exercises-in-phase-two

4 Exercises Which Increase Impact of HCG Protocol

It’s not a requirement to be on an exercise regimen while you’re on the HCG diet protocol, but this is an addition you can make to your method that can improve results to be sure. The original protocol as laid out by Dr. Simeons does not permit any exercise during Phase 2 of the diet. This is not the end all methodology, as there are several other HCG protocols which permit light exercise, or even moderate exercise, with a higher caloric intake. We have discussed this previously, but the modern OWL diet program does allow moderate exercise with 700 calories per day rather than the more traditional 500 calories. It also allows significantly more variety with food selection while in Phase Two.

There’s a variety of exercises which you can do to help increase your metabolism while you’re on the hormone. Our goal here is to outline four main areas that can be added to your weight loss program which will help you to burn even more calories, at least if you are on following the modern protocol we outline in our Quick Start Guide. We recommend exercise 3 to 4 times per week, if you’re on a higher caloric intake plan. This will enable your body to keep its fat burning rate high throughout the program.

chair-dip-exercise1) Chair Dips – Toning Your Triceps and Core

Chair dips are a great way to work out your core and problem thigh areas. This is one of the harder places to burn fat, even using HCG. Sit on the edge of a chair, which is both stable and strong enough to support your weight without tipping. Keep your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your hands about six inches apart and firmly grip the chair’s edges. Slide off the chair and keep your upper body pointing straight down to the floor. Maintain your abs in a “crunched” position with your head centered between your shoulders. Bend your elbows to work your triceps and lower your body down in a straight line. Push yourself back up once your upper arms are parallel to the floor.

Make it More Challenging: Put your feet a bit farther from the chair and go down further during the dips. Once you reached and advanced level, you can straighten your legs fully and place just the heels on the floor to add more weight to the exercise.

2) Push Ups – Tone Your Chest, Triceps, Shoulders and Abs

The trusty push-up we are all probably quite familiar with if we’ve done any previous exercising. However, this is still one of the “bread and butter” exercises for any fitness regimen. Keep your body straight when you are doing this exercise. Keep your abs tight, and your body aligned during the exercise for best results.

Make it More Challenging: You can add weights to your back or body if you have a vest for exercise that weights can be added to. This will increase the difficulty in the exercise.

3) Squats – Excellent for Glutes and Quads

squat-exerciseSquats are a great exercise that can tone your hips and butt in a way that is hard to do otherwise. This is one of the most important exercises and is a requirement if you want a toned look. To do a squat, stand with your fit parallel and at the width of your hips. Bend your knees and lower your back straight as you come down, as if sitting in a chair. Stop when your knees reach 90 degrees and slowing rise back up, squeezing your glute muscles as you return to a standing position.

Make it More Challenging: Add weights, either by holding them, or with a weighted vest.  You can also do jump squats (jumping up in the air and back into the squat position) but this is more for advanced users.

4) Plank Exercises – Tone Your Back, Chest and Forearms

In order to get to the “plank” position, you should get into a position like you’re doing a push-up. Hold this position and with the weight on the balls of your feet, wrists below your shoulders, and arms straight out. Hold this for as long as you can, up to 1 minute each time. Do this for 2 or 3 minutes overall per day. This helps tone your chest and forearms, and your upper back.

Make it More Challenging: Take one leg off the floor and hold it for 30 seconds there. Switch to the other leg for the other 30 seconds and this will complete one rep. You can also do a side plank, which involves holding one arm on the ground sideways, with your feet stacked together, and legs straight.