Lean for life
She’s looked after some of the most photographed bodies in the world and now, Louise Parker, aka the figure magician, is on a mission to help you get your best body yet – without the gym. Here’s how you can stay ‘lean for life’ in just 15 minutes a day.
‘Start once and just don’t stop.’ That’s all Louise Parker (louiseparker.uk.com) asks of you. The Celebrity PT, busy mum of three and now author of new book Lean for Life (Mitchell Beazley,£20) is leaner, fitter and more flexible than she’s ever been. And she credits this to staying as active as possible, aiming to hit 10,000 steps – roughly five miles – a day,getting her heart rate up and challenging her body with her Louise Parker Method Six days a week – without fail. ‘You have to remain consistent,’ says Parker. ‘Fifteen Minutes a day is more than enough to keep your muscle memory going and, more importantly, you won’t give up!’
A Four-Week Gym Routine To Get Big And Lean Photo Gallery
SCULPT AND BURN
The Louise Parker Method – followed by Hollywood stars, international sportsmen and even royalty – involves working your large muscles as well as the smaller, more delicate ones each time you train. By Moving from one exercise to another, you sculpt large muscle groups with compound moves such as squats, then move onto more ‘elegant’ exercises, which still involve large muscle groups, but bring into play the smaller muscles that help burn fat and sculpt ‘non-bulky muscles’. ‘Because high repetitions work so many muscles in a constant flow, your heart rate is going to be elevated, so you’ll be doing cardio while sculpting,’ explains Parker.‘You’re getting the fat-burning benefits of a jog while toning your body.‘Resting one muscle while you’re working another also means you won’t need to waste time resting between sets,so you can spend less time training and more time getting on with your life.‘Fully immerse yourself into the programme and you won’t have to live in the gym to get a body that’s lean and tight,’ says Parker. In fact, you don’t even need to step into a gym to do her workouts– you can do them at home with no kit.‘It’s all about overloading your muscles with repetition – not weight,’ she explains.Try it for yourself – Parker has devised an exclusive workout for H&F readers to get you started.
HOW TO DO IT
Parker has chosen 10 of her favourite movie and split them into two groups:Classic and Sculpt. For each daily workout,pick two Classic and two Sculpt moves,and complete each exercise for one minute, alternating between Classic and Sculpt. Each four-exercise circuit takes five minutes and is repeated three times.
MOBILISING MARCH
REPS: 60 seconds
Stand tall with your feet wide and your arms out to the sides. Without bending your knees or rounding your back, extend your left leg forwards to hip height, while bringing your right arm over to tap your toe, if possible.Lower and return to the start, then repeat on the other side, kicking your right leg to your left hand.Alternate kicks for one minute, returning to a balanced position between kicks and working within your own range of motion; only reaches far down your leg as your flexibility allows.
WALKOUT WONDERS
REPS: 60 seconds
Stand with your feet slightly apart, both hands on the floor in front on your toes(bend your knees if your hamstrings are tight) and let your head hang for a few seconds. This is the starting position (A).Slowly walk your hands forward until they reach beyond your head (your torso should be in a straight line from your heels to your neck) and hold for three seconds while drawing your navel to your spine (B).Walk your hands back in a smooth motion to the starting position, allowing your hips to lift towards the ceiling, core engaged. Relax your head and neck,allowing your upper-body weight to release forward as you gently stretch out for a couple of seconds.
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