And one you need to stop doing

Brian Blanco | Aptitud física

Summer is coming, and with as mild as this winter has been, you know summer temps could start any day now. With the warmer weather will come pool parties, beach outings and vacations. What kind of body do you want to be rocking? If you haven’t exactly been on top of your health and fitness for the last few months, there is still time. You just need to make some major changes. Get started today.

1. Start drinking 3 – 5 liters of water every day. Seriously, drink more than a gallon. This will clear up your skin, kill cravings and keep you energized throughout the day. The only negative from doing this is going to bathroom every hour, but after three days you’ll realize that this is a small price for the benefits.

2. Eat a high-fat, high-protein breakfast. A great option would be one whole pasture-raised egg with some Eggology egg whites, mix in a little spinach and mushrooms. Also have a half of a grapefruit and half an avocado. Another healthy option would be steel cut oatmeal with a half scoop of protein powder, some berries and sliced almonds.

3. Split your workout into two separate outings. I never advocate working out more than five days a week no matter what the goal or time frame, but a secret way to help burn more body fat is to split your workout in two. So first thing in the morning, get your cardio in for half an hour and save your resistance training for lunchtime or the evening. This style of exercise has been shown to raise your testosterone levels, thus increasing your fat-burning and muscle-building capabilities. Using this method will allow you to push yourself a little harder during each workout too.

4. Set aside 30 minutes on Thursday to plan out your weekend. Literally write it down. Most people use the weekends to let loose a little bit and that’s fine; we all work hard, but you waited until the last second to get prepared for the summer, so now you don’t have that luxury. If you do considerably better with nutrition and exercise during the week it is because the workweek is more structured. So structure your weekend and plan out your meals and exercise in order to be successful. Turning the weekends from the unhealthiest part of your week to the healthiest is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

5. Prepare for those days that will get away from you. You are more prone to make a bad nutrition decision when your schedule gets hectic, so find a great meal replacement bar and buy boxes of them. My go-to bars for most clients are Greens+ whey crisp bars and GoodOnYa bars. Go to the grocery store and look through the 1,342 bars in the health section. Pick a couple where you know all the ingredients and bring them home for a taste test. Out of those, pick your two favorites and buy boxes for those days where your schedule throws you off.

Also, the one major thing you cannot continue to do if you want to rid yourself of the excess weight before summer is stay up late. Not getting enough sleep will completely disrupt even the most diligent efforts by screwing up your hormones and making your body a fat storing machine. Finding a way to get seven to eight hours of sleep every single night is imperative. We are chronically overtired, and I cannot tell you how big of a deal this is if you are overweight. Besides the physiological effect on your body, it will also crush your willpower to eat right, and it will crush your energy to get quality workouts.

Find a way to get these done, and you should cruise into the summer with a healthy body you can be proud of.