SO, Summer is just around the corner! Does the thought of getting into the bikini or swimsuit- or maybe even the shorts – have you running for the hills?
Here are 5 things you can do now to get your body in better shape.
Get a Tan
Not kidding! Regardless of how toned your body or limbs are (or not) they will look better if the skin is tanned and glowing. There are some great products out there that do tanning and moisturising in one application. Apart from the most recent ones, I’ve pretty much tried them all. I always come back to St. Tropez’s gradual tanning lotion. It’s easy to apply, doesn’t stain your clothes or go patchy and leaves your skin looking tanned and healthy.
Once you’ve built up the colour you want, you can apply every other day, or do a different part of the body each day so it doesn’t take too much time. I DO NOT recommend tanning booths as they damage the underlying skin structures, are expensive and can’t practically be done on a daily basis.
Get Toned
As much as you can! To get toned you have to exercise with resistance (it’s called strength training or resistance training). The 30-minute workout at Ladies First Fitness will do all the muscles – and cardio too – so that’s a great option. Our online workouts will also do the job using body weight for resistance.
There are also plenty of other online options. If you cycle round all the main parts of the body, one each day, you’ll get it all done in a week but only have to work for 10-15 mins each day. For example, do ARMS on Monday, LEGS on Tuesday, ABS on Wednesday, GLUTES (bum) on Thursday, SHOULDERS & CHEST on Friday
Get Fit
As well as strength-training you will need to do cardio training to get your heart fit, boost your energy levels (so you can do more of everything else) and get that endorphin rush that makes you feel great! This will improve your will power and make keeping on track so much easier. Our Ladies First Fitness workout includes cardio, so that’s a great way of doing the 2 together – saves you time overall – and you would only need to exercise 3 times per week.
Now, Cardio doesn’t mean you have to pound the exercise bike or treadmill for hours on end. All you need is 3 x 20-min sessions that raise your heart rate per week. You can’t just stare at your favourite film star (wishful thinking, or even just thinking, doesn’t burn calories!). Choose activities that make you feel happy and confident. If your workout is unpleasant or makes you feel clumsy or inept, you’re unlikely to stick with it.
So, don’t choose activities like running or swimming because that’s what you think you should do. Instead, pick activities that fit your lifestyle, abilities and taste. Maybe you love ballroom dancing or fencing or martial arts? They’re all good cardio workouts! If it helps, do it with friends to make it more social and fun and to keep you committed.
Boost your Nutrition
I don’t’ mean eat more! Superfoods, like blueberries, cherries and strawberries, help your body get all the micronutrients it craves, so you’re less likely to trigger increased appetite as a primal mechanism to seek out these nutrients. Also, without micronutrients, macronutrients can’t even do their jobs properly either! So, as far as fat loss goes, micronutrients need to be present for fat-burning enzymes to unlock fat stores and get rid of them for good.
A half-cup of blueberries or strawberries 3 times a week is good for the heart, will help keep your fat genes at bay and help prevent diabetes! Add a dose of cherries on top and you will reduce aches and pains and help shrink the fat cells that are already there! Not only that but you’ll get a thinner waist too!
Off to a T
I’m not talking about golf! Apparently a couple of cups of tea a day can help you to lose weight and/or burn body fat – especially if combined with exercise! Antioxidants in green tea, called catechins, are able to increase the rate at which body fat gets burned for fuel. Having a green tea extract before exercise burns 17% more fat than if you didn’t! Also, a study found that people drinking green tea each day lost an average of 7.3 more pounds and burned 183 more calories per day than those who didn’t. One of our members, who as struggled to lose weight, started drinking a couple of cups of green tea per day and lost 8 pounds!
If you’re like me and think green tea tastes like drinking grass, then just add a fruit tea bag to make it palatable.
Black tea (English breakfast, Earl Grey, Lady Gray) has a higher concentration of flavins which have some phenomenal benefits to metabolism. These flavins have the ability to shift human gene expression to a profile that favours burning fat for fuel!
In a 3-month study, participants drinking 3 cups of black tea a day lost significantly more weight and had a greater reduction in waist circumference.SO, whether it’s black, green, or something in between, incorporating a couple of cups of tea into your daily regime can definitely be supportive of metabolism, burning fat and is also good for reducing stress and anxiety!
Pinkies up, Ladies!
TAKE ACTION
Now, it’s time to act! Reading doesn’t burn calories either!
Now, when you’re adding new things into your daily plan, it’s advisable not to do it all at once. It will be too difficult and you’re more likely to give up on ALL of it.
Make a plan to introduce a new goal in the week after you succeeded in the making the last new goal a habit. Write it down and tick it off as you go – visual cues can provide clear evidence of progress, add a little bit of satisfaction and help to reinforce behaviour.
Or book a FREE Tour and Fitness Consultation at Ladies First Fitness by calling 023 92 520025 and we’ll show you how easily you can get started and do all of this.
Enjoy your Happy and Healthy Summer!