Working your whole body, especially your backside, and crushing calories like few moves can while sparing your joints.

Targeting fast-twitch muscle fibers that have the biggest impact on your metabolism, athleticism, and heart rate.

Strengthening your hips and core more than traditional cardio exercises such as running on the treadmill and plodding along on the elliptical.

HOW TO DO IT:

1.
Stand with your feet hip-width apart with your toes pointing straight ahead and your knees “soft” and slightly flexed. This is the starting position. Now hinge back at your hips with a flat back and reach your arms back behind you like a downhill skier without squatting any farther.

2.
Explosively push your hips forward to come to a full stand while swinging your arms. Increase the level of difficulty by rising up on your toes.

Reverse the movement and repeat for 30 to 60 seconds at a time.

MAKE IT EASIER

Perform at a slower, more controlled speed.

MAKE IT HARDER

Increase the speed of the movement and even go slightly airborne at the top.

WORKOUT A | EXERCISE 3

WHY IT WORKS:

This is probably the best pushup you’ve never done and will fry fat all over your body. Its benefits include:

Working your entire lower body by mimicking the action of a sprinter’s start or a lineman firing off the ball.

Teaching you how to move at your hips explosively without moving at your lower back for unreal core stability.

Pushing and pulling your upper body to sculpt a set of superhero shoulders from every angle while getting your heart rate through the roof!

HOW TO DO IT:

1.
Assume a pushup position with your hands underneath your shoulders, palms loaded, tight abs and tight glutes, and a straight line from your head through heels.

2.
Now push your hips back without moving at your lower back until your knees flex to about 90-degree angles and your head trails behind your hands. Pause for a count.

3.
Then explosively extend through your knees, ankles, and hips and pull with your upper back as you lower into the bottom of a push-up with your elbows tucked tight at your sides to protect your shoulders.

Return to the starting position and repeat for 30 to 60 seconds.