It's show time: be ready for your HD close-up in just four short weeks

Muscle & Fitness, July, 2009 by Jim Stoppani

HANGING LEG RAISE

Grasp a pull-up bar with an overhand grip wider than shoulder width and hang freely. With only a slight bend in your knees, lift your legs until they're slightly higher than your hips, and rotate your pelvis so you fully contract your abs. Lower your legs under control, keeping tension on your abs throughout.

DUMBBELL FRONT RAISE

Stand erect holding dumbbells at your sides. Keeping your core tight and arms straight, raise the weights directly out in front of you until they come to shoulder level or slightly higher. Without leaning or swaying, lower the dumbbells to the start position.

LYING TRICEPS EXTENSION

Hold the bar directly over your upper chest with your hands shoulder-width apart. Slowly bring the bar down to your forehead, keeping your upper arms stationary. Contract your tri's to return to the start.

We all know that any regimen isn't complete without a solid nutrition plan. Log on to muscle andfitness.com, where we've laid out a complete, four-week meal plan to complement your training as you prepare for show time.

JUMP ROPE

Not a lot of technique here. Just be sure to keep a slight bend in your knees and limit most of the movement to your ankles.

CARDIO CORNER

Each week you'll perform the following HIIT cardio workouts between
and/or after select bodypart routines. For the high-intensity bouts, the
difficulty of the exercise should be in the 6-9 range on a scale of
1-10; for the low-intensity bouts, the difficulty should be 1-2. For a
better understanding of how to rate your intensity level, see the Rating
of Perceived Exertion at muscleandfitness.com.

        WEEK 1

   7-MINUTE HIIT

TIME     INTENSITY

1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high

      WEEK 2

  10-MINUTE HIIT

TIME     INTENSITY

1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high
30 sec.  low/rest
1 min.     high

       WEEK 3

 10.5-MINUTE HIIT

TIME     INTENSITY

90 sec.    high
45 sec.  low/rest
90 sec.    high
45 sec.  low/rest
90 sec.    high
45 sec.  low/rest
90 sec.    high
45 sec.  low/rest
90 min.    high

      WEEK 4

  11-MINUTE HIIT

TIME     INTENSITY

2 min.     high
1 min.   low/rest
2 min.     high
1 min.   low/rest
2 min.     high
1 min.   low/rest
2 min      high

BY Jim Stoppani, PhD Photos by Mare Royce