WEB-EXCLUSIVE: Need to tone up fast? Check out these speedy workouts to help you get that summer body.
BY Sarah Mosqueda
June 24, 2009 - 3:18 PM
Photo By Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register
From left, Mike Suffredini, Mitch Kahn and Jeff Hughes exercise with kettle bells during a workout at CrossFit Orange County
Summer is here and you can't get into your favorite bathing suit without laughing – or crying. Fortunately, there are a few quick programs – no more than one-hour per workout – that may help get you on your way to a beach body. Work smarter, not longer with these three workouts.
CrossFit CrossFit is a quick, high-endurance workout with a focus of functional fitness. Each workout is designed to prepare you for a physically straining activity that you may face in your daily life. The CrossFit Web site posts the Workout of the Day, or W.O.D., daily which you can complete on your own or at one of the 20 CrossFit-affiliated gyms throughout Orange County. The routine incorporates weights, kettle bells and medicine balls combined with lifting and squatting exercises. The workouts can be completed in as little as 10 minutes a day. Though the workouts are short, they’re not easy. These intense strengthening and conditioning exercises will leave you sore and out of breath and are definitely not for beginners. The Orange County Fire Authority has even adopted this program as a fitness model; so don’t be surprised if the W.O.D. helps you combat a fire, or start one with your new bikini body.
CrossFit Newport Beach, 861 Production Place, Suite B, Newport Beach, (949) 574-2179; www.crossfitnb.com. CrossFit HB, 5914 Warner Ave, Huntington Beach, (714) 721-6966; crossfithb.net. CrossFit Orange County, 929 Calle Negocio, Suite C, San Clemente, (949) 246-4118; crossfitorangecounty.com
Photo By Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register
YAS studio in Costa Mesa
YAS If you want a program that combines the increased heart rate of a cardio workout with the increased flexibility of yoga, with minimal time to center your chi, then YAS is the program for you. The signature YAS program combines a half hour of indoor cycling with a half hour of yoga. Cutting out the meditating, makes the program a little less intimidating to beginners and more time-efficient for pros. Cycling gets the heart rate up, and the relaxed environment and effective stretching make yoga an excellent way to cool down. Rather than spending the typical 45 minutes in an indoor cycling class and an hour for yoga, you’re left with 45 extra minutes in your day and a beach body you can be proud of.
YAS, 291 E. 17th Street, Costa Mesa, (949) 515-8888; www.go2yas.com
Circuit Training Circuit programs are a great way to get an intense workout in half the time. This program, made popular again by women’s fitness clubs like Curves, has you rotate from one exercise station to another over a period of 15-30 minutes. The idea is not to stop between sets, keeping the heart rate up.
