Now that it's officially spring, it's time to start prepping for warm days, strappy sundresses, and, dare we say it—summertime! While the idea of shedding the winter weight might seem daunting, Ellington Darden, Ph.D., offers three totally doable tips from his new book, The Body Fat Breakthrough, that will help you get the beach body you want this year.
Need proof that Darden's program works? More than 100 people completed it in Gainsville, Florida, and on average, they lost 30 pounds in 30 days. "Fat loss and muscle gain are two benefits of my breakthrough program," says Darden. "Equally important is to achieve both of them simultaneously—doing so creates a synergistic action."
Try them for yourself to get you to your body summer-ready ASAP:
Accentuate the Negative
We're not talking about your attitude here. The biggest secret of Darden's success is a technique called negative accentuated training. "In the strength-training lexicon, positive refers to the raising or lifting part of the repetitions," he says. "Negative means the lowering phase of a repetition."
Think about a push-up: Darden says that falling to the floor only to heave yourself back up isn't an effective use of your gym time. For a negative accentuated push up, lower yourself to the ground in a slow and controlled manner—you should spend twice as much time lowering as you do lifting.
How to do it: Get a stopwatch or clock to time yourself. Start in a plank position, and take a full 20 seconds to lower to the floor. Pause at the bottom, and take another 20 seconds to push back up. Then, since this is negative accentuated, take another 20 seconds to lower back down to the floor, ending with your chest at the floor. Forty seconds of lowering and 20 seconds of lifting make this a killer exercise, but there's good news: You only need to complete a few reps to see results, so you won't need to spend hours at the gym.
MORE: 7 Pushup Variations You NEED to Try
Drink More Water
From keeping you hydrated to improving your skin, water comes with a ton of health benefits. But Darden loves ice-cold H2O because it'll boost your metabolism to burn more calories. "Think about it—the water goes in at 42 degrees and goes out at 98.6. Your organs have to use extra calories to warm the water." There's no other food that you can eat or drink that will burn calories rather than tack them on.
MORE: 10 Ways to Drink More Water
Perk Up Your Posture
Darden has been training women for 20 years, and this is one of his favorite tricks for looking leaner instantly: "Stand tall, and get your head on the ceiling," says Darden. Keeping your chin up and shoulders pulled back enhances your height, which helps create the illusion of being leaner. Standing tall comes with an added bonus, too: "Good posture burns more calories, and it gives you more confidence," says Darden. To practice good posture, imagine that there's a string connected to the top of your head. As you sit, stand, and walk around, let this string pull you upward while your shoulders remain relaxed.
MORE: Better Posture: 6 Ways to Straighten Up
For the complete negative accentuated workout and more of Ellington Darden's tips, check out The Body Fat Breakthrough at your favorite retailer:
MORE: 6 Reasons the Scale Won't Budge
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