WORKOUT
summer
Did you let things slip a bit over the cooler months?
Rediscover your inner and outer strength so you can
enjoy those sunny days to the max, says founder of
TheVikingMethod,SvavaSigbertsdottirGet stronger for
PREPARE
TO SUCCEED
Want to give her method a try? You’re
in luck – Svava has given us a taster of
her programme below – but you must be
prepared to give it your all, Viking style.
Your first task is to count how many
burpees you can do in five minutes. Yes,
five. ‘It doesn’t matter if you do three
burpees the first time round or need lots
of breathers. What matters is how you
progress over the four weeks you’ll do
my programme,’ says Svava.
Leave your emotions behind and
concentrate fully on
what your muscles are
doing as you tackle
the following moves- ditching those
negative thoughts is a
must (Vikings can’t
doubt themselves, after all).
‘I made one of my clients sing a song
every time she said something negative
about herself, until she got so sick of the
song, she stopped the self criticism,’ says
Svava. And remember, if the last three reps
of an exercise aren’t a great struggle, you
need to make it harder.
‘Be on the verge of failing and push
through. Or fail. Then, one day, if you
keep trying, you won’t fail,’ she adds.
Fired up with enthusiasm and ready to
take control of your pre-summer prep?
Decide on a period when you will be able to
train and eat sensibly for four weeks. Stick
to the plan – talking yourself out of this is
not allowed, warriors! ‘Nothing great is
ever achieved with partial effort.’
‘Nothing great is
everachieved with
partial effort’I
t’s time to leave behind the
comfort food and boxsets that
defined winter and rediscover the
joy of exercising and feeling strong
now the energising longer days
and warmer temperatures are here.
We know it’s hard to get started, so
we’ve enlisted the perfect person to help.
‘Don’t say “I should start exercising”; say
“I will”,’ advises top trainer Svava
Sigbertsdottir, author of new book The
Viking Method (Penguin Random House,
£16.99), which includes exercise
programmes, nutritious recipes and eating
plans, and plenty
of advice on mental
strength and how to
get the most out of
your body.
The trainer behind
Nicole Scherziner's
amazing body, Svava devised The Viking
Method after drawing on inspiration from
her Icelandic upbringing to create her a
programme that's designed to build a
body that's not just strong and powerful,
but agile too.
When embarking on an exercise
programme, don’t take before and after
photos, says Svava. ‘When you focus on
what you look like, you’ll often start from an
unhappy place. Fashions change for body
ideals, too, so while big bottoms are in
vogue now, they may not be in a few
months’ time,’ she says. ‘Looking good is
also very subjective, and it’ll be hard to
ever be totally satisfied. Instead, measure
your fitness progress – that’s a fact you
WORDS: Emma Lewiscan’t argue with.’ Wise words indeed.