30-Day Hard Body Workout- Week 2

Welcome back, folks! We know you're probably a bit sore from Week One but we guess you're also feeling stronger and more motivated for Week Two!

Our tone-all-over circuit takes six proven and powerful moves — lunges, planks, push-ups, squats, crunches and dead lifts — and amps up their difficulty each week to keep your muscles challenged. Pair these exercises with active rest (keeping your heart rate up during your "rest" time between sets) and you'll be eager to jump start your workout and fitness goals.

Do this workout three times a week, along with at least two hours of cardio a week, for the best results.

Hard Body Circuit

Perform this routine three times through, resting between sets for a few minutes. Unless otherwise specified, do 12-15 reps of each exercise, using a weight that is challenging but doable for a high number of reps. Rest time is active rest time, so you should be moving constantly!

1. Walking Lunge
Works glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps
Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides. Step forward several feet with your right foot, and bend down until your right leg forms a 90-degree angle and your left knee almost touches the floor. Push off your left foot and bring your legs together. Repeat on the opposite side.

Week 2: Pulse 1 to 8 to 1
Step forward with your right foot, holding the weights by your sides. Pulse up and down once while knees are bent. Bring your feet together and step forward with your left foot. Pulse twice. Work up to eight pulses in a row, then turn around and headed in the opposite direction, work your way back down to one.

2. Plank
Works abs, back
Lie facedown on a mat. Push off from your chest, resting on your forearms and toes. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

Week 2: Hold the plank position for 45 seconds

3. Pushup
Works chest, shoulders, abs, triceps
Lie facing down with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart and your feet together. Keeping your body straight, push up.

Week 2: Feet on stability ball
Balance your feet on a stability ball behind you.

4. Squat
Works quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves
Use a stability ball to support you during this series. Place the ball between your lower back and a wall. Put your feet a foot or two in front of you and slowly squat down until your butt is parallel with the floor, letting the ball roll up your back.

Week 2: Add bicep curl
Curl up, with your palms facing up, as you lower your legs.

5. Crunch
Works abs, back
Lie on your back with your legs bent, hands behind your head and feet flat on the floor. Keeping your neck relaxed, roll your upper back off the floor and then slowly return to starting position.

Week 2: Dumbbell crunch
Hold a dumbbell at your chest, close to your chin.

6. Dead Lift
Works quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back
Stand upright, your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs as you lower down, keeping your back straight and chest out. Slowly return to starting position.

Week 2: Add calf raise
Standing upright, rise up on the balls of your feet once.

Rest 3 minutes before beginning the circuit again.

If you're following this routine, we'd love to hear your feedback! Post your comments below.

30-Day Hard Body Workout

Feeling panicked about your body? We heard your distress call — and we have a solution. This routine from the Gold's Gym Fitness Institute will get your body streamlined for that wedding, party, or swimsuit.

This tone-all-over circuit takes six proven and powerful moves — lunges, planks, pushups, squats, crunches and dead lifts — and amps up their difficulty each week to keep your muscles challenged. Pair these exercises with active rest (keeping your heart rate up during your "rest" time between sets) and you'll be eager to jump start your workout and fitness goals.

Do this workout three times a week for a month, along with at least two hours of cardio a week, for the best results.

Hard Body Circuit

Perform this routine three times through, resting between sets for a few minutes. Unless otherwise specified, do 12-15 reps of each exercise, using a weight that is challenging but doable for a high number of reps. Rest time is active rest time, so you should be moving constantly!

1. Walking Lunge
Works glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps
Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides. Step forward several feet with your right foot, and bend down until your right leg forms a 90-degree angle and your left knee almost touches the floor. Push off your left foot and your bring legs together. Repeat on the opposite side.

Week 1 Regular, with dumbbells. Hold a weight in each hand, arms at your sides.

2. Plank
Works abs, back
Lie facedown on a mat. Push off from your chest, resting on your forearms and toes. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

Week 1 Hold the plank position for 30 seconds.

3. Pushup
Works chest, shoulders, abs, triceps
Lie facedown with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart and your feet together. Keeping your body straight, push up.

Week 1 Regular

4. Squat
Works quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves
Use a stability ball to support you during this series. Place the ball between your lower back and a wall. Put your feet a foot or two in front of you and slowly squat down until your butt is parallel with the floor, letting the ball roll up your back.

Week 1 Regular, hands at your sides

5. Crunch
Works abs, back
Lie on your back with your legs bent, hands behind your head and feet flat on the floor. Keeping your neck relaxed, roll your upper back off the floor and then slowly return to starting position.

Week 1 Regular

6. Dead Lift
Works quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back
Stand upright, your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs as you lower down, keeping your back straight and chest out. Slowly return to starting position.

Week 1 Regular, with dumbbells

Rest 3 minutes before beginning the circuit again. Be sure to consult our trainers if you have any questions and stay tuned for the next four weeks for more moves! 

Meet a Personal Trainer!

Suzanna Frank, an elite trainer at Gold’s Gym Prestige Dix30, describes her life as being extremely active. Her sporty lifestyle isn’t a recent phenomenon of course, for Suzanna exercise and movement were essential to her spirit from day one: “I was one of those kids that never stopped moving and got on everyone’s nerves!” In fact, in her youth Suzanna earned the impressive title of Junior Judo Champion in her homeland of Hungary.

Suzanna’s training style is to focus on her client’s goals and then work on achieving visible results. “I don’t go halfway,” says Suzanna, “if you train with me, we work to see results.” Suzanna works you hard but one of her mottos is: “You are inside your own body, not me, so you have to guide me through your process”. In other words, if you’re able to do more or feeling really sore…let her know!

Suzanna prefers to train her clients on two primary systems: the Power Plate and Kinesis. Kinesis, a system used by tennis players and golfers, tones your muscles without the strain of traditional weights through its multi-angle pulley system and the Power Plate stimulates your muscles so that you’re working exponentially harder and get faster results.

Suzanna doesn’t promise miracles, but she’s confident that with her help, you can lose weight, gain muscle mass, or reach any personal fitness goal that you have.

Come see Suzanna at Gold's Gym Dix30 today!

GOLD'S GYM PRESTIGE 12-WEEK CHALLENGE

GET THE BODY OF YOUR DREAMS AND YOU COULD WIN $2000!! OUR AMAZING STAFF WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH YOUR WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGES! 

ENROLLMENT BEGINS FEBRUARY 21, FEBRUARY 28, MARCH 7 AND MARCH 21! 

SEE RECEPTION FOR FURTHER DETAILS...

Khanh Le "before"

Khanh Le "after"

Valérie "before"

Valérie "after"

Staying in Shape with Olivia Ambar and Gold's Gym Prestige!

In 2008, on the fifth season of TVA's popular reality show "Occupation Double", the French-speaking world met the young, beautiful Olivia Ambar. Ambar, a naturalized Canadian citizen who grew up in France, was eliminated from the show in its fourth week, but clearly left an impression on viewers who not only created a Facebook Fan page for her but continued to record her every move in Montreal gossip blogs where it was rumoured she was dating a certain Montréal Canadiens hockey player.

We interviewed Olivia to find out how she got in shape for her TV appearances and modeling shoots, and how she continues to stay motivated.

Gold's Gym Prestige: What first motivated you to start going to a gym?
Olivia Ambar: Well I like to feel strong and healthy and I feel stronger when I'm training plus I do a lot of photo shoots and need to look good for the camera and be in shape.

GGP: Do you always have a trainer when you work out or do you train alone?
OA: For now, I go alone, but when I first came to Gold's I had a trainer for six months and loved it. When I started working out, I had a lot to learn about the different equipment and techniques so I chose to invest in a trainer. Later, my priorities shifted and I decided to train on my own so I could use the extra money for traveling and savings. But if I have the choice, I prefer to use a trainer so I'll likely return to working with one in the near future.

GGP: Do you feel there's a big difference in how motivated you feel when you work out alone versus when you work out with a trainer?
OA: Yeah, especially on the machines where I might not push myself as hard compared to when a trainer is with me. When I'm not working out with a trainer, I prefer to go to the different classes (at Gold's), especially the spinning classes.

For the rest of this interview, stay tuned to Gold's Gym Prestige's blog...!