Five fitness tips for a great Cup Match body

Cup Match fever is in the air in Bermuda and we are only a week away until all the fun in the sun begins! Most of us on the island want to be in the best shape possible by the time Emancipation Day is here. 

Four days spent in a bikini or swimming shorts tends to mean we are a little more conscious of our body.

The majority of my personal training clients use the upcoming holiday weekend as a goal to lose those last few pounds and firm up the areas on show. At this time of year, I regularly get asked how all this can be achieved in time for the opening bowl at the St Georges Cricket Club.

Here are my five top tips for last minute results:

• Avoid C.R.A.P Foods. 

Carbonated, refined, artificial and processed foods should be avoided at all costs.

 These foods are inflammatory to the gut which neurologically switches off the abdominal wall and causes bloating to the belly. If the food you are about to eat was not alive 10,000 years ago, then don’t eat it. 

This includes bread, pasta and anything else man made. Aim to consume lean protein that had eyeballs and eat fresh green produce.

• Resistance training.

This will not only sculpt your body and flatten your abs but will also help you burn fat. 

It has been proven that after a resistance training workout your metabolism can stay elevated for up to 10 hours resulting in increased calorie expenditure. Perform a mini circuit of five compound exercises back to back with no rest in between. These are moves that use multiple joints like squats, dead lifts, lunges, pushups and back rows. 

Only rest for up to two minutes at the end of each circuit. Repeat this three to four times in a single session.

• Drink plenty of water.

Our body is made up of approximately 60 per cent water. Dehydration slows down our metabolism meaning we burn fewer calories making it harder to lose the fat. 

It causes constipation and other digestive problems which bloats the belly. The more water you drink, the more toxins and fat holding cells you will flush out making you look leaner. 

Water is nature’s most powerful detoxification agent. Remember that soda, coffee, tea and juices do not count as water. Try to drink about three litres of pure water every day to optimize your fat burning.

• Sleep well.

If you are serious about dropping those last few pounds then you need to be in bed by 10.30pm every night. 

The body physically repairs itself between 10pm-2am. If you are exercising hard but going to sleep late then your body will not recover properly hindering your progress. 

Our hormones are regulated when we are sleeping helping to bring the body back into balance. If you have had a stressful day and lack of sleep then your stress hormones will stay high. 

Excess cortisol makes the body hang on to its fat cells to provide energy for the flight or fight situation that never actually occurs.

• Love your body.

Finally, it is important to understand that we all have a genetic set point. Just like how our height is fixed, our body will reach a weight or shape which is optimal for us. 

Anything over or below this set point proves to be unhealthy for the body. The philosopher, Osho expressed how important it is to love ourselves. ‘You are needed as much as the trees, as the flowers, as the birds, as the sun, as the moon, as the stars. You have to be here and you have a right to be the way you are.’ 

So don’t beat yourself up if you don’t manage to drop those last few pounds just to fit into the mass media’s depiction of the ‘perfect’ body.

Cup Match weekend is all about having fun (and your cricket team winning).