Column: How do we get oursleves in summer shape?

A: It’s great to hear that you’re ready to take on this challenge and you can certainly make a difference in six weeks.

Before we start on training and diet there are a few things that you’ll need to take into consideration, to help structure your journey: such as the specific areas you want to work on, how often you can commit to training, how you’d like to structure your workouts and how you will measure your results.

Although you’re probably keen to jump straight into your fitness journey, taking some time to consider these points will help guide your transformation and achieve the results you want.

In terms of diet, it’s important to keep your nutrition simple and strict. Remember to keep positive and focus on your end goal.

Body transformations are also not all about cutting calories either, instead your attention should be on eating clean and getting the correct food in your body at the right times.

To keep hunger under control, cut out all processed sugars and foods, eat natural starchy carbs in the morning and snack on fruit in between. After lunch switch over to more protein-based foods with salad or vegetables. It’s also important to make sure that you drink enough water with each meal, as correct hydration promotes fat burning.

The following diet plan would be a fantastic example of what to eat in a typical day: Porridge with a low fat yoghurt for breakfast, two pieces of fruit for a mid-morning snack, chicken with rice and salad for lunch, an afternoon snack of rice cakes and cottage cheese then lean meat or fish with colourful vegetables for dinner.

Cutting out alcohol during your transformation is also essential, as these empty calories will only stimulate your appetite and encourages fat storage around your mid-section.

Once you’re ready to move onto training, you will need to combine fat burning and muscle toning together to melt the fat away and shape your muscles to give you the bikini body you’re looking for.

If you’re looking for classes, high-intensity cardio circuits such as spinning are great for burning fat and fun to do with a friend too.

Circuits are also a fabulous way of burning calories but will also help you firm up any problem areas as well.