Swimsuit Shape-Up Starts NOW!

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If you want to get your body beach-season ready, you need to start training now. Wait until summer and you've waited too long. To help you get swimsuit fit, I'm going to detail a targeted, high-energy abdominal training routine that's guaranteed to help you sculpt a terrific midsection—an essential component of a head-turning beach body. You'll have abs to die for in no time at all… if you stick to the program and use proper form. It's important to realize that achieving fab abs first requires shedding the layer of fat covering your midsection muscles. Despite what you may have read elsewhere, this can’t be done through spot reduction. There’s simply no way to dictate what specific area of your body sheds fat through exercise. You can do crunches until the cows come home, but it won't have any effect in flattening your stomach. The best one-two punch for a flat belly is good nutrition – like you get with your properly portioned Diet-to-Go meals – and regular physical activity. If you don’t eat right, you aren’t going to see the hard-earned fruits of your labor. For an extra fat-burning jolt, perform an aerobic activity. Interval training is your best bet. What that means is interspersing high-intensity cardio (such as running) with lower intensity exercise (such as walking or jogging). The combination of a healthy diet and cardio exercise will speed up your progress and help lose those love handles so you can show off a shapelier swimsuit body. Here’s the targeted ab plan. You’ll perform the three exercises described below. Each move works the abs from a variety of different angles. Perform them as one giant set in the following fashion: Do 15 to 20 reps of the toe touch. Without resting, do 15 to 20 reps of the reverse curl. Then do 15 to 20 reps of the twisting curl. Rest 30 seconds and repeat the giant set two more times. The entire routine should take 10 minutes tops. But don’t be fooled by its brevity. Perform as directed and your abs should burn like never before. If not, you need to increase resistance. This can be done by holding a dumbbell to your chest and/or ankle weights. Remember, when it comes to exercise, less can be more… provided you train with sufficient intensity. The routine can be performed up to three times a week. Just make sure you allow at least 48 hours rest between training sessions. This provides adequate recuperation so that your abs have enough time to develop. Shortchanging recuperation only serves to shortchange results. Your abs develop quickly so get with the program today. Toe Touch: Lie face up on the floor with your arms and legs straight in the air, perpendicular to your body. Keeping your lower back pressed to the floor, slowly curl your torso up and forward, raising your hands as close to your toes as possible. Contract your abs and then reverse direction, returning to the start position. Reverse Curl: Lie on your back on the floor with your hands at your sides. Curl your knees into your stomach and lift your butt so that it is slightly off the ground. Keeping your upper back pressed into the floor, raise your butt as high as possible so that your pelvis tilts toward your chest. Contract your abs and then reverse direction, returning to the start position. Bicycle Crunch: Lie face up on the floor with your legs bent at a 90-degree angle. Ball your hands into fists and place them at your ears. Slowly bring your right knee up toward your left elbow and try to touch them to one another. As you return your right leg and left elbow to the start position, bring your left leg toward your right elbow in the same manner. Continue while alternating between right and left sides as if pedaling a bike. Stay fit! Brad Brad Schoenfeld is one of America’s leading fitness experts. He’s the author of Sculpting Her Body Perfect, 28-Day Body Shapeover and the bestseller Look Great Naked. He is a columnist for FitnessRX for Women magazine, and has been featured in nearly every major fitness and women’s magazine. Schoenfeld is certified as a strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and as a personal trainer by both the American Council on Exercise and the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. He’s also been named “master trainer” by the International Association of Fitness Professionals. Check out his website LookGreatNaked.com Got a swimsuit already picked out? Tell us about it at the new Diet-to-Go community forum.

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