Get in Shape for Summer!

As summer approaches, it is time to get your body ready for swim suit season! Here are some tips for getting your body ready so you can look and feel good by the pool or on the beach this summer.
1) Set a goal: whether it be to lose certain amount of weight or get into a favorite swim suit, set a goal and put a deadline on it. Write that goal down and display it somewhere where you will see it several times each day.
2) Replace most of your carbohydrates with fruits or vegetables: Instead of eating a chicken sandwich for lunch, make a chicken salad. You will still get sufficient carbohydrates from the fruits and vegetables but also get the added vitamins, minerals and fiber. Plus, it is hard to spread mayonnaise on a leaf of spinach.
3) Eliminate beverages with calories: Cutting out the soda, Gatorade, fruit juice and milk will give you an easy way to eliminate a few hundred calories from your diet without making you feel hungry.
4) Increase your protein intake: The body uses more energy to break down protein than any other nutrient and the extra protein will help support the maintenance of lean muscle mass.
5) Increase your activity: Exercise will help burn calories and the right kind of exercise will help you torch body fat, increase metabolism and build lean muscle mass.
6) Hire a performance specialist: Supervised and expert designed workouts are much more effective than you going to the gym and doing that same old - walk on the treadmill while holding on to the handle bars and watching CNN workout. Invest a little money in yourself and hire a trainer (sometimes getting a couple friends and getting a trainer to train a small group of friends is an excellent way to get the same quality at a fraction of the price)
If you follow the above steps with focus and discipline, you will be ready to unveil the new you at that Memorial Day pool party. Now stop reading and get going!
Kai Etheridge, CSCS, PES, ATC