When summer is approaching again, the gyms are slowly filling up again. People are going to work en masse on the summer body. Do you also want to walk around with a summer body next summer? Then read on quickly. In this article you will find out how you too can confidently show off your summer body next summer.
What is meant by a summer body?
A summer body, which freely translated means a “summer body”, is a big concept. Usually we mean a body that has a relatively low fat percentage and is well-trained. In other words: a toned body. For men, this often means a significant amount of muscle mass with visible abs. For women, a summer body usually means a tight stomach, tight buttocks and legs. It would of course be nice if you could manage this and walk on the beach next summer with your summer body. But is this feasible? And what do you actually have to do and not do? We’ll tell you all about it in the rest of this article. So read on quickly!
How do you get a summer body?
The big question now is of course how to get a summer body. Perhaps your tight body is currently hidden under your “winter coat”. In any case, it is important to implement (drastic) changes and take action. A summer body does not come by itself. So quickly discover what you should do for this and, above all, what you should not do.
Train all year round or start early!
It’s best, of course, to be fit and in shape all year round. However, that is not feasible for everyone. Moreover, it is not bad to have a little more body fat in the winter. After all, this keeps you warm and you hardly walk around without a shirt. But then suddenly the first rays of the sun begin to shine through. What now?
It’s high time to get off the couch and hit the gym. Or of course exercise at home. Your diet will probably also need to be adjusted to get your body back in shape. However, don’t expect to have grown your ideal summer body within a few weeks. Physical change takes time. So start well in advance. The best thing, of course, would be to eat well and exercise all year round. In that case you can get your body summer proof much faster.
Protein high
In terms of nutrition, it is important to eat enough protein. Why is that important? For several reasons. Firstly, proteins ensure that you are able to build muscle mass. When you do strength training, eat enough protein and get enough rest, you already have a good basis for muscle building. But even if the focus is on losing fat, it is important to get enough protein. Proteins provide a feeling of satiety and can stimulate fat burning.
Enough reasons to take this seriously. How much should you eat exactly? That depends on your goal and your body weight. If you want to build muscle mass, for example, the advice is to eat about 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. To lose weight, it is recommended to consume about 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Less important, but certainly something to take into account are the amount of carbohydrates and fats. What is the ideal ratio? That’s too much to go into in depth in this article.
If you want to know more about this, go to the nearest fitness studio for a body check.
Bottle of water at hand
If you want to develop a summer body, you will almost always get this tip: drink water. But why is that so good? Do I get a summer body by drinking water? Not directly, but the fact is that it makes a major positive contribution to creating your ideal summer body. Drinking a lot of water ensures less hunger, better physical performance and faster recovery. This makes you less inclined to snack and you can train harder and more focused.
Strength training and cardio
Everyone has a favorite: strength training or cardio. By cardio we mean types of training such as cycling, running and rowing. With strength training we are talking about training with dumbbells or with your own body weight. But which training form is the most effective for training a summer body? Ideally, both would be best. However, not everyone has the time or inclination for that. If you have to choose, we advise you to do strength training. Why? Because you first burn a lot of calories with this and therefore stimulate fat burning.
And secondly, because you are able to build muscle mass through strength training. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your burn. Moreover, muscle mass provides a tighter look and gives a good impulse to your summer body.
Measure your progress
How do you know for sure if you are doing the right thing? If you look in the mirror every day, it is difficult to determine whether your body is already transforming into a summer body. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to measure your progress.
For example, you can measure your progress using the scale. Please note that if you do strength training, this is not always the best way. After all, more muscle mass also means weight. As you may know, muscle weighs even heavier than fat.
For example, a better way would be to take a picture when you start and then repeat this every other week or month. You can see from the difference in the photos whether you are doing the right thing. It is important to take the photo with the same light and in the same place every time.
Other ways are to measure your body measurements with a tape measure. Write down your measurements and do this again a month later.
Motivation and realistic goal
In our opinion, a healthy dose of motivation is essential if you want a summer body. We dare to bet that you will never make it without motivation. But how did you get here? If all goes well, you already have motivation to get a summer body. Otherwise you probably wouldn’t read this article. It’s just a matter of maintaining that motivation. Think about why you want a summer body so badly. When you are having a hard time or, for example, don’t feel like exercising, think about those reason(s) and get moving.
Sunbathe regularly
Another tip that we want to give you is to regularly look for the sun when you can. From the spring there are usually already regular sunny days. So make some time and try to catch some rays of the sun. A real summer body is not only tight, but also brown. In addition, you will burn faster when you arrive at your holiday destination as white as white. And an additional advantage: sunbathing stimulates the production of vitamin D in your body. This in turn ensures stronger muscles.
Please don’t do this
You now know what to do to get a summer body. Are you there already? No, unfortunately not. What is at least as important is to know what not to do if you want a real beach body.
Lose weight quickly in a short time
It’s understandable, you want to look good next summer. However, you currently have a lot of excess kilos. The solution that makes the most sense would then be to lose a lot of weight in a short time. Is that sensible? You may already be able to guess. It is never recommended to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Not only is this unhealthy, but it is also detrimental to your weight.
Your weight can fluctuate, so there is a good chance that all the lost kilos will come back just as fast. Of course, that’s the last thing you want.
A lot of alcohol
What absolutely does not go with a summer body? Lots of alcohol. It’s understandable that you want to enjoy a beer or glass of wine every now and then in the summer. A cocktail or a glass of beer/wine in the sun is delicious. But, there is also a downside to this. Drinking too much alcohol can also cause excess fat.
Alcohol and (belly) fat go hand in hand. Of course it doesn’t hurt to drink every now and then, but try to limit this.
Training only the focus on abs
What many men and women go wrong with is focusing entirely on training the abs. When summer is approaching again and work has to be done on the beach body, the abdominal muscles are removed from the attic again.
Or people regularly participate in the abdominal muscle quarter again. Of course there is not much wrong with that. However, only training your abs will not yield much results. Abdominal exercises do not burn local abdominal fat, contrary to popular belief.
If you want a summer body with visible abs, the first thing you need to do is reduce your fat percentage. With a lower fat percentage, everyone has visible abs. Moreover, it is not wise to only train the abdomen. Try to target every muscle group of the body.
Avoid the well-known holiday kilos
A common problem are the so-called holiday kilos. In other words, the kilos that “suddenly” come on after a few weeks of vacation. Maybe you eat out more often, have a drink more often or exercise less often. You then have trained for a long time to get a summer body, and then gain weight again during the holidays. That would of course be a shame. The advice is therefore to maintain your summer body during the holiday. Of course you can still enjoy and eat out, but don’t overdo it.
Dry training for a summer body
Another essential thing to know if you want a summer body. That is the choice you have to make. Do you want to build muscle mass or lose fat? A logical answer for many would be: I want both at the same time! However, that is virtually impossible. So you should make a choice. We recommend that you focus on fat loss if you want to grow a summer body. However, that does not mean that you simply have to lose weight as quickly and as much as possible.
No, the best way is to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while losing fat. It is precisely the combination of a considerable amount of muscle mass and a low fat percentage that characterizes a summer body. We also call this way of training (and eating) dry training.
Make your body summerproof
Do you want to be able to walk proudly on the beach next summer? Then start growing your beach body today!