Diet & Fitness 

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The advanced fitness programme: Week three

Although not officially part of your training this week, grab a friend and go to a dance class. Try tap (great for the legs) or lindyhop (great for meeting the opposite sex). Ballroom classes are extremely popular, as is Salsa and Lambada. Most areas now have dance classes so it's not just the big cities. Whilst being fun, it is also fantastic exercise - good for improving your co-ordination and balance. You're learning something new and it will give you a great sense of achievement, which in turn should improve your self-confidence. Don't give up after the first week even if you feel like you'll never get the moves and you've got no co-ordination - hang in there as these things will improve with practice.

If the class is taught well, you will have achieved a lot in just one visit and the effort will keep you youthful, supple, graceful and elegant. The point of this is to do something you enjoy which is also a bit of a workout. If there really isn't any dance classes near by then you could try putting on your favourite music and dancing round the room, or even following the moves on a music video you enjoy. Be inventive when exercising and you will be more likely to stick with it.

Monday
Complete either the workout at the gym or workout at home . To make it more challenging try holding dumbbells, or a can of baked beans in each hand when doing the squat exercises. When doing the lunges hold a bodybar behind the head, resting on the fleshy part of the shoulders. If you can get hold of some ankle weights then use these when working your inner and outer thighs. To advance your tummy crunches, place the feet further away from your bottom. To blast that area further, take your legs up to a table top position, hips and knees at right ankles and crunch in this position. To advance even further, take the arms from behind the head and extend them so the upper arms are in line with the ears.

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