Personal fitness trainer Kippi Roberson of Just 4 U Fitness tells us about the importance of hydration in our health feature, but she also gives us some tips for slimming down for swimsuit season.
"Everyone should know that you can't spot reduce fat," Roberson said. "But you can tone up your muscles."
For women and men, the stomach, abs, and glutes present the biggest obstacles to a beach-ready body. Roberson recommends abdominal crunches to target stomach muscles. To tone butt muscles, focus on squats or lunges.
1. Perfect the lower ab crunch. "Anybody that wants a good-looking abdomen or butt will need to do abdominal crunches. You never want to do more than 20 crunches at a time, with four sets total. If you do more than that, your muscles fatigue, you're going to lose your form, and your muscles will lose their activity."
Roberson recommends reverse crunches for the lower abs. To execute a reverse crunch, lie down and place your hands behind your head as though doing a regular crunch. Bend your knees and lift your legs toward your body for the starting position. Draw your knees toward your chest for a crunch.
2. Invest in a stability ball. "Do crunches on a stability ball for the upper abs. Make sure the ball is at the lower part of your spine. When you come up, make sure your arms are far apart. Pull with your abdomen, not your chin. If you do more than 4 sets, you'll be really sore and not able to do it for a few days."
3. Remember this simple trick. "You can burn 200 to 300 calories per day by tightening your core in everyday activities. Think about drawing your bellybutton in toward your spine. Walk like that, drive like that, etcetera. It makes a huge difference."
4. Tone your backside. "For glutes, the best exercise is to lay on the floor on your side with your back to the wall. Raise your leg up and bring it down slowly. Do one to four sets for each for 12 to 20 reps, alternating sides."
5. Don't overdo it! The most common problem Roberson sees at the gym? "Too many sets, too many reps. They overdo it. If you do your first 20 reps for abs, it's best to move on to another exercise. Do your crunches, then do your glutes, then back to crunches. You want to alternative it."
Remember not to work out the same part of your body every single day. You need 72 hours of rest in between to give your muscles a chance to repair.
These tips can help tone your body for swimsuit season, but don't ignore your body the rest of the year.
"You should think about that all year long," Roberson said. "It's your body, and it's the only one you're going to get."
by Jennifer Retter
Hard Core
Toning the abdominal area has incredible benefits for the body, including:
- Increased balance
- Increased metabolism (muscle burns fat faster with less effort)
- Better control over the body for exercising or doing any sort of physical activity
- A stronger, healthier back, which leads to fewer back problems later in life
- Improved stability overall
