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I will put in here various fitness programs for anyone to have a go. However, I advise that these programs are done at your own risk. I am not making you do these and I am not forcing you to push yourself.

If you are unsure of any of the activities, contact a personal training/gym instructor (who could also write you a fitness program) or forget it all together.

All of these programs I have gathered out of fitness magazines and books. Adapt them if you wish. Also don't depend entirely on them. Fitness and weightloss also has a lot to do with stretching, rest and nutrition...

1. 4 week fitness program (from the Australian Defense Force)

2. 4 week fitness program (from 'Women's Health and Fitness' magazine)

3. 8 week beginner running program (from 'Running Fit' by Jamie Baird)

4. 8 week 10k running program (from 'Running Fit' by Jamie Baird)

5. 10 week half marathon running program (from 'Running Fit' by Jamie Baird)

6. 10 minute Bikini Workout (from 'Cosmopolitan' magazine)

7. 6 month Ultimate Fitness Plan (from 'Australian Women's Health' magazine) *NEW*

WEEK 1:

Circuit - Choose one exercise for each major muscle group (weight training), do 12 repetitions per muscle group and complete 3 times:
Back, chest, quads, glutes, hamstrings, bicepts, triceps, deltoids, abs

Sunday: 60 minute walk
Monday: Circuit
Tuesday: Interval training 25 minutes
Wednesday: Circuit
Thursday: Cardio 45 minutes at 60%
Friday: Circuit
Saturday: Cardio 40 minutes at 60%

WEEK 2

Circuit - Choose 3 exercises for each major muscle group listed in Week 1. Do 8-10 repititions of each exercise and complete 4 times.

Sunday: REST biggrin
Monday: Interval training 25 minutes
Tuesday: Quads and ab work circuit
Wednesday: Chest and tricep work circuit
Thursday: Cardio 40 minutes at 80%
Friday: Hamstring and deltoid work circuit + interval training 30 minutes
Saturday: Cardio 40 minutes at 70%

WEEK 3

Circuit - Complete 15-20 repititions of each exercise and complete 3 times

Sunday: REST biggrin
Monday: Back and tricep work circuit + cardio 35 minutes at 75%
Tuesday: Quads, hamstrings and deltoid work circuit
Wednesday: Chest, bicep and ab work circuit + interval training 30 minutes
Thursday: Quads, hamstrings and deltoid work circuit
Friday: Back and tricep work circuit + cardio 35 minutes at 75%
Saturday: Chest, biceps and ab work circuit

WEEK 4

Circuit - Complete 12 repititions of each exercise

Sunday: REST biggrin
Monday: Back and ab work circuit
Tuesday: Cardio 25 minutes + interval training 25 minutes
Wednesday: Quads and tricep work circuit
Thursday: Cardio 30 minutes + interval training 30 minutes
Friday: Chest and bicep work circuit
Saturday: Hamstring and deltoid work circuit + cardio 30 minutes at 75-80%



Possible exercises for each muscle group:

I have tried to choose exercises here which require minimal equipment. However, some do require equipment such as dumbells and raised surfaces. If you do not have weights, canned food or containers filled with rocks/water is a good alternative.

Majority of these exercises can be found at Shapeshift and some have links to animated pictures for the exercises that I could not explain properly. There are a lot of exercises listed on the site, so choose which ones are more benificial for you and if you have gym equipment such as dumbells, barbells, smith machine etc then you will have a wider variety of choices.

For some further information, for those who do not own any weight equipment, choose exercises that have no equipment listed in their discription, or choose those with dumbell as then you can use a weighted object in their place

IMPORTANT: All of these exercises are to be done at your own risk. The biggest pieces of advice I can give you is to:
1. Use light weights or none at all if you are starting out
2. Always keep a neutral back - A straight back with minimal curve (perfect back posture when standing tall)

Back:

Dumbell good mornings - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and arms down by your side. Bend forwards at your hips until you are paralell to the floor, and allow your arms to follow (remaining vertical to the floor). Raise back up and repeat

Chest:

Pushups (upper chest) - When doing the pushups, stick your elbows out away from your body and have your feet on a raised surface (bed, chair)
Pushups (middle chest) - Same as upper chest pushups, but on a level surface (floor)

Quads (front of thighs):

Step ups - Need a platform of some type (stacked books, step, porch...). Simply step up onto the platform with one leg and bring up the other. Return to the start and repeat on the opposite leg
Jump squats - Starting in a squat position, jump as high as you can. Return to the squat position and repeat

Glutes (bum):

Lying butt lifts - Lie on your back with your knees bent. Place your arms down the side of your body on the ground for support. Push your hips up into the air while squeezing your butt muscles. Lower and repeat
Squats - Stand with your feet shoulder width. Bend down at your knees into a squat (exact same motion as sitting down on a seat - bending forward at the hips). Contrat your butt muscles and push back up (can do with or without weights)
Reverse dumbell lunges - Stand with your feet together, step backwards with one leg and bend down. Contract your butt muscles and push back up with your back leg. Repeat on the other leg

Hamstrings (back of thighs):

Lunges - Stand up straight with both feet together, step forward with one leg and bend down. Push back up with the front leg to the starting position. Repeat with the opposite leg

Biceps (front of upper arm):

Chin ups - Grab onto a bar and lift yourself up with only your arms (keep your body as still as possible - no swinging)
Dumbell curls - While standing (or sitting), hang your arms down towards the ground. Bring the weight up to your shoulder and lower, repeat

Triceps (back of upper arm):

Dips - Find a low surface (eg. chair, bench, step). Turn your back to it and place your palms on the edge. Now move your legs out away from your body (the further away, the harder the exercise). Lower your body with your arms and push back up again, repeat
Pushups - Complete pushups and have the arms in close to the body unlike with the pushups for the chest (the closer your arms stay to the body, the more they work the triceps, further away from the body, they work the chest. Hands remain in the same position though)
Two arm lying dumbell extensions - Lie on your back, and hold your arms up straight in the air (with weights). Bring the weights into your chest by bending outwards at the elbows and push out again, repeat

Deltoids (shoulders):

Front dumbell raises (front of deltoids) - Start with your arms straight down by your body (holding your weights), raise them forward up till you are level with your shoulders, lower and repeat
Standing two arm dumbell press (middle of deltoids) - Hold your arms up so your hands at just above your shoulders (elbows bent in towards the body), push the weights up above your head and lower back to the start, repeat
Bent over rear deltoid raises (back of deltoids) - Sit down on a chair that allows your knees to be bent at 90 degrees (thighs paralell with the ground). Bend over your legs and have your arms hanging down to the ground. Raise your arms up to the side of your body and lower, repeat

Abs (stomach):

Situps (upper abs) - Lay on back, feet firmly on the floor, knees bent at around 90 degrees. Arms crossed in front of chest or fingers at ears (do NOT link your hands behind your head as it causes neck pain). Pull your body up just above halfway keeping your back as straight as possible and go back down, stop just before resting on the floor and pull up again
Leg raises (lower abs) - Lay on your back, place your hands under your bum to support your lower back (you will need to adjust this to see what is most comfortable for you). Raise your legs up off the floor and into the air to about 60 degrees, lower your legs till they're just off the floor and raise again
Flutter kick oblique crunches (obliques - sides of abs) - Lay on your back, place your fingers at your ears and stick your elbows out. Raise your legs up to 90 degrees (feet off the floor - 90 degrees at hips and knees) and raise your shoulders off the floor. Stick out your right leg straight as you bring in your left knee to your chest. At the same time, turn your body so that your right elbow is touching your left knee. Now swap your legs over and elbows at the same time. Keep your legs and shoulders off the floor.
Plank (back and stomach): Hold a pushup position for an extended amount of time (aim for 10 seconds, then 20 seconds, then 30 etc). You can either do this on your hands, or your elbow, but you should be on your toes every time

Week 1
Day 1 - 3km (2 miles) easy jog, then 4 x 400m fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 3km (2 miles) easy jog
Day 2 - 4km (2.5 miles) easy, 3km (2 miles) fast, jog to cool down
Day 3 - 4km (2.5 miles) easy

Week 2
Day 1 - 3km (2 miles) easy jog, then 4 x 600m (2 min) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 3km (2 miles) easy jog
Day 2 - 15 mins easy, 15 mins fast, jog to cool down
Day 3 - 5.5km (3-4 miles) easy

Week 3
Day 1 - 4km (2.5 miles) easy jog, then 4 x 800m (3 min) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 3km (2 miles) easy jog
Day 2 - 30-40 min easy (include hills)
Day 3 - 8km (5 miles) easy

Week 4
Day 1 - 3km (2 miles) easy jog, then 8 x 400m (70-80 sec) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 3km (2 miles) easy jog
Day 2 - 8km (5 miles), first half at 70%, second half at 85%
Day 3 - 9km (5-6 miles) easy

Week 5
Day 1 - 3km (2 miles) easy jog, then 8 x 500m (90-100 sec) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 3km (2 miles) easy jog
Day 2 - 35-45 min fartlek (eg. jog 2 min, sprint 1 min) varied times and recovery
Day 3 - 10.5km (6-7 miles) easy

Week 6
Day 1 - 4km (2.5 miles) easy jog, then 5 x 800m (3 min) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 4km (2.5 miles) easy
Day 2 - 10.5km (6-7 miles) gradually increasing speed every 4km (2.5 miles)
Day 3 - 12km (7.5 miles) easy

Week 7
Day 1 - 5km (3 miles) easy jog, then 10 x 400m (70-80 sec) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 5km (3 miles) easy
Day 2 - 4 x 1.5km (1 mile) or 6 min fast with 3 min jog recoveries
Day 3 - 13km (8 miles) easy

Week 8
Day 1 - 5km (3 miles) easy jog, then 5-6 x 500m (90-100 sec) fast with 3 min jog recoveries, then 5km (3 miles) easy
Day 2 - 7km (4-5 miles) easy
Day 3 - Race day

Each exercise is to be done for 2.5 minutes each 3x a week. You will need dumbells, but cans of food or drink bottles will work too.

Bum and Shoulders:
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Holding a set of dumbells, squat down until your hips are at the same height as your knees, stand up and push the weights over your head. Repeat 8-10 times.

Abs and Upper Body:
Get into a pushup position on your knees and hands, or toes and hands. Bend your elbows and chest towardsthe floor until your chest almost touches the floor. Exhale and return to the start position. Repeat 8-10 times, then do an elbow plank (rest your body weight on your elbows, forearms and toes, keeping your body in a straight line, hold the pose for one minute).

Biceps and Triceps:
Stand in a bent over row position: feet hip width apart, knees bent, tilted forward 45 degrees at the hips, arms hanging down. Holding some dumbells, exhale, pull your hands up to your ribs, inhale, then return to the start. Repeat 8-12 times, then do 8-10 bicep curls.

Thighs and Arms:
Stand with your feet together, holding the weights beside you. Take a large step to the right, bend your right knee, allow your torso to come forward as you lunge, then push hard with the right foot to return to the start position. Repeat on the other side. Do 8-10 sets, then stand in the bent over row to your sides. Exhale, straighten your arms pause, return to the start. Repeat 10 times.