Top 7 Summer Weight Loss Activities

If you’re seriously out of shape, you have, unfortunately, probably left it too late to get ripped for summer. Actually, scrap the “probably” part, you definitely have.

That being said, there’s no reason whatsoever why you can’t start training now. By hitting your new exercise plan hard this summer, you can guarantee you’ll be in awesome shape when beach season rolls around again next year. You'll also feel great the rest of the year.

For those of you who have been keeping trim through the winter months, now is the time to really crack on, hit your training hard and reap the rewards of the last few weeks before you’ll be strolling round in your bathing suit at the beach or lounging on a sun bed by the pool.

Summer is the perfect time to vary your training too. Rather than being stuck in a stuffy gym, you can get outside and make the most of the glorious weather.

Training Drills

Are you the very definition of hardcore? If so, you’ve got to keep that intensity going right through the summer months. You’ve put in the work the rest of the year, so don’t you dare ease up now just because the barbecues are out and everyone’s calling on you to grab a beer – there’ll be time for that after your workout’s finished, in moderation of course (because beer will cause the pounds to pile on like nothing else!).

These drills are not to be taken lightly. They’re for the tough, year-round gym goer, looking to maintain and increase awesome fitness levels over the summer.

1. Hill Sprints

Forget your treadmill and hit the hills.

Hill sprints are brutal and require tremendous mental and physical strength. The premise is simple – find a hill, sprint to the top as fast as you can and walk back down it for your “rest" phase. When you reach the bottom, go again. Repeat until you’ve completed a pre-determined number of “reps,” until you hit your time limit, or of course until you simply can’t take any more.

The main benefit of hill sprints, apart from the fact they’ll take your cardio fitness through the roof, is that they strengthen your glutes, hamstrings and calves, burn fat more effectively than going for a jog and are safer and more joint-friendly than sprints on the flat.

2. Trail Runs

During the winter it can be a challenge just to leave your bed in the mornings, let alone get outside and brave the elements in nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. Trail running offers an excellent, far more challenging and interesting option to road running, yet unless you’re prepared to come home dripping wet, covered in mud and frozen to your core, it really is a summer-only activity.

Find some woods or a trail near you and go to town. This really is making the most of the great outdoors. Don't forget the DEET spray, because you might encounter a few ticks along the way and nothing gets you out of your training routine as fast as Lyme disease.

3. Circuits

Do you usually hit the gym for a circuits class once or twice a week? If you do, it’s time to change your training venue.

Do you really want to be stuck in a boiling hot studio, surrounded my other sweaty gym folk as you go through yet another round of jump lunges, pushups and burpees?

Go to your local park, and do your circuit routine as usual this summer. You can guarantee it’ll be a lot more fun, and the change of scenery will probably spur you on to do more rounds and make your circuits harder, without you really feeling in any more pain than usual!

For an extra challenge, walk to the park and carry some equipment with you – brisk walk with a kettlebell, medicine ball or pair of dumbbells is guaranteed to give you a good warm up, plus you’ll have more equipment to choose from when you’re there.

Summer Exercise – The Family Way

No matter how dedicated you are, it’s nice to spend time with the family, especially in the summer when the weather can be so pleasant and kids are out of school. Going to the gym and family don’t generally mix too well though, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice either family time or training opportunities.

4. Walking

Walking may be a bit of a copout for most, and unless you’re very unfit, it would not usually provide much of a challenge, but going for a walk is still far better than sitting around at home, whiling away time on the couch. Find a local walking route, preferably one that includes some challenging terrain, and take the other half and the kids out for the day. Pack a picnic so you can stop for a healthy summer lunch too. Carry this in a back pack and burn off some extra calories – it’s almost a homemade weighted vest.

5. Circuits – Simplified

It’s not always easy to get other people as enthusiastic about exercising, and few people will want to join in your hardcore circuits. What you can do though, is make your circuits a little easier and more fun.

Kids love games and being active, so construct a mini circuit consisting of pushups, squats, lunges, burpees, situps and sprints. It might be a small step down from the intensity you’re used to, but it’ll get everyone involved and give you an extra weight loss workout to boot.

6. Sports

Who doesn’t love a good gab of tag football or five a side soccer?

Sports just don’t feel like exercise – they’re fun! Yet despite this, they’re awesome calorie burners. Even just half an hour of running around on the basketball court each evening can help in your weight loss quest. Hell, even playing with a frisbee can get quite active. If nothing else works out, go to the pool. It's the ultimate summer exercise.

7. Barbecue Forfeits

Here’s the ultimate test – try to get everyone at your barbecue or summer party partaking in exercise. Even the most training-averse, beer-drinking, hot dog-eating guys at your soiree will get a workout here.

This is like a far more sober drinking game – you set exercise forfeits for every time a person does something.

For example, for every burnt burger that the chief griller cooks, he or she has to do five pushups. If someone at the table spills their drink, it’s 10 squat thrusts. And should anyone in your party take a second serving of dessert, they have to run three laps of the garden. It may not burn off all those calories, but it’ll get them thinking about whether they really want that extra piece of pie.

If the very idea of that makes your guests angry, well, you might get a workout in as you run away from them! (That was a joke. Only do this with willing participants. Lazing about and eating more calories than you should is a perfectly good choice to make sometimes.)

Combine both “real” training with fun activities to carry on losing weight this summer.