HIIT THE BEACH THIS SUMMER

Don’t waste your hard-earned holiday sweating in the hotel gym. HIIT the beach for sun, sand and swift muscle gains

Swap the hotel gym floor for sand to spend less time exercising and more time poolside

Directing friends to the beach with your bulging biceps isn’t showboating – it’s good training advice. According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the benefits of working out on sand go far beyond an even tan. It’ll come as no surprise to anyone who has ever tried sprinting up a dune that it increases muscle activation: sand absorbs more energy, so your calves, ankles and core stabilisers are forced to work harder than they would on firm ground. The athletes who took part in the study also recorded a significantly higher heart rate and greater perceived exertion when they kicked off their trainers and switched from grass to sand, torching through more calories in the same amount of time. Indeed, the Australian researchers calculated that you’ll use 20-60% more energy. #Grains.

While you might expect that the extra intensity would leave you confined to the sunlounger, nursing DOMS for days, sand’s low impact means you’re more likely to wake up feeling fresher. The study showed that sand training will leave you no worse off in terms of muscle soreness, recovery time or inflammation.

So, those of you who are anxious to maintain your hard-won beach body on holiday can spend less time sweating and more time relaxing, all without setting foot in the hotel gym. Just remember your factor 30 – that’s one kind of burn you can do without entirely.