2016 is the year we get into shape, and we don’t mean mid-July, when we want to be seen with rock hard abs while lounging by the pool – we mean from now, while we’ve a reasonable amount of months between us and ab season.
But where to start when the prospect of hitting the gym first thing tomorrow seems too tough to do? At the top, obviously, with a plan to get fit, and in style, too.
See below a few ways to do so.
1. Get Your Fitness Plan Figured Out
Ok so, as we all know, weight drops off best and toning improves with a simple bit of exercise – the type that raises your pulse and gets a sweat on (because if your workout’s chill, the results will be nil).
And, if you’re looking to see results this year, you might want to invest in a new fitness plan, with a large number out there that you can easily get your hands on. For free.
While supermodel Joan Smalls likes Muay Thai kickboxing and pilates, and Jasmine Tookes does the P90x workout and squats, we recommend searching the net (Youtube’s a godsend) for regimes targeted to your body needs (e.g. are you looking to tone your arms, abs or everything?). Though to get an actual Victoria’s Secret model work out? Try a session with their trainers, here.
Or why not check out our episodes of Work It Out, currently airing on DStv Channel 192 weekdays at 5am or weekends at 10am? You can also peruse the episodes on our Youtube channel here, with our fun fitness sessions sure to get you looking fit in no time.
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2. Go for a ‘Detox Diet’
Hollywood swears by it and the results seem to speak for themselves. But which diet does one opt for (alongside and to boost the results of proper exercise)?
Well, we’re all familiar with Beyonce’s famed Lemonade Detox Diet, which the singer used to shed pounds for her role in Dreamgirls. Also known as the Master Cleanse, this ‘diet’ is in fact more of a ‘fast’ – one designed in the 1940s that seeks to detoxify the body (from the toxins found in popular meals) – but can be useful before the start of a healthier eating plan. Because, you know – clean slate an’ all that.
If you’re trying it, don’t expect to do so and swear off food for lemon juice forever. Bey’s juice fast is simply used for removing toxins from the system and should be followed for no more than the recommended 10 days.
Instead, if you’re looking for an achievable diet plan to aid weight loss (read: a plan for healthier food intake), why not try the much-discussed Goop diet by actress Gwyneth Palthrow? Requesting the advice of your doctor plus some gentle excersice like yoga, Gwyn shares a sample menu you can get started with here.
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3. Get Apps, Get Abs
In this day and age, we needn’t rely on a celebrity to encourage us to keep lean – especially when we can have our phone and mobile devices to do all the encouraging for us, with the help of those clever things called fitness apps.
The likes of Daily Yoga (that’s yoga for everyone – total beginners or a practiced yogis), RunKeeper (which tracks your running distance and pace via GPS, as well as sets you challenges), or Nike+ Training Club (which provides tailored toning and strength plans for your level of fitness) are all free to download via iOs or Andriod, and can be carried out without a gym subscription. So no excuses.
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4. Get Fit via Fashion
To help us keep on top of our progress, or in some cases have us continue the hard work without us even knowing? Look to your favourite thing in the whole world: (which is surely) fashion.
Yes, the stuff we wear can actually improve your fitness – in the case of the Apple Watch, that’s via monitoring your daily activity and charting your progress with the Activity app, which shows your day-to-day movements with a simple Stand, Move and Exercise ring displaying how much of each you need to do more or less of, for optimum calorie burning.
And then there’s the less sophisticated garments like Instagram’s new trend, the waist trainer, made popular by the likes of Kim and Khloe Kardashian. Though many specialists have spoken on the downfalls of using them (which by the way include things like displaced kidneys and intestines, as well as back acne) the benefits can include more stability to one’s core and encouragement to reduce the amount of food one consumes (we guess because the things are so darn tight you’l have no choice but to refuse seconds or dessert).
Or why not get a pair of trainers that help to tone your lower body, like Reebok’s range of EasyTone kicks? The shoes are said to have your bottom, thighs, calves and hamstrings working 28% harder than normal, while the world just sees you wearing a fly pair of trainers.
But, with all the rad gym wear on the market at the moment (hello to Stella McCartney’s range with Adidas, Rihanna’s sportswear for Puma, and Beyonce’s soon-to-launch collection with Topshop), surely being able to own and flaunt a fabulous set of exercise stuff in the gym should be motivation enough?
READ MORE: BEYONCE TO LAUNCH A RANGE IN COLLABORATION WITH TOPSHOP–
5. Just Get Going
Lastly, you just need to get moving with any method you choose, because we can all be guilty of making plans to get fit in January, then putting it off and crying about it all Summer when the beach calls and we haven’t done any form of exercise whatsoever.
Starting simple and being consistent from the get-go with your routine is a great motivation to continue – and by simple, we mean taking the stairs instead of the lift; going for walks, hikes, swimming or jogging for recreation; or even partying the night away with friends (though try to curb those calorific alcoholic drinks!) – all things that can help you get fit, so long as your pulse is increased and you’re breaking a bit of a sweat.
Our new episode of Work It Out, with Sani shows you how to dance yourself into shape by doing the Azonto, and gives you the option to get moving at home if you don’t fancy sweating it out in public, on the dance floor.
But have you got your own stylish way to stay in shape this year? Tell us your fashionable means of getting fit below in the comments box or online @SPICETVAFRICA.
Image source: Stylevitae.com, News.nike.com, Celebuzz.com, @Zoesaldana, @Jheneaiko, @Oprah
