June 22nd, 2015

5 Tips for Keeping your Fitness Goals on Track this Summer

For many people, summer is an easy time to fall off the fitness wagon due to many factors (kids being at home, vacations, and BBQs just to name a few). But, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can stay fit and healthy and still have fun.

Here are our tips to make sure you stay on track this summer.

How to Stay Fit in the Summer

1. Wake Up Early

If you’re not normally a morning person, consider adopting the habit for the summer months. It’s the easiest time of year to do this because of how long the days are. Even if you’re getting up at 5am, you’ll be greeted by daylight. It’s also the coolest time of day, which is important if you’re exercising outside. Getting your workout out of the way will leave you feeling great, and will free you up to enjoy all your summer days have to offer.

2. Stay Active All Day

Think outside the “hour-long workout” box. Small 5 to 15 minute bursts of activity are very beneficial, and a great fall-back if you can’t carve out an hour. Take a few minutes to do a few sets of intense activity one to three times/day. This is a great choice if you’re on vacation, or at the whim of your children’s schedule. A word of warning though – if your body isn’t warm already (from walking or swimming, for example), you’ll want to take an extra couple minutes to warm your muscles before jumping into anything too intense.

3. Take it With You

If you won’t be in your normal exercise space for a couple of weeks, bringing a few key items along can fully equip you for a great workout. Our top three pics: bands, a TRX, and an inflatable stability ball. If you can swing it (no pun intended), a kettlebell is another great choice. I keep one at the cottage.

Bonus: training virtually with a Nielsen Fitness trainer means that you can have your sessions no matter where you are!

4. Be Mindful

Enjoy your BBQ… but be mindful of your choices. The difference between a calorie bomb and a not-bad meal is often in the details. Opt for a turkey burger instead of beef. Forgo the bun (or even half of it). Skip the mayo and load up instead on mustard, pickles, and other lower-calorie condiments. Choose veggie sticks instead of chips. Basically, don’t use the occasion as an excuse to throw all rules and judgement out the window. Enjoy yourself, but weigh the pros and cons of your choices, and eat mindfully.

5. Focus on Hydration

There are many, many reasons why it’s important to drink water – especially in the warmer months. One of them is that dehydration can actually interfere with fat loss. So bring that water bottle along and chug often.

A Fit Summer

On that note, we’d like to wish all of you a safe, happy, and FIT summer! It’s business as usual at Nielsen Fitness, and if you’re interested in having a trainer come to your home, office or condo gym, of if you want to train virtually on your vacation, we’d love to hear from you!

Updated on June 9, 2022.