Summer is here, and while you may not want to spend all your free time in a gym, you still want that summer body, right?
Well, we might have a solution. Whether you’re heading to the beach or to work, do these five quick exercises and watch your body slim down and shape up! We got in touch with fitness trainer Mantahaa Tareen who shared with us her most recommended, tried and tested exercises.
Here, take a look:
1. Hundreds with Leg Lowers
Get your circulation going and core activated with this version of the Pilates Hundreds. Lie down on your back and bring your legs to a tabletop position. Curl your head neck and shoulders up and reach your arms forward, hovering above the ground. Straighten your legs up to the sky and start pumping the arms up and down without bending them. Inhale for 5 counts as you lower the legs as low as you can go without arching the lower back. Exhale for 5 counts as you lift the legs back up. Do this ten times, making sure to pull your navel into your spine and squeeze your inner thighs.
2. Jumping Rope
If you think jump ropes are just for kids on the playground or boxers perfecting their rhythm, you don’t know skip. The most basic piece of equipment in the gym gives you a full body workout with a ton of fat burning potential. Start off by perfecting your speed skipping form for short periods, two minutes at most. Keep your arms relatively still at your sides and rotate your wrists to spin the rope, and jump off the ground only high enough so that you clear the rope. Land as softly as possible on the balls of your feet, ready to spring up again on the next rotation. Once you master the basics, there’s a whole world of jump rope moves and workouts open to you.
3. Goblet Squat
This is arguably the best way to squat, period. Front-loading the weight allows you to keep your trunk more upright. This takes stress off your spine and works your thighs more. Goblet squats are also safer to perform and more accessible than barbell squats, especially for higher-rep fat-loss training. All you need is a dumbbell (easier) or a kettlebell (harder). Just stand and sit tall and repeat. These are great for high reps and really tax your shoulders and core.
4. Step-up Jump
Much like the box squat jump, this exercise provides a lower-impact way to train your lower-body power and crush calories at a lightning speed. Step-ups are more hip-dominant than lunges, so they’re easier on your knees. Plus, the glutes are the biggest muscles in the human body. Excessive sitting leads to “saggy butt syndrome,†so the more we can kick those glutes into gear, the better.
5. Walking Lunge
Walking lunges are the strength and stability version of running. You can do it continuously because you’re moving from side to side for a maximum fat-loss stimulus. And the increased range of motion better stimulates your hips and thighs, which ramps up your metabolism in a serious way. If your goal is to burn fat, end each workout with 10 minutes of walking lunges. It will improve your hip mobility, bulletproof your knees, melt fat, and improve your cardio conditioning. It will also make you a better runner, squatter, and jumper.
