Getting in shape for the Summer

By - J

By now you've probably realized that spring has dawned on us. That means it's time to get in the gym and start working on getting that summer rip for the ladies at the beach. If you're like me you've been hitting the gym hard over the winter hibernating by building muscle and eating, and more eating. But come April my entire routine takes a switch and toning those bigger muscles and reducing body fat comes into play. A lot of people often feel pressure during this phase and ultimately don't see the results they want. Therefore we've compiled our recommendations to get the fit you want in the time you want to. Firstly to cut body fat and to tone there are two types of ways you can do this:

High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T)

You might've never heard the acronym before but I'm certain you've done it. HITT is the process of going from medium training intervals to high intervals. What this does is help stimulate your anaerobic metabolism to increase the metabolism of fat. By preforming HITT exercise the intensity of fat burning on your body soars through the roof. Workout systems like P90X and Insanity are great HITT workouts to prep for the summer.

Cardio

Cardio's been the one consistent thing that hasn't changed since man could probably walk. It's also known as Aerobic exercise basically your body is being strengthened by burning glucose, fructose and breaking down fat from your body to produce energy to keep you going. Cardio can be intense depending on what you do but usually it isn't very intense.

Things to Remember:

DIET IS EVERYTHING, if you're not eating properly then you might aswell quit before you begin. When you're doing any kind of training to get bigger or to cut down, diet is the most important thing. You can think of it as an 70/30 effect, diet being 70% of the battle. There's a few specifics you need to watch for:

1. Calorie count: You need to make sure you are burning OFF more than you take in.
2. Lean proteins: Lean proteins provide essential amino acids to help your body recover.
3. Healthy carbs and fats: Probably the more difficult of things to manage as there are some carbs that arent as great for you as others. Try going with whole grain carbs and healthy fats like avocado or olive/fish oils.

MIND OVER MATTER,  one of the most important things to take from this post is Mind Over Matter you need to get into the frame of mind saying YES i can do this. When you think you can't go anymore push it further and you'll see how much of a difference that extra 30 mins you push yourself will take you in your results.

Good luck guys, feel free to share your workout routines you use to tone up and cut body fat.


Remember these simple things and i'm sure you'll see success in the future. You can always check out more information at Bodybuilding.com, Livestrong and many other sites for more information.