How to Get a Beach Body for Men

While cardiovascular exercise and light weights might work for the girls, men have to work a little harder to get that perfect beach-ready physique. Though cardio is important, it's also crucial to perform regular weight training for each muscle group, including the abdominals, pectorals, arms, back and the muscles of your legs.

Things You'll Need

• Gym Access
• 30 to 45 Minutes of Daily "Free" Time

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Instructions

Consistent Cardio and Weight Training is Key

• 1

  Perform complete, full-body weight training two to three times per week. Aim for two to three sets of eight to 10 reps per exercise, and perform at least one exercise for each muscle group. Begin by targeting the abdominal muscles to include the obliques, vertical and lower abdominals. While you can target each of these muscles separately by performing various crunches on a flat surface, you can save time by performing crunches on an exercise stability ball. In order to maintain your stability on an exercise ball, you have to use all abdominal muscles at once, which is essentially more efficient than targeting each muscle separately.

• 2

  Move on to your trunk muscles, to include the pectorals, back and shoulder muscles. While the bench press will build up your chest muscles, the lateral pull down and lateral raise will give your back that perfect V shape: broader at the shoulders and trimmer toward the lower back. In order to perform the lateral pull down, grasp the handlebars of the pull down machine in a wide-grip position and slowly pull the bar down to your chest. In order to perform the lateral raise, hold a dumbbell in each hand, bend the elbows slightly, and gradually raise your arms to shoulder height.

• 3

  Target the biceps and triceps with simple dumbbell curls and tricep chair dips. In order to perform the dumbbell curl, hold a dumbbell in an underhand grip and slowly raise the weight to meet your shoulder blades. You can alternate hands, or raise both hands simultaneously as you prefer. In order to perform the tricep chair dip, place your hands behind you on the edge of a chair or exercise bench, bend your knees slightly, and gradually bend and extend at the elbows. For added resistance, place your feet on a second bench, with your entire body suspended above the floor.

• 4

  Finish your workout by targeting the quadriceps and hamstrings with squats, and also the calf muscles with standing or seated calf raises. While your upper body is more likely to be noticed on the beach, neglecting your lower body is a mistake too many men make.

• 5

  Perform 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three to five times per week. Alternate between short, high intensity cardio sessions and longer durations of moderate intensity. While consistent weight training will build muscle, consistent cardio will trim fat to reveal those muscles.