Summer Home Fitness Tips

Summer sun means it’s time to shed those extra pounds, tone up, and get ourselves down to swimsuit weight so we can enjoy those long lounging weekends at the beach or pool.

Dropping a few pounds isn’t as hard as you might think. You don’t need to starve yourself or go on a fad diet, and you don’t even need a gym membership – you can lose weight at home in a completely healthy way, all you need to do is set a goal and follow through.

Eat and Drink

Don’t crash diet! If you’re planning on losing weight, the worst thing to do is starve yourself. If your food intake suddenly drops, your body will go into starvation mode, which lowers your metabolism and can actually cause you to gain weight.

Instead, eat full, balanced meals and make sure to drink lots of water. Most nutritionists advise following the “8×8” rule, drinking eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day, but active individuals need even more. The American Council on Exercise recommends that active women consume 2.7 liters (91 oz), and men consume 3.7 liters (125 oz) of water per day, through both beverages and food. Keeping your body properly hydrated makes your workouts more effective, increases metabolism, boosts energy, and helps keep you from craving less healthy calorie-filled drinks.

As far as meals, just be smart – you know what’s healthy, and you know what isn’t. Eat your fruits and veggies, and drop the red meat and carbs (at least until your first barbecue!).

Move Your Body

You don’t need expensive apparatus to raise your fitness level, all you need is commitment. If you commit to spending 45 minutes to an hour a day moving your body, you’ll be surprised at how fast those pounds fall off. To get started, you’ll want a good workout mat and a handful of exercises you can perform on a daily basis.

The FlexFit Mat is the perfect choice for home workouts. It’s strong, durable, and easy to set up, which makes it far superior to interlocking mats or flimsy rolling mats.

For your exercise, you want something that raises your heart rate and gets you sweating, but not something that strains your muscles or causes back pain. Crunches, squats, lunges, and step-ups are all good, and even a few minutes of good old fashioned jumping jacks can get your heart pumping. Yoga is another option, and you can find a variety of other options by spending a few minutes searching Google and Youtube.

Whatever exercises you choose, make sure you stick them. Consistency is key, and as long as you’re eating those healthy foods staying hydrated, you’ll be down to your bathing suit weight in no time!