what can i do to become fit in time for summer

 

Spring is here, and hot summer is just around the corner. With a return to public life looming shortly, people are emerging from months of COVID slumber to hit the gym in time to show off friends, family, and acquaintances.

While anybody can be a beach body, personal trainers say they've seen a significant increase in efforts to lose weight and gain muscle in the few months before summer.

"We've seen a huge rush of people wanting to get in better shape since they lost motivation and gained weight during COVID," Noam Tamir, founder and CEO of TS Fitness, told Insider.

If this is you, take heart. There's still time to make significant strides in your fitness journey, even as a beginner, with proper planning, realistic goals, and a solid training plan.

"We've seen amazing transformations in just 30 days, so that you can make huge progress in 60 to 90 days," said Tamir. 

Set your priorities

Before you start the perfect summer fitness regimen, you must understand what that means for you.

One of the most common fitness mistakes people make is not cutting back on specific goals, according to personal trainer Brian Goldberg.

"I think people fall into the trap of trying to do too much. You can't do everything," he told Insider.

Physiologically, losing a significant amount of body fat while gaining muscle is challenging, he said. Trying to do this can stall your progress and leave you feeling frustrated and unmotivated.

If you want to see results, especially in a short period, the best thing you can do is stick to one goal until you make significant progress, Goldberg said.

If you're unsure, consider whether you want to gain muscle and size, lose body fat, make your muscles more visible, or focus on performance goals.

For most people, losing fat leads to more noticeable cosmetic results in a short time, as it is a faster process than building muscle mass.

Nutrition is an essential part of your fitness goals

Once you've decided what your goals are, you'll need to eat to support them because the gym will only help you so much without a good nutrition plan.

Losing body fat requires a calorie deficit or burning more calories overall than you take in.

Instead, you must have a caloric surplus to gain muscle to provide your muscles with the energy needed to repair and grow muscle tissue.

Train smarter, not harder

The best exercises for quick results, according to experts, are the same whether you want to lose fat or gain muscle.

Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, and presses are your best bet, Tamir said, because they work for large muscle groups at once—burning calories and building strength.

Combining aerobic (cardio) and anaerobic (resistance training) exercises are also a great way to maximize your progress.

Also, 45-minute training sessions two to five times a week are sufficient, according to Goldberg.

Skip exercises that only work one muscle at a time, and don't try to "train" one area of the body. This means making every minute count. Some of the biggest push-ups include biceps curls, leg raises, and leg extensions.