Are you ready for summer? If the answer is no, then the time to start is right now. If you put it off any longer, there won’t be enough time to transform yourself.

When training correctly, great transformational improvement of muscle tone can be seen within 2-3 months of starting, and this is with just 2-3 times a week. Obviously 3 times a week is better and each session will be a good solid hour at least, and then stepping it up a little to an hour and a half if possible. This is how I have always worked with people, but the results are worth the effort and time invested. If someone doesn’t have the time, then even a ten or twenty-minute session each day can be a help, as something is always better than nothing. However, like everything, the more you invest, the better the return.

Your personal plan should be to work around your schedule – include activity in your everyday tasks as much as possible -walking briskly instead of strolling, running up and down the stairs instead of walking. Do this whether you are cleaning your home, car, garden, or daily activities at work. The point is to just keep moving with dynamic vigour in all that you do in your everyday life.

Find your joyful activities and vary them throughout the week, for example, I like dancing and kickboxing so I choose these as my two main physical aerobic activities that I like to do, often as a warm-up exercise before the strength training of using weights. So the physical exercise doesn’t feel like a chore because I am enjoying doing what I do and I look forward to it, therefore unlikely to give it up in a hurry as I actually miss it if I don’t do it. This is why it is important to find what you really love to do and there are so many physical activities to try before settling for the ones you may decide are right for you. Whether it is running, netball, cycling, climbing, tennis, table tennis, swimming, boxing, kickboxing, skipping, football, roller skating, ice skating, gymnastics, aerial silk gymnastics, dancing, street dance, ballet – the list is endless – there is bound to be something you really enjoy. Make a couple of these priority.

Combining aerobic with strength training as a regular routine has shown that regardless of the intensity or duration, it creates better mental agility, sharp thinking and with a greater ability to shift or adapt ways of thinking.

A mix of weight training and aerobic exercise can also help one lose weight faster than either one alone.

Weight training increases muscle mass; muscles weigh more than fat and need more calories to burn. Regular exercise along with eating healthily helps increase the metabolic rate to work faster and more efficiently. Strength training helps define and tone the muscles which helps sculpt the body with desired curvature where required.

With all the muscle toning and fitness, remember that what you eat is important to the quality of your training, as well as making a difference to the results visibly seen. Eating carbohydrates before training can help you work out for a longer time and with greater intensity – if you don’t eat, you may feel slow moving or lightheaded when exercising. The body needs appropriate fuel for high performance, so consuming a minimal processed, whole food diet with plenty of fibre, lean protein and healthy fats, can make all the difference for revealing all those toned muscles.

For a healthy diet, include lots of protein, be it poultry, meat, fish, nuts, cheese. Trim excessive fats of the meats, go for wholegrain option as much as possible such as wholegrain cereals, pasta, bread, couscous, flour. Have plenty of fruit and vegetables with lots of water daily. Cut out refined sugar and make you own healthy sweet treats. Balance and moderation is the key.

Healthy exercise and eating promotes better mood, sleep and immunity.