Stay Swimsuit Ready With This Workout Routine

Among all the different outfits you can wear, swimsuits are by far one of the most difficult for people to put on — mentally, at least. While it’s fairly simple to put on a two-piece or a pair of trunks, not everybody is confident enough in their own body to wear a swimsuit in public. That’s why if you want that summer bikini bod, you’re going to have to put in the work, and with these exercises, you can definitely get one.

PLANKS

Planks are very simple to execute in theory, but they’re arguably one of the most tiring ab exercises you can do. It’s because planking isn’t based on reps (which is short for “repetitions).  Instead, it’s based on time, and you have to hold the planking position for as long as possible to get good results. Often, you will end a “rep” of planking completely out of breath and exhausted.

But that’s what makes planks so effective. They really work your core abdomen muscles and push them to the limits. Sure, it can hurt quite a bit to do just one minute of planking per day, but the results are well worth it, and even track your progress with planking can feel rewarding. Noticing that you’re able to go five seconds longer than the previous week is a visible sign of progress, and this can motivate you to keep going.

SIT-UPS

Sit-ups are another solid choice when it comes to ab exercises. As the name suggests, all you have to do is pull yourself up into a “sitting” position multiple times. The thing about sit-ups is that most people have the misconception of requiring a second person to pull them off. That can’t be farther from the truth, though. In fact, you can more reliably do sit-ups without another person than doing so with one.

The key is to find a place where you can get leverage. Basically, you’ll want to find a spot where you can tuck your feet and legs in. This area will effectively anchor your feet so that you can pull yourself up with that leverage. It’s technically more reliable than working with someone else as while a human may put in different amounts of force depending on their weight, mood, etc., as long as you use the same leverage for your feet and legs, you will get consistent results.

AB CRUNCH MACHINES

Crunching is another exercise that’s fairly similar to sit-ups. What makes crunches interesting, though, is the fact that you can now get dedicated machines for said exercise. Ab crunch machines have been around for quite a while, and though some of them have questionable effectiveness, others are quite reliable and you can get some good exercise out of them. They can be a little difficult to work with at first, but once you get the hang of them, they’re a lot easier to use than doing crunches on your own.

Overall, you need to ensure that you switch up your ab workout routine as often as needed. The key to maintaining motivation and drive to exercise is progress and freshness. If you see your results and do different exercises each time, you’ll be less likely to get bored and feel more pumped to get that summer bod.