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Michelle Bridges: My top tips for getting fit fast

Michelle Bridges: My top tips for getting fit fast

Michelle Bridges. Photography by Steven Chee. Styling by Mattie Cronan.

Australia’s favourite fitness freak Michelle Bridges shares her top five tips for slimming down and getting fit for good.

1. Lay down a realistic game plan that fits with your lifestyle and schedule, and execute it with military precision. Mark your exercise sessions in your diary, just like you would a business meeting, because time isn’t going to fall into your lap.

2. Commit to six days a week of training — four high-cardio sessions and two strength sessions with high repetitions to keep your heart rate up and to strengthen ligaments, tendons and muscles.

3. Find a running track or plan a course near your home and use two of the four cardio sessions to complete a powerwalk, jog or run. Depending on your fitness level, try a one minute walk, followed by a one minute jog and repeat to complete the course, aiming to build to a run. Increase the distance of the course every week by roughly 10 percent, or try and finish the course in a shorter amount of time.

4. On the days you do strength, incorporate multiple muscle groups into your exercises. Instead of just doing a lunge, try it with a bicep curl or shoulder press. You don’t have to use proper weights. Use a backpack filled with shoes to complete a squat with a shoulder press, lifting the bag above your head. You’re working your upper and lower body simultaneously — this is where you get really fast results.

5. Try an exercise DVD if it’s more convenient for you to work-out at home. You need full-on cardio and strength training, and ones that don’t need any equipment are ideal. You don’t need a lot of room to get a great workout.

Read more of this story in the January issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.

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