After over a year of macho, testosterone-charged posts and challenges, I am happy to announce New Age Hero’s first ever female blog post, courtesy of friend, med school student and fitness enthusiast, Andrea Wasilewski.
Bikini Body Blitz
This blog is all about the New Age Hero- and what’s more new age than a heroine? I’m honoured to be the first female contributor to New Age Hero and hope to show all the girls out there that muscles aren’t just for the boys!
After years of working out I’ve come to realize that personal fitness is one area in which you can’t cheat to get ahead. If you eat a cookie- the scale knows. If you skip a few workouts, well like Shakira said- your hips don’t lie. Achieving results takes time, diligence and unfortunately a lot of saying NO. But fitness is one area that when you put in the effort the results are beautiful.
With that said ladies, bikini season is right around the corner! So it’s time to dust off those Nikes, put down the cupcakes and pick up some weights. In preparation for my trip to Ibiza (hello nude beaches!) I’ve decided to start a 30 day fitness challenge to a rock hard bikini bod.
Before I get into the specifics, let me just say that taking on a fitness challenge is sure to fail if you don’t have a well outlined plan with specific and, most importantly, realistic goals. Girls, I know stepping on a scale can be traumatizing so here’s some good news. Throw out the scales! The numbers on a scale don’t mean much here- we’re looking for specific measurements of progress: circumferential measurements. Measure your arm, waist, hip and thigh circumference once a week- on the same day and time each week! This is by far the best way to track your progress.
Starting Point:
Weight: 64 kg, Height: 177 cm
BMI: 20.4 kg/m2
Biceps: 26 cm
Waist: 67 cm
Hips: 88 cm
Thighs: 52 cm
Workout Plan
Weight training is a MUST if you want to build muscle, increase you BMR and burn fat. The fact is that most girls are scared of weights because they think they’ll end up looking like Arnold. This is FALSE. Weight training will give you definition and toning; and because of our low testosterone levels, looking like Sylvester Stallone is virtually impossible.
I will be doing high intensity weight training workouts 3 times per week with 3 days of cardio in between and 1 day of rest. My workouts are mostly Cross Fit based using a combination of kettle bells, dumbbells, 
weighted bags and TRX. Follow the link to videos of some of my favorite exercises:
To increase the effort in your workouts follow each set with a 1.5 min fast walk on an incline (incline of 5 on a treadmill at least). This walk is your break- so use this time to drink some water and prepare for the next set.
Running, swimming or any activities that get your heart rate up are acceptable for the cardio days. I prefer to run on a treadmill for 45 min to an hour and aim to cover at least 7 km each run.
DIET
Putting in the hours at the gym is essential but it’s your diet that will make or break you. I’ve had a lot of success with the Lean Gains diet in the past and I think it is the perfect counterpart to this fitness challenge. Lean Gains is all about maximizing your body’s ability to burn its own fat, You do this by altering the release of metabolic hormones, by breaking up your day into 2 zones: the fasting and feeding zones. You can check out the diet here:
Fasting zone (16 hours)
This part is easy. Just don’t eat for 16 hours! It might take some getting used to, but I suggest including the time spent sleeping in the fasting zone. When you fast your body releases less insulin and this causes an increase in growth hormone. More growth hormone= more fat burned. You can NOT eat during this time but make sure to drink plenty of water! Coffee and tea (no milk or sugar) are also allowed.
Feeding zone (8 hours)
You are allotted 8 hours in the day for eating. You can eat anytime within those 8 hours and are generally encouraged to eat a pretty large amount of food. Below I’ll give an example of a typical diet I consume. It’s very important to maintain the feeding and fasting zones to maximize your body’s metabolism! Choosing the times you want to use for your zones completely depends on your lifestyle, so pick something that works for you!
Unfortunately, alcohol is not a feature of this plan. Unless you’re living the dream and day drinking, alcohol and partying will probably land in your fasting zone anyways. Nobody said this was going to be easy…
Sample diet:
Fasting zone: 6 pm – 10 am
Feeding zone: 10 am- 6 pm
Non-training day (1740 kcal)
- 150 g turkey breast + 50g brown rice + 2 tbsp olive oil
- 300 mL plain yogurt + 100g cottage cheese + 100 g granola with dried fruit
- 4 whole eggs + 2 egg whites + 2 rice cakes
- 1 protein shake
Training day (2150 kcal)
- 150 g turkey breast + 50 g brown rice + 3 tbsp olive oil
- 300 mL plain yogurt + 100g cottage cheese + 100 g granola with dried fruit
- 6 whole eggs + 3 rice cakes
- 2 protein shakes
Vegetables are unlimited and can be eaten in any amounts during the feeding zone. Also make sure to stay hydrated! I aim to drink 3 L of water a day.
Well there you have it! Wish me luck and check in regularly as I’ll be posting progress updates.
See you at the beach!
