Week Five: Consolidation Week
This is the week where you start to really feel comfortable that your fitness and health have taken a positive change and your body (muscle& cell memory) and mind (conscious healthy habits) start to consolidate the activity they have been doing.
Changes will start to become sustainable and embedded if you continue to be motivated and stick to your healthy lifestyle plan. Remember sustainable includes getting the whole family involved and encouraging & changing their nutritional and exercise patterns too. Keep getting your partner, friends and the kids involved too, you will find not only will it lead to a healthier life, but bring you closer as you achieve goals together and gain invaluable bonding time!
Monday:
Easy Walk Jog
Look up a new park near your area that you haven’t been to before and take a friend or family member/s. Warm up for 5 minutes at warm up heart rate. Walk briskly for 20 minutes at aerobic endurance pace over a flat to undulating terrain. Throughout this period include 4 X 100 metre “pick-ups” – jogging, then recover by coming back down to aerobic endurance pace. Cool down as per warm up.
Legs & Lower Body
Choose 2 exercises from the Legs & Lower Body Video you haven’t tried yet, and do each exercise 3 times for 1 minute with a 40 second- 1 minute rest after each 1 minute block of exercise. Make sure you stretch after the session.
Get Your Healthy Snack on!
By now it should be easier to make healthy choices for main meals that are planned, however it’s the snack monster in us that can sometimes let the nutritional balance down. Make sure you have your plan ready for the attack of snacks, as this is where the nutritional consolidation will start to form and pay off.
Make sure you have a bowl of fruit always on the bench at home or even at work, and have simple, easy and filling snack ready or the ingredients that you need for them so you can make them easily! Try Banana Honey Roll Ups, or Barbequed Mango Cheeks for a simple and tasty snack.
Tuesday:
Huff & Puff Time
Warm up for 5 minutes, at the end of this period complete 4 X 80-100 metre down hill jogs. Then jog 3 X 90 seconds at huff and puff heart rate. Rest (stand still) for 20 seconds then complete the next 90 second effort. Cool down as per warm up.
If you want to incorporate mates or the family, instead take a footy, soccer ball or basketball down to a local park and have a 30-40 minute game of soccer, footy or basket ball. You really need to get into it and give it your all. The sprints for goals etc and chasing when defending will give you the equivalent Huff & Puff you need.
Wednesday:
Rest Day & Revision of Goals
Get together with your training buddy or family member who have been involved with your healthy fitness & nutrition journey. Discuss your goals, and how you have been tracking with them, what positive, emotional & physical changes they have noticed in you? and what have you noticed in them. Share what your areas of weakness still might be or brainstorm some positive strategies together to help you achieve your goals by week 6 and make them into a sustainable lifestyle.
Thursday:
Strength Building Ride
Warm up for 5 minutes. Increase the intensity up to huff and puff pace for 6 minutes, then, increase the resistance on your exercise bike complete 2 X 60 second “uphill efforts” (disregard heart rate response) grinding away on the “hill”. Drop the resistance way down for 120 seconds to recover and then go again. Cool down as per warm up.
Friday:
Easy Recover Walk
Why not combine with a picnic somewhere nice, such as a local park botanic gardens or forest? Pack a healthy lunch, kick back relax and then go for your leisurely recovery walk 
Walk for 20 minutes at warm up/cool down intensity.
Core Work Out
Choose 2 exercises from the Core Strength Video you haven’t tried yet, and do each exercise 3 times for 1 minute with a 40 second- 1 minute rest after each 1 minute block of exercise. Make sure you stretch after the session.
Saturday:
Rest Day
Sunday:
Long Easy Walk or Ride
Warm up for 5 minutes then increase the pace to aerobic endurance intensity for 20 minutes if walking or 30 minutes if cycling over a flat to undulating natural terrain (e.g. Golf course or park, etc.). Cool down as per warm up.
Upper Body Work Out
Finish the weekend with some toned arms, abs and back, you can do these at the park or in front of you favourite Sunday tv program. Choose 2 exercises from the Legs & Lower Body Video you haven’t tried yet, and do each exercise 3 times for 1 minute with a 40 second- 1 minute rest after each 1 minute block of exercise. Make sure you stretch after the session.
