1. StarkFit 12-week plan, weeks 1-4 Day 1 Seated Row – upper body workout which targets your upper back (rhomboids), upper and lower traps and also hit your biceps. The idea – as with all my resistance training – is to keep a nice slow rhythm in order to keep the target muscle areas under tension for as long as possible. Barbell Bench Press – this is one of the main compound exercises and is vitally important when aiming for a strong, lean and balanced body. Targeting your pectorals, triceps and deltoids the bench press is the go to exercise for all sports men and women, as well as making gym buffs look seriously strong as the weight racks up each week! Make sure to not hyper extend elbows as you’ll risk serious injury. Zercher Squat - I like this alternative to the standard front/back squat simply because it gives you an added burn at lighter weights by targeting the quads, hamstrings and gastrocnemius at a different angle. My advice for this one would be to brace up, as the bar resting on the elbow joint can be a little painful for those of you with a low pain threshold…Amanda… Chin Up – if there was such thing as a staple gym diet, then the chin up would be included in mine every week just like the greens on my plate! It never fails to make your biceps burn (even more so when adding weight to it). Make sure you fully extend and don’t do any cheating ‘kipping pull ups’ like those darn crossfitters. Web: www.starkfit.comEmail: starkfitbournemouth@gmail.comTwitter: @stark_fitwww.starkfit.comstarkfitbournemouth@gmail.com

2. Web: www.starkfit.comEmail: starkfitbournemouth@gmail.comTwitter: @stark_fitwww.starkfit.comstarkfitbournemouth@gmail.com Day 2 Superset 1 Hang clean & burpees – the first part is a bit of a complex exercise and you should tip-toe into it with lighter weights if not experienced in using it. Hang cleans are a full-body exercise targeting your glutes, quads and then your lower back, whilst brushing your pectorals and deltoids if done with enough weight. You need to commit to this though or it will come back to hurt you – literally! Everyone knows what a burpee is with it being included in almost every type of workout plan from circuits to crossfit and interval training. I’ve included this to get the heart racing and blood pumping. Superset 2 Pull-Up & Renegade Rows – it is no secret that the pull-up is one of the best exercises for building upper body strength, targeting the biceps, shoulders and upper back. Just make sure to keep those reps nice and control (no kipping or cheating). Renegade rows are basically a plank with dumbbell row that has been Americanised! You will feel this in your biceps, traps and rhomboids, but make sure to keep that core engaged by not allowing your body to swing from side to side. Superset 3 Medicine Ball Slam & Russian Twists – these are both elementary exercises but done properly will still give you great satisfaction. Medicine ball slams will give your lats, lower back, glutes and quads a great workout, but make sure to keep that squatting form when picking the ball up to avoid any lower back straining. Russian twists with a medicine ball are the perfect way to target those pesky oblique’s which many struggle to hit. Make sure to do this in a slow controlled motion and rotate as far as you possibly can. Superset 4 Bicep Curl to Over-head Press & Plank with shoulder lifts - the first part of this a very tough exercise even if it doesn’t look like it on paper. As you get to the last few reps you can really feel it in your biceps, deltoids, trapezius and also your abdominals if you’re using it properly to balance. The latter is a great little finisher, even though, again, on paper it looks like a nothing exercise. With the word ‘plank’ in its name, you will obviously be getting a good abdominal workout, but this adds a twist by targeting your upper back and shoulders at the same time.

3. Web: www.starkfit.comEmail: starkfitbournemouth@gmail.comTwitter: @stark_fitwww.starkfit.comstarkfitbournemouth@gmail.com Day 3 Treadmill Intervals 30:30 – this is a proven and quick way of shedding that fat from all over your body. Many people make the mistake of spending days at the gym on the old hamster wheel, barely breaking into a sweat jogging on level 10 with no change. Not only could this start to affect your joints, it could actually have an adverse effect on your ability to burn fat, slowing down your metabolism as your body gets used to these long workouts. The 30 seconds of sprinting and 30 seconds of rest which I and many other clued in gym goers use, is the most full proof way of burning the troublesome fat. It is sure to get you sweating like never before and what’s better, it will continue to burn your fat hours after the workout is done! WIN! I usually push my sprint speed to 21km/h and then rest at 10km/h or stop completely. Fartlek Training on Bike – like I’ve said in a previous post many moons ago, fartlek training is something that only really came across when taking my Level 2 Fitness Instructor course last year. It consists of lots of random intensity or speed changes meaning boredom should not be a factor in this! The thing I particularly like about this is that you never know what is coming next, so it’s harder to jib out of putting in max effort meaning it’s a superb workout for cardiovascular training. It is great to do with a partner who can input the changes for you so they are completely random – just make sure you haven’t been fighting recently, else it could really suck to be you. 8-minute Abs/Grenade Abs – you have a choice on this one – lucky you. Both suck in terms of pain about as much as the other so there’s no escaping, but I have tried both and they’re both awesome in their own right so it’s up to you. 8-minute abs can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkKCVCZe474 and grenade abs at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZl5n3MOHvk but both involve a multitude of abdominal exercises done very quickly over a long period of time (8 minutes). Carry this on for the 4 weeks and you’ll see huge changes in your Abs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkKCVCZe474 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZl5n3MOHvk

4. Web: www.starkfit.comEmail: starkfitbournemouth@gmail.comTwitter: @stark_fitwww.starkfit.comstarkfitbournemouth@gmail.com Day 4 Day 4 is a repeat of day 1, but with Rack Pull’s replacing the seated row. The workout plans actually shows no bench press, but please add this in as I still have this in day 4. SACK THE TYPIST! Rack Pull – rack pulls are very similar in technique to deadlifts – or more specifically Romanian deadlifts. The only difference being you do not put the bar all the way down to the floor meaning you can often lift a lot more weight and working your lower back and full upper body to the maximum! Hinge at the hips and keep legs straight for the technique. Rollback Dumbbell Shrugs – add this to the end of the workout if you (like me) feel your shoulders aren’t getting hit enough. A variation on the standard shrug, the rollback shrug allows you to hit much more of the trapezius muscle group as you rotate the shoulders in a circular motion as you shrug them up towards your ears. This is a real favourite of mine as having those big muscular looking shoulders really sets the tone for the rest of your body in my opinion.

5. Web: www.starkfit.comEmail: starkfitbournemouth@gmail.comTwitter: @stark_fitwww.starkfit.comstarkfitbournemouth@gmail.com Day 5 Tabata training – 8 exercises for 20 seconds work and 10 seconds rest Although incredibly tough and mentally draining as much as physically, Tabata training is possibly the best way I know to get an amazing sweat on and target your entire body with a mixture of cardiovascular and resistance training. You can put whichever 8 exercises into the list below, but I’ve chosen these to target every area of my body. Treadmill Sprints (19km/h+) Jump Squats (bodyweight) Bicep Curl with Shoulder Press (10kg) Jack Burpees Push-Up/Abdominal Crunch Stationary Bike (120RPM+) Plank Rowing Machine (28SPM+)

6. Web: www.starkfit.comEmail: starkfitbournemouth@gmail.comTwitter: @stark_fitwww.starkfit.comstarkfitbournemouth@gmail.com Day 6 Superset 1 Pull-Up & Dragon Flags – pull-ups I shouldn’t need to go into any detail about as I’ve talked about the many times before – just remember, no cheating! Dragon flags on the other hand are something which I have raved about for a long time. They are insane and should only be attempted by experienced trainers and those with already substantial core strength. This uses almost your entire bodyweight supported only by your neck and forearms to lift your legs and torso into a flag position and then SLOWLY lowering them down to horizontal giving your abdominals and entire core the biggest working possible. Please only try this if you’re seriously confident else not only will it be really embarrassing but you’ll severely risk damage to your abdominals and back/neck. Superset 2 Wide-grip Press-Up & Hanging Leg Raise – the wide-grip press-up is just a small variation on the standard press-up, as the name suggests, with a wider spread of the arms. This helps target the pectorals, deltoids and upper back rather than the triceps. The second part is a hanging leg raise which is one of my most hated exercises. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great exercise and really helps with bringing out the lower two abdominal muscles, however it really, really hurts when hanging off the pull-up bars for so long. At some points feeling like your shoulder will come out the sockets. The aim is to rise and lower the legs, keeping them fully extended at all times placing the emphasis of the lift straight on the lower abdominals. Superset 3 Inverted Rows & Mountain Climbers – using the TRX suspension ropes gives the inverted row a ‘twist’, literally. They enable you to twist your wrists on the way up and down meaning a lot more range is given to the movement when working your shoulders, biceps and upper back. Like with most other exercises reps should be completed as slowly as possible for full tension on the muscles. Mountain climbers are probably everyone’s worst nightmare when they see it in a workout, even more so with all that’s happened before it. You should make sure to give it your all for the full 60 seconds. I find it helpful to count reps and try and beat my score from the previous round. Superset 4 Bench Dips & Alligator Walks – I would suggest starting out doing bench dips and progressing to the dip bars later as it’s a bit mean of me to have these at the end to start with! Keep the reps slow in order to feel the burn through the entire triceps and so you’re not using momentum to complete each rep. Alligator walks were one of my new favourite things this time last year. I also add an extra press-up into the reps so I can cover my pectorals, full upper body and legs. However, a plank position with the alligator leg movements is more than acceptable for those starting out.