It’s time for a lifestyle change

Put the can of pop down. Don’t even think about looking at that bar of chocolate. For the love of all that is holy, will you please get off the sofa?

If you’re looking to convert, shall we say, relaxed muscle, into something firmer, then you’ll be enthused to know that personal trainer Matt Roberts is on a quest to get the nation fit with S4 a Day, part of a specially designed month long programme called Get Fit For Life Month Crunch.

Each week Matt will focus on a key area of your personal well-being; Week 1 was Exercise, this week is Week 2 Lifestyle, Week 3 Nutrition and Week 4 Wellness.

If you’re sitting there thinking, “Four weeks? To get fit? Ha!” then, hey, park the cynicism. With the right tools, such as the S Health App on the Samsung GALAXY S4 and advice, that’s all it takes. The S Health App will track your workouts, daily food intake, and weight levels. Plus it will monitor your progress and plot it all down on clever charts.

Matt says that motivating yourself to get in better shape has never been so easy, as he releases his weekly programmes featuring cardio and resistance exercises, diet suggestions and daily tips. By the end of the month, you should see an improvement in your energy levels, concentration, muscle toning and well-being.

Episode 2: Lifestyle

Last week Matt focused on Exercise. This week the focus is on Lifestyle.

Now you have the grounding from week one, Matt is looking to introduce further and more complex techniques into your sessions. Functional exercises working the body through more than one movement at a time and greater intensity through both shorter interval and steady state cardio sessions will come into play.

The exercises shown here are some of the main exercises of Week 3’s programme, click here to follow Matt’s carefully designed S4 a Day Programme updated daily on Twitter #S4aDay

Matt’s Top Four:

WALKING LUNGE

A dynamic exercise that hits the lower body. An extension in intensity over a standard lunge taking additional balance and control

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Raise your left leg to hip level bending your knee to 90 degrees

• Step forward into a split stance bending both knees to 90 degrees. Continue the movement forwards until you come into a standing position

• Repeat with the other leg

JUMP SQUATS

An explosive jump that challenges the musculature on acceleration and the absorption strength of the muscles on landing

• Start in a standing position with feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down maintaining a straight back

• Jump up, raising your hands as high as possible and landing softly with bent knees

STEP UP AND PRESS

A full body exercise combining lower body strength with an upper body push for a more cardio focused challenge

• Stand with one foot on the bench and the other on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in the opposite hand to the foot that is on the bench (if left leg is up, dumbbell should be in right hand held at shoulder level)

• Step up on one leg and follow with the other. As you step up, press the dumbbell up coming into a straight arm position

• As you step back down lower the arm back to the starting position too

• Repeat reps on one side before performing on the other

CARDIO – Interval Runs

Working for a short period of time at high intensity, followed by short rest at recovery periods at a lower intensity.

The Running Pro app, available in the Samsung App, allows users to record their route and provides key data to help make improvements – they just need to hold or wear the Samsung GALAXY S4 during their run.

• This style of training looks to strengthen the aerobic system as the body is pushed to an intense level by overloading the heart and lungs making them adapt to become stronger.

• The high energy demands placed on the body are proven to be a more effective way to burn fat than constant paced training as it raises your basal metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn calories at rest)

S Health – Your perfect fitness workout partner

How's the Weather? Ask Surroundings

With our typically unpredictable British weather, it is often difficult to know when to plan for exercising outside or when to hit the gym. The Surroundings feature on the Samsung GALAXY S4 S Health app gives you a quick analysis of the local weather, measuring the temperature and humidity around you providing estimates of your likely comfort level during a workout. For example, if it's too hot and too humid outside, Surroundings can warn you in advance that workout conditions may not be ideal, letting you opt for an indoor workout instead.

To see the full range of features of S Health and find out how it can improve your fitness by clicking here.

Click here to start shaping up today

Follow on Twitter @exerciseMatt #S4aDay and facebook

Matt Top Tips

1. What’s your “why”? Changing your lifestyle forever means having real purpose and a sense of why getting into shape is important to you.

2. Don’t take on too much too quickly. Shrink the change and make the commitment one daily action and build from there

3. Spend 10mins every day doing a full body foam rolling routine. Check out my website for some tips.

4. Focus on actions not outcomes. You have more control over actions so be consistent with eating well and exercise and ignore the scales

And see below to be in with a chance of winning your own personal training session with Matt.