SpeedX workout: Take your fitness to the next level

Whether you want to get chiseled for summer or boost your overall strength, power and agility, SpeedX training is for you.

Why SpeedX works

If you aren’t seeing changes in your body even though you’ve been faithfully going to the gym, it could be that your workouts simply aren’t working. The combination of modest cardiovascular training and light weight-lifting certainly offers health-boosting benefits, but it can become so routine for your body that your fitness level hits a plateau. One of the best ways to ratchet up your fitness is to change up your exercise regimen with a challenging workout that pushes you out of your comfort zone.

SpeedX is a conditioning workout, similar to CrossFit, that puts you through a variety of athlete-caliber functional, speed, agility, plyometric, and power endurance exercises that let you take your fitness to the next level. As a bonus, the rigors of SpeedX boost your metabolism into overdrive and help you build lean muscle mass.

Dynamic warm-up

Warming up will prepare your body for the SpeedX workout. Start at a slow pace until you can execute the moves with proper form and technique. The dynamic warm-up should take 5 to 15 minutes.

Warm-up moves:

• Ankle bounce. Maintaining good contact with the floor with the balls of your feet, rapidly lift both heels 1 to 2 inches off the ground. Shift your weight to your toes and lightly bounce while keeping the knees slightly bent.
• High knees. As if you were running, lift your feet off the ground one at a time, bringing your knees up to waist level. This warm-up is for reps, so keep your feet moving as fast as possible and your ankles, knees, hips and shoulders facing forward.
• Butt kicks. Kick your heels up one at a time towards your backside. Keep good form by maintaining the rest of your body perpendicular to the floor.
• Inchworm. On the floor, walk your hands out to a push-up position, then walk your feet to your hands while keeping the legs as straight as possible. Then return to the start position.

Works chest, shoulders, arms and core muscles

Start position: Get on your hands and toes, moving into a plank position. If this position is too difficult, you can drop to your knees.

Movement: Place one hand on a medicine ball and keep the other on the floor. Get your balance and lower into a push-up. Return to start position while rolling the ball across the floor to the other hand to perform another push-up. Continue rolling the ball across for each push-up.

Works upper and lower body and core muscles

Start position: Stand with your feet parallel and knees slightly bent. Hold the medicine ball overhead with your arms extended.

Movement: Throw the ball to the ground as hard as possible. Let your arms follow through so you don’t fall forward. Catch the ball on the bounce from the ground and repeat the process.

Works lower body, core and cardiovascular system

Start position: Tie and secure the resistance band to a pole or have someone firmly hold one end of the band. Stand inside the band, keeping the band at waist level.

Movement: Sprint forward as far as you can. The tension from the band will draw you back towards the starting point. Immediately repeat the sprint effort. Maintain a brisk pace, sprinting in and out as fast as possible.

Works lower body and core muscles and improves flexibility

Starting position: Stand tall with your feet together.

Movement: Take a controlled step forward with your left leg. Lower your hips toward the floor and bend both knees almost to 90-degree angles. The back knee should come close but never touch the ground. Your front knee should be directly over the ankle and the back knee should be pointing toward the floor. Push off with your right foot and bring it forward to starting position. Repeat this sequence with the right leg.

This workout consists of three sets. Complete three rounds of the three sets.

This workout is an A-B-A interval training workout. You perform movement A for 1 minute, transition to movement B for 30 seconds, then go back to movement A for 1 minute. After that set has been completed, rest for 1 minute, then move on to the second set and perform as you did the first.

Repeat each set three times, alternating.

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