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Programme three
 Discover superfoods and improve muscle tone and strength
Programme three
Follow a six-week healthy living plan, tailored to your fitness level, and reap the benefits from day one
Programme three
This third six-week plan aims to increase the intensity of your physical activities and help you learn more about which foods your body needs as fuel.
Week five
Diet
This week's challenge is to eat the right foods to give you more energy to support your increasing exercise levels. Here we explain the best choices to maximise your workouts.
Foods for energy
Muscles use glucose when they work and the main sources of this in your diet are starchy and sugary types of food. Good sources of energy for exercise include:
breakfast cereals and bread
pasta and potatoes
noodles and rice
bananas, grapes and apples
crispbreads, breadsticks, currant buns and fruit scones
raisins and dried fruit
If you're exercising a lot, foods containing magnesium and zinc can aid muscle repair. Eat more low-fat dairy food, fish, pumpkin seeds, pulses, beans, broccoli and cabbage.
After exercise, revive yourself with the one of these high-energy foods. Avoid rewarding yourself with high-fat treats - these will undo all your good work.
Stay hydrated
Drinking plenty of fluid is important, but you don't need a sports drink unless you're exercising for more than an hour. Many sports drinks contain lots of sodium (salt) and are really aimed at specialist athletes. Instead drink water, squash, fruit juice or milk. You should aim for eight to ten glasses a day.
Exercise
This week, you'll be increasing the running bouts in one interval session and reducing them in the other. Continue with the other sessions and exercises and add the stork exercise.
Your week
Your aim this week is to do two different types of 40-minute interval session on different days. You'll also start strength training regularly.
Interval session one
Warm up by walking at a comfortable pace for five minutes.
Run for one minute at a perceived rate of exertion of nine, then walk for two. Complete this cycle ten times.
Cool down with a five-minute walk at a comfortable pace.
Interval session two
Warm up by walking at a comfortable pace for five minutes.
Run for eight minutes, then walk for two. Complete this cycle three times.
Cool down with a five-minute walk at a comfortable pace.
Keep the threshold session at 25 minutes and the aerobic session at one hour, but don't get too comfortable. Ensure your improved fitness is reflected in your pace.
Your week could look like this:
| Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thurs |
Fri |
| 1 x 40-minute interval session one |
Strength training |
1 x 25-minute threshold session |
1 x 40-minute interval session two |
Rest |
1 x one-hour aerobic session |
Strength training |
Strength training
You had a taster of strength training in week two, now it's time to make it part of your regular routine.
Aim to do two strength workouts this week. Don't repeat the same one twice - try two different approaches. For example, you could combine a body pump class with using weights machines in the gym. Or you could use body-weight exercises, such as squats, push-ups and lunges. Variety is the key to improving strength.
 The stork
Balance begins to decline from as young as 40, and lack of it is a major cause of falls in later life. This exercise challenges and builds your balance and coordination, as well as strengthening the lower leg muscles. Do it every day.
Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your left leg, taking all your weight on to your right foot. Hold for as long as possible, then return your foot to the floor and repeat on the other side. Once you can hold the position for 30 seconds, try it with your eyes closed.
To progress the move, stand on a sheet of A4 paper. Jump up and down 20 times on each foot, trying to land on the paper each time.
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