How To Fake A Beach Body
Let me paint a hypothetical scenario for you. Whatever the reason, you'll learn that you have the opportunity to hit the beach in six weeks or less. Maybe your friend has a place by the sea, or your friend is getting ready for a break in the sun, or you're taking a well-earned vacation. Whatever the reason, you're going to the beach and don't have three to four months to train and diet to get in the best shape of your life - that doesn't mean you're out of luck. In fact, with the right approach and minimal prep time, you can fake the perfect beach body.
We're not going to lie to you: No amount of shenanigans or last-minute efforts can get rid of a beer belly or lower your body fat from 25 percent to 10 percent—though we do have good advice on ditching that beer belly. But if you're in somewhat good shape and have four to six weeks to prepare, we can help you look even more toned, largely using the methods of professional bodybuilders who look their best on stage.
Believe it or not, those polished beef patties posing in thongs don't always look like this all year round. Even a day after the show, they didn't look like that. They take special steps before a show to get full muscles, a slim body, and tight, thin skin, and we can help you apply these same techniques to fake a beach body. To help us solve this problem, we hired the talented Nicci Robinson, an ACE Certified Trainer for the Fit Body App who has made a career out of helping people get in the best shape of their lives.
5 Tips To Look Your Best At The Beach In No Time
You already know you have to cut back on calories before hitting the beach, but let's get more specific: Protein needs to stay high to help maintain muscle mass, but carb intake should be reduced. Carbohydrates are the easiest macronutrient to control because they're found in so many things, and most people overeat them anyway—especially the fast-digesting, tooth-eroding varieties.
"Reducing your carb intake will help you lose fat and flex your muscles," Robinson tells us. That's the whole goal here.
Water intake is a hidden variable that's overlooked by amateurs but carefully monitored by bodybuilders and physique coaches, and for good reason: Too much water can make you bloated and cover up your hard-earned cuts.
"But hydration is important," you might say. "You told us that!"
Of course, under normal circumstances, we recommend you stay hydrated and drink about a gallon of water per day, but as you get closer to a beach day (or beach day!) you'll want to taper off. "Before your beach day," Nicci Robinson tells us, "you can start drinking 1 liter less per day."
Don't go to extremes and leave yourself dehydrated in the hot sun, but controlling your water intake can have a huge impact on your appearance. If you don't like drinking less water, consider drinking natural diuretics like green or black tea, as they help move water out of the body.
To get the best results with limited time and training, you need to focus not only on the calories and macronutrients in your diet; You also need to watch your salt intake. Why? Because your salt intake helps regulate your water retention: more salt leads to more water retention, while less salt leads to lower water retention.
How do you use this to your advantage? Supplement sodium (5,000 milligrams per day) about a week before the beach, then eliminate salt for two days before the beach. The weight on the scale will drop, and your puffiness will disappear.
You can't look your best (or feel your best) if you're bloated, and many modern people walk around with more bloat than they realize. There's an acronym you need to remember: FODMAP. It stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. These foods—which include staples like wheat, rye, beans, garlic, onions, milk, cheese, mangoes, and blackberries—are notorious for triggering common digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, and stomach pain.
If you want to feel your best, you need to identify trigger foods and drastically reduce or eliminate them from your diet.
The final tip for bodybuilders to make their muscles pop is to contour their bodies and let the light discover every cut and streak, creating a contrast that makes separation visibly pop.
This means shaving or at least trimming your body hair—especially on your shoulders, back, and chest—and tanning your skin since your hard-earned wounds will be more obvious on darker skin tones. Bodybuilders use heavy-duty spray tans that, frankly, look ridiculous at the beach, but even a mild over-the-counter spray tan will do wonders for your physique.
Follow these tips to get your body beach-ready in just a few weeks. Remember, no matter your body shape or muscle tone, confidence is the key to turning heads on the beach.
