Burn fat fast

If your waistline’s feeling the effects of the party season, just grab a medicine ball and use it to burn 500 calories in 24 minutes

Shed 500 calories in one session – then keep the fires burning for 24 hours, with a 22-minute workout put together by Nomad Way creator Andrew Tracey

December is a time of indulgence – especially that calorific Christmas feast. Estimates vary wildly but most of us swallow up anywhere from a filling 4,000 calories to a whopping 7,000 calories on the day – some good (protein, healthy fats, sprouts), some not so (brandy, brandy butter, brandy cream). You earned your excesses but now it’s time to reclaim your abs, 500 calories at a time, with this rapid medicine ball circuit from coach Andrew Tracey (wayofthenomad.co.uk).

“This is next-level full-body Tabata conditioning,” says Tracey. “High intensity is key here, especially if you’re using a light med ball. It has to be all-out, balls to the wall on every set.” All you need is a med ball and sturdy floor to slam it into. The movements will work every part of your body, building functional power, while the relentless on/off nature of the Tabata intervals will kick your heart rate to a fat-strippingly high pace. After a few weeks you’ll have a beach-ready body months early – so why not head off for some winter sun?

HOW IT WORKS

Tabata workouts, named after sports and health scientist Izumi Tabata, are high-intensity intervals of 20 seconds’ effort followed by ten seconds’ rest, repeated eight times for a total of four minutes. Because you’ve barely time to get your breath back, your heart rate rockets and you keep burning calories while you (try to) recover.

DIRECTIONS

Do each of the six exercises in order for 20 seconds, resting for ten seconds between them. Complete four rounds of the circuit for a total of 12 minutes, take a threeminute rest, then go again. To progress, increase the weight if you can, or try to do more reps in each period of effort.

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| Month 2015