A personal training post by Cambridge expert Callie Durbrow
9 Super Summer Slim Down Tactics
Hey what’s up! Welcome back to Ultimate Athletic Fitness. I’m really psyched to be back and writing more training tips for you. It’s been a few weeks of busy business stuff but I wanted to share with you some cool tactics for slimming down and looking great this summer.
I know that you know you should be doing this stuff year round, but everyone wants to look good in less clothing, right?
I was talking to a client of mine the other day and she was super overwhelmed with stress at work, traveling and all kinds of life stuff. We were talking about how important it is to stick to a schedule when it comes to training and exercise. That’s always the first thing that people “cut out” of their lifestyle when they don’t have time. It’s really the one thing that needs to stay constant because the healthier you are, the more productive you will be, the better your mood will be, you’ll sleep better and you’ll manage stress in a much healthier way.
I just want you to think about that concept as well. When you’re crazy busy how often do you just skip the gym? Probably a lot. But guess what, that work will be there tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day. But if you don’t take care of yourself, you may not be. I don’t want to sound harsh but not taking care of your body is a selfish act. It’s selfish for those around you, your family and even yourself.
But, back to the cool and fun stuff….looking good this summer….
Here are my 9 Super Slim-Down Tactics….
1. Sprint 1-2 times per week. Whether it’s hill sprints, stadium sprints or just from telephone pole to telephone pole in your neighborhood, kick up the intensity.
2. Lift Weights- lifting weights stimulates the nervous system, burns more calories and revs up your metabolism so that you burn MORE calories when you’re not working out. Training with weights in a metabolic circuit style has been shown to burn 9 times more fat than traditional cardio workouts.
3. Drink 1/2 your body weight in water each day- Yep that sounds like a lot and it is. Especially as the weather gets warmer you want to really rev it up. If you weigh 140 pounds you should shoot for 70 ounces each day. Start slow and build yourself up on this one.
4. Integrate Kettlebells into your training- Kettlebells are one of the best tools known to man. My clients may disagree with me here, but in all seriousness they love the results. Kettlebells use every major muscle in the body, they increase your heart rate and force you to burn more calories during that session. They also improve athleticism, balance and coordination in a way that dumbbells and barbells cannot.
Not like this though…..
—->If you want to try out our NEW Spartan Workout class complete with kettlebells and other various torture toys just drop your email address here….Spartan Workout Class
5. Start making smoothies- Smoothies are a great way to kick start your day with a healthy breakfast that takes no time at all. Get yourself a blender or a Magic Bullet (the best, BTW) and throw in some almond milk, greek yogurt, protein powder, frozen fruit and chai seeds and you have a protein packed, fiber rich shake that will carry you through until your mid-morning snack.
6. Don’t be scared of fat. Healthy dietary fats are your friends. Foods like avocado, greek yogurt, nuts and natural oils (coconut, olive, peanut, sesame, sunflower are great examples) provide your body with much needed nutrients and helps with brain and heart functioning.
7. Work that booty- Training the glute muscles not only leads to a great looking butt but also helps you burn tons of calories because they are such large and powerful muscles. Movements like lunges, squats, deadlifts and kettlebell swings are killer for that area.
8. Hit up Harvard Stadium for a killer workout. If you are in the Boston/Cambridge area, you’ve gotta do this….
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQVQD_SsCr8[/pro-player]
9. Work your Core- Yeah you know you want that lean, toned and defined core right? So you wanna do thousands of crunches….right? Wrong. Core training is important and the major function of your abdominals is to stabilize your spine and protect it from injury. So repeated flexion (crunch motion) of the spine is actually prepping you for injury. Maybe not right now but down the line you’re probably going to have some lower back issues. The best way to train the core is through stabilizing exercises such as plank variations (you can use weight, bands, Valslides or elevation to make these harder) and also through complex movements like dead lifts, push ups, lunges and kettlebell complexes.
What’s the best way to get your core looking good though? Nutrition. If you have a layer of belly fat over those abs, no one’s gonna see them…..Get your eating cleaned up and train hard and heavy and you’ll see those abs coming through in no time.
Enjoy these first few weeks of summer and leave me a comment with your favorite exercise. I’m compiling a list for a future post so I’d love to hear your thoughts 🙂