How to Get a Beach Fit Body

If you wish to lose weight and slim your belly, then follow these rules. Please note that “spot reduction”, that is reduction of fat from one body part, is not possible. So knowing how to lose belly fat is actually knowing how to lose weight, as the only way to lose belly fat is to reduce your overall fat content. Whether you are very overweight, or if you just have a stubborn layer of fat left to shift before you can display a set of six pack abs, these tips should solve your problems.

Before we continue, please note that performing hundreds of abdominal exercises everyday does not help to reduce fat. Crunches and sit ups alone, although intensive on the stomach, will not shift fat – and building bigger abdominals could actually make your stomach look bigger if it is still covered in a layer of fat.

Why are we focussing on belly fat? Two reasons – to show off our abs, and also to be healthy. Modern thought concerning weight issues is that simply measuring body mass index does not provide a good indicator of health. Size of waist circumference is a better measure of health. Even a small amount of fat carried in the abdominal region is unhealthy.

We have broken the process of losing belly fat down into five simple rules:

First Rule of Weight Loss: Get Fit

The most important change you must make if you wish to lose you belly fat and get a flat stomach is to start working out. But simply jogging a few miles twice a week, or playing some tennis at the weekend, will not shift stubborn belly fat. The best way to lose weight is a combination of intensive interval training and resistance training, ideally in the form of compound weight training.

You do not need to join a gym to start getting fit, as we can provide several home exercise routines, as well as weight training routines. However, for motivation and support, being a member of a gym can help.

One of the best ways to get some intensive interval training is in a martial arts class. Kickboxing, karate, judo, and kung-fu are all excellent choices. Also new popular methods include spinning, kick-boxercise as well as more traditional step aerobics. You need to be working in the fat burning zone, so invest in a heart rate monitor, and learn how to use it!

For weight training we recommend a beginners training workout, which is designed to burn fat and tone muscles for a lean and slender look.

You should aim to do two intensive weight training sessions and two intensive circuit training sessions each week. Always plan a good rest day at the weekend, plus have a day of “active rest”, which means moderate light activity, such as swimming or walking on the other day. Read our abs exercise tips to get you going, also learning how the celebrities get fit can give you inspiration, and we have workouts and diet tips from some of our favourite celebs to help you.

Second Rule of Weight Loss – Sugar, Saturated Fat and Belly Fat

After exercising, the most important rule for losing belly fat is to stop eating junk food. Although, some nutritionists say that junk food can be eaten in moderation, it often leads to excess with little effort. Do not take the risk. From now on junk food in any form should not be allowed into your home. So no more takeaways, no more double whoppers with cheese, no more cookies, sweets, candy, soda or other sugar laden snacks. It is also important to cut back on processed meats – so say no to hot dogs, sausages, salami and other forms of processed meat. These meats are high in saturated fats.

Third Rule of Weight Loss – Eat The Right Carbohydrates

Not all carbs are equal. Refined flours and the foods that they create, such as white bread, pasta, donuts, cakes and biscuits should be avoided. They can cause bloatedness, poor digestion, and lead to accumulation of fat. “Good carbs”, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, should be eaten instead. A diet that takes most of its carbs from fruits and vegetables, as opposed to flours, is healthier. Slow release carbs are also beneficial, such as oats, brown rice, some pulses and sweet potato. Ideally granary or wholemeal bread should be eaten instead of white bread, and biscuits and cakes should be avoided. Consuming too much carbohydrate can bump up your insulin level, which can slow down your metabolism. Your body cannot metabolize too much carbohydrate at once because the body doesn’t need so much energy at once. The excess sugar will just turn into belly fat.

Much research has shown that adopting the Atkins Nutritional Approach, i.e. a high fat/protein diet, is the way ahead. Avoiding carbohydrates increases fat burning metabolism (lipolysis), which helps to reduce stomach fat.

Third Rule of Weight Loss – Binge Eating

Try not to binge on food in the evening. Often people eat out of boredom, frustration or stress. And when at home, binge eating is very easy to do. The main problem with binge eating in the evening is that there is not much activity done afterwards. Going to bed straight after eating causes high sugar levels in the blood stream and no energy is spent after that. As a result the excess sugar turns into fat. So, DO NOT BINGE!

Also, try to consume your last meal around 2-3 hours before your bedtime. If you are hungry during late nights, consume a small meal rather than binge.

Fifth Rule of Weight Loss – Drink Less Alcohol, or Go On The Wagon

Decrease alcohol consumption, or better still, give up drinking altogether. There is a good reason why a beer belly is called a beer belly! There are two reasons to give up alcohol. Firstly, alcoholic drinks contain a lot of calories, especially those that are sweetened. Beer is stacked with carbohydrates and sugars. If you are in the habit of having a few drinks in the evening, these calories really add up, and the fat is generally accumulated around the waist. The other reason is a metabolic one. When you consume alcohol, your body stops burning fat and sugars while using the alcohol for energy. Alcohol is a source of energy. This means that if you spend an evening drinking, you will not be in a state off lipolysis (fat burning) or glucosis (sugar/carbohydrate burning) and any food eaten will be stored as fat. Only once all the alcohol has been utilised will you start to burn fat again.

Losing belly fat and getting a flat stomach is a long term goal for most people, so persevere, stick to the plan and don’t give up. In addition to these tips, look to enhance your fitness training by following specific routines and schedules. Organising your weekly routine makes it much easier for you to follow your schedule. After a while it will become second nature for you to get out and exercise. If you do not have to think about what you are going to do, then that saves precious time. At first keep a diary, write up your training goals and progress in an exercise log, and just do it!

Step 1 – Cardio Exercises

A health diet can help you prevent cellulite, but it will not get rid of it. The only way you can remove cellulite and have a smooth bum, tummy and thighs is by exercising regularly!

Exercise will not only help you to remove cellulite, but it will also help you to lose some inches on the waist and hip area and get you toned, fit and slimmer.

The more you sweat better results you will get! When you exercise your body circulation speeds up and increases the levels of oxygen in your blood. This stimulates the lymphatic system to work and dispose of internal body waste more effectively, helping to break down the fatty deposits that can cause cellulite.

Exercise regime targeted to fight cellulite

Go running – To help the body to remove cellulite you have to do some cardiovascular exercise to boost the circulation. So, you can do a 20 minutes session of intensive running on a treadmill three times a week. Start the session according to your fitness and increase the intensity of the running time as you get fitter. If you can talk comfortably while exercising you are pacing yourself correctly. At the end of each session do a quick sprint for the last couple of minutes until talking becomes difficult.

Aerobic exercise – Start a cardiovascular activity that you enjoy such as running (as above), dancing, skipping, cycling or brisk walking. The idea is to improve your cardiovascular fitness, helping the body to tackle cellulite.

Aerobic workouts

Choose a workout that you like and go for it. Some breath-taking exercises include:

• Kick Boxing: This exercise is great to shape the bum and burn some calories.
• Cross Trainer: Go for a 3 to 5 percent incline to really work on the bum and legs and switch direction every 5 min if you can to work the muscles all around.
• Power Yoga: If you are into yoga, practice the Sun Salutation, as this will keep you moving and help your body to detox, which also helps to improve bumpy skin due to cellulite. Also try poses such as the warrior and the chair to work your thighs.

Step 2 – Dynamic Exercise Routine

After each 20 minutes cardiovascular session, start a five minutes exercise routine workout with 10 to 20 repetitions each, as follows:

Shrinking Squat – Stand with your feet hip-width apart, hold a 5lbs weight on each hand, toes pointing forward. Bend your knees down into a squat position, keeping the body weight on your heels, leaning forward slightly and keeping the back straight. As you straighten the legs and stand up from the squat, lift one foot and extend one leg at a time sideways in a slow movement, tensing your bum muscles as you do it.

Dead Lift – Stand with your knees slightly bent and feet hip width apart. Hold a 5lbs weight in each hand, clutch the tummy muscles in and lean forward hanging down the arms by the outer thighs, rolling the shoulders back and bending from the hips. Stand back up again in a slow movement.

Side Lunge – Stand upright, bend the elbows and hold the weights pulled in against the chest. Bend the right knee and take a long step straight out to the side with the left leg, toes turned out. Pressing the hip back and leaning forward slightly, lunging down to the right.

Pelvic Tilt – Lie down on your back, bend the knees creating a 90 degree angle to the floor. Keep the arms straight by your sides, palms facing down and touching the floor. Tilt the pelvis up and raise the hips, then open the left thigh out to the side, with a step movement bring the knee back in line with the hip, repeat with the other leg.

Stepping – Stand behind a low bench or step, position the right foot flat on the step, keeping the hand by the sides. Clutch the right bum and stand up onto the step. As you go up lift your left leg out to the side with a slow and controlled movement. Return to the initial position and switch sides after completing a set.

These five exercises should be performed with a slow and controlled movement to work the muscles correctly. In case you don’t have 5lbs hand weights, you can use two half-litre bottles of water.

As always, the best exercises for the thighs come in the form of free-weight or bodyweight exercises. You really need not look any further than various forms of exercises like lunges, squats, deadlifts, and step-ups to get those toned thighs that you want. In addition, there are plenty of variations of these basic exercises to choose from, so in reality, it is simply a waste of time messing with all of these inner-thigh gadgets and fancy thigh machines.

Here is an example of one of the most effective thigh exercises that you can do. I’m sure you have done some variation of lunges before. There are probably about 20 different versions that you can try and they all kick butt!

One of the best variations of lunges is the walking lunge (there are a couple of ways to do it slightly different to change the emphasis of the workout). Instead of the standing lunges, where you either lunge forward or lunge backward 1 step and come back, with the walking lunges you keep travelling forward on each step, anywhere from 10-30 steps, and then you turn around and come back that same distance.

Muscles of the Body

It is essential to become familiar with the major muscle groups if you plan to start weight training or any other serious fitness regime. Knowledge is power, so study these muscle diagrams and learn what exercises help to build each muscle.

A couple ways to improve on these and get better results over time is to increase your distance each time or start carrying dumbbells to increase the resistance. Walking lunges done right are a real thigh-burner!

Here you find a couple of tips to keep in mind when performing walking lunges:

1) Step far enough forward so that your front shin stays approximately vertical and your front thigh is approximately parallel to the floor at the bottom of the lunge.

2) Your leg behind you while lunging should have a bend in the knee at the bottom, but your knee should come just short of touching the floor. Try not to touch the back knee to the ground during walking lunges.

3) Pause for a second at the top of each step before you lunge forward again for your next step.

Ok, now that you have mastered the basic walking lunge, let me give you a couple of ideas for lunge variations that change the emphasis a little bit for working the outer thighs, inner thighs, and buttocks in a slightly different manner.

One variety is to step at an outward angle on each forward step. A second variation is to step at a slightly inward angle on each forward step. The inward stepping version of the walking lunge is also called a cross-over lunge, and it really stretches out the buttocks and hips.

Go ahead and give these lunge variations a try and I guarantee that you will be firming up those thighs in no time. Whatever you do, please just say no to the fancy thigh machines and inner thigh squeezers. Use these more effective bodyweight and free weight exercises, and you’ll be much better off for it.

See below for more innovative exercises for the thighs and workouts that will have you showing off your new sexy toned legs.

About the Author: Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized International Fitness Expert, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine, and author of the internationally selling book, The Truth about Six-Pack Abdominals. Another recommended resource for fat-loss is Lose Fat and Build Muscle

This is where the “core four” comes into play. All you need is some free weights – just a bar and a bench – although only the bench press is done on the bench.

The Core Four Workout:

“Core four” are the four key weight training exercises to kick start you into building a better, fitter and stronger you. The four core exercises are:

1. Squats – 3 sets of 10
2. Bench Press – 3 sets of 10
3. Bent-over row – 3 sets of 10
4. Barbell Curl – 3 sets of 10

Start with a light weight, or no weights on the bar (bars weight from 5kg to 10kg, 10lbs to 20bls), which is plenty if you have never done any weight training before.

There are many other weight training exercises that can be added to these four at later stages, but just performing these four exercises once or twice a week will tone your muscles and strengthen your core, helping to firm up your thighs and upper body. The main reason that these are the core four is that each of these is a compound exercise, meaning that it works more than one muscle at a time.

The Core Four forms a part of the Motley Health Fitness and Weight Loss Plan, soon to be available on eBook from Motley Health

See Our Sister Site: GooglePages – Fitness and Weight Loss

Here Carmen Electra and her dance team demonstrate some sexy dance moves that will get your heart thumping and body sweating. Possibly the most fun you can have getting fit at home in front of the TV!

“It’s not as hard as you may think to get off the couch and start working those areas you think you’ve neglected: legs, bums and tums. This exercise plan guarantees a firmer, more toned body in four weeks.” Sarah McClurey, Professional Fitness Management.

The iVillage simple workout

Single arm crunchies

Start as with normal crunchies lying on the floor with knees bent and hips width apart. Engage your abs, keep your neck and head in line with your spine, avoiding any curvature. Place your right hand behind your head and rest your left hand on your thigh. Lift both shoulders off the floor while sliding your hand along your thigh to your knee. Hold, then return to the floor. Do not pull on your head. Switch hands and repeat. Aim to do 20 reps in total (10 on each side, alternating after each one).

Leg Workout

The legs hold our biggest muscles, and exercising the legs is key to toning the thighs and buttocks.

Inner thigh raises

Lie on your right side with your back straight, hips square and feet together. Keep your head, shoulder, knees and ankles aligned. Pull your abdominals in and place your left leg on the floor at a right angle to your body. Keep your right leg straight and flex your foot so that your toes are towards you. Rest your head on your right hand. Place your left hand on the floor in front of you for support and breathe in. Breathe out as you slowly raise your right leg as high as is comfortable. Keep your leg straight and foot parallel to the floor. Hold briefly, then breathe in as you lower your leg so that your foot is about two inches from the floor and still parallel to it. Complete a set, then turn to your left side and repeat using your left leg.

Exercise To Get a Sexy Butt

Squats are one of the best exercises, both for building strength and toning. Athletes, footballers, dancers and martial artists all perform squats to build strength and muscle. These are key to toning up the thighs and bottom.

Intermediate squats

Stand with your back straight, chest lifted and abdominals in. Tilt your pelvis forward. Breathe in as you bend from your knees and hips and slowly squat down. Keep your weight over your ankles. Look forward and as you squat extend your arms straight in front of you at/or below shoulder height. Keep your back flat, chest lifted and knees in line with your feet. Don’t allow the squat to go beyond seat height. Keep your thighs parallel to the floor. Breathe out as you slowly stand up. Lead with your shoulders and keep your back flat and heels on the floor.

Warming up and cooling down

Warming up and cooling down are integral parts of any workout. Ideally a warm up should last for around 15 minutes including jogging on the spot, arm swings, shoulder rolls and general stretches – the same applies after exercising, when stretching will slow your blood flow back to normal.

Source: The ultimate legs, bums and tums workout, by Jacqui Ripley, iVillage