By Natalie Carter
www.newoutlookfitness.com.au

It's bikini season and there's nothing like the threat of donning a two piece to shock you into fitness submission! Let's get cracking with some effective and practical tips from Fitness expert Natalie Carter

 - Next time you take yourself out for a run; throw in some lunges and squats. Not only will you increase your overall calorie burn but you are one step closer to having a banging body. Lunges and squats help to strength and increase muscle tone around your butt and thighs whilst helping your core stability. Lunges and squats are also a great way to banish cellulite.

- Try adding incidental exercise into your day: taking the stairs instead of the lift, walking to your colleagues desk instead of sending an email, going for a brisk walk at lunch instead of eating in the office and my personal favourite squat it out while you wait for eggs to boil or your smoothie to blend. A little bit of incidental exercise goes a long way!

 - Strength training using weights or your own body's resistance is THE most effective way to change the shape of your body. If you don't have any strength training in your fitness routine, you need to add it immediately. Not only will your body be tighter, stronger and leaner, you'll reduce your chance of injury and strengthen your posture.

-Make yourself aware of nutritional food labels. Almost all packaged food contains sugar and truckloads of it. We all consume too much sugar and need to be aware of this by scanning food labels. The simplicity of checking labels before you put them into your trolley means less overall calories and greater results. Reducing sugar consumption can lead to weight loss as I’ve seen with lots of clients and followers of NoSugarVember

- If you want a flat stomach you are going to have to add some core strengthening, tummy leaning exercises into your current fitness routine. What are they? Planks, Knee to Chest Knee Ups, Oblique twists with a medicine ball, Mountain climbers and Swiss ball prone roll outs. Try to do each exercise for 20 reps and hold the plank for 1 min. Try my simple, effective ab workout here

- Rope a friend in on the action! Studies have shown people who workout together are more likely to stick to an exercise program than those that exercise alone.

- Running is an extremely effective way to get fit, as well as burn lots of calories. This will fit in perfectly with your healthy eating plan and the key is to do it effectively so you see results, FAST! If you are new to running try this: walk briskly for 3 mins then jog for 1 min keep repeating this until you reach 30 minutes. For more advanced runner try: 1min sprint followed by 1min brisk jog for a total of 20-30mins. This form of Interval training is a more effective way of getting fit and burning calories compared to a steady state jog or walk.

- Make sure you are getting enough water! Aim for a minimum of 1-5L per day of good, clean filtered water. Not only will your skin shine brighter but water helps keep your appetite at bay. Many times thirst is mistaken for hunger.

- Find the time of day that suits you to exercise. If you are not a morning person then stop battling with yourself to wake up at the crack of dawn, do it in the evening.  Just make sure you get out there and get moving!

-If all else fails get a great fake tan!  Brown wobbly bits ALWAYS look better than white…haha! I joke, I joke. Get moving

Stay Awesome until next time,

Nat

More from Natalie Carter...

1. Resistance Bands: Benefits and Most Effective Training Methods
2.Does Zumba Really Work?
3. At Home Skipping Workout