Northern Lights: Summer Edit

To kick things off on my Summer Edit series, I'm starting off with sharing some of my fitness routines and tips. No one likes to try to get there summer body ready with only a few weeks til the season starts so hopefully this post will help you prepare a little better and earlier. I will be posting a few more health/keep fit posts in this series, so stay tuned!

Sculpted arms; when it comes to my arms I'm pretty much a weakling, so to add a bit more definition to them I like to do around 20 push ups a day. If you're like me and are totally unable to do push ups start off with a low number, then as the week/months progresses begin to add a little more into your routine. Also you could try half push ups, so begin by doing the exercise on your knees. If you want to work on your biceps try using dumbbells and incorporate them into exercises such as lunges and squats.

Abs of steel; summer time normally includes slipping back into your well loved swimsuit, but after all the holidays (Christmas, new year, Easter, eating for the sake of eating holiday...) that beloved item might not fit like it did last year. So what I've been doing for the past month is starting up the well known exercises like sit ups, plank/side plank (which I hold for a couple more seconds each day), Russian twist and V sit ups.

Killer legs & bum; its no secret that the way to a great 'tooshie' is squats... plain and simple. I've been doing squats every day for quite sometime now and I really do notice a difference. When I first started I done about 10 a day, then began to add a few more each time that now brings me up to 60. The key is to start off slow, get used to them, add a few more in each time then if you want add in things like dumbbells to also work the arms at the same time. Another great exercise is lunges, backwards lunges and wall sit (that's a real killer). I've noticed a real difference in my legs by doing some of these every day and now have a decent amount of strength in them.

Everyday exercises; so maybe you don't have time to fit a workout in everyday, that's ok! Some simple daily things that you may or may not do already also help your body to keep fit such as like taking the dog a walk, gardening?, walking to work/school etc. Next time you go to the supermarket take one of your grocery bags in each hand and use them like dumbbells (might sound silly but it works if you buy a lot of food!).

I'd just like to add that of course I'm no elite personal trainer, however these exercises work for me and help me to build up my strength whilst tone parts of my body, so I thought id share them with you. For inspiration, look on places like Youtube and Pinterest (I have my own fitness category on there) and remember just to take little steps at a time, nothing will happen over night. Another thing to keep in mind is make sure to do some sort of warm up or stretching before you workout to get the oxygen flowing to your muscles.

Let me know what kind of exercises you do in the comments. Do you work out every day?

Sincerely, nicole