Best Ways to Shape Up for Summer

The warmer weather is on the horizon and many of us are looking for the ultimate hacks to get beach-ready bodies. Knowing what to concentrate on is key to shedding weight, toning muscle and feeling good fast.

Diet, mentality and exercise play a key role, but it’s important to avoid unhealthy fad diets and ineffective workouts if you want to make positive progress that’ll last longer than just this season.  

Regardless of what your summer-body goals are, implementing a balanced combination of the three ingredients will help boost overall wellness. Start with realistic goals, set up a rockin’ playlist to motivate your workouts and get started. Here are our tips to shape up for summer.

Make Small Changes Daily

Going on excessive diet regimes followed by over-intensive workouts will put your body under immense pressure. Instead, opt for small changes designed to make a big impact. You don’t need to give up carbs forever – slow and steady lifestyle changes are generally easier to sustain over the long term.

Changes can be anything from making a regular workout schedule and sticking to it to opting for a smoothie or fresh juice for breakfast on weekdays. Try to eat less meat, make breakfast count, meal prep in advance for healthy quick-fix meals, eat foods that nourish your body and get more sleep.

Invest in a Personal Trainer

Teaming up with someone else can be the perfect source of motivation. Finding the right personal trainer can help achieve results faster and keep you accountable.

Find someone who motivates you. Whether it’s through positive reinforcement or pushing you to your limits – you want their personality to work with yours to get the best results.

Your PT should be qualified and have a fitness philosophy that’s aligned with your needs. Consider how they develop your program. Ideally, it should be personalised to reflect your goals and fitness levels.

Will your workouts be gym based or are you happier working out at home? Will you be using exercise machines or sticking to weights? Is there enough variety to inspire you long-term? Make sure your chosen PT has a method of tracking your results too. You want to know your hard work (and money) is paying off. Benchmarks like strength gain, weight loss and muscle tone show that you’re on track and your PT is doing their job.

Get Your Heart Pumping

Get your heart pumping with two exercise sessions daily. Staying active on a regular basis is vital to getting beach ready. It’s not just about shredding the extra kilos but toning your body as well. And that comes from training. If you’re trying to get in the best shape possible, you should undertake at least 20 minutes of cardio a day.

You don’t need to go to the gym to get your heart pumping. Commit to an at-home strength workout including squats, sit-ups, lunges and star jumps. Exercising first thing in the morning – especially cardio, is one of the quickest ways to burn fat. Aim to do 20 minutes of light to moderate cardio before you eat breakfast.

If you’re wanting to build lean muscle, invest time in strength training for maximum results. Strength training works by giving your metabolism a boost, getting your body to burn more calories throughout the day. It also leaves you feeling and looking great too.

Turn Up the Nutrition

Good nutrition is fundamental for a beach-ready body. Add nutrient-dense foods into your diet, such as salmon, kale, vegetables, potatoes, egg whites, avocado, nuts and whole grains. These foods help maximise the number of nutrients your body takes in and are loaded with healthy fats and essential minerals needed to operate at peak performance. Nutrient-dense foods are also crucial to boosting your workouts. Use these foods as power-packed snacks before or after a workout.

Mix Up Your Routines

Tedious workouts that consist of the same exercises every day aren’t going to motivate you. Whether you’re training at the gym, at home or both, mixing up workouts will encourage you to focus on different areas of your body and gain inspiration to keep working out. Make up your own circuits to achieve the results you want by using dumbells, resistance bands and pull-up bars.

Vary your workout plans and throw in a few new exercises or a different machine every 2-3 weeks. 

Using treadmills or cross trainers will boost cardio while functional trainers can target all areas of your body. As long as there’s variety, the results and motivation will flow.