Summer weight loss happens so fast: how to get fit at home so you can look good outdoors

Summer weight loss is going to be a major theme in 2021. The other big theme? How to burn fat for summer weight loss without going to the gym, thank you very much.

If you want to achieve summer weight loss burn fat at home, get fit indoors and increase your cardio capacity behind closed doors, you have come to the right place. Soon we'll be able to enjoy some sunshine and warmth, and these indoor training tips will help with weight loss for the coming season. Being in shape isn't just about looking good, it's also an essential aid to mental well-being.

Of course if you really want to get in shape for summer, you should be looking at winter weight loss by training indoors during winter. 

However, we are only human, and every year, many of us suddenly realise in spring that our efforts over the last six months really didn’t pay off. 

If you find yourself in that situation come late spring and early summer, fear not. We have compiled this list of indoor training tips to get you fit and toned for summer as efficiently as possible.

The good news is that even if you leave it until spring, three months can be more than enough to tone up. Here are our top tips for losing weight in summer. With them you'll find that summer weight loss happens so fast. Summer weight loss; you'll have a blast.

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1. Diet is crucial – and so is safety

If you are planning on getting super fit in a hurry, you can't just rely on exercise, no matter how intense you make it. You need to pay some attention to what you eat as well as how you work out. 

A balanced diet can’t be replaced by any number of workout sessions and if you wish to be fit in the long term, then these few months can be the perfect way to ease yourself into a new, more healthy lifestyle.

We won’t discuss diet in too much depth here as we have plenty of advice on how to lose belly fat elsewhere on T3. Before we move on to the workouts, it's also important to consider safety…

As effective as training indoors can be, you must make sure that A) it safe to workout and there are no obstructions around the designated indoor training area and B) you are all warmed up and did at least some light stretching before the session. 

Tense muscles and a heart not primed for exercising can get you injured in no time. 

After the workout sessions, you should stretch again and tend to your muscles using the best massage tools like a foam roller or even a percussion massager if you are more hardcore. Massaging the muscles you worked out can reduce the chances of you getting injured and shorten recovery time, as well as giving higher comfort levels the day after the session. 

Also, drink plenty of water and before and during the workout, especially if you are doing high intensity exercises, like indoor cycling, running or HIIT.

2. Resistance training is a must

Lifting weights can be useful for more than just building muscle mass. Resistance training has been proven to aid fat loss as well as help gains, so if you are planning on losing weight and building muscles too, you might as well kill two birds with one stone by introducing resistance sessions into your schedule.

We have plenty of kettlebell workout for beginners as well as dumbbell workouts for beginners, but if you are low on space or budget, you can try increasing the muscle load by using resistance bands. These come in different strength versions (they are most usually colour coded) and you can use them for both stretching and workouts as well.

3. Try push-pull workouts

A two-day push-pull workout is a type of resistance training and have the added benefit of giving certain muscle groups a break while you work on others. So, one day you use ‘push’ muscles and do bench and shoulder presses while on the day after you can utilise ‘pull’ muscles and do deadlifts and bent over rows.

Should you have more than just two days a week to train, you can break the exercising further down into a two-day push-pull upper body workout and a two-day lower body (and abs) push-pull workout. The possibilities are truly endless.

4. Boost your metabolism with HIIT sessions

There are plenty of reasons to try HIIT and this type of workout is highly recommended for people who would like to lose weight by burning fat. HIIT workouts will not only burn fat when you exercise, but up to 24 hours later too.

HIIT workouts consist of short bursts of high heart rate intervals mixed with moderate heart rate cooldown periods. This is beneficial for heart health but HIIT can also boost metabolism, so you will be healthier and slimmer at the same time.

• The best HIIT workout gear: get fit and lose belly fat the high intensity way

5. Get a home cardio machine

While intense HIIT and long cardio workouts can be done with minimal equipment, a lot of us find it way more motivating to use gym-style machines. The best designed needn't take up too much room, and they are a great way to get more cardio boom for your buck. Psychologically, many people also find it motivational to have a very visible slab of fitness equipment that they paid handsomely for.

A treadmill, elliptical trainer or rowing machine can all have massive benefits but for the best combination of calories burned, comparatively low impact and ease of maintenance an exercise bike is arguably the best home option.

Pedalling away on even the best exercise bike can be weird if you haven’t got a training plan in place. More structured plans developed for race training, can also give you a purpose on your home exercise bike. Even better, apps such as Zwift can give you a whole, virtual world to cycle in, and other 'virtual' cyclists to race against. That means you can burn calories indoors in a way that is effective but also, yes, fun. No, really.

Using a smart indoor bike trainer, such as our favourite advanced smart bike, the next generation Wattbike Atom, has the added benefit of not having to buy separate sensors to track your power output and your cadence, as well as ultimate customisability. It also helps with the aforementioned structuring of your exercise with the free Wattbike hub, which is packed with workouts and plans. It's now available for just £45 per month, too.

The better the indoor bike, the more realistic your sessions will be, and the better the simulation of outdoor cycling.

6. Do bodyweight training

Bodyweight training might sound too hardcore for some but it is definitely the most cost effective way to work out indoors. For most types of exercises, you won’t need any equipment, only an elevated surface or something to hang from. Haven’t got a bar you can do pull ups with? No problem. A door pull up bar doesn’t cost much at all.

Abs can be trained by doing crunches, V-sits or planks and you can always get an ab roller if you want to make your core training more fun. Resistance bands can also be utilised here, just think of the kneeling resistance band crunches or resistance band crunches. By doing calisthenics exercises indoors, you will get jacked in no time.

• This article is part of a series on fitness, supported by Wattbike