I HIT THE BEACH IN JUST ONE WEEK! IS IT TOO LATE TO THINK ABOUT ABS?

That’s a rather leading question you’ve asked there, William. If you have a lot to lose, admittedly you’re cutting it fine – but we’re not giving you a free pass. At this late hour, your best bet is to focus on eliminating water retention. While we're normally strong proponents of carbs, a few days (and we mean a few days only) of deprivation will help you on your way to a shrink-wrapped torso, says PT James Alexander-ellis. “Start basing your meals around protein and leafy greens, but make sure you add salt,” he advises. “The kidneys excrete more sodium with a low carb intake.” You’ll also want to up your water intake to three or four litres a day: “This flushes excess fluid from the body, reducing bloating.” As for your workouts, your buzz-term here is ‘carb depletion’. This is the kind of training bodybuilders do pre-show, essentially burning out their glycogen stores. To shed that padding around your middle, Alexander-ellis suggests high reps of bodyweight moves like burpees, dips and squats, supersetting body parts so no second is squandered. Then follow up with a few sprint intervals to drop that excess baggage just in time for take-off.