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Your Guide to Getting a Beach-Ready Body

By Alyssa Vingan

Jun 5, 2013

Kathryn Wirsing

It's official: Bathing suit season is upon us, and if you haven't been able to hit the gym to tone up as much as you'd like, this can be a terrifying realization. We turned to our friends at Crunch Gyms, who designed a full-body workout plan to get us beach-ready. Trainers Michelle Williams and Carol Johnson taught us targeted exercises for different body parts, and if you mix these moves up in your workouts three to four times a week, you'll be ready to rock that bikini in no time. Read on for Crunch's beach body workout.

Kathryn Wirsing

Abs

Weighted Sit Up: Do a normal sit up while holding a five-pound weight in each hand, reaching your arms straight past your knees. If you're stronger, keep the weights closer to your body, resting on your chest or held up near your forehead.

Spiderman Contractions: Start in a push-up position with your arms shoulder-width apart. Keeping your core tight and maintaining your form, bring your right leg up to your right hand, creating a lunge postion. Quickly and carefully move your right leg back to the plank position, keeping your body in a straight line. Repeat with the left foot.

Standing Knee Raises: Standing with your belly scooped in and your elbows behind your head, bring your right knee up, twisting your body to bring your opposite elbow to your knee. Think of it as doing bicycle sit-ups while standing!

Kathryn Wirsing

"Love Handles"

Side Planks: With your bottom arm bent under you at 90 degrees, maintain your side plank for 30 seconds. Position your top arm on hip or straight up in air. You can add in variations for a further challenge, such as lowering and lifting the hips, or threading your top arm under and through bottom arm and then back to your starting placement.

Standing Oblique Crunches: Standing with legs in a 45 degree rotation, lift your arms up overhead like you are holding a beach ball. Draw your knee up into your armpit while the upper body does a side crunch towards the working leg. Return to starting position. Do 10-15 on each side.

Side Leg Lifts: Lay on your side with the legs slightly in front of the torso about 20 degrees. Lift and lower the top leg, keeping the leg parallel. Do this 15-20 times, and on the last rep, hold the leg at the top and pulse up for 10-20 reps.

Kathryn Wirsing

Biceps

Squat with Bicep Curls: With your knees bent in a full squat position, do eight sets of bicep curls with your elbows pulled into your sides, extending your arms down past your knees and then back up to 90 degrees. Next, do eight sets of curls lifting the weights up to your shoulders and back down to 90 degrees. Finish with eight sets of full bicep curls, moving your arms all the way up to your shoulders and all the way down past your knees. Start with five-pound weights.

Hammer Curls: Hold the weights like a hammer and repeat the sets of eight above.

Bicep Half-Sit Up: Do a basic sit-up with a set of weights. At the top of your sit-up while keeping your core engaged, do a bicep curl, really focusing on squeezing your arms when you curl in.

Pushups: A classic! Do as many as you can while still keeping your form correct. If you can do five-10 reps, that's a great start.

Kathryn Wirsing

Thighs

Side Leg Raise: Stand with both feet together and your arms on your hips. Keeping your standing leg straight, raise your right leg out to the side, keeping it straight and your core engaged. Repeat 10-15 times before switching to the other side.

Inner Thigh Front Leg Raise: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with your arms by your sides. Starting with the right leg, lift your leg to waist height using your inner-thigh muscles. Lift your arms backwards as you raise your leg to work your triceps. Repeat 15-20 times on each side.

Squat with Side Leg Lift: From a standing position, take a wide squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Starting with the right leg lifting, straighten your left leg as you lift your right leg out to the side, then bend back down into a squat. Repeat this 10-15 times on each side.

Kathryn Wirsing

Bootie

Back Leg Raise: On your hands and knees, lift one leg up parallel to the floor with your knee bent and your foot flexed. Lift the foot towards the sky, squeezing the glutes tightly with every lift. Repeat 15-20 times on each side — you should really feel the burn if you're doing it right!

Squat Glute-Lift: Start in a squat with your hands on your hips. Starting with the right leg lifting, straighten your left leg and lift the right leg directly behind you, going up into a leg raise. Make sure your core is tight and you squeeze your glutes while your leg lifts. Repeat 15-20 times on each side.

Kathryn Wirsing

Shoulders

Shoulder Press with Weights: Start by holding two 5 pound weights in line with your shoulders with your elbows at a 90 degree angle. Press the dumbbells upward until your arms are fully extended overhead, and then lower back down. Repeat 15-20 times.

Pike Pushups: Start in pushup position with hands forming a diamond shape. Bend at waist to make a "V" position with your body, lifting your hips up and coming onto the toes. Bend your elbows as you would in a regular pushup, getting your head as close to the ground as possible.

Front Raise: Stand up straight with a weight in each hand by your sides. One arm at a time, lift your arm parallel to the ground to shoulder height, keeping the palms of the hands facing down. Be sure to keep your core engaged and your shoulders down, and repeat this motion 10-15 times on each side.

Kathryn Wirsing

Triceps

Tricep Pushups: Get into the normal pushup position, but when you're bending your arms, the elbows come in parallel to the body instead of going out. Try 15-20 reps to start.

Tricep Dips: Sit on the floor with your hands shoulder width apart and your palms on the floor, fingers facing straight ahead. Bend your knees and lift your hips off of the floor. Bend your elbows, lowering your body to the floor and keeping your core engaged, then extend the arms to lift back up. Remember to keep the shoulders down!

Tricep Kickback with Lunge: Get into a deep lunge position, with your torso leaning slightly foward and your core engaged. Holding five-pound weights with your elbows pulled in to your sides, extend your forearms back until you feel the triceps squeezing.

Kathryn Wirsing

Back

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row: Holding two five-pound weights, stand with your legs shoulder width apart and your knees bent. Lean your torso forward slightly, keeping your back straight. Starting with your arms extended down by your knees, lift them up towards your stomach, making sure you feel your back muscles engaging before extending your arms back down.

Back Extensions: Lay face-down on the floor, with your arms close by your sides and your legs zipped together. Making sure your core is engaged, lift your torso and arms together up off the floor, squeezing your muscles tight.

Lat Pullover: Lay facing upward on the ground with your knees bent, holding a dumbbell over your chest with both hands. With your elbows slightly bent, slowly lower the weight behind you. Squeeze your back muscles to raise the weight back to the starting position over your chest.

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