The 3 most important things to do for your best beach body ever

by: Lara Harrington, ISSA, ACSM

Now that the temperatures are starting to rise you may be feeling the urgency to shed the layer (or 2) that winter left behind. In fact, given that the winter was exceptionally brutal, I strongly urge you to really live it up this summer. Wear as little as possible and soak up all the Vitamin D your body’s been longing for (just don’t forget your sunblock if you’re exposed for more than 15 minutes).

If the thought of wearing very little frightens you a bit, now is the time to clean up your act. Here are the three most important things to stay on top of if you want to look and feel amazing this summer.

Exercise

No brainer, I know. But how much exercise should you be getting and what types of exercise? My take is that if you plan to workout everyday, you may get in a solid 4-5 workouts weekly. After all, life happens. Every workout regimen should include strength (weight lifting), cardio, conditioning (it’s different & better than just cardio), and rest.

• Strength means you’re lifting enough weight to make you stronger. Scrap the little dumbbells. Plan 2-3 days of strength.
• Cardio should challenge just that – your cardiovascular capabilities. Don’t waste your time on the elliptical – make it worth every second. Try a shorter amount of time with a lot more effort. If you’re not breaking a sweat during your cardio session, then it’s not really cardio. Plan 2 – 3 days for cardio.
• Conditioning means you’re pushing your cardio intensity enough to make you faster and have more power. No dilly-dallying. Set your intervals and give it everything you’ve got. Plan 2 – 3 days for conditioning.
• Rest means just that – rest. All of your hard work transpires while you rest. All your progress takes shape while you rest. Recovery is where it’s at. Plan for at least 1 day of full rest.

Your week may look something like this:

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Strength & Conditioning
• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: Cardio
• Sunday: Rest!

Eat Well

It’s not just about hitting the gym. You’ve heard us say it before – you can’t out train a bad diet. But you can incorporate some things that will make a healthy diet more sustainable.

• Lean & Green baby! The first thing you should consider when deciding what to eat is vegetables (like dark leafy greens). Proteins & fats are easy – it’s the veggies that will require some prioritizing.
• Drink your water! Go out and find yourself the best water bottle ever. One that you can have with you at all times. You should be consuming ½ your weight in ounces (if you weigh 150lbs, you should be drinking 75oz. of water daily). Do the math and figure out how many times you should be re-filling your new bottle. *tip* Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning – before even getting out of bed. Sit up when your alarm goes off and take your time knocking down 8oz. Your liver will love you for it!
• Plan ahead. No doubt eating healthy requires some planning. The good news is that eventually the planning becomes habitual and much less work. To help you out I developed a meal planner that you can download and use as your roadmap for the week. It will help you be thoughtful and organized with the food you buy, prepare, and eat. It’s an invaluable tool that is a staple in my kitchen and should also be in yours.

Sleep

It is not over-rated and it is not negotiable. Sleep is sexy and it is imperative for all living functions. Remember the rest and recovery we discussed earlier? Well, it cannot happen without sleep. Restful sleep may not come easy to you – especially if you’re an adrenaline junkie. But that doesn’t mean you give up on it. You may have to experiement with some night time routines that can help you calm your mind. Check out this article for some of my go-to practices that help me quiet down and catch some beautiful Z’s.