Trainer offers tips to get ‘Love Island’ body
CELEBRITY personal trainer Richie Swan gave top tips for achieving a ‘Love Island’ body. Richie Swan, from Maghull, has worked in the fitness industry for two decades and trained celebs like Emma Bunton, Melanie B, and Alexandra Burke.
The 42-year-old, who runs fitness classes at Rise Fitness Studios on Smithdown Road in Liverpool, said the starting point is to be realistic about your goals. He said: “People give up too early because they think, if you don’t see results within two or three weeks, it’s not working. But the reality is, to get to where you want to be takes time. If they’re comparing themselves to someone from Love Island who’s got ripped abs or whatever, they’re comparing themselves to someone who’s been training for a long time. They do it every day as part of their job, or part of their image is to look good. Always start with a realistic goal.
“Things don’t change unless you make changes and you’re consistent with them.”
Consuming fewer calories than you burn through daily life and exercise is important for weight loss, but Richie is keen to stress being in a calorie deficit means balancing and understanding your diet, not cutting out food you enjoy, so you can still have a bottle of wine and a gin on a weekend night out.
Richie said: “What’s the point in trying to achieve something if you’re stopping the things in life that you like?”
He added: “I’ve had rippling abs and I was probably less happy than I am now I keep fit, not for how I look, but for how it makes me feel. You have better quality sleep, it destresses you, you feel better, you have fewer mood swings. I do it for all the extra benefits, but when I was younger it was for how I looked.”
Richie’s “top tips to achieve lifechanging results” are:
● Be realistic when setting your goals. We teach you how to get in shape but If you have expectations of losing one stone in a week then you’re going to be disappointed.
● Things don’t change unless you make changes and are consistent with them. Find a journey you enjoy and you’re more likely to stick to it.
● To lose body fat you need to be in a calories defect, basically you need to burn more calories than you consume. You don’t need to cut out everything you enjoy. Simply learning to track your calories to a sensible deficit will help you include food you enjoy to your diet and that helps you stay on track.
● Up your protein as this keeps you fuller for longer, reduces hunger cravings and, when losing weight, a high protein diet helps maintain and repair your muscle meaning we burn the body fat.
● Move more – get off the couch don’t be taking phone calls lying down. Chat and catch up whilst walking about. Going to the shops and then park gets more steps in. Take the stairs at work instead of waiting for the lift. This is the simplest way to keep active and burn more calories, so even if you don’t like the gym or feel top tired to train, you can still get your steps in.
● Remove all excuses – We all have excuses, but if something is that important to us, we make it happen and we remove the excuses. This is why it’s so important to have a clear goal and reason why.
● Be sensible with the time scale to reach results. If you have a lot of body fat to lose, it’s going to take some time, but it will happen. You just need to remind yourself.