In the penultimate week of my eight-week fitness challenge with Smart Fitness, on the 360 Synergy programme, I noticed such a difference in my fitness and stamina that I began to fear the end of my time with master trainer Jon Ashwood.WEEK SEVEN
After a brief chat with Jon about my diet and my occasional naughty habits, I felt back on track with my regime and the results were evident in my improved recovery time, faster speeds and strength ability – I was doing more press ups and able to carry heavier ViPRs.
Diet
I followed Jon’s diet plan of clean eating recipes. Smoothies for breakfast, juices for my snacks between meals, salads for lunch and soup for dinner or a bowl of roasted chickpeas.
Workout
Mon: Boxing circuits (using boxing gloves and pads). Try it yourself:
Left cross, right cross
Right, left, right cross combination
Right, left, right cross, left upper cut combination
Right, left, right cross, left upper cut and right knee strike combination
Right, left, right cross, left upper cut, right knee strike and burpee combination
Do the above rounds for one minute each, then head to the treadmill for the following:
one minute sprint (speed of 18kph)
20 sprawls
45 second sprint (speed of 18kph)
15 sprawls
30 second sprint (speed of 18kph)
5 sprawls
Then back to the boxing.
20 left cross, right cross punches
Bear crawl 15m
Repeat this round for two minutes
Finish the circuit with tabata rounds, sprinting for 20 seconds at 21kph and resting for 10. Repeat four times
Weds: ViPR drills
Lift ViPR from position one to three and squat
Lateral ski jumps with ViPR crossing in the front of the body in the direction of the landing leg
Low jumping squat with ViPR thrust overhead with hands in a shovel grip
Forward and backwards moving, diagonal ski jumps with with the ViPR crossing in the front of the body in the direction of the landing leg
Do each set for one minute
780m sprint
Repeat the above four times, increasing the intensity at each round and set
Fri: The Synergy Core and Elite group came together for one of Jon’s ultimate circuits at SkyDive Dubai. Think the Krypton Factor meets The Gladiators and you have an idea of the routine. Can’t picture this craziness? Fear not, it’s all documented below.
Beep test warm-up
First round of circuits:
20 rope climbs
20 pull ups
Swing across the monkey bars
50 burpees
50 vertical knee raises on dip station (arms extended with soft elbows)
20 assisted pull ups
50 step ups
50 ViPR squats
Repeat the entire circuit
Second round of circuits:
Burpees
TRX squat jumps
ViPR flips
Do each set for one minute
Plank with shoulder taps
TRX bicep curls
Lateral ViPR flips
Do each set for one minute
Tricep push ups
TRX inverted rows
ViPR flips with burpee combination
Do each set for one minute
Synergy programme costs Dhs3,000 and includes a two-month membership at Smart Fitness gym, including classes. For more information visit Smart Fitness, Cluster M, HDS Business Centre, JLT, (04) 4385055.
If you’ve missed my previous blogs, visit here week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5 and week 6
Photography: Ajith Narendra
