Right now, many of you reading this will likely be chomping at the bit, just waiting until the time comes for you to hit the beach, swim in the sea, relax in the sunshine, top up your tan, and hopefully show off your summer body in the process.

After months of long dark nights, cold weather, and a lack of daylight, the prospect of relaxing in the sunshine on a beach somewhere hot in the summer is extremely appealing. What might not be so appealing, however, is the thought of hitting the beach and being incredibly out of shape.

If you take pride in your appearance and are ready to show the world just how hard you train you’ll need to ensure that you’re beach body ready for the summer.

Here are some helpful tips to help make this a reality.

Avoid snacking

Unless you already happen to have a body fat percentage that you are happy with, one of the best things you can do to ensure that you’re in shape for the summer is to avoid snacking.

Assuming you’re looking to hit the beach looking lean and ripped, one of the first things you should address is your snacking habits.

If you’re looking to lose weight, snacking can set you back massively, even if you’re snacking on healthy produce.

At the end of the day, weight loss boils down to calories in vs calories out, and if you consume more cals than you are burning off, you won’t lose weight and you may even gain weight.

Cardio

Cardio can be ‘hardio’ as they say, but whether or not you’re a fan of cardio is irrelevant if you’re serious about getting in shape for the summer.

Cardio is a great way of boosting your stamina and endurance, improving the health of your heart and cardiovascular system, and burning calories in order to lose weight.

In the weeks and months leading up to the summer beach season, take the time to perform at least 3 cardio-based workouts per week, if not more.

Consume more protein

Another top tip when it comes to getting yourself in shape for summer beach season is to consume more quality protein.

Protein is vital for muscle growth and repair and if you’re looking to hit the beach looking lean and muscular, you need to ensure that you are giving your body enough proteins and amino acids to facilitate protein synthesis in order for the body to generate more lean muscle tissue.

Aim for between 0.6 and 1g of protein per pound of body weight, and try to focus solely on lean and healthy proteins such as nuts, chicken breast, grass-fed red meat, salmon, cod, mackerel, and whole eggs.

Avoid unhealthy processed meats such as bologna and salami.

Enjoy your workouts

Finally, if you really want to look and feel your best at the beach, you need to make sure that you’re enjoying the exercise that you’re doing to help get in shape.

If you’re forcing yourself to perform workouts that are soul-destroying, your motivation will drop, you’ll feel miserable, and you won’t give your workouts 100%.

On the flipside, if you enjoy them and look forward to performing them, you’ll work harder and will reap greater rewards.