We all know that Labor Day is the official start of summer and the day most of us shoot for to have a beach ready body. However if you didn’t quite reach your goals there’s still plenty of time to get the body you want before the end of summer. But you have to start now! Here are six simple tips you can make in both your training and nutrition to get you headed in the right direction.
1. Switch to Interval Training instead of long duration cardio.
Most people come in to do their cardio and their only goal is to continue to add time. Twenty minutes become thirty, thirty becomes forty-five, and finally they reach an hour. However most are leisurely reading the latest gossip magazine or paying more attention to the television then their actual workout. A study was recently performed where a group was prescribed 50 minutes of steady state cardio 5 times a week. Over the course of 6 weeks this group had no significant change in body fat compared to a control group. A better option is interval training. This consists of short bursts of maximal effort followed by a period of recovery. This is much better for elevating metabolism not only during the session but also for the long term which should be the goal of any fat loss program. Here’s a sample workout to try.
- 5 minute warm-up (Moderate pace used to increase blood flow and get warmed up)_
- 30 second sprint (This can be treadmill, hill, or bike sprints, use whatever you like but it should be as hard as you can)
- 60 second recovery (This should be at most 50% the intensity of your sprint and is really just used to recover for the next sprint)
- Perform 8-10 intervals and follow that up with 5-10 minutes of a cool-down and you’re done!
2. Eliminate body part splits and switch to full body routines.
When the goal is fat loss, performing full body workouts will always outperform workouts that mirror the old outdated bodybuilding approach of focusing an entire workout on one body part. To get started just pair an upper body exercise and lower body exercise with minimal rest in between. For example a set of squats followed by a set of pushups. The muscles involved with each exercise still get the same amount of rest and we can increase the amount of work and the intensity of your workout.
3. Only consume calorie-free beverages.
I hate to be the bad guy but this means cut out the beer, soda, and wine for this period while your goal is fat loss. This also means all fruit juices and similar drinks. Unfortunately these drinks get pushed as healthy but most are filled with added sugar that will send your body into a fat storing mode. So for now water it is, try adding lemon, lime, or tea bags to help give you some variety.
4. Save your starches for breakfast and after workouts only.
While the diets we recommend are certainly not NO carb diets we do stress focusing on consuming your carbs from mostly vegetables and fruit throughout the day. If you want to keep things like potatoes, brown rice, or whole grain pasta in your diet, the two best times of the day would be breakfast and after a workout. The carbs from these foods will be used to replenish your body’s energy stores rather than being converted to fat and stored for later use.
5. Work out with a friend who has the same goal.
This is the one most people are surprised by. One of the biggest contributors to success for the average gym goer is fun and accountability. Getting a friend on board with your workout schedule and diet goals kills two birds with one stone. You both can push each other when it’s tough to make it in to the gym and it will make it more fun training alongside a like-minded friend. No one wants to see their friend eating cheesecake while the other is doing well eating grilled chicken and some sautéed veggies! Research is even supporting that those who train with another person will not only stick to a program longer, but will also get better results.
6. Allow yourself some enjoyment 10% of the time.
Realize that no one is perfect. There will ALWAYS be a party or event coming up. Schedule it and make it part of your plan. This will not only help you stay on track but also help with you not feeling like you failed every time you strayed from your goals. If you’re doing everything else right then the 10 percent which accounts for about 3 meals per week, will make no difference in your overall goal.
All that’s left to do is get started. Start logging your foods, increase the intensity and structure of your workouts and get going. There’s 6 weeks until Labor Day and you can still get the body you want. You just need to set a goal and do it!
Let us help: For $99 you can have an all access trial membership to our results based training system. This will include an evaluation with one of our expert staff members, an individualized program based on the results of your evaluation, and 4 sessions with one of our trainers to teach you your program. Call 732-872-6595 for an appointment today!
