Getting That Summer Body

Men are most often classified as being careless when it comes to grooming and sculpting their bodies but this is not always the case…

Ask most guys and they will admit to fantasising about having a rock hard and sizzling summer body to showcase on the beach at Swakopmund come the festive season. However, winter seems to have that effect on most of us, where we try to eat and drink the cold away. Once the season is over though, we’re carrying around a few extra rolls leaving us a few sizes too large for our Levi’s.

Edward Camm, fitness instructor at Venus Gym Health and Fitness Centre said for sculpted abs, there’s a big variety of exercises you can do, depending on your goals. For bulking and beefing up, drop cardio related exercises as these types of exercises do all the sweating. “For getting shredded abs, normal sit-ups won’t do the trick anymore.” Exercises such as hanging toe swings, where you hang from a bar and lift up your toes above your head, ab rollers – not just back and forth but in different directions will get you the sculpted body you want and not forgetting weighted sit-ups.

To get strong shoulders there are a lot of exercises you can do, says Edward, especially those who are into cross-fit. Cross-fit combines complex exercises to work on various muscle groups. “For big shoulders, do exercises that require you to generate power from the shoulders, such as front and lateral dumb-bell raises and wall climbers, which would have you start out in a push-up position and move back with your legs moving up a wall. Plank exercises are also very good and they work the entire core. Strict pull-ups, overhead presses and shoulder rotations should also be incorporated,” he mentioned.

Getting a beefed up chest, most guys would opt for the bench press, but the fitness instructor explained there are other things that can be done. “I warm up on a row-machine then move onto other exercises which could also get your chest growing. Most guys believe that hitting the bench is the only option, but it’s not a necessity. Start out with lighter exercises to get your chest pumping such as burpees, pull-ups and planking. After working lightly on my chest I move to bench presses and do steady weights, about 10 sets of 10 reps each and one minute of rest in between.

Explosive exercises work best as it takes much longer to see progress on your legs. Edward said box jumps and squat jumps, intensity and heavy weights work well. “Weighted sprints, lunge jumps also do the trick. It’s not always nice, but it works.”

“You use your biceps on a different number of exercises such as pull-ups and rowing. Your triceps get used to any exercise that involves a pulling activity. A little exercise known as 21 will get your arms working – this requires you to do seven full dumbbell curls, seven half ones, and seven lower ones all in one set. Another one called biceps destroyed will have you doing curls with an empty barbel, starting out with nine repetitions, moving down to eight, then seven and all the way down to one. This is one set,” he said.

“I would never tell someone what they should or shouldn’t eat, because everyone is different, but it’s always common sense to keep away from the bad stuff such as fizzy drinks and sweets,” he said. Pasta can be eaten before an intense fat-burning workout as the calories will be burnt off immediately. Red meat should also be eaten before a workout so it can be used by the body and lean meat such as fish or chicken post workout is best alongside some greens. Within 30 to 45 minutes of working out, protein shakes should be consumed,” he explained.

Avid gym-goer Panduleni Nekomba opts to strengthen his core. “Exercises that best work for your abdominal muscles and really also help strengthen your core are crunches for your mid and upper abs and leg raises for your lower abs. The ‘plank’ exercise is best for your overall abs and help as well. There is a saying that goes ‘if you think time flies, then try planking for one minute’. Legs were the hardest part of my body to train and grow, cause they were small and neglected at the time. Not any more,” he said. “Best workout for legs are squats, leg extensions, leg press and lunges. Squats and leg presses help strengthen your legs and give your legs the size you want depending on how heavy you go. Leg extensions help bring out the definition of your legs because you concentrate on that squeeze when you extend your legs.

“Lunges are just there to mess up the way you walk for the rest of the day after you complete the other leg exercises,” Pandu joked.

“Diet and nutrition and working out go hand-in-hand. If your diet is weak and filled with junk food, depending on how fast your metabolism is, you will not reach your desired summer body. It helps to research meal plans and diets that have all the nutritional value required for muscle growth and weight loss. Dieting and following meal plans can be expensive and hard to constantly follow but the end result speaks volumes. You will love yourself even more for putting in that effort,” Panduleni said.

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