Summer Body Workout Plan

What is the biggest difference between those people who achieve success in their weight loss/body composition goals, and those who continue to struggle? What separates the lose-quick, gain-quick diets from approaches that have long-lasting results? While many factors play a role in this (some of which we will talk about today) the biggest is persistence. Think of anything that is worth achieving...does it usually come quickly and last forever? No.  It takes trial and error, daily effort, and a never-ending desire to reach your goal. So how does all this relate to making sure you look good for the summer? Persistence in the short term provides an opportunity for building habits for the long term.

The main habit we will be talking about today is exercise. There is no shortcut to getting lean and looking great; it takes consistent, focused exercise. No two-hour jog on the treadmill while watching your favorite show is going to produce any type of noticeable results. We need to get moving and work hard! So if you want to look and feel great for the summer, here is your schedule for the next three months. There’s a catch, though: when you get there…don’t stop! This is not just a “get-in-great-shape” routine. This establishes what it takes to stay fit, as well. It’s a lifestyle change, and once you have built it into your routine, don’t let it slip away!

It’s Exercise Time

This program will require daily activity with purposeful exercise 5 days a week. The time you spend each day will vary, but doing SOMETHING every day is critical. Here is your weekly breakdown:

Mon/Wed/Fri: Strength Training

Strength training is the most effective exercise technique for building lean muscle mass and burning body fat. Be sure to include compound movements (full body) and keep off the machines as much as possible. Your body responses much better to activities that require you to support your own body weight such as squats/split squats, deadlifts, push ups, pull ups, inverted rows, and overhead presses.

Tue/Thu: High-Intensity Anaerobic Training

The next best thing you can do to help burn fat is anaerobic training. This is essentially a more intense variation of traditional cardio. You can run, bike, swim, jump rope, etc., alternating between intense bouts of work and rest periods. The beauty of this work is that you can get it all done in 15 minutes or less, yet achieve better results than spending 60+ minutes doing slow steady pace work in the same activity.

Every day: Active Recovery

If you are doing your strength training and anaerobic training, you will need some light activity to help with your recovery. This includes walking, gardening, house cleaning, playing sports, or just doing light swimming or biking. Staying active will not only help you to recover, but also help to keep you burning fat between workouts. The 10,000 step rule is no joke—it can make a huge difference—and if you have a desk job, it’s time to find ways to get those steps in!

Make Food Your Friend

If you are going to put all this work into getting lean for the summer, don’t just throw it all away by continuing to eat the same way that got you where you are now. Think of it this way; each meal you eat can either support your workouts or negate your workouts. This doesn’t mean you cannot ever have “unhealthy” foods, but just try to support your exercise with your meals as much as possible.

Persist and Prosper

As mentioned earlier, this process will take some trial and error. Depending on how much you exercise right now, this may be an unthinkable amount of work to do right away. If so, then don’t do it all immediately. Set up a plan for how you will slowly build in all these pieces. Maybe you can only do strength training or only the walking: no problem. Start building one activity in and set a goal to focus on just this for one month. Then, once you have it down, add in the next piece. Even if you only do one new activity a month, you will have completely transformed your workout routine in 3 months.

On a similar note, once you do build this exercise routine into your lifestyle, keep it up! While this will definitely help to get you looking good for the summer, there are more important things in life than just having a 6-pack. Keeping yourself in top condition also means that you will feel better, have more energy, spend less time being sick, and will reduce your risk of disease and injury. Use the summer as your excuse to build your routine, then use your life as your excuse to keep that routine.