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Shape it up: _Exercise and diet tips to get fit for the summer_

By Margaret Davis

May 18, 2012 1:04 a.m.

It’s that time of year again. One month left of school means that there is one month left until summer. This also means you have about 30 days remaining to get fit for the beach, swimming pools and the bathing suits that come with them.

I excercise fairly regularly and eat well most of the time, but I don’t work out every day nor can I resist the vegan cookies from Bruin Café.

With this in mind, I’m going to suggest my own mini “boot camp” plan for you to follow for this last month of school.

I started this during my sophomore year of high school when my friend and I declared a “Health and Fitness Month” to help us get in shape for summer. We used each other as support to keep one another on track with our plan and established some ground rules for the month.

The rules are simple: eat fruits and vegetables for snacks, eat cereal as a substitute for dessert and work out every day.

After we set these rules, it was time to come up with a more specific exercise plan. We decided to switch up the intensity level every week. Each week involves working out on weekdays while weekends are used to relax sore muscles (and to keep eating right, of course).

Week one and week three are the low-intensity weeks. If week one were too intense, then it would be difficult to continue on to week two without being too sore. Having a slower start to get adjusted to working out every day makes it easier to continue the pattern.

This makes week two and week four the high-intensity weeks. This is convenient because ending with a high-intensity week is a great way to finish strong and gain the confidence to have fun at the beach without worrying about being in shape.

The low-intensity weeks involve doing three days of strength conditioning and two days of cardio exercise.

This works well because that means one day of strength can be dedicated to arms, one can be dedicated to legs and one can be dedicated to core.

These days mostly consist of doing push-ups, lifting dumbbells and performing lunges and squats. In addition, low-intensity weeks also include regular, side and reverse crunches and leg lifts.

The remaining two days of cardio exercise entail a mixture of running, jumping rope and using the elliptical machine for a combined total of about 45 minutes.

I do cardio exercise for 45 minutes because that is what I am adjusted to after four years of high school gymnastics practices, but you should determine the length of your cardio workouts based on what makes you most comfortable.

The high-intensity weeks involve the same 3 days of strength conditioning as the low-intensity weeks, in addition to added cardio exercise every day.

On the days that include strength conditioning, I shorten my cardio workouts from 45 minutes to 30 minutes. This way, I don’t feel like I am overworking myself.

Since the weekend is meant to rest your body, one day of it should be dedicated to yoga to stretch and ease any sore muscles.

After all, recent research has shown that yoga improves cardiovascular fitness overall, which could possibly make all the cardiovascular workouts a bit easier.

Also, yoga is a great way to relax and calm both the body and mind. In terms of physical health, I would say that yoga is a more preferable tactic for relaxation than a weekend of watching television and spending hours online.

With this plan, each week of the month would entail five days of workouts, one day of yoga, one day of rest and seven days of healthy eating.

Combined with a healthy diet, these four weeks of exercise have benefited me for the past three years by allowing me to start my summer confident and healthy. Give this mini boot camp a try, and see how it works for you!

How do you get fit fast? Email Davis at [email protected]. “Shape It Up” runs every Friday.

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Margaret Davis
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