Building your summer bod is simple, but it isn’t easy. Luckily, you have an extra element on your side: the joy of the great outdoors!
Here are the advantages of creating your best physique during the summer months; how working out outside (with just your bodyweight) will build muscle and burn fat; and how to use the sun and seasonal foods to nail down your nutrition.
Why Summer Is the Best Time for Building Muscle
Summer is the ideal season to create your best physique of the year. As the year reaches its halfway mark, now is the time to unleash the body you’ve been yearning to achieve.
Contrary to winter, summer is the perfect season to soak in some vitamin D and burn calories concurrently. Kill two birds with one stone why don’t ya? It’s a win-win!
However, that’s not to say it’s going to be a walk in the park (no pun intended). It should still be challenging and stimulating. Priming your body for the summer heat will take a few weeks. Your body has to get acclimated to its new environment, plus you’re bringing yourself outside of the gym and into a more natural space. This could take some getting used to.
Hydration
Summer is scorching, making it the perfect time to get your body overheated. And this is a time when “best” does not give you a trip to the podium; rather, it gives you a trip to the hospital. Being overheated leads to heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat strokes are lethal and are why it’s imperative to take preventative measures when enjoying your outdoor workouts.
Above all, hydrate and listen to your body!
It’s important to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after your summer outdoor workouts. To supply your body with the fuel it needs, make sure the fluids contain electrolytes. Three essential electrolytes your body needs are sodium, potassium, and magnesium, which can be found in low-calorie Powerade and our zero-calorie pre-workout Kino Octane. The latter is our drink of choice, as it keeps you in the fasted state (which will help reduce body fat), gives you pure, clean energy and doesn’t send you crashing at the end.
Not only will this prevent heat-related illnesses, but it will relieve you of cramps as well. Cramps are painful and will hinder your workout. Dehydration is the main culprit of cramps. So drink up!
The Benefits of Vitamin D
Now that we got the dispiriting part of working out outdoors out of the way, let’s discuss the numerous perks of getting shredded in the sunshine.
For one, working out outdoors is healthy for you. Vitamin D — what you get when you expose yourself to sunlight — is vital to your health and overall wellbeing. The sun contains ample amounts of vitamin D. This crucial vitamin helps our bodies absorb nutrients and make us feel great by releasing happiness hormones.
As well, most people are vitamin D deficient due to a lack of outdoor activity and malnutrition. People find it hard to get the recommended dosage of vitamin D.
Without adequate vitamin D, the body is at risk for all kinds of hormonal issues.
Vitamin D is paramount for a strong immune system and bones.
A potent supplement to give you more vitamin D is Liquid Vitamin D3. This powerful supplement — along with plenty of sun exposure — will give you the proper dosage of vitamin D that you need.
Expect a rise in testosterone and improved sexual health from engaging in this dynamic supplement. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in both.
*Note: It is critical to wear natural sunblock. This will protect you from the damaging effects of UV rays that can cause sunburn, skin damage and skin cancer. However, you don’t need a high SPF and you should steer clear of synthetic sunscreens. Ideally, the best choice is to wear zero sunblocks and regulate your time in the sun.
Other Benefits of Being Outdoors
The benefits of getting some quality time outside are vast.
For instance, research shows that being outside supports better mental health by reducing anxiety and depression. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. Our bodies are not meant to be stuck inside, under unnatural fluorescent light, for eight hours each and every day. In fact, studies connect fluorescent light to increased levels of anxiety.
If that doesn’t make you wanna go outside and immerse yourself in natural light, we don’t know what will!
Secondly, research shows that people who spend more time in nature have lower blood pressure and lower risk of diabetes.
Thirdly, being outside helps tremendously with sleep.
Lastly, spending time outdoors has wide-ranging health benefits and is a lot of fun!
Building Your Kinobody Summertime Physique
So how do you build your summertime physique? Using just your bodyweight, you can get an epic workout in at a park, trail, beach or anywhere where the sun shines. In other words, you can work out from anywhere!
The good news is that you do not need any equipment or a gym membership to do so, making bodyweight workouts perfect for travelers.
Here are even more advantages of bodyweight training, also known as calisthenics:
- You’ll stay free of injury
- You can potentially activate more muscle
- You can train anywhere, at any time, and you can work out with anyone
- Your core and overall coordination will improve
- You can build an aesthetic physique
- You develop bodyweight skills that will turn heads in public
Bodyweight training helps keep the body proportional and reduces the load on your body, resulting in less injury. Also, it activates more muscle because close-chained movements — which is what bodyweight exercises are — allow for enhanced muscle fiber recruitment. Plus, to become proficient in bodyweight training, you need to be very lean. This promotes an incredible physique.
Most people don’t know how impressive it is to bench press 300 pounds for four reps, but everyone can visualize how amazingly strong you have to be to perform one-arm pushups.
The Kinobody Bodyweight Mastery Program can show you all of the benefits of bodyweight training…and then some. It helps you build muscle and burn fat while simply using your bodyweight. You can have insane body composition and look like a badass at the same time!
The Problem With Most Bodyweight Programs
The problem with most bodyweight programs is that they focus heavily on circuits and volume. As a result, you won’t build a fantastic physique. Sure, you’ll increase your cardio and get a good workout in. But if you want to look like the next Tarzan, then you’ll need to focus on strength progressions.
The foundation of a stellar body via bodyweight training lies in increasing your strength on a few key bodyweight movements. This is what the Bodyweight Mastery Program advocates. By increasing your ability on these key movements, your body has no choice but to adapt to the training. Therefore, your muscles will get stronger, which has the byproduct of hypertrophy (a.k.a. muscle growth).
Ditch the increased volume and endless circuits. Go to a park, get stronger, get bigger.
Bodyweight Training for Maximum Results
To supplement your bodyweight training, working on your core and mobility will exponentially help. That’s why we recommend the Cardio Abs Mobility Program to supplement the Bodyweight Mastery Program.
The Cardio Abs Mobility Program will promote fat loss, conditioning, athleticism, abdominal development and mobility. This program can be done on your rest days to enhance fat loss and maximize abdominal definition.
Through the Bodyweight Master Program and Cardio Abs Mobility Program, you’ll be able to melt your winter fat off in no time, revealing an epic summertime physique!
Getting your body adapted to getting strong with just your bodyweight will take some time. (Especially if you’re used to lifting heavy weights in the gym with barely any calisthenics.) You could be completely untrained in terms of bodyweight exercises.
Never fear! Luckily, we have a quality beginner training schedule to get you started on your bodyweight mastery journey.
Summertime Physique Beginner Workout Schedule
Workout A
- Pushups (or Hands-on-Bench Pushups): 3 sets x 5-15 reps
- Bench Dips: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
- Step-ups: 3 sets x 6-10 reps per leg
- Bodyweight Row: 3 sets x 6-10 reps
- Hip Bridge Hold: 2 sets x 20 seconds
- Planks: 2 sets x 30 seconds
Workout B
- Negative Chinups (lower down as slow as possible): 6 sets x 5-10 reps
- Pike Pushups: 3 sets x 6-10 reps
- Squat Jumps: 3 sets x 6 reps
- Lying Leg Raises: 3 sets x 10-20 reps
- Hip Bridge Hold: 2 sets x 20 seconds
- Planks: 2 sets x 30 seconds
Follow this training schedule three times a week, with a day of rest in between (So ABA week one, BAB week two, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.) Progress until you can do the top end of the rep ranges.
These workouts lay out the foundation for building outstanding bodyweight strength. More advanced movements and progressions can be found in the full Bodyweight Mastery Program.
Summertime Nutrition
In addition to absorbing vitamin D, enjoying the fresh air of the great outdoors and getting a killer workout in, nutrition plays a significant role in building your summertime physique.
The summer is meant to be enjoyed; the same should be said of the food you eat. Instead of skipping social events and ditching delicious food, learn some mouthwatering recipes.
Here at Kinobody, we recommend KinoChef for delicious, satiating meals. KinoChef not only includes 50 tasty food recipes, but it will help you dial in your nutrition.
Proportionate macronutrients and calories are key to an earth-shattering physique.
KinoChef contains superb seasonal recipes that are effortless to make and will allow you to enjoy your summertime meals while still shedding fat. Also, if you incorporate these epic meals with intermittent fasting, then your summertime physique will show up in no time!
Enjoy Pool Season
Finally: Pool season is here!
Now you’ll have an excuse to walk around shirtless and show off your hard-earned summertime physique.
Have fun and don’t worry too much about the extra attention you get when lounging at the pool! :)
