Get Ready for Spring Break With a Celebrity Trainer-Designed Workout

SPRING BREAK. I have to admit, I’ve been counting down the days until Spring Break since the beginning of the semester. And it’s almost here! Whether you’re jetting off to somewhere warm and sunny, or you’re just looking forward to the days of short shorts and tank tops, Spring Break is the perfect motivation to get in shape. To help us all out, we’ve got a special edition of Dorm Room Workout this week. Celebrity trainer Michelle Lovitt has sent over a customized workout for CollegeCandy readers. Try these moves out and you’ll be looking lean and toned in no time! And make sure to check out the “What I’m Wearing” section at the end of the post for a discount code to use on Zobha activewear!

Michelle says:

Jump into your fitness program to get fit for Spring Break with a good diet, including proper hydration and a positive mental outlook. Take off off extra pounds and fuel up for workouts by building a better meal plan, doing more cardio for fat burning and strength training for toning up those arms, abs and butt. Avoid pulled muscles and shape up safely by gradually increasing your cardio and strength workouts, focusing on improving endurance and flexibility. Getting adequate sleep is essential – aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep to help your body rejuvenate itself.

Cardio, Cardio, Cardio and Heart Rate

Invest in a heart rate monitor. Workouts should aim to keep your heart rate within 65-85% of your maximum (220-age= x.65 and .85). This is your target heart rate range. By monitoring your Heart Rate during cardio, you can gauge your workout intensity and level of fitness while getting an accurate read out of calories burned. This helps motivate body fat loss and maximizes all the benefits of exercising in a short space of time.

Strength Workouts

Increasing strength increases lean body mass, which raises your metabolism and helps your body burn calories at a higher rate even at rest. The following strength tips are for that achieving that beach body.

Functional Fitness

Functional fitness exercises incorporate the simultaneous use of multiple muscles and joints to improve muscular endurance, strength, coordination, balance, posture and agility. This prepare the body for everyday, real world activities…ie: getting back to the basics.

Getting back to the basics means using your body, and not much else, to get in shape. For example, body weight lunges, squats, push-ups, sit-ups and cardio. If trend forecasters are right, that could be the workout of the future. This combined with adequate hydration and nutrition and — voila — you have the body you always hoped for. My favorite way to stay adequately hydrated is to drink Activate flavored water. It has zero calories, tastes great, and I get my vitamins in at the same time! It’s basic but functional for a busy life.

Core Training

People tend to neglect their core (abs, obliques, glutes and back), leading to injury in many cases. It is important to always train your core during every workout, and the only way to see optimal results is to diversify your exercises and work muscles to their maximum. A strong core helps people lose weight, improves posture, increases lean muscle mass and builds stronger stability muscles that ward off injury.

Try out these core strength moves!

1. Plank

A Dorm Room Workout favorite! Hold in a plank position, engaging your abs to support your back, for one minute. For an added challenge, hold the plank with one knee pulled in toward your chest.

2. Toe touches

Lie on your back with your legs extended up toward the ceiling. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor to reach for your toes, pulsing 30 times.

Strength Moves for Your Butt

1. Squats

Squats are one of the best exercises you can do for your hips, butt and thighs. Stand with feet hip-width apart and, for added intensity, hold weights at shoulder level or at your sides. Bend the knees, and lower into a squat, keeping the knees behind the toes. Imagine that you’re sticking your butt out behind you, but keep the torso upright and contracted. Press into the heels to stand up. Repeat for 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps.

2. Reverse Lunges

Stand with feet hip distance apart. Step back 3-4 feet with your right leg and land on the ball of your right foot. Repeat for 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps each leg.

Improve Your Diet, Drink More Water

If you are exercising to burn fat, be sure to consume at least 64 ounces of water per day, plus an additional 16 ounces for every hour of moderate-intensity exercise. Fat is excreted primarily through urine, sweat and carbon dioxide when released in the air from your lungs. The dehydrated the body isn’t efficient at excreting the fat from the body. Avoid sugary workout drinks packed with calories and look for a vitamin-enhanced beverage that includes electrolytes to replenish your body. Activate is the perfect drink during and after a workout.

If your goal is to decrease body fat, abstain from carbohydrates before cardio. Carbohydrates release insulin. Insulin suppresses your body’s ability to burn body fat. Instead of using fat, your body relies on stored carbohydrates for fuel (glycogen) and spares your body fat. So if you need to look good, pay attention to what you consume before you “run” out the door.

Rest

Your body rejuvenates itself when you are at rest, building stores of energy that you’ll need in your fitness program. The National Sleep Foundation advises completing your workouts at least three hours before bedtime to promote better rest.

Remember to:

Drink plenty of water, get adequate protein (1.0 g/kg of body weight), sleep at least 8 hours and have fun!

What I’m wearing:

An important part of any workout is the type of clothing you’re exercising in. While you may think loose, baggy t-shirts and shorts are the way to go, they really fall short (and fall down!) when it comes to functionality. Fitted items in a stretch fabric are by far your best choice. In this workout, I paired some standard yoga pants with two tops by Zobha. CollegeCandy readers can use the code “lovzobha” at checkout to get 20% off Zobha gear for yourself!

Fitness expert Michelle Lovitt has trained Hollywood celebrities such as Courteney Cox, Julianne Moore, Lauren Graham, Mary-Louise Parker, Amber Valletta, Eve Jeffers, Crystal reed, Yvonne Strahovski, Jason Statham , David Arquette, David Duchovny, Kiefer Sutherland and countless others, in addition to professional and Olympic athletes. Michelle’s signature training methods give her clients educational tools that help them understand their bodies, lose weight, get stronger, stay motivated and enjoy a better quality of life.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.

[Lead image via Vasaleks/Shutterstock]