The ultimate shape-up plan to flatten your belly, firm your thighs, sculpt your butt, and get you swimsuit ready. See results in 4 weeks!

Forget sharks! When it comes to summertime stress, Jaws has nothing on swimwear.

 

A resounding 90% of women worry about stepping out in public in a swimsuit, reports a recent survey of 1,670 women by BizRate Research. Seventy percent said hiding trouble spots such as midriff bulges and bikini-bottom jiggle was a top priority when shopping for a suit. Well, drop the sarong--we've got you covered.

 

Our workout will flatten your belly, tone your arms, firm your butt and thighs, and burn off fat so you can hit the beach with confidence. The core of the plan is a 30-minute sculpting routine combining trouble-spot toners and cardio-based moves, like side hops and push-up jumps, that rev your metabolism and keep it elevated even after the workout, so you slim down and firm up fast. In a study from Anderson University, exercisers who did this type of high-energy strength-training boosted their calorie burn 11% more than those who did a traditional routine--and kept their metabolism 6% higher for an hour afterward. It's supereffective at flattening your belly, too, since all the moves target your midsection. We've also included a series of 30-minute cardio routines that burn up to 260 calories per session and an easy-to-follow, satisfying diet plan to speed up your results. Start today and you can drop about 15 pounds by summer.

The Workout

 

What you'll need: 5- to 10-pound dumbbells. The weight should be hard to lift by the end of each set. When it starts to feel too easy, increase the amount.

 

What to do:

 

3 days a week: Do the Summer Body Shape-Up. Perform the exercises in a circuit, moving immediately from one move to the next until you've completed the routine 3 times.

 

6 days a week: Do Fat-Burning Cardio. Rotate through these 3 high-energy aerobic workouts, doing a different one each day, to blast fat fast. Each 30-minute routine burns about 200 calories and turns up your metabolism so you melt extra calories for hours after you're done.

 

The Diet
Follow the Summer Body Diet, a 1,500-calorie daily meal plan, to shed more fat without going hungry.