The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life (13 page)

The walking, or cardio, portion of your workout is divided into “intervals,” which, as we noted earlier, means that you will alternate between short bursts of fast walking and periods of walking at a slower pace. It will take around 20 minutes daily, but you can walk longer if you like (see
“PHASE 1: Supercharged Fitness Program”
Section for cautions about not overdoing it).

You will begin each cardio session with a short walk at a slow or moderate pace to warm up your muscles. Then you’re ready to start doing the intervals. Each interval consists of a higher-intensity burst of activity followed by an easier recovery period. The recovery period gives your muscles time to recharge before the next period of fast walking. You will do several intervals during each session, ending with a short cooldown at an easy pace.

Why do I favor this kind of interval training? The reason is that you send your metabolism soaring when you work your body at higher intensities, but you have to work hard for only a short time to achieve that result. Before you know it, the hard part is over and you’re back to a relaxed pace. And then, when you’ve recharged, you’re ready to intensify your walk again. Studies show that breaking up your walk into fast/slow intervals is not only better for weight loss, but it’s a lot more fun and the time seems to go faster.

The Interval Walking portion of the program is also convenient. You can walk outdoors on nice days or, when the weather doesn’t cooperate, do your program on a treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical trainer at home or at the gym. (See the tips on adapting intervals to exercise equipment on
“Interval Walking Basics”
Section.) If you don’t have a home machine or a gym membership, don’t worry. You can easily apply the interval concept to other exercises (see
“Interval Walking Basics”
Section for suggestions) and still get the benefits in the comfort of your own living room.

Wherever you do your walking, it’s extremely important that you wear walking shoes, cross-training shoes, or running shoes that give you the proper support. If you’re buying new exercise shoes, try them on with the socks you plan to walk in. Synthetic athletic socks are better than cotton because they wick away moisture and keep your feet dry and blister free. I also recommend that you have 8 ounces of water before you start and also carry a small water bottle and sip from it as needed.

Keep in mind that when you’re walking, posture counts! Hold your abdominal muscles in tight, and consciously try to keep your belly from touching the waistband of your pants. Keep your chest lifted and your chin parallel to the ground (believe it or not, leading with your chin while walking can result in neck and back pain). With each step, strike the ground from heel to toe and feel your buttocks (glutes) contract. This will help strengthen your butt and the backs of your legs as you walk. Remember to relax and enjoy yourself, and don’t stiffen up.

I love to walk outdoors, especially on the beach, which is easy enough to do in South Beach. But I realize that many people live in communities where walking can be a challenge due to poor weather, lack of sidewalks, or heavy traffic. Be careful! Walk during daylight hours, and avoid heavily congested areas. If you use an iPod, keep the volume low enough that you can still hear traffic sounds. If you walk very early in the morning or in the early evening, wear light-colored clothing with light reflectors so you can be seen by passing cars.

Keeping Track of Time

During all three phases of the Interval Walking program, you will alternate between walking fast for a brief period—between 15 and 60 seconds—followed by a slower recovery period. In general, the more intense the work (in other words, the faster you go), the shorter the duration of the work and the longer the recovery period. Conversely, when you’re not working as hard, your work period will be longer and your recovery period will be shorter.

You’ll need to keep track of time so that you can complete the designated numbers of intervals per session in about 20 minutes. There are several ways you can do this. The simplest is to keep track of the seconds by counting to yourself. You can use the tried-and-true “one Mississippi” approach, which measures 1 second. You could wear a watch with a second hand or even carry a stopwatch. You don’t have to worry about following the program down to the second, however; if you run a few seconds over or under for a particular interval, it doesn’t matter. Just stay in the ballpark and you’ll be fine.

How Hard Are You Working?

The Interval Walking program is divided into four levels of intensity: Easy, Moderate, Revved Up, and Supercharged! You’ll work at different levels on different days. How do you know if you’re working at the right intensity? We don’t prescribe a specified walking speed because what’s difficult for one person might be easy for another. Moreover, if you’re walking on hilly terrain or in deep sand at the beach, you’ll be working harder than you would on flat ground.

To determine whether you are working at the right level, follow the helpful intensity levels described below. When you start the walking program, you may need to refer to this page for guidance, but as you become more accustomed to how you feel as you walk, shifting back and forth from lower to higher levels of intensity will become second nature.

Easy Pace.
When you’re working at a low level of intensity, you should feel as if you’re walking through a mall (no stopping at the windows!) or strolling through town. Although you’re constantly moving, you could easily carry on a conversation with a friend who’s walking with you. This is the pace at which you will usually be working when you do your warmup before beginning the actual intervals.

Moderate Pace.
When you’re working at a moderate level of intensity, you’re walking at a brisk but not fast pace and breathing faster than when you walk at an easy pace. You can still carry on a conversation, but doing so is more difficult.

Revved Up.
When you’re Revved Up, you’re really moving! You’re a bit short of breath, and it’s difficult—but not impossible—to maintain your pace. You should have difficulty carrying on a conversation at this level of intensity.

Supercharged!
When you’re working at your absolute top level, you are truly Supercharged! You’re walking as fast as you can go, and you can’t sustain the pace for very long. Not surprisingly, as you get fitter, you will find that the pace that once tired you out is now relatively easy, and even your Supercharged! pace will get faster.

On the days when you’re not doing Interval Walking, you will be doing the Total Body Workout for 20 minutes, or longer if you have the time and inclination. These exercises are designed to work several muscle groups simultaneously, which is how we move our bodies in real life. For example, at the same time that you’re working your upper arms or raising your legs, you’ll also be holding in your abdominal muscles and keeping your butt tight. That’s why we call it a Total Body Workout.

In the Interval Walking program, you begin your walk at an Easy or Moderate Pace to warm up. But with the Total Body Workout, the warmup process is already built into the exercises themselves. In fact, the exercises for each phase are designed to be done in a specific order that gives your body time to warm up.

These exercises also have a built-in stretching component. You shouldn’t need to do any additional stretching before or after, which also saves you time.

When doing the workout, wear comfortable clothing that allows for a full range of motion. You can listen to music, but I advise people not to watch television; you need to concentrate on each movement to get the most out of these exercises. If you have a large mirror, work out in front of it to check your positions.

Learning the Jargon

For those of you who are unfamiliar with exercise jargon, let me define a few terms that we’ll be using.
Rep
(short for
repetition
) refers to one complete exercise movement. For example, in the first exercise in Phase 1, the Spinal Arch and Curl, one forward and backward movement is 1
rep
. If you do 8 reps, we say that you have completed a
set
for this exercise. The goal for many of these exercises is to do 3
sets
of 8
reps
. In some cases, depending on the difficulty of the exercise, I will suggest doing fewer reps. At first, you may be able to do only 1 or 2 reps. That’s fine. Keep at it and each time you do the workout, you will get stronger. You can rest a minute or two between sets if you want, but it’s not necessary.

Buying Equipment Is Optional

Many of the exercises in all three phases do not use any equipment, and the equipment that is recommended is optional.

For the Phase 1 exercises, you will need a chair (ideally, one without arms) or exercise bench, plus a mat or a thick towel to protect your back and knees during the floor exercises.

For Phase 2, you’ll need a mat or towel along with optional 1- to 3-pound weights and an optional exercise step. You can purchase weights and a step, also called an aerobic step or a home exercise workout step, from any store or Internet site that sells fitness equipment. Most exercise steps are adjustable. Simply select the height that’s most comfortable for you. If you don’t want to purchase a step, you can use the first step of a staircase in your home.

Hand weights are useful if you want to increase the intensity of your workout. They’re not essential, however, because you’ll be creating your own resistance by tightening your muscles and moving slowly and deliberately through each movement. In fact, if you have neck or shoulder problems, I strongly recommend that you
don’t
use weights for the arm exercises. If you haven’t exercised before, it’s a good idea to learn the exercises first without the weights, and then add them to your workout when you become proficient.

Many of the Phase 3 exercises are done on the floor, so you’ll need a mat or towel. For the Wall Sit, you’ll need to find a clear wall to support you. In addition, a few of the exercises use optional hand weights.

I recommend you do all of the exercises barefoot. This allows you to flex and point your toes more easily and feel the floor and exercise step much better. Don’t work out in socks—much too slippery.