Flab-to-Fit: Week 13 of the Transformation Workout Program

A former NCAA athlete & retired Marine; Kevin is an experienced trainer in body composition, military fitness and sports conditioning.

If you want to burn body fat, get fit or lose weight the Flab-to-Fit Total Body Transformation Program can help. This exercise plan provides a perfect solution to improve your health and fitness, regardless of your current physical activity level.

Reducing Excess Body Fat

The body is composed of fat and fat-free mass (such as bone, muscle, tissue, water). Total body fat is composed largely of stored fat and a small amount of "essential" fat that makes up cell membranes, nerve sheaths, as well as fat padding vital structures. Excess body fat is stored fat which does not support the body’s normal functions and can degrade one’s health and wellness. Excess body fat has been linked to various health risks, including; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Additionally, excess body fat reduces one's physical performance by detracting from endurance, speed and stamina.

Reducing excess body fat is best accomplished with a comprehensive approach including healthy nutritional habits coupled with physical activity. Although not required, weight loss is often associated with body fat reduction.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the capacity to perform physical exercise, whose health-related components include body composition, cardio-vascular endurance, flexibility, muscular strength, and muscular endurance.

Body composition is the proportion of fat and fat-free mass in the body. It is common for people to gain weight and increase body fat as a result of a lack of exercise and poor nutritional habits.

If you're physically fit you'll look better, feel better and perform better. The only way to improve your physical fitness is through exercise. Exercise improves endurance and strength while reducing excess body fat and increasing muscle tone.

Overview: Week 13 Exercise Plan

Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday: Weight Lifting

The weight training segment of the Flab-to-Fit exercise plan is designed to improve muscular endurance by gradually and systematically increasing repetitions and training load (weight) throughout the course of the training program.

Weight lifting is one of the most popular fitness activities in the world today whose proponents point to the activity's ability to increase strength while building a leaner body and stronger mind.

While conducting multiple sets, use the first set as a specific warm-up using half the training weight for each exercise. When increasing weight throughout the program, increase the poundage by the least amount possible.

During the warm-up and cool down walk; do arm circles, neck rolls and horizontal arm swings to increase upper body flexibility and mobility.

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Monday: Running

Today's primary physical activity is a half-mile fartlek run. Fartlek is a form of interval training which is the Swedish word for "speed play". Fartlek differs from standard interval running in that fartlek requires continual movement at varying speeds while standerad interval workouts for running include walking rest periods.

This eight hundred meter fartlek run is conducted by jogging one hundred meters followed by a forty meter fast stride. Repeat this cycle five times and finish the run with a one hundred meter jog. The stride speed should be about fifty to sixty percent of your maximum sprint speed.

Mobility exercises and a four hundred meter walk precede the fartlek run while the cool-down session includes a four hundred meter walk and stretching.

Tuesday: Cross-Training

This cross-training session is a modified version of a Marine Combat HITT (High Intensity Tactical Training) workout. The workout is designed to improve speed, strength and power and as an interval workout is a great fat burner.

The speed development portion of the workout will consist of four sets of ten meter wind sprints. This will be followed by two rounds of an seven exercise circuit. Four repetitions of each exercise is completed in a rotating manner with twenty-five seconds rest between exercises.

Thursday: Calisthenics and Hiking

Thursday's workout includes a three-quarters of a mile hike following a calisthenics session. The calisthenics period includes a short core stability circuit, crunches, pull-ups and push-ups. The hike should take approximately fifteen minutes and could be conducted with a backpack weighing up to twenty pounds.

Friday: Cross-Training

Friday's cross-training workout includes the week's second fartlek session, this one for three-quarters of a mile (1200 meters). This fartlek run is conducted by jogging two hundred meters followed by a fifty meter fast stride. Repeat this cycle four times and finish the run with a two hundred meter jog. The stride speed should be about fifty to sixty percent of your maximum sprint speed.

A significant calisthenics period is conducted prior to the fartlek run. This bodyweight training period includes two core and leg circuits, and supersets of pull-ups and crunches. Rest for five to ten minutes prior to starting the fartlek run.

Benefits of Exercise

The rewards of working out on a regular basis include getting all the benefits of exercise; increased energy, better sleep and body fat maintenance, improved attitude and health, enhanced physical abilities and being in better shape. Follow the Flab-to-Fit Total Body Transformation Program's simple exercises and workouts and you’ll be sure to get those benefits.

Keep checking back as I will continue writing a weekly Flab-to-Fit exercise plan and give you more advice and workouts that you can do nearly anywhere. In the meantime, visit my profile page, where you can find all of my published health and fitness articles.

Comments with concerns, feedback, your progress, or questions are always welcome.

Until next time...be healthy and get fit!

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2016 Kevin P McClernon