Bikini Body Confidence

This might seem like a strange time of year to be writing about Bikini Body Confidence, as the summer holiday season has just come to a close. However, the truth is that fitness training is a long term game of consistency. So the work you put in for next year's summer body should begin now!

That being said, there is no right or wrong body shape for women that want to wear a Bikini. Everybody has a Bikini Body. This is just a little something for those women that want to have a little bit more confidence on the beach. 

Let's get YOU Bikini Body Confident!

So what do you need to do in order to get a little more Bikini Body Confident?

Of course, it depends on your starting point. But the chances are that you will want to focus on fat loss training, but also with the addition of some muscle building methods in order to give you the lean, slender and toned appearance you are looking for. 

So let's take a look at these two training elements separately.

It is very difficult to achieve spot reduction when it comes to fat loss. That means, rather than trying to shift the fat from a very specific area of your body, you will need to take a whole body approach to fat loss. 

There are two elements of fat loss training that will help you here.

1. Steady state aerobic fitness training
2. High Intensity Interval Training

Steady state aerobic fitness training means going for regular light exercise. This could be a brisk walk, an easy jog, a regular stint on the x-trainer machine in your local gym, or a number of other options.

The benefit of this type of training is that, because it is not as hard, you can do it for longer and you can do it more frequently. Both of these benefits lead to more fat burning during exercise.

However, you need to also do some harder training. 

The benefit of harder bouts of exercise that don't last as long, is that once you have finished the exercise session, your body still has to work harder to recover from the higher levels of intensity. High Intensity Interval Training sessions create a greater metabolic effect, which means you will continue to burn a little more fat in the hours that follow the completion of your training session. 

If you add some resistance training to the mix as well, then you can take that continued fat burning effect to the next level. This is because an appropriate resistance training programme will help you to build some muscle. And since muscle is metabolically very active, this means the more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn on a daily basis. 

Now, you don't need to worry about looking big and bulky. That's not the goal. And since you will be performing steady state aerobic fitness training and high intensity interval training as well, you are likely to be losing some weight. This combination of training methods simply puts you in the best possible position to make sure the majority of the weight you lose is from fat. And a small amount of muscle gain, to replace some of that lost fat, will help you to make sure this is a long term, positive change to your body that you can sustain. 

So the final question that remains is.... What exercises or body parts should you focus on with your resistance training programme?

Well... earlier in this article, I did mention that when it comes to fat loss, it is very difficult to achieve spot reduction. In other words, you cannot very easily target a specific body part where you want to lose fat. However, by adding a little muscle to specific parts of the body, you can achieve the appearance of spot reduction. This is because any fat will now be more thinly spread over your new found muscle!

So when it comes to your resistance training efforts, that are designed to get you Bikini Body Confident, you will probably want to focus on body parts where you carry a little more fat. For many, this may mean exercises that work the hips. Time to work that booty!

It's also worth considering that, in addition to the hips, certain areas of the body will be on show when wearing a Bikini that may not ordinarily be on show. So Bums, Tums, and Upper arms may be suitable focus points for your resistance training efforts.

I'll have another article with suitable exercise choices for each of these areas. For now I'll leave you with a little summary of the key points from this piece on Bikini Body Confidence.

1. Include steady state aerobic fitness training in your programme
2. Include high intensity interval training in your programme
3. Include resistance training in your programme, with a focus on Bums, Tums and upper arms
4. If training, say, six days per week, this enables you to include each of the above in your programme two times per week
5. Don't be alarmed by the prospect of training six days per week. The steady state aerobic fitness training could be as simple as a morning walk before breakfast, and the resistance training could involve a bodyweight routine performed in the comfort of your own home!

That's all for now. But do remember, summer bodies are made in the winter. So try and take some action now. And if you need any help, you can get in touch using the Chorlton Personal Training Contact Form.

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