The 8-Hour Diet (38 page)

Perform for 30 to 60 seconds at a time.

MAKE IT EASIER

Perform an eccentric step-up, taking 5 seconds to lower from the top to the bottom of the movement keep your knee and ankle aligned and your shin vertical.

MAKE IT HARDER

Increase the height of the box or step, increase the speed of movement or height of the jumps, or perform the jumps in a side-to-side fashion.

WORKOUT B | EXERCISE 4b

WHY IT WORKS:

If you want to work your lungs and legs, then you simply cannot go wrong with the skater jump. Its benefits include:

Heating up your hips and heart without as much stress on your knees as other forward-and-backward, up-and-down jumping drills create.

Building wheels of steel by mimicking the movement of speed skaters on dry land.

Training your hips in the often-neglected side-to-side frontal plane of motion to help reduce the risk of ACL tears when training or playing sports.

HOW TO DO IT:

1.
Assume the athletic position with triple bends in your knees, ankles, and hips. (This is also how you’ll land.) Push off your left leg and jump to the right leg, landing softly and sticking it for a count with your hips back and down.

2.
Reverse the movement and repeat for 30 to 60 seconds, gradually increasing your speed and range of motion.

Imagine you’re in a tiny house with a low ceiling and keep your head and hips down throughout the movement to protect your knees.

MAKE IT EASIER

Perform at a slower, more controlled speed or place your back leg on the ground for extra support and stability when landing side to side.

MAKE IT HARDER

Increase the speed of movement or the distance traveled or perform in multiple directions.

WORKOUT C | EXERCISE 1

WHY IT WORKS:

Consider the crab walk the opposite of the bear crawl. Where the bear crawl hits the entire frontside of your body, the crab walk attacks the whole back side of your body. Its benefits include:

Mobilizing your hips and shoulders, especially important with all the typing and texting we do all day.

Building your glutes and hamstrings, which are areas of the body that most people need to be more developed to improve both looks and performance.

Targeting your triceps, which comprise two-thirds of the muscle mass in your upper arms, to amp up your arms in a serious way.

HOW TO DO IT:

1.
Assume a seated position with your palms loaded, your hands underneath your shoulders, and your knees bent at 90-degree angles. Then, raise your hips so your butt hovers above the ground.

2.
Move your right hand and your left foot forward so that your opposite hand and foot are moving together in a contralateral pattern.

3.
Switch sides and repeat for 30 to 60 seconds at a time.

MAKE IT EASIER

Perform slower and smaller crab steps or simply hold the crab walk position isometrically.

MAKE IT HARDER

Increase speed of movement, distance traveled per step, or move backward or side-to-side. You can also perform crab walks from a high bridge position with a straight line from your head through hips.

WORKOUT C | EXERCISE 2

WHY IT WORKS:

Most everyone knows that lunges and squats do both the legs and the body a great fitness service. However, integrating a walking pattern with both of these lower body builders is the quickest way to torch more calories and burn more fat. You can expect these benefits:

The squat-and-lunge walk elevates your heart rate more than squats or lunges alone, resulting in more cardio conditioning and greater calorie burning.