5 Beach Body Workout Tips

Trying to get cut and build muscle before the summer? These tips will steer you in the right direction.

Summertime means you want to look good at the beach, or wherever the party’s at. To do that, you know you’ve gotta pack on some more meat (ughh...), and get rid of whatever the going out 5 nights a week over the past 9 months routine has slapped on you. Live by these 5 simple rules and you’ll be on your way to getting cut and building muscle for summer.

1. Have a plan and lift like a man

Walk into the gym with that plan or you’ll wind up jerking around by the treadmill bunnies. We’ve all been there, but if you’re looking to get involved, move over to the weights and work hard 3-4 days a week.

Your goal (get bigger, get cut) will determine your plan, but if you wanna pack on mass, lay off the cardio and eat like an animal. If you’re looking to shred up, hit cardio some more and cut some carbs. Treadmill running is deeec, but if you’ll looking to drop lbs quickly, go with some interval running. You’re probably thinking, what the F is interval running? Well, you probably haven’t done it since your AYSO soccer days, but check this article for a basic run down.

2. Don’t be the guy with twigs

You’re a man, mannnnnnnnnnn. You’re jacked or looking to be jacked, so why would you forget the legs? Don’t be the guy all stacked up top but walking on toothpicks below. Squats boost your testosterone levels, and yeah they’re tough, but they'll help develop beach muscles. There’s no better total body exercise and nothing burns more calories. So when they suck, know that they’re helping to burn off those adult sodas from Saturday night.

3. Take your post workout nutrition seriously

Most dudes are accustomed to crushing a container or two of Muscle Milk after they workout, but is that really the best option? Ehhh, not so much. If we’re talking real-to-real, Muscle Milk was never meant to be a post lift shake. If you’re really trying to fill out your retro NBA jersey from 1995, you wanna go with a shake that has a 2:1 carb to protein ratio. Yeah, you read that right, you need carbs in your post-lift shake to really speed up recovery! AH HA!

The party doesn’t stop there though. More important than the post-lift shake is what your post-lift meal consists of. Research shows that within 6 hours of having worked out, your body uses the protein and carbs you consume to build lean muscle mass. So if you want to get bigger, eat as much as you can in that post lift meal… and then try to eat some more.

4. Get stronger while you sleep

Most bros don’t know that when you’re sleeping (and especially after a rager the night before) your body actually uses lean muscle mass as fuel. So how do you bro out on the weekends and prevent that from happening? Pre-bed, slow-digesting, protein shakes Bubba. “Wait, what the..?! I thought all protein was the same!” Not so fast Squanto.

While whey protein is ideal after workouts because it’s very fast digesting, a slow digesting shake like casein will stay in your system for up to 8 hours, helping you retain muscle mass even when asleep. So despite coming home after close, a shake before bed will leave you in a much better place than a slice or a burger.

5. Go easy on the rage fests

Listen, I like crushing during the summer as much as the next guy, but if you’re trying to make a change you’ve gotta overhaul your diet as well. That means keeping the ragers to one or two nights a week at the most. Why? Because you can’t be hungover and expect to get great meals and workouts in when you feel like garbage. However if you’re looking in the mirror right now and pretending to be superman, there’s something else you should know about what happens to your body when you drink…

When you consume alcohol (as you’re presumably not going with O’Doul’s) you inhibit your body’s ability to perform protein synthesis (the process that occurs when you build new muscle). What that means is that you’re essentially wasting your workouts if you drink afterward because your body can’t properly recover and has trouble rebuilding the muscle tissue that you broke down in your workout. So what’s the moral of the story here? If you’re gonna get after it, do it on your off days and always try to get that pre-bed shake in to minimize the effects the next day.

There you have it fellas. Getting cut and building muscle for beach season starts here. Now that you have the tools to build the house, what are you waiting for?

To ensure that your body is beach ready, 1R would recommend the following supplements:

1. Optimum Nutrition AmiNO Energy - This preworkout supplement contains vital amino acids and beta alanine to get you ready for any workout that may come your way
2. Optimum Nutrition 2:1:1 Recovery - The carbs and protein will help you recover and build lean muscle faster after tough workouts
3. Optimum Nutrition Fish Oil – These tasteless fish oil pills will help you burn fat, improve joint health, and reduce inflammation associated with hard training