Many of us are currently experiencing one of the hottest summers in recent memory, and best of all is the fact that it’s not over just yet. As great as the summer weather is, the one real downside to anybody not happen with their physique, is that hot sunshine and scorching temperatures generally equal less clothing. If you’re ripped to shreds, built like a fitness model, and content with your physique, stripping off at the beach, pool, BBQ pool party, or in your own back garden, won’t be an issue. If your summer body could do with a little improvement, it’s never too late to step up your training and clean up your diet. If you’re looking to build and maintain a fit body this summer, check out these handy tips and you’ll be looking like a Greek God in no time at all.
Dial in your nutrition
As the saying goes ‘you can’t out-train a bad diet’ and if you’re serious about getting in shape this summer, one of the first things you will need to do is clean up your diet. If you want to show off your abs at the beach this summer, the processed junk food is going to have to go, or at least be reserved for only special occasions and for well-deserved cheat meals. Cut out the junk and replace it with wholesome, healthy, nutrient-rich foods instead. Get plenty of vegetables, get enough lean protein (more on that next) eat healthy fats, drink more water, consume complex carbs, and prepare healthy, wholesome, nutritious meals, making sure to watch your caloric intakes.
Get more protein
Protein is the most important macro nutrient within the human body, and it plays a crucial role in the growth and development of muscle tissue. Without protein, our muscles wouldn’t repair themselves after we worked out, so we’d basically find ourselves with damaged, worn, tired out muscles that simply will not grow. Protein is also thermogenic, which basically means that the body will struggle to digest it and break it down. This means that it stays in your stomach for longer, and therefore helps to keep you feeling full for longer. If you’re constantly hungry and craving junk, this is important because the fuller you feel, the less you will crave and the fewer hunger pains you’ll experience. This obviously makes it much easier to watch your caloric intakes in order to stay in a deficit. Protein also promotes lean muscle growth, which can also boost the metabolism. This is because protein needs more calories for maintenance than fat, and so the metabolism has to work harder to compensate for this. Basically, the more muscle you have, the more calories your body is burning just to maintain it.
Monitor your calories
As complex and scientific as some personal trainers and supplement companies like to make weight loss seem, it basically all boils down to a matter of calories in versus calories out. Put simply, if you consume more calories than your body needs for maintenance, you will gain weight, if you consume roughly the exact amount of calories needed for maintenance, your weight will stay the same, and if you consume fewer calories than the body needs for maintenance, you will lose weight. People often think that an extreme deficit is the way to go for weight loss but it isn’t. This is because if you go too low, the body enters starvation mode and will basically try to hold onto its body fat reserves, and will also start looking for alternative energy sources, which unfortunately come in the form of lean muscle tissue. To get your summer body, aim for a deficit of around 200 – 300 calories at the most, as this will ensure you lose fat in a healthy and controlled manner, without sacrificing muscle. It also means that you won’t constantly feel hungry.
Drink more water
If you’re hoping to look like a bronzed Adonis this summer, you’re going to have to knock the chemical-laden diet cokes on the head, and drink good quality, all-natural H20 instead. The human body is comprised of almost 80% water, so that alone gives you a pretty clear indication that water is important. Water hydrates us, it’s great for the organs, it keeps us mentally sharp, it boosts the metabolism, and it helps improve athletic performance. We need water at all times, but especially during the hotter summer months. You’ve probably noticed how hot and sweaty the summer weather has made you feel lately, and when you sweat you are losing fluids and electrolytes from your body. These fluids and electrolytes all need replacing, which is why it is so important to drink enough water each day. For athletic performance purposes, drinking water is important for circulation as it helps the heart to pump more blood around the body. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells in the muscles, which they then use for energy. The more energy they have, the harder you can work and the better you will look. Ideally you should aim to drink anything between 2 and 4 liters of mineral water per day, though if you are sweating profusely and losing fluids, this amount may need to be upped slightly.
Watch your alcohol intake
We all know that seeing the sun shining just always seems to make us want to enjoy a nice cold glass of alcohol, whether it’s in the form of a pint of beer, cider, a glass of wine, a G&T, a summer cocktail, or any other of the hundreds of alcoholic drink choices out there. When it comes to alcohol consumption however, moderation is the key, especially if you’re looking to transform your body and get into amazing shape this summer. While one beer now and then won’t hurt, drinking several pints at a time will. Alcohol suppresses the metabolism, which means that we burn fewer calories and have less energy, so it becomes much harder to burn fat, and much easier to gain weight. Not only that, but if you do drink too much, you’ll likely lose your inhibitions and will be far more likely to break your diet and eat junk food. You’ll also be hungover the next day, so working out at the gym will be the last thing on your mind. Every now and then enjoy a cold drink by all means, but if you are committed to getting in shape, alcohol consumption is going to have to be limited a great deal.
Work out frequently
Finally, if you want a muscular body, you are going to have to burn fat and build muscle. This is where it pays to hit the gym and exercise like your life depends on it, because in some respects, it kind of does. Ideally you should work each muscle group at least once per week, by performing a wide variety of different exercises, all designed to hit the muscle in a slightly different way. How many times you train will depend on which training program you follow, but when you are in the gym, make sure you really push your muscles, and your body, and train with the right weights at the right volumes. Some popular exercises include: bench presses, dumbbell shoulder presses, bicep curls, skull crushers, push ups, bent over rows, and many more besides. If you’re struggling to decide which exercises to perform, check out this handy infographic listing 55 great exercises you should try this summer.
Exercise is a most important part of being fit, you can try some diet plan which can help you to reduce the wait and make you fit. But instead of doing all these exercise their another way you can try to be a fit and lose weight. So, if you are tired with all these stuff and wanted to try something which is very easy then you can try some diet supplements. A natural weight loss supplements can definitely help you to reduce weight and make you fit. Natural weight loss supplements also do not have any side effects. You can also take your doctor advice before you take of them.