Spring is just around the corner, and you know what that means?it?s summer! For most of us, summertime equals shorts, crop tops, bathing suits, all of which include revealing a lot of skin. If the fact that you have to take your thick sweater off and show your body scares you, it?s time to start working on your summer body. Here are a few fitness ideas that will get you to your goal just in time:
Follow a fitness plan
If you want to see quick results, it?s important to keep your body guessing with new workouts that target various groups of muscles. If you create a good fitness plan, you will have a variety of workouts that target your upper and lower body, your core, your endurance, your cardio performance and your stability.
A quality plan of action will allow you to work smarter and not harder. If you don?t know how to create a fitness plan, you can consult with a private trainer or do some research online?there are many free sources with quality content out there.
Do strength training
No matter if you?re a man or a woman, strength training is crucial for fitness. Resistance training is great for both losing weight and building muscle and it?s going to get you closer to your goals faster. The gym is the best place to do strength training, especially if you hire a personal trainer (this is a great recommendation for beginners).
If you don?t like the gym or can?t visit one because of the pandemic, it?s possible to do great strength training at home or outside with just a few freebies, props and your own body weight.
Focus on compound movements
Whether you want to lose weight or gain muscles, there?s one rule that?s the same for everyone?compound exercises work the best and bring the fastest results. Compound exercises like deadlifts, squats, presses, different types of crawls and lunges all target a variety of muscles, thus bringing better results in less time. With these, you?ll sweat, increase your heart rate and build muscle at the same time.
Include variety
If you usually give up working out after a few weeks or a month max, you can try to include some variety into your regimen. Instead of constantly doing running as a cardio training, you can sit on your bike and have a riding session in your neighborhood, local park or nearby nature trail. Instead of pumping iron in the gym, you can replace your indoor gym with an outdoor gym.
A great full-body workout that?s fresh and interesting is martial arts. If you?re interested in taekwondo training, it?s easy to find groups that train adults but you can also find great instructional videos online to perfect your moves and techniques. Taekwondo and other martial arts are dynamic, fun and great for your overall physical fitness and mental health.
Include some light supplementation
When people hear the word supplementation, they usually think of steroids or something extreme like that, however, supplements can be healthy and very helpful for all people who want to improve their fitness. You can include light supplementation like pre-workout that will make your training sessions a little bit easier to handle and boost your performance even when you?re not feeling like working out.
If you want to gain muscle but struggle with eating enough calories, you can supplement your meals with protein powder (animal or plant-based). These can all be used by regular amateurs like you as long as you follow instructions.
Stretch more
When you think about getting that perfectly chiseled body for summer, your mind probably doesn?t automatically go to stretching. However, if you want to stay on track and give it your all at the gym, it?s more than important to stay free from pain and injury.
Even the slightest muscle pull can put you out of the gym for a week or more?that?s a lot of precious workout time. At the beginning of your workout, do some active warming up and at the end, stretch and cool off every muscle group. This habit will boost your recovery and performance and deepen the mind-muscle connection.
Include recovery
One of the crucial tips in losing weight and gaining muscle is rest, especially sleep. During sleep, your body rebuilds damaged muscle, fuels the cells with energy and even burns calories. However, while it?s important to get enough ZZZs, it?s also necessary to include rest and recovery days into your workout program. In some cases, you can completely have a lazy day and rest (if you want to build muscle and get bigger) but you can also have a light day of physical activity followed by plenty of love and care.
If you want to get fit for the summer, expect a lot of effort and dedication, but if you approach your goals in a smart way, the results will be epic!
Randolph Spencer is a professional writer and blogger with 10 years of experience. He likes traveling around the globe and writing about various topics that he finds interesting for his readers.
