I need a good workout plan for the summer... Help please?

[Lai_Lai]

I want to tone and flatten my upper/middle/lower abdominal areas, tone and build up muscle strength in my arms, and I want to get rid of my love handles/obliques. I just want to strengthen and tone certain areas of my body over the summer. If anyone has any suggestions they'd be greatly appreciated. (:

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

Do a routine of compound lifts. Squats (Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, abs, lower back and CNS) and Deadlifts (same) one day. Bench Press (chest, shoulders and triceps) and Barbell Rows (lats/back and biceps) the next.

Compound lifts are great because they give you a proportional look and they allow you to get your workout done faster and with better results than isolated muscle training (since they work your CNS much more).

Heavy weight squats are #1 in getting nice abs. Since your legs contain some of your biggest muscles in your body (Hamstrings, quads, glutes) you can achieve the greatest muscle gains in them (e.g. gaining 1lb of muscle in your hamstring takes a lot less training than gaining 1lb of muscle in your biceps).. by recruiting more muscle you reduce your body fat % faster and that means you get the abs you want faster. Squats and deadlifts are very intense as well, which will also contribute to burning calories to reduce fat.

[Lai_Lai]

Thanks alot! This was really helpful

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

No problem. ^________^ I'm always happy to help.

[WeaponZero]

be careful with squats and deadlifts. if your form isn't correct you can seriously injure yourself doing those exercises when working with a substantial amount of weight. you can with all exercises but with those two especially.

[WeaponZero]

getting rid of love handles/obliges/saddlebags/fat anywhere no matter where it is is all the same. you cannot spot reduce. you cannot choose where fat is burned. what you need to do is begin a more active lifestyle overall with overall healthier eating habits and integrating exercise into your lifestyle.

[sweetone]

you should check out bodyrock.tv or search them on YouTube... honestly amazing hard workouts that can be done at home. They are very active on their site posting new videos daily or at least weekly.

[WeaponZero]

good stuff overall. not a fan of the fact that most of their stuff revolves around high impact though. I would do Sean's (the guy's) workouts more personally because he seems to focus more on low impact exercises.