Get stronger, weekly

Diet

Elisa Zied, M.S., R.D., C.D.N.
Registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association

Week 1 Keep track of your food intake for three days (two weekdays, one weekend day); reduce food portions by one fourth; replace refined grains with whole grains (aim for at least three whole grains a day, but no more than six in total).
Week 2 Cut back on trans and saturated fats, choose lean protein sources such as fish and beans, and increase fruit intake to two cups per day.
Week 3 Limit liquid calories (from alcohol, coffee, soda, etc.) and drink more water; cut back on added sugars and eat more vegetables (about 2 1/2 cups a day).
Week 4 Choose low-fat dairy foods (have three servings per day). Measure your success—weigh yourself and use a tape measure. In the future, prepare for setbacks—make it a goal to maintain your weight during vacations, etc.

---

Strength

David Barton
Owner of David Barton Gyms

Week 1 Start eating four or five small meals before 8pm every day. It’s the best way to keep metabolism active and stave off late-night hunger. Eating once or twice a day is a great way to get fat (sumo wrestlers eat once a day).
Week 2 Start a cardio program and add two minutes cumulatively every day for two weeks. After two weeks, you will be doing an extra 28 minutes and potentially burning an extra 300–400 calories daily.
Week 3 Change your strength-training routine—most people follow a routine when they strength-train. Wrong. Instead, work the same body parts, but change the exercises, change the order and slow down the movement. Anything to which the body is unaccustomed will accelerate results.
Week 4 If you don’t already work out with a trainer, find the best you can and do at least one session with him or her. Changes in the body are achieved by applying scientific formulas in which good trainers are fluent. These formulas change as your body adapts to exercise, therefore what worked for you yesterday will not necessarily work for you today.

---

Flexibility

Jayne “Jayadevi” Smith
Certified Integral Yoga instructor

Week 1 Sit. Light a candle. Breathe deeply for one minute. Chant “Om” once. Then, for five minutes, stand in the mountain pose and roll the shoulders up, back and down several times. Sit again. Meditate for five minutes by focusing on the breath or a mantra (i.e., a sound, hymn or prayer). End by chanting “Om” once.
Week 2 Build on Week 1 by adding the tree pose after shoulder rolls. Add two minutes of deep yogic breathing (breath that fills the abdomen, rib cage and chest) before meditation.
Week 3 This week, add the cobra pose after the tree pose. Sit again. Increase your meditation to seven minutes.
Week 4 Add the seated forward bend after the cobra pose. Increase meditation time to ten minutes and include an open heart meditation, sending peace from your own heart out to the world as a blessing.

---

 

Open heart meditation:
Begin by focusing the peace meditation on yourself. Say, “May I be filled with loving kindness.” Then, as your heart opens, say “May the entire universe be filled with peace and joy, love and light.”

 

Mountain Pose (feet firmly planted, spine long, chest open)

 

Tree Pose (stand on one foot, open the other leg to the side and rest its foot against inside of standing leg)

 

Cobra Pose (lie on the abdomen, forehead down, fingertips at mid-chest, raise the head, neck and chest)

 

Seated Forward Bend (raise the arms and extend the body forward, reaching toward the feet)

---

Conditioning

Roger Hinds
Head athletic trainer ofthe New York Knicks

Week 1 See your doc! Before you participate in any new fitness activity, get a physical exam and be sure the doctor knows about your plans to get fit. Start slow and easy: Walk at least 3.2mph on the treadmill, and increase the time by five minutes every other session: Conduct workouts at least three times a week.
Week 2 Add push-ups and sit-ups—three sets of as many as you can do. Increase by a few reps every other workout. Again, do this at least three times a week.
Week 3 Kick-start your metabolism by eliminating as much junk as possible—especially fast foods. Try five or six small meals a day instead of the standard three squares. Do not skip meals!
Week 4 The pace of life doesn’t always allow us eight hours of sleep, so sneak in 40 winks or a catnap whenever possible—even the good Lord took one day off. Depending on your age, health and level of fitness, sleep is primo for recuperation and recovery.

For a slew of new fitness classes and programs, click here.

Go to the main page | Habit reforming | Get stronger, weekly | The ultimate detox chart

Previous | Next