Build a Summer Fitness Routine

Build a Summer Fitness Routine

Summer can be a mixed blessing when it comes to achieving fitness goals. It stays light later in the evening so there is more time for fitness, there’s a wealth of fun activities to choose from, and it’s easy and pleasurable to get in lots of extra walking and biking. On the downside, the heat can make people tired and just indoors under the AC.  A vacation feels like a great excuse to skip exercise entirely and lounging poolside is a lot easier than doing laps!

If you want this to be the summer you get into shape then here is how to kick off the summer season exercise wise.

Establish goals. The way to do this is to focus on S-M-A-R-T goal setting: Set goals that are Specific (think exactly what you want to achieve and how to do it), Measurable (so you can see the progress you’re making), Achievable (you’re much more likely to maintain goals when they’re achievable), Realistic (consider your limitations and set goals within your capabilities), and Timely (every great goal is set on a timeline).

Shake up your exercise routine. There’s a reason they call it static state cardio—it’s so static that you won’t see results. Instead, engage in interval exercise, in which you alternate brief bursts of intense walking, biking, or swimming with periods of slower recovery. On the days when you don’t do intervals, schedule some core strengthening exercises that will target the muscles in your back, abdomen, pelvis, and hips. These can certainly be done outside on a towel in the yard or even at the beach, allowing you to soak up the great weather while you’re getting fit.

Take the weather into consideration. If it’s sunny, be sure to wear sunscreen, along with UV-protective sunglasses and a hat. Wearing light colors in warm weather will keep you cooler by reflecting sunlight, and a light jacket that you can remove and tie around your waist is a good idea when the weather is iffy. Take a water bottle even if you are only taking a 20-minute walk, and if you like listening to music on a headset, keep it low enough that you can still hear the traffic noise and not annoy others near you. If you can’t exercise outdoors, head to an air conditioned mall and do your interval laps there. With global warming, it’s going to be over 100 degrees in some areas this summer, so you may want to think about doing intervals in your pool.

Don’t go it alone. Whether you enlist your teen, your spouse, or your roommate or best friend to work out with you, it helps to have a buddy. Taking a walk solo just isn’t as interesting as setting out someone whom you can chat with.

Don’t let a day off derail your goals. If you skip a couple of days of exercise, view this as a temporary setback rather than a long-term problem, and don’t use your hiatus as an excuse to abandon your fitness routine entirely. Instead of bemoaning the setback, as in “I-missed my workout today so I may as well quit,” just pick up where you left off.

Celebrate your accomplishments. To reinforce a job well done, give yourself a nonfood reward when you reach a fitness goal you’ve set for yourself. But don’t settle for settling into a ho-hum exercise routine for the rest of the summer. Come up with another fitness goal to achieve: If you always walk for exercise, get that bike out of the garage and start doing bicycle intervals. Sign up for a charity walk with friends. Or get up an hour earlier than usual each day of your vacation to take a long walk on the beach.