When swimsuit season approaches, it's time to increase your physical activity level and get in better physical shape. Reshape your shoulders, arms, legs and buttocks with free weights and strength-training machines. If you are striving to break the bikini out of the closet, strengthen your abdominal muscles as well.Dumbbell Workout
Dumbbells are an efficient, portable, affordable tool for strengthening multiple muscle groups in your body. With a dumbbell in each hand, start with military presses, pressing the dumbbells from your shoulders straight above your head. Biceps curls strengthen your biceps muscles as you bring the weight to your shoulders with your palms facing upward. Strengthen and tone the backs of your upper arms with triceps kickbacks by pushing the weights straight behind you while bending at the waist and knees. Hold a dumbbell to your chest and perform traditional crunches to strengthen your central abdomen. For your legs, hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height and perform squats and lunges. Perform three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each dumbbell exercise.
Strength Machine Workout
Numerous body-strengthening exercises are possible with strength-training machines at fitness facilities. Work your arms with a triceps extensions machine and a preacher curl bench. For your shoulders, perform shoulder presses on a Smith machine. For your legs, use a leg extension machine, leg press machine and a leg curl machine. If the facility has a Roman chair, perform standing leg lifts on this piece of equipment by bringing your legs out in front of you until they are parallel to the floor. If you are unfamiliar with any equipment in the facility, ask the fitness professional on duty to assist you. Perform two to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise.
Circuit Training
Circuit training workouts allow you to work multiple muscle groups in a short time. With this type of workout, you perform one set of an exercise, then immediately move to a different exercise in which you will only perform one set. Usually, you will perform four to eight exercises in a circuit, then rest for two minutes before performing another circuit of sets. You can implement any exercises you like during a circuit training session. To get ready for your swimsuit, try a set of five biceps curls, five triceps kickbacks, five lunges, five front raises, five military presses, five crunches and five squats. Perform this circuit five times with a period of rest between circuits.
Aerobic Exercise
If you want to rid your body of any excess fat, aerobic exercise is crucial. The more aerobic activity you perform, the more fat you will ultimately lose from your body. Perform at least 150 total minutes of aerobic exercise every week. This can be broken up any way you would like. One such method is performing 30 minutes of activity five days a week. The more vigorous the exercise, the better the fat loss results for your swimsuit.
