Kiss Kill and Hiit to Get Fit by Summer
The first holiday of the summer season, Cinco de Mayo, is upon us but this year instead of using it as an excuse to overindulge in tequila-based cocktails and lime-garnished beers, consider what else this date signifies. Not only is Cinco de Mayo the first unofficial holiday of summer, it’s also the day after May 4th, which is exactly two months before the summer’s most important holiday: The Fourth of July.
Every year on July 4th family and friends gather for backyard barbeques and beach parties and every year countless partiers promise themselves next year they’ll be fit and confident in their bathing suits. According to Jeff Halevy it is not too late to make a change in your physique and enjoy July 4th for what it was truly meant to be: a day to celebrate our country’s independence with loved ones and soak up all the best that the summer has to offer.
What better way to do that than by unveiling the new and improved you?
Free Yourself From Bathing-Suit Phobia
“This is the time of year when people really lose their motivation, and I find myself reminding clients over and over again that there is still enough time to make a noticeable difference in their body so that by the time summer is in full-swing, they really can enjoy it,” says Jeff, explaining that with his signature fitness philosophy, KISS, KILL and HIIT, he’s helped hundreds of busy clients lose a healthy two pounds a week until they met their goal weight. “KISS, KILL and HIIT is designed to work with your natural body chemistry to maximize the effect of the workout both while you’re doing it and after.”
Jeff Halevy’s No-Fail KISS, KILL and HIIT Beach Body Workout:
· KISS: Keep it Simple and Standing
· KILL: Keep it Low and Large
· HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training
Step 1: 4 Minute Miracle cardio interval combo
· Choose any blood-pumping activity you enjoy – everything from running to cycling to jumping rope qualifies. Spend 5 minutes warming up (yes, walking to the gym counts!) and then kick it into high gear for the 4 Minute Miracle combination:
§ Go at full capacity for 20 seconds
§ Slow down or stop for 10 seconds
§ Repeat eight times
Step 2: Circuit workouts never looked so good
· Simple Stretch: Standing with feet hip-width apart and knees straight, bend at the waist and extend arms toward the floor. When hands touch the ground, roll onto toe and walk hands out until you’re in a push-up position. Walk hands back up to starting position and repeat 10 times.
· Circuit 1 (With every circuit, repeat three times with a 15 second to 2 minute rest in between each set. Aim for as brief a rest as possible for greater calorie burn)
§ Deadlifts
· Standing with feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, bend the knees slightly and a lower weights down in front of feet, folding at the torso
· Return to starting position
· Repeat 12 times
§ Lunges
· Start standing with feet hip-width apart, holding a weight in your right hand at the shoulder facing forward
· Lunge forward with left leg, then press weight straight overhead and back to shoulder
· Step leg back to starting position
· Repeat 12 times, then do 12 more lunging with the right foot and holding the weight in the left hand
§ Squat thrusts
· Stand with feet hip-width apart
· Bend knees and place hands on ground, then jump your feet back, landing in a push up position
· Hop back to hands, and straighten up
· Repeat 20 times
· Circuit 2
§ Have a ball
· Sit on a stability ball with a weight in left hand, and elbow bent to 90 degrees, palm forward and feet hip-width apart
· Roll out so right shoulder blade and right elbow are pressing into the ball and the hips are lifted
· Press right elbow into the ball and lift the torso off the ball while pressing left arm straight ahead
· Repeat 12 times; then switch and repeat 12 times on other side
§ Jump!
· Start in a full squat, with knees over ankles and arms stretched out in front with palms down
· Jump straight into the air, pushing arms behind you and return to start
· Repeat 20 times
Step 3: “Ab-solutely” Amazing Finale
· V-up
§ Laying flat on the ground, extend arms straight overhead
§ Crunch up, lifting legs simultaneously and bringing arms parallel with feet until you are in a v-like position
§ Balance on your booty for a beat before returning to start
§ Do 8 sets of 12 repetitions, resting for 10 seconds between sets
This workout relies on Jeff’s signature Kiss, Kill and Hiit philosophy which takes into consideration the body’s mechanics to deliver a long-lasting, calorie-burning punch that will leave anyone slimmed down in time for July 4th festivities.
About Jeff Halevy
Jeff Halevy is a New York City-based fitness trainer, personal coach and President and Founder of Halevy Fitness and FITTERWITH. His passion for helping clients achieve complete wellness transcends traditional weight loss. Jeff’s unique approach to life change and personal development enables him to help clients achieve their fitness goals, but to also work with them in a therapeutic sense to successfully quit smoking, attain peak work performance, overcome eating disorders and phobias and more.
Jeff’s career in fitness began as Managing Director of one of New York City’s most exclusive private health clubs where he trained some of the city’s most influential business titans and professional athletes. After venturing out on his own and establishing the successful Halevy Fitness, where clients have access to his innovative personal training and coaching service, Jeff created FITTERWITH. FITTERWITH is a revolutionary web site designed to foster live, interactive, personalized connections between top fitness professionals and consumers for free. The launch of the biannual event series, GETfit, in January 2010 transformed the excitement of FITTERWITH into a live event.
Jeff is certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine for fitness training and by the Neuro-Linguistic Programming Center of New York for his coaching and therapeutic work. Jeff graduated Magna Cum Laude from New York University with the additional distinction of Founder’s Day Scholar. Jeff works with several non-profit organizations, notably Derek Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation, where he has introduced fitness and training concepts to children in New York City; The Jorge Posada Foundation; and the Southampton Hospice.
