Shrink 2 Sizes by Summer: Body Shape-Up

The ultimate shape-up plan to flatten your belly, firm your thighs, sculpt your butt, and get you swimsuit ready. See results in 4 weeks!

By Selene Yeager, Prevention

Forget sharks! When it comes to summertime stress, Jaws has nothing on swimwear.

A resounding 90% of women worry about stepping out in public in a swimsuit, reports a recent survey of 1,670 women by BizRate Research. Seventy percent said hiding trouble spots such as midriff bulges and bikini-bottom jiggle was a top priority when shopping for a suit. Well, drop the sarong — we've got you covered.

Our workout will flatten your belly, tone your arms, firm your butt and thighs, and burn off fat so you can hit the beach with confidence. The core of the plan is a 30-minute sculpting routine combining trouble-spot toners and cardio-based moves, like side hops and push-up jumps, that rev your metabolism and keep it elevated even after the workout, so you slim down and firm up fast.

In a study from Anderson University, exercisers who did this type of high-energy strength-training boosted their calorie burn 11% more than those who did a traditional routine — and kept their metabolism 6% higher for an hour afterward. It's supereffective at flattening your belly, too, since all the moves target your midsection. We've also included a series of 30-minute cardio routines that burn up to 260 calories per session and an easy-to-follow, satisfying diet plan to speed up your results. Start today and you can drop about 15 pounds by summer.

Program at a Glance

The Workout

What you'll need: 5- to 10-pound dumbbells. The weight should be hard to lift by the end of each set. When it starts to feel too easy, increase the amount.

What to do:

3 days a week: Do the Summer Body Shape-Up. Perform the exercises in a circuit, moving immediately from one move to the next until you've completed the routine 3 times.

6 days a week: Do Fat-Burning Cardio. Rotate through these 3 high-energy aerobic workouts, doing a different one each day, to blast fat fast. Each 30-minute routine burns about 200 calories and turns up your metabolism so you melt extra calories for hours after you're done.

The Diet

Follow the Summer Body Diet, a 1,500-calorie daily meal plan, to shed more fat without going hungry.

Summer Body Shape-up

1. Plié with Kick

Firms shoulders, abs, hips, butt, inner and outer thighs; boosts heart rate

Stand with feet in a wide straddle stance, toes angled outward. Hold weights at shoulders, palms facing in. Bend knees until thighs are almost parallel to ground, knees over ankles. At the same time, extend arms overhead. As you straighten legs and lower weights, raise right leg and kick it around in a half circle, from left to right, keeping foot flexed, toes forward (inset photo). Repeat move, this time kicking left leg. (That's 1 rep.) Do 15 times at a brisk but controlled pace.

2. Dead Lift and Row

Firms back, abs, butt, backs of thighs (hamstrings)

Stand with feet together, arms by sides holding weights, palms in. With abs tight, slowly raise left leg behind you as you lower upper body forward until parallel to ground, arms hanging beneath shoulders. Keep shoulders and hips squared toward floor, left toes pointing down. Bend elbows and pull weights toward chest (as pictured). Hold for a second. Lower arms and then left leg, rising to start position. Do 10 times with each leg.

3. Push-Up Jumps

Firms arms, chest, abs, butt, fronts of thighs (quads); boosts heart rate

Stand with feet together. Extend arms in front of chest at shoulder level, palms in. Bend knees and hips and sit back 45 to 90 degrees into chair pose, keeping knees behind toes (A).

Step left leg back into a lunge and place hands on ground on either side of right foot, right knee directly over ankle (B).

Bring right foot back by left and lower knees to ground, feet in air. Perform a push-up (C). (For a challenge, do a full push-up: legs extended, balancing on toes.) Jump or walk feet forward toward hands and rise up into chair pose (A). Repeat, lunging with right leg back. Do 5 times with each leg, moving at a brisk but controlled pace.

4. Dip and Bridge

Firms triceps, abs, butt

Sit with knees bent and feet flat. Place hands behind butt, fingers pointing forward. (If wrists hurt, make fists and balance on knuckles or hold dumbbells to keep wrists in line with arms.) Squeeze glutes and lift butt off ground so body forms a table. Keeping abs and butt tight, bend elbows back to lower body about 4 inches. Straighten arms, raise body, and extend right leg (as pictured); hold for a few seconds and then lower leg. Do 10 times with each leg.

5. Side-to-Side Hops

Firms abs, butt, thighs; boosts heart rate

Place dumbbells on ground about 2 feet apart to serve as markers. Stand with feet together behind left dumbbell and lower into a partial squat, hands on thighs. Spring up and hop sideways toward other dumbbell with right leg leading and left one following. Land one foot at a time with knees soft and lower into a partial squat (the lower you squat, the more challenging the move). Hop back again quickly. Do 5 to 10 jumps per side.

6. Sit-Up Fly Bridge

Firms chest, abs, butt

Lie faceup, knees bent, feet flat on ground. Hold weights in hands, arms open out to sides, elbows slightly bent, palms facing up. Squeeze chest and bring weights together above chest. Contract abs and lift head, shoulders, and upper back off ground into a crunch (as pictured) and hold for a second. Lower upper body, bringing arms out to sides, then contract abs and butt and lift hips a few inches off ground. Hold for 5 seconds and lower. Do 20 times.

7. Reverse Reach

Firms sides of abs (obliques)

Sit with legs extended and about shoulder-width apart, toes pointed, and arms extended out to sides at shoulder height. Twist to left, lean back slightly, and bring hands around to touch ground behind you (as pictured). Keep hips on ground. Return to start and repeat to right. That's 1 rep. Do 10 times.




From MSN Health