March 10th is the first day of Spring Break 2014! With less than two weeks to shape up, it’s officially crunch time for that spring break body. Here are six tips that may help you ladies stay focused and give you that boost to look your very best version of you by spring break!
1. Start your day with exercise:
Midterms are just one of the many things overwhelming our schedule within the next two weeks. It’s therefore important to avoid indulging in food that will put your hard efforts to loss. Starting your day with a workout routine is a great way to make sure it gets done while staying on track for the rest of the day. Also, if you workout first thing in the morning, there will be no excuses or “unpredictable factors” that happen to throw off your workout time.
2. Kick up the intensity:
Start making your exercises more challenging. If you usually incorporate 30 minutes of cardio into your workout, you have the following options: make it a 45-60 minute cardio session, add more resistance, etc. The same can apply to any strength workouts that require weights. Simply challenge yourself by adding more weight to your exercises. Lastly, make sure that if you have been only working out three times a week, that you start adding more workout time for yourself throughout the week or day. For example, you can dedicate one hour and a half every morning for example five to seven times a week to achieve the best version of yourself by spring break.
3. Group Classes:
This is a great way to complement your workouts! FIU’s Recreational Center offers many classes that you can mix and match with your workouts, or of course add to your workouts, for better results. FIU Trainers always make sure to blast trendy music that keeps you going and the class energy will further motivate you. Be sure to check out classes such as the “Spinflex,” “Hardbodies,” “Tighten & Tone,” “Ultimate Abs,” and “Gutts, Butts, and Thighs,” to help you get that spring break body in no time!
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4. Plan Ahead:
As mentioned earlier, typical excuses of not working out include unpredictable events that happen throughout the day. The solution? Plan ahead. Make sure that along with setting a permanent time slot throughout the week specific to working out (mornings are the best), that you take the time to plan out exactly what you will be working out. Time is often wasted when we arrive to the gym and walk around in circles exploring our options of what to workout. Make a plan of what you are going to work out, how many minutes (if required) a specific exercise should take, and the reps and sets of an exercise.
5.Clean Eating:
If you have been allowing yourself too many cheat meals over the past two months it’s time to get serious. Put into perspective that you will need to cut cold turkey the bad stuff and eat absolutely clean for less than 14 days to look your best on the first Monday of spring break! Examples? Start substituting fresh squeezed lemon in your water bottles for that cup of juice, veggies and fruits for the regular snacks you usually eat, turkey and low fat cheese sandwiches for pizza, chicken and fish for rice, and so forth. What you consume will fuel your body these last few days to work harder.
6. Fitspiration:
We all need inspiration to keep going and I can’t begin to explain how Pinterest is the best tool for this. All you need to do is type “fitness” in the search engine and a selection of pins and boards appear with motivational facts, pictures, and even ideas to try. Even though the TIPS mentioned here will help you for spring break crunch time, it’s important to remember that living a healthy and active style is one of the basic fundamentals of achieving a happier self.