Eight weeks to a firmer body: Week eight

Well done. You've made it to the final week of the fitness programme. I hope you've had as much fun taking part as I have.

By now you should have reached a point in your fitness programme where you have become instinctive about when you train and when you rest. The information that I've given you is a guide and it's up to you when you take your rest days - other commitments and the way you feel should be taken into consideration. Learning to listen to your body is a cornerstone of training intelligently so that your exercise programme will be healthy and progressive.

Here's this week's fitness assignment:

Monday
Complete the work out at the gym or work out at home programme.

Tuesday
Do 30 minutes of cardiovascular work first thing in the morning. Remember early morning workouts are the only time when I advocate exercising on an empty stomach. When you wake up, your body has only enough energy to sustain a half-hour workout, so don't overdo it. Drink a couple of glasses of water or some juice first. Another idea is to build interval training into each session by raising and lowering your intensity during your 30-minute workout. If you do this make sure the last few minutes are performed at a high intensity, followed by a five to ten minute cool-down.

Wednesday
Repeat Monday's assignment.

Thursday
Rest day.

Friday
Repeat Tuesday's assignment.

Saturday
Repeat Monday's assignment.

Sunday
Rest day.

And finally… you shouldn't stop enjoying your new healthy lifestyle just because this is the end of the programme. Thanks again, and well done for getting in shape!