Ready, Get set, Go ...
Your summer fitness plan starts here. Follow our four-week programme of workouts and healthy eating for a leaner, fitter you
WELCOME to our four-week Shape Up plan. We’ve teamed up with Kathryn Thomas, the host of RTE’s Operation Transformation, and her team at Pure Results Bootcamp, personal trainer James Brennan (pictured below) and nutritional therapist Jen O’Callaghan, to devise a programme exclusively for Sunday Independent readers. Follow it faithfully and this time next month, you’ll be feeling and looking healthier, stronger and fitter — and you should have dropped between 6-8lbs into the bargain.
Here’s how it works. James has devised three workouts a week, each roughly 40 minutes long, to suit any fitness level from those just getting off the couch to the dedicated gym goer. Week 1 also includes a seven-day eating plan to wean you off sugary treats, alcohol, coffee, dairy and gluten, boost your veg uptake for the four weeks, but still keep you satisfied so you don’t dip into the biscuit tin. Each week Jen offers tips and recipes to keep your tastebuds turned on and help you make the transition to healthier eating.
Our expert panel offer their advice on common health and fitness dilemmas, while TV host Nicky Byrne, Olympic athlete Derval O’Rourke, GAA footballer Philly McMahon and broadcaster Lisa Cannon reveal how they stay lean and keen. BEFORE YOU START
Clear out any food triggers from your cupboards and fridge before you start, whether that means crisps, chocolate or ice cream, and stock it with the ingredients you need to follow the plan. Having everything near to hand means you will be less likely to give in to the temptation to go off piste. Scale down on your coffee intake and make the switch to herbal teas — that way you will be less likely to have withdrawal headaches.
WHAT TO EXPECT
It won’t be too easy. James intends to push you, so each week he ups the ante with more reps, and higher intensity workouts. “You have to go outside your comfort zone if you want to change something,” he says. “You might be a little sore, the exercises will challenge you so if you don’t get it first time, repeat the exercise again, just take a step back and repeat.
“The whole purpose of the fourweek plan is to challenge you so each week you can expect to be changing and adapting. The body is very responsive to change. People end up plateauing, that’s why it’s important to change your workout week after week. Train the same and you’ll remain the same.” SET UP A SUPPORT SYSTEM Kathryn’s advice? “Make sure you have support at home whether it’s your husband, wife, child, or a friend to check in with and keep you accountable over the next four weeks. That could mean they come home early, and mind the child so you can do your workouts or having your partner clear out the cupboards, get the shopping in with all the food you need. This will be fun if you have the right support system in place.” Kathryn should know. Not only has she hosted Operation Transformation for seven years now, but three years ago she set up Pure Results Bootcamp offering week-long health and fitness programmes. She has seen again and again how people can take control of their health by simply sticking to a sensible exercise and eating plan. What’s going on in your head is crucial to the programme. Kathryn says: “A negative mindset changes everything. We see it all the time on Operation Transformation and at our bootcamp when people say, ‘Kathyrn, I’ve never run. I’ve four kids and my boobs are too big. I can’t do this.’ And four days later they’re running. I call it the light bulb moment. It’s when those ‘I can’t people’ become ‘I can people’. It is magic. It’s all about how you perceive yourself because your body is ready to push through and it’s getting your head to believe that your body is capable of doing so much more than you give it credit for.” Best foot forward.