Summer is here at last and with the warmer weather and lighter evenings, our thoughts turn to holidays and looking good by the pool/on the beach/or with less attire! Everyone wants to look good on their holidays, so what can you do to fast-track your fitness over the next few weeks so that last year’s swimsuit still fits, and you can walk around with confidence and really enjoy your holiday? Well this month here are my Top 4 practical tips to help you improve your health, fitness and figure in time for that Summer vacation – so dip in and make those positive changes!
1. Worth your weight . . . Everyone’s number one goal is to lose a few pounds for their holidays but don’t blitz your weight loss. Crash diets DON’T work, they only result in misery and extra weight gain a few weeks down the line. Instead, focus on losing just one to one and a half pounds per week, which is achievable, sustainable and healthy. Remember, what comes off slowly, stays off long-term.
2. Torch those calories! The number one calorie burning activity is jogging or running, burning a minimum of 100 calories for each mile that you cover. Don’t worry about speed, just get out there and cover the distance. You’ll lose weight, tone up your legs, give your heart a healthy workout and all-in-all, feel a whole lot better, particularly once those feel-good endorphins start coursing through your veins!
3. Eat clean. Diets don’t work! I’ll repeat that; diets don’t work! There’s no quick fix for a healthy and trim figure and magazines and products that promise the earth, deliver only disappointment. Headlines such as ‘drop a stone in 2 weeks’, often endorsed by a Z-list celebrity, are ridiculous, misleading and downright dangerous to your health. Instead, eschew ready meals, processed, packeted and tinned foods, which are laden with salt, sugar, fat, additives and empty calories and eat fresh, natural products. By eating clean, you’ll reduce those energy spikes and troughs that you get with processed products and you’ll feel fantastic with boundless energy!
4. Drink up! Are you dehydrated? Nowadays, with air conditioning, central heating, diuretic drinks including alcohol, tea, coffee and colas, most people are going around in a state of constant dehydration. Factor in a slow thirst sensor (by the time that you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated) and you’ve a recipe for feeling tired, nauseous and irritable. However simply by keeping your fluid levels topped up (it doesn’t have to be solely water), with fruit juice, squash, cordial, milk, soups and of course water; you’ll flush out toxins from your body and re-energise in every way!
5. and finally, So, my easy recipe for shaping up for Summer is to focus upon sensible weight loss, simple calorie burning, a clean nutrition plan and all washed down with – plenty of water! Enjoy shaping up and I’ll see you on the beach in August!
Mike Searle, Training Director, body4life personal training. We get you fitter . . . faster.
07986 483955 / 01244 301769
www.body4life.co.uk
