Beach Body Basics Boot Camp reveals the top 5 exercises to help you sculpt a beach body this summer, by Matt Kay
If you have attended any of the born2move Programmes you will appreciate the importance of a balanced lifestyle to help achieve improved fitness, weight loss and body tone. In fact the desired lifestyle choice we advocate is split between 3 core principles, which include nutrition, resistance based exercise and cardiovascular exercise.
Nutrition ‘You are what you eat!’
It doesn’t matter if you are looking to build muscle, tone up or lose weight, 60-80% of the way you look is down to what you eat. This is why 2008 saw the launch of the born2move Weight Loss programme to highlight and tackle the misunderstood topic of nutrition and weight loss. Without an affective nutrition programme you will struggle to shift any body fat. ‘Change nothing and nothing will change!’
Cardiovascular (CV) exercise
Much has been documented about the benefits of CV training, which include activities like running, cycling, power walking, rowing, dancing etc. CV exercise is anything that increases you heart rate for a prolonged period of time (20 minutes plus to see improvements) and accounts for around 20-10% of your weight loss programme.
Resistance exercise
Resistance exercise is misunderstood by most people. Typically avoided by females in fear of ‘bulking up’ and considered an inferior strategy for weight loss. However, resistance exercise is often the missing link in most people’s weight loss routines. If done correctly can accelerate weight loss, increase metabolic rate and sculpt your body.
Considerations
If you build all three methods into your lifestyle and consistently stick to your routine there is no reason why you can’t lose 1-2lbs of body fat per week. However, stress should also be factored into the weight loss strategy. We discuss this topic further in the article titled ‘Weight Loss: when exercise is NOT the answer.’
Your Beach Body Workout:
Complete each of the following exercises 12 times (12 REPS), 3 times through (3 SETS) with 20-30secs rest in between each set and carry out the following programme 3 times per week.
Press ups Helps to activate the muscles around the chest and front of shoulders. Chose a position (knees or full) that will allow you to achieve 12 reps so that your muscles are burning at around 8 reps. Complete each rep slow and controlled
Overhead Drives It is really important that you start this exercise slowly, making sure your lower back is in no pain and the stomach muscles are controlling the movement. Once you get use to the exercise drive the medicine ball (or sugar bag) up and down as fast as you can.
Star Jumps
Different from the other exercises complete 20 start jumps, 3 times through, with 20secs rest between the 3 sets. Stop if you experience any pain in the knees.
Squat Thrusts
If you have any lower back problems do not complete these exercises! Get into a press up position and jump your feet up to your waist before returning them back to your start position.
Burpees
If you have any lower back problems do not complete these exercises! These are the most challenging of all 5 exercises. Burpees are extensions of the squat thrusts. After completing the squat thrust jump to waist height either stand or jump before returning back to the start position.
Transform your body and transform your life within 4-12 weeks:
