I’ve only ever worn a bikini once – there I said it.

Trust me, you'll look better

Mind you, I’m a guy and that was a big night. However, you, like most of my readers, probably have a very strong desire to build a bikini body – especially if you are in the southern hemisphere where summer is RAPIDLY approaching.

So without further ado I’m here to unveil The Girlfriend Workout Bikini Plan, and it’s all FREE!

We’ll be covering this in a 3 part series.

1. What kind of exercise
2. What to eat and When to eat it
3. How to stay motivated

today: exercise

There are as many options for exercise as there are brands of ab-ercisers (P.S. ab machines are largely a waste of time). So lets delve straight to the crème of what will get you looking awesome in a bikini in as little time as possible. While I’m at it, I’ll tell you what NOT to do!

weights are brilliant

Weights: they'll make you look cool and they work

Weights. I love them. They won’t really make you look cool, but they do work.

Weights will not make you bulk up, trust me. Read my article I just linked to if you don’t believe me =). In brief, the vast majority of women simply DO NOT have the genetic potential to build large muscles.

Now that your concerns are dealt with, weight training has some very bikini-friendly side effects. Namely;

• Firm, tight lean muscle mass gain – making your body look more shapely and appropriately defined
• The always elusive and hard-earned fat loss – further improving the look of your bod (especially in the belly area!)
• And of course the ramped up metabolism – for any sneaky extra food and bubbly you might eat in the summer season (yes I did just say that, but DO NOT come looking for me if that one backfires – you have been warned)

I don’t think we need to even mention that you will be feeling better from all the endorphins being released, or from your improving mirror image.

For full workout recommendations, The Girlfriend Workout is a great start, however there are many training programs out there. Here’s a quick tip – you want to base your training around compound exercises such as the Squat, Split Squats, Lunges, Deadlifts, Chinups, Bench Press, Cable Row, Shoulder Press and so on, to get the best bang for your buck.

interval training

Try sprinting sandhills... that works

HIIT has also previously been covered on this site, but I couldn’t leave it out.
Alternating the level of intensity by going hard for 15 seconds, followed by a moderate period of 15-30 seconds will get you losing fat much faster than continuous exercise.

You can factor this into any form of exercise, from running, to swimming, rowing, cycling, boxing or skipping.

As you get better at the HIIT, increase the intervals.

yoga and pilates are NOT going to work for fat loss

Excessive Stretching?

IF Energy expended > energy in
THEN Fat loss

In layman’s terms, if you expend more energy than you eat, you will lose body fat. While we first attack fat on our bodies by improving our diets, and thus reducing the amount of energy in, we must also increase the amount of energy we expend – exercise.

Pilates and yoga are the exercise equivalent of sitting or lying on a mat for an hour whilst groaning from (sometimes excessive) stretching.

Pilates and Yoga for flexibility and some core strength: good
Pilates and Yoga for bikini body and fat loss: bad

So there you go, that’s exercise! Now all you have to do is get out there and do it. Don’t worry, we’ll cover motivation later in the series – until then, all the very best in good health.

Check out Part 2 of the Girlfriend Workout Bikini Plan

/AT

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