MACRONUTRIENTS: How to get Fit and Lean in the Kitchen this Summer

Confused with your nutrition which will help you to get the body you have always desired this summer? Well,  you are not alone. There are so many beliefs about the best ways to lose body fat, a myriad of different diets and fads, no wonder you feel befuddled with the all the information out there!

This article is a very simple guide to help set you up on the right track,  so you can achieve your ultimate bikini body for summer  for our 12 week to christmas challenge, minimising confusion along the way. If you are interested to learn even more more you can download MY FREE comprehensive report showing you how you can accelerate your fat loss and promote a leaner tighter body this summer here:

It is important to note that, we are all different and will respond differently to different nutritional protocols, therefore this information should be used as a guideline ONLY. You will need to tweak this for yourself and understand how your body responds to the directions, in order to achieve true success.

On any fat loss plan, you should strive to lose 1-2 lbs. per week, whilst a realistic goal for strength and muscle building is between 2-4kgs. Essentially,  if you haven't already done so, you will need to follow a nutritional protocol as soon as possible so that you can achieve the best results within a minimal timeframe.

CALORIES AND MACRONUTRIENTS (MACROS)- They all count!

You have three macronutrients which you need to take into consideration to get your body

working like a fat stripping machine for your 12 week transformation challenge.  You must include optimal levels for each and every macronutrient (that is protein, carbs and fat) into  your nutrition plan, and lose any preconceptions of completely cutting any particular  macronutrient, which you may think will allude to better results:

Your macronutrients are Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein and all have a particular energy density which all play specific and essential roles within the body.

One gram of each macronutrient, is equal to a certain number of calories and therefore

contains a certain amount of energy (measured in calories) according to the macronutrients' atwater factor. The energy density of each macronutrient certainly plays an important role in your fat loss plan.

Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates all have  a certain amount of calories (unit of energy) per gram. One gram of protein contains 4 calories, one gram of fat contains 9 calories, and one gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. Due to the energy density of each macronutrient you will need to subdivide your portions carefully per meal to promote the results that you want.

To keep things super simple for you; think about every main meal, your protein serving should be approximately the size of 1 palm of your hand for the ladies and 2 palms for the blokes. Carbohydrates 1/4 to 1/2 cup- if well tolerated for both genders and fats 1/3 the size of each serving.

Ever heard of the phrase that not all calories are created equally? Whilst this concept is true, if you are serious about losing body fat, you will definitely need to consider your overall calorie intake. This is due to the fact that, if your intake is its way over your expenditure you will pile the pounds on rather than rip them off your body.

If you're a food lover,  then maybe you eat all the healthy foods but can't understand why your not changing shape? If this is the case,  you should definitely check your portion sizes this might be sending your energy intake over the edge and as a result,  you could be stunting the potential of your results.  If you do tend to splurge on the portions, a top tip is to be more mindful, and appreciative of  each meal. Avoid being in a rush when you eat,  slow everything down, enjoy each bite and chew around 7 times before swallowing. Also,  actually focus on eating, so rather than eat whilst watching T.V eat at the dinner table where you have time to think about your meal a little more. 

ONLY Choose the calories that will nourish your body

It might be obvious to you yet, important to note;  whilst some foods are extremely nutrient dense for their ratio of calories  others have hardly any use for your body, and can wreck havoc on your hormones thus preventing fat burn. 

For example you could eat a 200kcal ice-cream or you could have a bowl of chopped carrots plus dip, (assuming this also equates to 200kcal). The calories in the ice-cream are nutrient empty, i.e ;full of the bad type of fats and sugars), whilst in the second choice of carrots and dips these are packed with nutrients which your body can use more effectively. So best to stick to the mother nature type of foods rather than anything packaged and chemically laced before it enters your mouth, so that you nourish your body as much as possible with the foods that you consume.

 Record Assess, Plan and Prepare. (RAPP)

Do the RAPP. An essential part of your transformation plan is to record and assess all your meals for at least three days and ideally 7 days. After each meal and beverage you need to describe how you feel. Also you should record your activities around your meals to make a more accurate distinction of your average daily intake Vs daily activity. Ge the ball rolling- download my FREE BODYWIZE 7-DAY NUTRITION DIARY HERE. It is fundamental to do this so your coach and/or yourself can assess your different reactions to the foods, your timings of foods around your activities, and your energy levels, so you can adapt your nutrition in order to lead to awesome results. This exercise is also an excellent way of keeping you accountable for your goals, so always a great idea to repeat this exercise regularly to keep you on track. Once you have recorded your nutrients over 7 days, and calculated your ideal calorie consumption, factoring in your optimal macronutrient intake for your goal, plus activity level you can then plan your grocery shop accordingly and prepare you meals ahead of the week. This will help you to stay focussed and get you to your goals much quicker. You can download a FREE copy of a Meal planner and shopping list here.

Nutrient Timing

Ever heard of the 'anabolic window of opportunity'? This sentiment refers to nutrient timing and its effects on establishing body composition improvements and exercise performance. The ' opportunity window' alludes to a lim

ited time exists after training to optimise training-related muscular adaptations. Worth considering,  as your training regime takes a significant ramp up, you should manipulate your protein and carbohydrate intake,  in particular around your training times.

Pre-training session-There are many interesting variables for this influence, such as exercise type.  For example, Studies have shown that minimising simple sugars before your workout will maximise fat oxidation- i.e you will burn more fat during your workout by reducing and/or eliminating sugar intake, in particular before an endurance training session. 

The post-exercise period is often considered the most critical part of nutrient timing (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013)  Our body tends to be much more sensitive and receptive around 1-2 hours post training, due to the events controlled by insulin (Levenhagen et al 2001). Nutrient selection is largely influenced by exercise type. Packing in particular macronutrients, around a resistance training session,  would differ from cycle class, for example.  So clearly we need to ingest the correct nutrients, at the correct times in order to achieve our fat loss goals within our timeframe. Providing your body with the perfect blend of carbohydrates protein as opposed to a mish mash of nutrients and calories  seems to allow for unequivocal results.  An example of this theory was found by Ivy et al.(2002). The authors  found that consumption of a combination of protein and carbohydrate after a 2+ hour bout of cycling and sprinting increased muscle glycogen content significantly more than either a carbohydrate-only supplement of equal carbohydrate or caloric equivalency. Argon and Schoenfild (2013) attribute the synergistic effects of protein-carbohydrate to a more pronounced insulin response.

Meal Frequency- Nibble or gorge?

Ever heard people yarp on about the fact that you must graze on 5-6 meals per day if you

want to improve your body fat percentage? I think this the biggest pile of dogs dinner the health and fitness industry wants you to believe, and its all a falsity. I know if i ate 6 meals a day i would blow up like a hippopotamus having a fat day. I know that I work much better with three meals. This isn't to suggest that 6 meals or 11 meals, might not work for you. This is my biggest piece of advice; find out what works best for YOU! Everyone is a different person,  with different reactions. Are you a nibbler or a gorger, what gives you the best results?  During a detailed review of the possible mechanistic explanations for a metabolic advantage of nibbling meal patterns, Bellisle et al (1997) failed to reveal significant benefits in respect of energy expenditure. In summary, consider your total amount of food consumed to determines the amount of energy expended during digestion. For example, eating 3 meals of 800 calories will cause the same thermic effect as eating 6 meals of 400 calories. There is literally no difference.

Mindset- consistency and PATIENCE!

I see people go charging into a fat stripping muscle building  routine all guns a-blazing, so to 

speak  yet, with-out setting themselves up for consistency as they have failed to plan properly. At the end of the day, your goal is to reduce body fat whilst increasing muscle mass AND you surely want to be able to maintain the results that we achieve from our hard work, therefore going in with the right mind set is a totally essential part of your plan so that you can stick at it through the tough stuff. Some clients fall into the trap of training and eating well for a couple of days then slacking off for a couple of days.  Always be mindful of the fact that a spasmodic approach to training and nutrition will slow your progress down. The more you can assess your weaknesses and strengths, the more you can create the right strategies for yourself,  so that you achieve success. There is no doubt that the mind will flip out sometimes so it's up to remember that you are in control and to tame yourself in to the course of action that will lead to your desired changes. Get your self on track by recording your goals in detail. Download your free copy of the Bodywize health fitness and goals assessment.

If you like this blog post you will LOVE to know more about the macronutrients in further

 detail and how you can manipulate the correct amounts of macronutrients according to your body composition goal in your transformation routine. 

You can download your FREE copy of my report explaining everything you need to know about how to lose fat and build your fitter healthier, firmer body in the kitchen here:  

HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR ULTIMATE BIKINI BODY IN JUST 4 MINS...

Want to transform your body this summer? Then transform your training regime!

In the first part of my series, I formed a discussion with the general means of showing you how the achieve your best ever bikini body 2014. I promised that i would delve in deeper to each element,  to allow you a better understanding of how to maximise your results in your 90 days.

Get your fitness and shape on track THIS SUMMER & achieve your ultimate bikini body,  join our 90 day bikini body challenge click here

Now,  a massive excuse that I often hear from clients in this day and age is 'i haven't got time to train'. So i have come up with some ideas for you that make that excuse a load of BS.  Here are specific methods that you can use with MMM- Maximal Movement with Minimal time. Yes alas there are more ways now where you don't like me .

Of course we all require a mixture of different training modalities and protocols to keep our fitness and health up to scratch so we achieve amazing results,  but for now I'm going to hone in on HIIT training to show you you don't need much time OR equipment 

HIIT YOUR TRAINING, WITH TABATA STYLE INTENSITY
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has been around for donkey's years, however you've probably noticed it's currently under the spotlight in the media due to the positive benefits it produces within a short space of time.

Quite often, a massive goal for the regular exerciser is often to promote skeletal muscle fat oxidation, which means participating in this type of training has been proven to improve body 

composition Racil et al (2013), specifically resulting in a reduction of visceral fat (Hottenrott et al 2012). Whilst endurance athletes in competition,  also opt for this type of training due to carbohydrate sparing for performance purposes. Many of us are also time poor,  therefore once you entertain the thought  that you could supersede the number exercise benefits of a moderate one hour training session by miles,  in only 240 seconds,  the sheer nature of this training becomes even more appealing,  Babraj et al (1995). It is fascinating that, HIIT training adapts both the the anaerobic and aerobic engine at the same time.  HIIT training has also been proven to be beneficial for health.  For example,  HIIT lowers insulin resistance and results in a number of skeletal muscle adaptations which enhance skeletal muscle fat oxidation plus improve glucose tolerance.

Boucher suggests that regular aerobic exercise on body fat is negligible; however, other forms of exercise may have a greater impact on body composition. emerging research examining high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) indicates that it may be more effective at reducing subcutaneous and abdominal body fat than other types of exercise.

WHAT THE STUDIES SHOW 

Trembly et al (1993) studied the the impact of two different modes of training on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism within young adults who were subjected to either

a 20-week endurance-training (ET) program (eight men and nine women) or a 15-week high-intensity intermittent-training (HIIT) program (five men and five women). Despite its lower energy cost, the investigation showed that the HIIT program induced a more pronounced reduction in subcutaneous adiposity compared with the ET program. Also, when corrected for the energy cost of training, the decrease in the sum of six subcutaneous skinfolds induced by the HIIT program was ninefold greater than by the ET program
One of the most infamous HIIT programs is known as Tabata, and this is protocol is named after the scientist who discovered a specific HIIT protocol which reaped maximum benefits and has simply taken a trend from there. 

Back in 1996, Tabata et al, evaluated the effect of two different protocols on anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic capacity (with oxygen)  in subjects. The first protocol consisted of a 6 week moderate intensity training protocol (70% of max oxygen uptake 60 mins for 5 days per week) upon anaerobic capacity using a cycle ergometer. the results of this study showed that the effects of this training, were that,  the anaerobic capacity did not increase significantly while VO2max increased. The second protocol,  quantified the effect of high-intensity intermittent training on energy release, on seven subjects. The subject performed an intermittent training exercise 5days per week for 6 weeks.  The exhaustive intermittent training consisted of seven to eight sets of 20-s exercise at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max with a 10-s rest between each bout. After the training period, VO2max increased by 7 ml.kg-1.min-1, while the anaerobic capacity increased by 28%. In conclusion, this study showed that moderate-intensity aerobic training that improves the maximal aerobic power does not change anaerobic capacity and that adequate high-intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy supplying systems significantly, probably through imposing intensive stimuli on both systems.

Recently, Siije et al (2012) evaluated the effects of a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program on the body composition, cardiac function and aerobic capacity in 60 overweight young women aged 19-20 of a body fat equal to and in excess of 30%. The subjects were randomly assigned to each of the HIIT group, the moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) group and the non-training control group. The subjects in both the HIIT and MICT groups underwent exercise training five times per week for 12 weeks. In each of the training sessions, the HIIT group performed interval exercises at the individualised heart rate (HR) of 85% of VO2max and separated by brief periods of low intensity activity (HR at 50% of VO2max), while the MICT group did continuous walking and/or jogging at the individualised HR of 50% of VO2max.  Both of these exercise training programs produced significant improvements in the subjects' body composition, left ventricular ejection fraction, heart rate at rest, maximal oxygen uptake and ventilatory threshold. However, the HIIT group achieved better results than those in the MICT group, as it was evaluated by the amount of the effect size. The control group did not achieve any change in all of the measured variables.The authors concluded that the results from the HIIT program was an effective measure for the treatment of young women who are overweight.

BACK TO THE GYM FLOOR - HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR ULTIMATE BIKINI BODY IN JUST 4 MINS

There are several ways that you can apply HIIT to successfully achieve your bikini body this summer. I tend to mix things up for my clients to keep them on their toes during our three week split routine.

1. Straight Tabata. 20s work Vs 10s rest. Involving just one exercise, either resistance or

cardiovascular based as hard as possible for 20s then rest for 10. After 8 rounds we switch exercises and continue until the training session ceases. This simple form of Tabata i would when a client is at the beginning of their three week protocol

2. Superset Tabata. 20s cardiovascular work 10s transition time (move to the next exercise) Vs 20s resistance based exercise. Taking the training from the heart and lung and then into the muscle, adds more depth to the training regime than the simple tabata above. It gets the client working harder and requires more focus, therefore I would recommend implementing this either in week4 or 5 for the unfit and 3 and for if you are relatively fit, week 2 if you are super fit. An example of this for the super fit might be. Jump lunges or shuffles followed by 10 second transition time to barbell dynamic lunges. 

3. Circuit Tabata. Between 30s and 40s of work: 10-20s transition time between exercises working within a circuit. This method is super effective if you want to blast the entire body in one training session. The intensity comes from the fact that you alter the work time and this is why i often implement this method in the later stages of the three week split method. Up until now your body is only used to working within the 20s ratio,  add another 20s of work and your body has just entered a whole new world of adaptation. The fat will simply be demolished.

It is important to mention that, i do not rely on this method solely as the only training modality used, for body composition changes within my bikini body challenge. I highly recommend that you build a strong aerobic and strength base for this type of training to become even more effective, this is just part of the specific formula that i have found to create the most successful changes in clients. 

Remember,  you can't outwit a good eating regime in the gym and this is what i will discuss next up…so stay tuned for the next part in my bikini body series.


If you would like to find out more about my proven successful fat loss and body shaping methods join my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bodywizepersonaltraining or visit my webpage www.bodywizepersonaltraining.com

REFERENCES

Hottenrott. K. Ludyga.S, Schulze.S. (2012) Effects of High Intensity Training and Continuous Endurance Training on Aerobic Capacity and Body Composition in Recreationally Active Runners. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. Vol 11(3): Pp483–488.

Racil G, Ounis OB, Hammouda O, Kallel A,  Zouhal H, Chamari K,  Amri M (2013). Effects of high vs. moderate exercise intensity during interval training on lipids and adiponectin levels in obese young females. European Journal of Applied Physiology. Vol 113,(10), Pp 2531-2540

Sijie T, Hainai Y, Fengying Y, Jianxiong W. (2012) High intensity interval exercise training in overweight young women.The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. Volume 52(3): Pp255-262

Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K.(1996) Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Vol. 28(10):Pp1327-30.

Talanian JL ,  Galloway SDR , Heigenhauser GDF, Bonen A , Spriet LL (2007)Journal of Applied Physiology. Vol. 102no. 4,1439-1447

Tremblay. A, Simoneau JA, and Bouchard C. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism (1994). Metabolism Vol 43 (7) Pp 814-818

HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR ULTIMATE BIKINI BODY

SPRING IS ALMOST HERE, HOW IS YOUR BODY LOOKING?

We are just 3 short weeks away from spring time here in the beautiful eastern board of Australia, which means it's coming around to that time of year where we need to be able to confidently patrol the beach in our bikini without the threat of the dreaded involuntary hale

storm marking our butt, into a colossal orange peel nightmare.

I have formulated this blog series bikini body guide especially for you, to help prevent your body exposure panic and to help you to take  take serious action (eerr like yesterday..)

showing you how to boldly ramp up your training regime, so you can confidently parade your sexy curves in time for the big sun and beautiful bounding waves.

 Naturally, you may have slacked off during the cold season, gradually piling on the Kg's and your body and mind set may not  yet be up to the bikini mark. Knowing the comforts of the extra clothes during winter who can blame you? I can tell you that this is a perfectly normal reaction to the winter season cold discomforts, however NOW is the time you will need to dust off the winter cobwebs and start marching into a body super transforming training routine, allowing you to open your spring and summer wardrobe with excitement and pride. 

 If you are a super smart cookie,  you would have already prepared your body throughout the winter months, so that only minor adjustments to your training and nutrition would be required right now in order to achieve the tight abs and firm bottom.  (Keep that in mind for next year). At all costs, you are to avoid making the dreamy mistake of starting training in summer for summer. It would be fantastic if we could all click our fingers and strip down the layers of fat with the layers of clothes, however we know that hard work, dedication and persistence are the true keys to success. Consider structuring your training like an athlete - which is year round training achieving a peak at the point in the year, where you are aiming for the best results. 

So in essence; if you didn't start yesterday you need to start a protocol today. Even if you have those dirty excuses entering your head (i will start on Monday, i will do it when i come back on holiday, i'm not fit enough yet) STOP and think.  MMM maximal movement with minimal equipment with minimal time -with MMM,  there are no excuses.  Start TODAY because the only thing you will regret is NOT starting in the first place. Forwards is still a pace ladies!

Allow us to help you achieve a better body- If you feel keen and want to take this to the next step why not join our 90-DAY BIKINI BODY CHALLENGE? 

You might be thinking that it's  all very well to spend hours at the gym slowly sculpting the body into the bikini,  but for many of just this just might not be realistic, because possibly the damage has already been done?.  It is time for me to help you turn around the damage from sofa sprawl with comfort food, when you were supposed to be dating the squat rack at the gym. 

Eeeek! It's ONLY 3 weeks away from spring, so I imagine what you need right now is access to highly effective training routines and nutritional ideas that will strip the fat leaving you with a lean toned super fit body-right?

Here i am offering you some basic and general guidelines. Remember this is a blog series, so i absolutely will delve in deeper to each element which will allow you to achieve your best ever body- so stay tuned there are some really exciting things that are going to be happening along the way.

HOW TO ACHIEVE MAXIMAL RESULTS (your BEST beach body) IN THE  MINIMAL TIMEFRAME (for Summer)? 

In order to achieve the best possible body in the least possible time you are to address the E-ssential body basics, GOALS,  NUTRITION, TRAINING ROUTINE, RECOVERY ROUTINE

GOALS 

Remember your goals are, YOUR OWN GOALS. You're not your neighbour, your bestie or your

mum. You are you,  therefore your goals should be set for YOU. For a FREE comprehensive goal setting action plan document click here. It is super important that you set your goals properly and specifically address the WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU. The deeper you can dig the more likely you are to stick to the plan so you achieve your goals. Setting your goals will enable you to form a SPECIFIC action plan and prevent you from wondering aimlessly. Goal setting is absolutely necessary to keep you on track and provides a purpose. Undoubtedly, there will be days where it will be harder than others to get out of bed for your training session, so establishing your goals, relative plan of action and a ascertaining the reasons WHY you must achieve your goals, will prevent you from indulging in the crappy negative habits.  This will keep you focussed on becoming the ultimate version of yourself  kicking on through all the way until the serene summer hits. So don't delay- write your goals, right NOW.

GOOD NUTRITION IS QUEEN 

A vast area to cover - nutrition. Without a shadow of a doubt,  adopting a wholesome nutritional protocol approach which firmly surrounds your training protocol is absolutely necessary for an awesome beach look and feel. Fuelling your body with the right foods, at the right times will maximise your hard efforts at the gym, not to mention, as the saying goes that 'you can't out exercise a bad diet'.  You don't want to undo all your hard work with a crappy eating regime drinking gallons of wine, which will outwit all your hard work in the gym, any day, any time.

Before your nutrition protocol is addressed,  you will need to record your current eating habits over 7 days. Click here for your very own FREE 7-day nutritional diary. It is then you will be able to determine, exactly where you can make the biggest impact in your eating, in order to maximise your results in the minimum time frame. Completing this small task, allows you to ascertain the most effective strategies you can employ to boost your results from the gym.

 Some general guidelines are:  It is paramount to eating your macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats) at the right ratio's and times during the day, whilst avoiding splurging on the bad stuff . I believe if you are eating all the nutrients you should, then you ought to be way too full to eat any rubbish. If you are craving particular foods constantly, such as chocolate, there is a chance that you could you be deficient in certain minerals within your current eating regime.

Portion sizes. Even if you are eating the good stuff, too much of the good stuff is not necessarily a good thing- this is still packing extra fuel in to your system. Ask yourself the intelligent question- is this fuel necessary for my training regime? So by all means load up on your veggies and salad, but also remember that your stomach has a size which usually equates the size of your both palms cupped. Try to eat slowly, chew on your food properly and eat when your hungry,  to avoid over eating. 

What's also worth considering is working around your meal timing  patterns. Don't feel bad that what your training buddy is doing is getting her results but not yourself- this will give the clues as to exactly what's not working for you. Remember that we are 100% individual therefore, what works for your best mate will not necessarily work for you. For example, In terms of the amount of meals per day. Are you a three meal a day girl or more of a grazer? Which strategy helps with you best with positive energy levels and helps you to avoid maintaining or gaining weight?  Once you have worked this out best to stick with your natural pattern if it helps you to avoid over- eating every kg of fuel needs to be put to use in order to get the best butt. 

Keep in mind that,  many poor food choices are made with poor preparation. Knowing that your nutrition preparation is 'Queen' invest some time each week in preparing your recipes, shopping list and meals for the forth coming days. Click here for your very own FREE shopping list and meal planner. This will prevent you from reaching for the lollies at the 3pm mark,  and piling on the pounds that you want to strip off for the beach. Your nutrition we will address in much further detail a little later,  but now let's discuss the most effective training you can do in a minimal time frame to produce maximal results.

FAT BLASTING, BODY BUFFING TRAINING ROUTINE

Once you have established your GOALS, prepared your awesome nutrition, you must super charge your training protocol so you can achieve that super sleek beach look. In order to MAXIMISE your results in a MINIMUM time frame your training routine should be progressive, fun and whole body- functional. If you have a desk job get up and move every single day.

The best body composition results come from encompassing a mix of routines over a three week period, which simply distorts your bodies idea of comfort and forces your body into adaptation mode, allowing you to achieve the results you set out to FAST. If you have prepared with your training over winter,  the good news is that you will more than likely achieve better results now as you ramp up your training protocol for the beach.

It is paramount to select the type of routines which are the most effective at fat stripping and build you up proportionally for an awesome aesthetically pleasing look. These tend to be a combination of  HIRT training, HIIT training and strength building, plyometric training.  Personally,  I have found that incorporating whole body routines with specific complexes provides the absolute best results in record time,  not forgetting to place particular attention to the areas of your posture and body which might be lagging in strength, definition and thus proportion. 

I will show you how you can do this later…so stay tuned.

 We want to spend as little time in the gym with the maximal effects and this comes down to cleverly designed exercise protocol. Because we are close to spring it's uber important now to be dusting off the winter cobwebs, and ramping up your training protocol significantly, in order to achieve your desired body and mind set.You must add variety to your training (a training stimulus) to shock your body, if you want to get the results. Have a serious clean up of your current routine. For example, get your mind out of only doing 3 sets of 10 (Yawn…) or only attending body pump classes for 10 years. Your body will only get certain results by following the same routine week after week. Why not go all out, and and get into some some progressive overload sweat lathering routines, yes it will be tough but at the end of the day, it's totally worth it.

Want an athletically pleasing look? Consider body proportion.  Be careful that you're not lead in to believing that females shouldn't build upper body,  this is simply will put you on the back foot.  Keep in mind that, that an awesome set of deltoids will offset the waist, well developed glutes will offset the legs. As the saying goes, a good waist line is  built in the kitchen.Try to avoid doing too many twist type sit ups as this simply will actually show as a thickened waist rather than narrowing the waist line. The best and quickest way you can define the legs is to incorporate simple plyometric types of exercises for the lower body. 

Invest in working with an an established exercise pro that will keep you accountable, you can train with a buddy or a group  to keep your health and fitness investment down. You could even try working in a new environment as a posed to the gym, you could enjoy training in the beautiful outdoors.  Include yourself in a challenge that will give you a deadline   Click here for my 90-day bikini body challenge details. 

To find out more about how to ramp up your training, join my Facebook page for more info. 

BEAUTY SLEEP (AND BREATHE….AND STRETCH)

Employing laser focus on your training PLUS your recovery will allow you to go from good quality results to a body that is ready for the beach. What strategies you choose to use during your recovery, will certainly influence the quality of your results. You should consider the following

1. Sleep- you will allow your body to recover the MOST effectively with the right amount of

sleep and quality of sleep. 8-9 hours per night plus, adopting a wind down regime so that your quality of sleep is awesome. Check out my sleep post for further info here sleep to health

3. Stretching and breathing- stretch to perform As the intensity of your training increases your recovery via stretching and breathing also increases. Your muscles need to be optimising at the correct length and tension in order for you to move properly. I like to use a number of different modalities such as dynamic stretching, foam rolling, static stretching, PNF, and assisted stretching too. Oxygen is LIFE- If you don't know how to breathe properly- chances are you may not be optimising your recovery or employing the correct breathing during your training sessions- for the type of training that you are doing. 

WRAP UP

That's a mere strip of the information to get you started. Stay tuned there is more coming your way. This is going to be your BEST summer body ever.