With the beach season upon us, Jennifer Nicole Lee’s insane weight loss story is the perfect motivation to get you ready to bare it all this summer. After the birth of her second child, she has transformed herself from an ordinary mom to a divalicious fitness guru. She shed more than 70 lb (from 200 lbs. to 130 lbs!) and ultimately won Miss Bikini America in 2005.
This top fitness model has been the foxy bikini babe on magazines, TV shows, and is known for her signature slogans such as ‘’Strong is the new skinny’, ‘’Glutes that salute”, and “Kiss my abs”.
She’s made history with her Bikini Boot workouts, and CBS called her “America’s sexiest fitness mom.” JNL’s belief is that a bikini’s body has no expiration date; you can be a mom and still able to rock a sexy bikini without hiding everything under loose tunics and swim skirts.
She says, ‘’the mind is the strongest muscle in the body,” so with this in mind start training for a fab beach body by following some of JNL’s fit habits:
Workout Tips
- Strength training is a must when it comes to toning and lifting whatever problem areas there are – as JNL says ‘’lean muscle tone is the fountain of youth.’’ For toning muscles and burning fat, you need to focus on 6 intense circuits of 3 sets of 30 sec strength training followed by 30 sec of fast cardio moves (she likes criss-cross jacks or alternating knees up with dumbbells overhead). Do this routine 3 times a week with one rest day in between.
For toned buttocks and glutes:
- Jumping rope works on the muscles under your butt and, of course, is one of the best cardio activities to lean out fast; 10 minutes of jump rope burns as much fat as running for 30 minutes.
- Plyometric jumps forward and backward using a step (with both legs at the same time) are great for the lower body too.
- Squats with weight on shoulders and squats with leg kick to add some extra work to the inner tights too.
- Booty blasters and butt rear kicks can solve the saggy problem and give to your tushie a perky lift; you need to lay down on a bench or an exercise ball and with your hands placed down in front of you, try to lift simultaneously both legs without moving the upper body to intensify the butt work (this applies for the booty blaster exercise). For the butt rear kick move, lift your legs one by one kicking hard.
For lean legs:
- Do sumo squats and sexy scissors. When doing sumo squats, you can either keep your arms around your body or keep a dumbbell raised in front of you when squatting. For scissors, jump in a front lunge position.
For a smaller waist and tighter abs:
- An hour glass shape is what compliments a gorgeous bikini body, which has a slim waist, but still has great curves. That’s why JNL doesn’t want women to build out their middles; instead she’s applied this method to tighten the obliques and get a smaller waist: the super woman stance.
- Starting in a super woman pose, place a light exercise bar behind your head and with the abs locked in, twist from the waste up and down. Do as many reps as your body allows. The bar is optional, but it can help with keeping the form right and not letting your body wiggle.
- Deep lunges with a twist (the bar is optional) works on the legs and the twist chisels the obliques.
To rev up your metabolism fast:
- Divide a 40 minute cardio session into 2 segments: in the morning 20 min and later in the day another 20 min, but not less than 20 min.
Diet Tips:
- Don’t starve yourself and eat when your body asks for, but control the portions at all times: “Eat breakfast like a queen, dinner like a pauper.”
- Her super – meal formula is based on: lean protein sources, complex carbs, and fibrous carbs.
- Avoid complex carbs at dinner, and especially don’t eat them after 5 pm: No rice, bread, pasta, or sweet potato. Instead, eat a salad with a grilled piece of fish or poultry.
- Protein shakes are recommended at any time of the day and you need them to replenish the muscles – get your sugar fix by adding fresh fruits.
- Flatten your belly by eating fibrous foods such as: blueberries, grapefruit, apples, strawberries, watermelon, spinach, and broccoli.
- During bikini season, eat a lot of asparagus: 6-8 stalks for lunch and dinner. As a natural diuretic, it helps you flush out water weight.
Enjoy this summer season as much as JNL does, and be sure to get your dose of vitamin “C” – she calls it confidence!
