10 Easy Exercises To Get You Fit For Summer

Your gym membership is HOW much?

Bridesmaids Airplane Kirsten Wiig
Universal Pictures

Wake up at six and hit the gym. Head to work, protein shake in hand. Eight small meals through the day. A second workout after work. No carbs. No fat. No sugar. No fun. 

Sounds horrible, right?

Almost everyone wants to look better. But they lack the time, the willpower, or the funds. Or at least, they think they do. With summer finally heating up, more and more people are heading towards the beach. Which means that more people are starting to worry about what they look like with their kit off. And that means that all of the magazines are being flooded with workout plans and exercise regimes promising you a flat stomach and buns of steel in time for your trip to Ibiza. The problem with a lot of the "easy" exercise guides is that they're are actually pretty difficult. Most of them require either a pre-existing level of knowledge and fitness or equipment that most people just don't have access to at home. 

We've put together a list of ten quick, easy exercises that pretty much anyone can do, no problem. We'll go through each exercise separately, before showing you how to group them together into simple workouts. And make sure you're combining these exercises with plenty of cardio. Three to four sessions of running, cycling, or swimming a week are ideal. There's no point toning and strengthening your muscles if they're hidden under a layer of fat.

10. Abdominal Crunches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUnAWuDVDHA

The Exercise: Everyone is familiar with the traditional sit-ups, and you might think that they are better than crunches because they have a bigger range of motion. But 90% of the work in a sit-up is in the back. Crunches have the benefit of isolating the movement around your abdominal muscles, which is the area you really want to work with this exercise. Because you keep your lower back on the floor, they also prevent you from potentially damaging your lower spine.

Lie on your back with your legs bent and your feet on the floor. Place your hands on either side of your head, but make sure you're not yanking your head or putting too much pressure on your neck. Curl the head and shoulders up and flex the spine about 20 or 30 degrees. Focus on drawing your lower ribs towards your hip bones, rather than lifting your head upwards.

Make It Harder: The easiest way to alter the level of difficulty is by changing the position of your arms to produce more resistance. Holding your arms out above your head, rather than behind it, will increase the intensity. Once you’ve mastered this, you can perform the same exercises while holding a light weight or other object.

Contributor
Contributor

With a (nearly) useless degree in English literature and a personal trainer qualification he's never used, Freddie spends his times writing things that he hopes will somehow pay the rent. He's also a former professional singer, and plays the saxophone and ukulele. He's not really used to talking about himself in the third person, and would like to stop now, thanks.