How to Get in Shape for Summer

Paul Gill, personal trainer and nutritionist, unveils his comprehensive diet and exercise plan

About the Author:

 With over 20 years of weight training and conditioning experience, Paul Gill is a top personal trainer in Toronto, ON. A certified nutritionist and successful bodybuilder, Paul's professional and personal goal is to help you improve your well-being through optimum health and fitness.

 Ten weeks remaining and summer is here! We all want to be in good shape for summer so we can show off our bathing suit bodies and make a statement about who we are and what our body stands for. With 10 weeks remaining there’s still time to make significant improvements on your physique but you’ll need to get started fairly quickly and you need a plan for success that points you in the right direction.

If getting in shape for summer is your goal, then let’s waste no time and create a plan for success that entails the two most important things involved in creating a great physique. To no surprise, the two things that must come together for you are diet and exercise. A good clean diet as well as an exercise plan will quickly move you in the right direction.

Diet

Your diet is important when attempting to get in to shape, and is the single most important contributing factor to your physique.

Here are key points/recommendations surrounding your diet:

• Eat five small meals a day; with three hours between meals
• Ensure each and every meal is well balanced containing all the macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates (starchy and fibrous) as well as healthy fats
• Choose the appropriate portion sizes for you (a good rule of thumb for protein is it should be the size of the palm of your hand, and starchy carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates are the size of your fist, and fats being the size of your thumb)
• Drink 500 ml (two cups) of water with every meal to ensure you’re hydrated throughout the day
• Never skip breakfast, you’re not doing yourself any favours by missing meals

Here is a sample of what a typical breakfast, lunch and dinner should look like (please adjust portion sizes according to you):

The important thing to remember is every meal should be well balanced.

Here is a quick list that summarizes the most popular food items in each category:

To put it simple: pick one from each category and you’ve created a well balanced meal provided you follow your portion sizes!

Exercise

For exercise, I recommend you go to the gym 4 to 6 days a week as summer is quickly approaching. This is no time to sit back and only do a couple of sessions a week! Exercise should consist of weight training as well cardiovascular training. Both forms of exercise will yield a significant impact on your overall physique. My advice here is to follow a simple routine split up into upper body days, lower body days and last but not least, cardiovascular trainings days.

Here is a table that summarizes a weekly training plan:

So now you have it, there is your plan to get in shape for summer.  Always remember if your goal is to obtain a rock hard body for summer 2012, it will take a combination of good solid nutrition as well as a rigorous exercise plan that really challenges your body to grow to the next level. Ten weeks left before summer and I’ll see you on the beach, time is ticking…

Worst Things in My Kitchen

When it comes to the worst things in the kitchen, the Evil Triad is what comes to mind. What is the Evil Triad you ask? These three items, sugar, salt and butter top the hit list of what needs to evacuated from your kitchen immediately. All of these ingredients wreak havoc on the body for many reasons causing high blood pressure (salt) to greater cholesterol levels (butter) as well as promoting fat gain (sugar). Eliminate these three from your kitchen and you’ll be well on your way to improving your diet.