How to Get A Bikini Body (Part 2)

In this write-up, the second of a 2 piece article, we continue our discussion on what you need to do in order to get that perfect Bikini Body.

Exercise
Now comes exercise, the other essential in any Bikini Body workout or program. What to do, how to do it. How long to do it for.

30 minutes of Cardio 3-5 times a week has been recommended. Whether you go for 3, 4 or 5 times may depend on your goals, but personally, I would start with 3 times so has not to do too much too soon and become discouraged when you are not able to meet up with the demand. Examples of cardio include running, biking, walking, jogging, hiking, indoor aerobics etc. These type of exercises tend to leave you breathing deeply while you are doing them. They improve heart health and increase the metabolic rate even after the exercise is done.

There are other tips that will help you in this aspect of the program, namely; exercise with a friend. This will enable you to stay motivated especially if that friend is aware of your exercise goals.

Make it enjoyable. Pick an exercise you like. If you like jogging, go for that. If your thing is more like sports, then you might prefer the front yard basketball work out, squash or tennis ball knock-about to, say the aerobics course. This way there is a greater tendency that you will persist in it.

In addition it is a good idea for you to also join an exercise gym? Why? Simple, being around other people will not only keep you motivated, the fact that you are paying for that gym membership will also make you feel duty-bound to stay the course.

Make simple life style changes. What do I mean? Okay, so if I was to take a brief look at the itinerary of some of us, Im sure even I may come away feeling slightly overwhelmed. One likely reason for that could be because it is activity filled. This inadvertently may not give room or time for you to do a formal exercise. 

The way to get around that is to integrate exercise into your lifestyle or daily routine. So for example instead of driving to your local grocery store for a newspaper every Saturday morning why not rather stroll there. Instead of taking the lift in your office in the morning, why not take the stairs. Or what about cleaning the house, raking or mowing the lawn or some other activity that requires you to be on your feet and moving.

Toning Up.
What's that all about? Well, when people say they want to tone up, what they mean is that they want to lose fat and add a little muscle so that they look lean and strong but without adding so much muscle that they look like a body builder. You should aim to achieve this by doing yoga, Pilates or other total body toning exercises. These will improve posture, flexibility and mood.

Secondly you should look to toning up your arms. You can do this by doing push ups and lifting weights. 10-20 reps is good. Experts aver that resistance chosen is too light when you are able to do more than that and too heavy when you perform less.

When it comes to work outs, though others defer, it is advised that you should avoid crunches since this can damage the spinal disks. From experience, sit ups have been found to be quite effective though.

It is also advised that you strengthen your legs by doing exercises like lunges, squats which will also help you tone your butt. The use of a stationary bike will help achieve similar results.

Staying Motivated
Finally staying motivated is essential to staying on track and meeting those set goals. So important is this that I have devoted a whole part or segment to it. So how do you stay motivated? First things first, you should keep a food and exercise journal. This will help you to record and keep track of your progress and alert you when you are slacking and need to rev up again. Importantly since you can see the progression of your improvement, it would spur you on towards your target. 

Also it has been found that keeping track of what you eat will enable you do better at losing weight than people who don't. The same applies to exercise.

Further you should find a weight loss partner. Somebody who like you has weight loss goals. You will be able to encourage each other, and stimulate a healthy competitive drive when motivation levels are low. This means you will likely be out exercising together and getting feedback and motivation drives from off each other.

How to Get A Bikini Body (Part 1)

Getting the perfect Bikini Body is premised on two major factors. A great diet and two, the perfect exercise routine. In as much as there are a lot of Bikini Body programs out there, a close observation of them, will reveal that they all share a core of essentials. I will be discussing these; Preparation, diet, exercise, toning up; staying motivated and how they are meshed together into one program in this article today.

Preparation
The first thing that you need to do is set goals. That is to decide what you want to achieve before you start the program. What do you want to improve? Do you want to lose weight or simply just have a more toned slender look? Do you want certain parts of your body to look slimmer? Do you want to gain muscle? If you want to lose weight, how much weight do you want to lose? These and other like questions will guide you to choose the appropriate diet and exercise most suitable for your goals.

Secondly, you will need to record your weight and take measurements of your body parts. For example, your waist, your arms etc. This will aid you in tracking whatever progress you might make. Here is a good time to remember that if one of your aims is to add more muscle to your physique then you might eventually weigh more than your original weight because muscles naturally weigh more than fat. In that case you should pay more attention to the measurements rather than the number on the scale.

Thirdly, it is imperative that you take a before picture. This stands as another way to monitor your progress, but more importantly will assist in keeping you motivated. And finally you will derive a great sense of joy at the end of the program when you take your after picture and compare the two to note the massive improvement that you have made or just to realise that you were able to achieve your goals.

What comes first, the chicken or the egg? In the preparation and execution timeline of Bikini Workouts this next has often been controverted. Do you buy the Bikini before you start to take the measurements and make your decision on what your program goals are, or do you only buy it (if you don't already have one)after you have started.

Well whatever the case, I think that it is safe to say that this can come as either the third or as it is placed here, fourth stage. Acquiring and placing the bikini you want to wear in a conspicuous place where you will see it every day will serve as a great boost to motivating you to persist in the program. This will help you constantly remember why you started and give you the push to keep going in those times when you want to quit.

Diet
Next we shall be considering the almighty diet. Diet is so important because as the saying goes, "we are what we eat". On that score, while you will need to avoid some foods, you will have to stock up on others. So what should be eaten? Fruits and vegetables. Lots and lots of it. Leafy green non-starchy vegetables. Spinach and the like is highly recommended, whilst fruit can be limited to a few pieces per day.

When it comes to proteins low fat, lean proteins like fish, turkey and chicken is the way to go. Tempeh, veggie burgers and tofu will equally surfeit if you are a vegetarian.
Again you will need to cut down on your sugar consumption. You should be mindful of possible hidden sugars in sauces, breads and dressings. Has such you should make the reading of food labels a part of your shopping and cooking regimen.

You should also ensure to always stay hydrated. This means you should drink plenty of water a day. 8 glasses has been recommended.

Lastly stay teetotal or if you must drink select wine over alternatives like carb heavy beers or sugary cocktails.