Getting ready for summer and achieving that beach body you have always dreamed of can be done by following 3 simple steps:
- Nutrition
- Resistance Training
- Cardio work
Nutrition
The temptation is to skip over nutrition and get straight into the gym / exercising, but you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you do. The first step for any body composition / weight loss goal is to look at your nutrition. It has a huge impact on achieving (or not achieving) your goals and shouldn’t be missed out!
Beach Body Bikini Look
- Design every meal around a protein source about the size of your palm
- Eat plenty of vegetables and natural good fats (nuts, avocados etc.)
- Eat a moderate amount of fruit
- Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates (breads, pasta, rice, sugars etc.)
- Limit your snack foods throughout the day
- Avoid processed food
Workout Nutrition for the Beach Body Bikini Look
Have a low-calorie protein shake before or after your workout. Or have half the shake before your workout and half after your workout…
Remember: if you plan on having food very soon after your workout (within 1 hour) then there is no need to have a post-work out shake!
Men’s Health Cover Look
- Design every meal around a protein source about the size of 2 palms
- Eat plenty of vegetables and natural good fats (nuts, avocados etc.)
- Eat a small piece of fruit with every meal
Workout Nutrition for the Men’s Health Cover Look
Goal: gain weight
Pre Workout for weight gain
- use a protein & carb based shake 30 mins before your workout
Post Workout
- Immediately after your workout have a second shake or a pint of milk with a piece of fruit.
Goal: tighten the waist
Post Workout
- Immediately after your workout have a shake or a pint of milk with a piece of fruit.
Resistance Training
Resistance Training for the Beach Body Bikini Look
- We all know that whole body metabolic resistance training is your friend in the body composition & weight loss battle.
- After a short warm-up, start with a moderate weight and add a little more weight with every set
- Try the programme below, completing all 6 exercises with minimal Take a 1 min rest and repeat for 3 more rounds.
- Note: You can pick any exercises you like, but you must cover the whole body
- Goblet Squat x 8-10
- Press Up x 12 reps
- Bent Over Row / Seated Row machine x 8-10 reps
- Swiss Ball Leg Curl x 12-15 reps
- Lat Pull down x 8-10 reps
- Walking Lunge x 10 reps per leg
- Front Plank 30-60 seconds hold
Resistance Training for the Men’s Health look
- Progressive overload is the name of the game here. Start with a moderate weight and add a more weight or an extra 1-2 reps with each session
- Perform the following workout 3 times a week with at least one day recovery between each. Complete all exercises with minimal rest then take a 1 min rest and repeat for 3 more rounds.
- Kettlebell front squat x 5
- Dumbbell or Barbell Bent over Row x 5
- DB Bench Press x 5
- Leg Curl machine x 8
- 1 Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press x 8
- Bicep Curls x 8
- Cable tricep press down x 8
Cardio Training
Cardio Training for the Beach Body Bikini Look
- Interval training is in right now for a very good reason – it gets good results; interval training is your new best friend
- After your metabolic resistance training perform 5 intervals of 1 min on (hard work) and 1 min off (rest)
- Each week add 1 interval until to you get to a maximum of 10
- You can perform any exercise you want. Good choices are: squats, alternating step back lunge, squat jumps, split squat jumps, rower (with resistance), bike (with resistance), squat thrust, med ball slam, skipping…
Resistance Training for guys who are aiming to gain muscle
- Perform 10 min of light cardio to help your legs recover after the squats then eat
Resistance Training for guys who are aiming to drop weight
- After your metabolic resistance training perform 5 intervals of 1 min on (hard work) and 1 min off (rest)
- Each week add 1 interval until to you get to a maximum of 10