4 Tips to Shape a Summer Beach Body

It is the most celebrated time of the year: summer in New England.  After the harsh winter, the warm weather is a welcomed relief. However tank tops, shorts and bathing suits reveal how you spent your winter and spring months; either hibernating in your PJs with red wine or keeping active, fit and mentally strong.   The good news is that it is never too late to shape up your beach body.  Here are 4 tips to start on your beach body today!

1. Interval Training

Study after study reveals that steady state cardio exercises - think walking, elliptical, biking - are not the most effective way to burn fat and calories.  Interval training is the key to maximum burn both during and after your workout.  A typical Ultimate Bootcamp workout which utilizes interval training every day burns 500-700 calories during the workout, plus MORE calories after the workout. Studies have shown interval training 4x or more per week significantly changes body composition.

2. Detox with Lemon Cucumber Mint Ginger Water

One of my personal favorite summer drinks, this non-alcoholic cocktail is not only refreshing but has 4 super foods packed into one delicious drink. Instead of reaching for a glass of wine after work on the weekdays, I'll create a Lemon Cucumber Mint Ginger cocktail with soda water for a sparkly before-dinner drink. Here is an article from FitSugar about the benefits of this modern day elixir.

3. Designate a Food Prep Day

Eating out and picking up fast food is kind of the norm in the Western Diet.  We place value on food convenience more than food quality.   Cooking more meals at home can help you lose more weight and control your diet.   But cooking requires planning, and that's why you need time blocked out in your calendar to plan healthy meals and grocery shop.  My food prep day is Sunday. I cook a few big batches of Quinoa, roasted vegetables and prepare a colorful fruit salad so I always have some kind healthy food in the house.

4. Find Active Friends

You are the average of the people that surround you.  If you've ever seen 2 groups of friends walk into a restaurant at the same time, chances are you can place each individual in their group. Besides perhaps the obvious physical characteristics - similar clothes, hair styles, attitude - tight-knit groups of people tend to have the same habits.  If you hang around friends who eat healthy and are active, you have a better chance of being healthy and active. The camaraderie of building a healthy life with others who value the same thing is so powerful. If you don't have these friends in your life now, try finding them at your local gym, yoga studio, Zumba class, walking club, boot camp or cycling group.

Jill Tomich is a Fitness & Weight Loss Expert, an ACE-Certified Health Coach and co-founder of Ultimate Bootcamp. You can follow her on Facebook or Twitter.