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How to Be Bikini Ready All Year
Fitness | November 06, 2019
To be in bikini-shape all year, you first need a body and then a bikini. OK, jokes aside, being bikini-ready is all about your lifestyle. The answer isn’t only just your diet or workouts. It’s the collection of habits that make up how you live. In other words, you need to put together all of the pieces to crack the puzzle. I know you’ve heard me talk about these things over and over, but it’s the truth. Everyone is chasing some insider secret from the fitness industry when the truth is that we all know what it takes to reach our goals. Now, let me add that my idea of a bikini-body is going to be different than yours. If you’re short, tall, curvy, lean, or somewhere in-between, you can still rock a two-piece. But that being said, I know that many people are chasing a sleek, strong, athletic body, which is what I’ve managed to do and maintain for myself 365 days a year. I’m always asked how I manage to do this, and I can tell you that it’s all about lifestyle. I get it, though. You want to know what this looks like. So, for today’s post, I’m going to explain how my lifestyle makes me bikini-ready all year long.
Diet
You can make working out your job and still not see any results if your diet is horrible. Cheat meals, binges, starvation, and processed foods are disastrous for your physique, well-being, and relationship with food. It’s rare when someone gets away with eating like a bottomless pit without any consequences. We all know that one person who can, they’re the exception, not the majority. For you and me, there’s no getting around the type and quality of foods we eat.
What does that mean? Eating whole foods. Start with that before going crazy while trying different diets. Focus on real foods found in nature. Foods that your grandparents (or great-grandparents) would recognize. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains like quinoa, oats, buckwheat, farro (not products made out of wheat like bread or pasta, or cereal), meat, eggs, fish- you get it. Avoid things that come with a paragraph of ingredients on the label and look only for the food itself. For instance, an apple should not come packaged with cane sugar or preservatives. Eggs don’t need a mascot to promote them.
I also recommend you cut back on or eliminate altogether include sugar, table salt, trans fats, desserts, snack foods, microwave meals, “healthy” juices, and “diet” products (which is anything that claims to be “keto”, “paleo”, or “vegan”- friendly or is either low in or free of salt, fat, sugar, or gluten). If you did this alone, you’d be way ahead of the crowd when it comes to your nutrition.
Fitness
If you ever feel like exercise is a chore, it’s because you haven’t set any goals for yourself that you’d be truly excited about. Maybe you want to lose weight or gain muscle, but if that’s truly something you’re passionate about, then you wouldn’t have to force yourself or look for motivation. You may not get excited about the same things or have the same goals as I do, but I’m telling you, there’s nothing better than constantly challenging yourself and experiencing these small victories consistently. I sometimes forget how important it is and can feel jaded with training at times. Then I remember that all I have to do is to come up with a new goal or a new skill and the fun journey that helps me reach it.
That’s how I’ve been able to continue training all these years. I don’t do the same routine day in and day out. There are times when I’ll try an old routine of mine, but it’s really to test my progress and see if I can beat my performance. This adds a competitive element to my training, so no two workouts are ever the same. I’m always a different person whenever I do them. For you, what matters is that you stick to. I don’t like to train in a regular gym; I haven’t stepped foot in one in I don’t know how long (that just shows how much I prefer my method of training). If I were to sign up for one, I wouldn’t be able to stick to it for very long. However, when I train ZGYM-style, you’ll beat that I never miss a workout. I’d have to be incredibly sick or dealing with something important (like moving!). So, find what works for you. Anything that you can stick to is what’s going to carry you through the days when you’re tired or uninspired. You know that it’s right for you.
Discipline and Consistency
You cannot depend on motivation to fuel your lifestyle. That’s why you need to show up, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. How are we able to do things like buying groceries or putting gas in our car even when we don’t feel like it? It’s not motivation- it’s discipline. We need discipline in order to take control of our lives. And, when it comes to being bikini-ready, reaching our goals. It’s our responsibility to eat right, workout, and take care of our well-being. No one else is going to do it for us. Once we’re in control, we stay consistent. Habits like getting enough sleep, taking time to take care of ourselves, making a healthy meal, and scheduling in a workout are only as strong as our consistency. If you want them to work, then you need to be consistent. You won’t get very far if all you do is work out when you feel like it or eat right when it’s convenient for you.
Curiosity
To keep this short and sweet, I recommend that you stay curious. Always be willing to learn and try new things. When you do that, you’re less likely to get caught in a rut or let boredom take over. I do it all the time! For a while, I’ve been studying gut health and am amazed how so many things can influence our digestion. With my fitness, I may go through a period of discovering new ways to test my skills, such as balance or flexibility. In others, I’ll be focusing on resistance training with the kettlebell or challenging myself with an intense bodyweight routine. The point is that I stay curious and always find ways to improve myself.
What do you think, everyone? How does your lifestyle support your goals? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Private Member |
Hey Zuzka, I have a question for you. I’ve read your book and I know you said your fave movie GI Jane got you into working out. Since you’ve been working out for such a long time and your fitness continues to improve, can I ask what kind of mentors you have had to get you to the next level? I imagine you’ve had one-on-one teachers since you have professional fitness certifications. It must be difficult to get to the level of fitness and health you are at, and you don’t seem to ever gain weight.
I’m asking because I want to get to the next level myself, and trying on my own takes a little too much time and energy, so I want to find a mentor that can help me. I had a very good trainer before I found your zgym, and I found her through a gym I went to. I really dislike going to the gym and I would prefer to not go back. I’ve been shopping around and getting depressed looking at the gym websites lol.
So can I ask you, how did you find your fitness mentors that have helped you become as good as you are now?
If any Zgym members have any insight on how to find a good trainer or mentor, please let me know! Thank you!
Private Member |
los angeles, ca, usa
Hi Britt,
I’ve been following Z since way back in her Body Rock days, I had been doing other work-outs programs like P90X, etc. after a difficult relationship in which was the cause of why I stopped working out I ended up getting hit with Pre-Diabetes, Vitamin D deficiency (because I wasn’t outdoors), and I became Iron deficient leading me to being tired and lethargic. this was all within the last 6 years, since then I’m back to renew my membership with Z as of yesterday.
I had been procrastinating for the past 3 years and decided that I’m never going to get my body, health and life back if I didn’t move forward and do something about it. So I realized that having a community instead of spending lots of money on a GYM or Personal Trainer would be the best option. Zuzka had a variety of programs and a support group right here and one I can pace myself. I would think you have a mentor in Zuzka unless you are looking for a one on one. If you want to step it up I would think of using her Advanced programs and buddy up with someone here or locally in your neighborhood.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
To me it is inspirational, more than one to one ,as I already get difficulty finding a good doctor , PT or nutritionist. The last years I found that IG has helped finding figure that inspire me, because I feel alike. The difficulty is to no matter what stick to your own true self, and only you can know what you need right now. Going to a gym or a class or do challenges online can be the worst ( I found for me) it pushes me in territories I didnt need to go (eg when you have injury or postpartum.like hate the no-pain-no-gain thing) As Zuzka usually says is to make a list of why you want to train, getting deep will highlight your own motivation.
However being able to share and discuss will like minded helps so much , such as in here.
Good luck and let us know why you need and want to train and keep that mojo.
Private Member |
Hi Guys! Thanks for your advice! I totally relate to the dislike of online fitness challenges. I tried one back in May and it was way too intense, made me super grouchy and unproductive for the week that I tried it lol.
The reason I want a one-on-one coach is for the specific thing I am looking to do. If you have seen the fitness transformation by the youtuber Glam N Gore, that is the result I am looking for. I work out regularly with Zgym and other online platforms, I eat pretty well and pay attention to diet, but since I am type 1 diabetic and take insulin, weight loss and muscle gain present a nest of problems and pain that takes a ton of attention to prevent (low blood sugars and high blood sugars and adjusting insulin doses before the swings happen. Blood sugar swings make you eat more and can ruin your progress.)
My weight has been stable and healthy for the past couple of years, but I want to lose 15 pounds. When I try on my own, I lose interest in changing, because diabetes is awfully hard. That’s where the trainer comes in. If I find someone really good who I pay a thousand or so dollars to and see every week to critique my diet and strategy, its a guarantee that I will change. Also a big time saver. I kind of like spending money when it will get me a result and save me time. But that all goes back on the quality of the trainer and if they have experience with people with health issues like diabetes.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
Yeah, what a challenge. I am in keto for the 3rd week and had much thinking aboit how diabetics life can be. I dont have underlying health issue that I know of, but I like the tips I could read so far with Eric Berg, but he is more on the nutrition side than the training gains aspects. I feel weak like a baby bird currently and dont know how long it will last and what if I should do something about it.
A good trainer that takes posture into account first is already difficult and that is knowledgeable in nutrition is a unicorn.
Private Member |
Yeah that’s how I felt when I did keto. My blood sugars were aiiight, I still had a ton of adjusting to do with insulin, and I lost some weight, but I felt awful and my productivity went down the drain. Some people do well on keto, and truthfully, I question those people’s honesty (not Zuzka’s of course.) It’s just too tedious and expensive, and I would get a low-grade panic attack any time I had to eat. Not to mention the food was disgusting. I had to eat a lot of cooked vegetables with cheese because raw vegetables have a lot of carbs from fiber, and the baked goods were like a cruel joke with that burning eyrithritol. And anytime something went wrong, there was some smart-ass answer from the keto community like “you need to take more potassium” or some other money or time-eating solution. It was like adopting an eating disorder. Not to mention the mammoth carb cravings and mental strain eating all that constipating crap caused. I actually threw up the last time I beat myself up into staying on keto until the ‘keto flu’ went away. I think it’s a lot easier and cheaper to just eat an apple or a salad when I’m hungry. I think fruit is better for you then keto, and also helps prevent constipation-which keto causes. Looking back it seems ridiculous, keto is almost like a form of self harm lol. No way of eating is worth costing me a month of money-making ability because my brain and body are full of pain from a sickness I’m giving myself to look skinny. I can only imagine the unhealthy lengths some people go to make this diet work, like taking adderal or antidepressants to ease the pain and still have energy.
Private Member |
Actually I imagine the keto flu is the same as the ‘three days of hell’ people quitting smoking talk about. Apparently keto is good for fighting cancer (I have come to disagree on that) but the nutrients found mostly in fruits (fisetin is the big one) is far better for fighting cancers and helping chemo therapies like gemcitabine/abraxane fight resistant cancer cells. I’ve heard that ketones actually end up feeding cancer cells once they initially shrink them.
Not to mention you can feel like garbage on keto but still not lose weight if you eat too many calories. Can somebody explain to me what the point is? I hope no teenage girls try this diet, its a recipie for bulimia.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
My discipline is journaling and filling a monthly schedule. But then I workout based on current status (injury , availability, season*, hormonal cycling,…) I am usually on the array that I want to do it all and need to pace myself to not overtrain. Unfortunately I also developped an addiction for fitness clothes. The true challenge is to stick with what my body needs, and not what the trainer’s schedule says.
I certainly dont stick with a trainer online that has no contact with people, that is one of the many things I like in Zgym
*I need to buy my cross country season pass btw.
Private Member |
Hello,
Is it okay to do more then one zuzka workout routine daily? Now, I am doing the body weight intermediate. I am on my third week. I also follow a strict keto diet. Is it okay for me to add the strengthening workout to my workout I am currently doing or should I wait and do one at a time?