My Summer Workout Routine and Diet Plan

It is officially June, which is when the fitness floodgates really open in my book. Hopefully you have kept your body fat relatively low, so you can be beach ready when the time comes. If you don’t have a beach, fly out to Hollywood and you can crash at my pad, because everyone should experience the beaches in So Cal at some point! Staying lean year round is a better method than the whole bulking and cutting cycle, but Summer time is when it’s time to crack down even further. I get a lot of questions on what my workout and diet plan look like so let’s open Pandora’s Box as I tell all…

Eating less is the key to my Summer regimen

I love carbs, I love ice cream, I pretty much love food in general. Call me vain, but what I love even more is looking phenomenal at the beach, by the pool, or when taking a shirtless jog. Even though the weather in So Cal is awesome year round, there’s just something about Summer that makes me want to take it to the next level. So sacrificing some of those luxury foods is a price I’m willing to pay. And it’s not like we have to cut our favorite foods or even junkier foods like ice cream out altogether. As long as you’re keeping your calories down and getting nourishing healthy foods for the majority of your diet, you can still indulge is those taboo foods. The key here is moderation, moderation, moderation.

I’m going to incorporate many outdoor activities into my Summer plan

If you only perform gym workouts and treadmill cardio, you’re really limiting your physical capabilities, as well as the fun you could be having working out. Remember how Matthew McConaughey works out? Summer has too many days with amazing weather to be inside all the time. Take more runs outside, do pullups at the park – or for a greater mixup, try some of Yavor’s insanely effective but less known exercises, like the high bar get up for your abs, or the handstand pushup for broad superhero like shoulders, and that can be done pretty much anywhere. Might as well do them in the great outdoors and get a tan while also getting ripped! One-two combo

Some of the workouts I’ll be doing over the next few months

I’ll still be hitting the gym for my strength workouts, but am going to focus on sports training and calisthenics as well. I truly believe the more variety your workouts have, the better off you’ll be, visually and functionally. Here’s what I’ll be doing:

• Strength training workouts – some days high tension workouts for density and muscle hardness (3-5 reps/set, 3-6 sets/body part, depending on the body part). Other days more growth-oriented (6-12 reps/set) and some days depletion training (15-20 reps, usually super setting everything)
• Weighted circuit training – usually at the gym as well. My current favorite is the Spartacus Workout but I do like to mix it up with other similar style workouts. Last Summer I had great success with Crossfit workouts combined with Paleo eating.
• Hill runs – I’m lucky as hell to have the gorgeous Runyon Canyon just minutes away from my apartment, which is perfect for a challenging outdoor cardio workout with a view (the scenery and the women are both beautiful)
• Martial Arts – I’m doing Jeet Kune Do classes twice a week which never fail to work up a sweat. The classes are 2 hours long apiece and we always do some sort of conditioning drill at the end of the class. Not to mention the workout on your core is insane!
• Beach volleyball – So stoked for this. They often have beach volleyball games going on at the many beaches down here and they get pretty intense! Can’t wait.
• Pickup basketball games – I’m not the best basket-baller, but it provides an amazing workout and is a ton of fun.
• Stair runs for conditioning – I love these bad boys. They’re tough as hell but brutally effective! Not for the faint of heart.
• Outdoor calisthenics – Pullups, pushups, handstand pushups, box jumps, split jumps, and the list goes on. Your own body weight can sometimes provide the best workout, and it’s very applicable to daily life. Getting stronger at mastering your own body weight is about as effective as it can get.
• Wakeboarding (hopefully) – If I had a boat, I would just live on it all Summer long. Unfortunately I don’t so I won’t. Darn it… who’s got a boat? We are gonna be best friends!

I’m sure I’ll be doing other activities as well throughout the summer, but these are the ones that come to mind right now. As you can see, there’s plenty of variety and outdoor activities – both which make for a more exciting workout regimen (can’t really call it a regimen because my exercise this Summer is going to be wildly varied).

Diet wise, Paleo for the most part, with occasional cheat days/meals

I drop body fat the fastest when I cut out grains, dairy, and sugars and rely primarily on lean meats, fruits and veggies. Because for the past few months I’ve been kind of on the “whatever diet,” it will take some time to re adapt, but success always comes when eating like this. Summer is great for BBQ-ing, so get some chicken and some seasoning, some veggies or maybe kabobs, and become a grill master this Summer! BBQ + pool = amazing.

Of course, what would Summer be without ice cream, and what would life be without sushi? Yeah I’ll definitely not be 100% Paleo because I just need ice cream and sushi to survive, it’s that simple. But I’m going to try for 80%-90% of my food to be that way. I do believe in cheat days so probably one or maybe two days a week I will follow the Cheat Your Way Thin concept and eat higher calorie, more “fun” foods.

Incorporated intermittent fasting days

I usually follow my “feasting” days (cheat days) with a fasting day because I think your body really takes advantage of the fat burning mechanism when you do so. You fire up the metabolism with the Cheat Your Way Thin day – then utilize the fat burning furnace the next day so calories are partitioned over the two days but in a metabolically advantageous manner. Sweet! I’ve been doing this for awhile and it’s working great. Eat Stop Eat is a great way to cut calories to get lean, while also preserving your beach muscles.

Staying active while eating less

A lot of people, guys especially, feel like they need to keep adding muscle to achieve a better look. While this may be true for some, the Hollywood Body Look doesn’t require a ton of muscle. Leanness is the key, and remember – Losing 10 pounds makes you look like you’ve gained 10 pounds of muscle. Dropping body fat will make the muscle you do have pop out and look more defined, as well as bigger. Sometimes it can be confusing which direction to take your fitness – but a big thing to remember is that leanness triumphs over hugeness in the real world. You’ll look better, be healthier, and perform better.

Diet is the biggest factor for the Hollywood Body. Eating enough to perform at your best and refeed your body is what you want. Eating a ton of excess calories, might add some muscle, but probably some fat as well. Save this approach for another day – with Summer here, we want to focus on getting lean by dropping body fat and really bringing out those cuts you’ve been working so hard to get. Have fun this Summer and take advantage of the sunshine. I highly recommend you spend less time in the gym and more time outside. Your mental mood will thank you for it.