Summer is a time when many people, including myself, are tempted to spend the majority of their exercising time performing cardio outdoors, rather than balancing their fitness routine with strength and stretching. 

Let me offer a piece of advice that works for me.   

Don’t completely give up strength training (and losing all that you’ve gained over the fall, winter, and spring months).  Instead change your goal to maintaining muscle mass and strength. 

When your goal is simply to maintain, your expectations on your time and effort are less, and you will end the summer in nearly the same great shape that you started it in.  You can’t lose! To maintain strength:

• perform one set of an exercise to failure per muscle group.  Click here for a program.
• perform that routine 2 times per week.

 By maintaining strength (and muscle mass), you be sure to:

• keep your metabolism elevated all summer (rather than letting it drop)
• maintain muscle strength and bone mass
• keep joints, tendons, and ligaments strong and supple
• lessen joint (and arthritis pain)
• keep fat gain from creeping on

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