In Australia, summer is just around the corner. For our American friends, you’ve got eight months to wait until the sun shines bright once more. Either way, the idea of getting a summer bod is nothing new, and something many of us aspire to. After hibernating during winter, or being held hostage in our own homes during the past 18 months or so, piling on the Covid kilos, we imagine getting back into shape – or kickstarting a brand new fitness regime – will be at the top of many to do lists.
Naturally, a summer rig won’t just appear by itself, no matter how many different diets or meal plans you follow. You also need to commit yourself to a rigorous workout regime, encompassing a variety of chest movements, leg, back and core workouts. Within these, some exercises will be easier than others, and you’ll soon find your favourites. However, one workout recently caught our eye, courtesy of Aubrey Marcus, founder of Onnit (the supplement brand endorsed by Joe Rogan).
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It caught our eye for a couple of reasons: firstly, it’s a workout that is a little out of the ordinary, as it involves the intuitive use of a workout buddy. Secondly, it looks bloody tough but no doubt has serious benefits for your entire body, and could be an exercise that will allow you to fast track your way to thirst trap status.
Check out Aubrey Marcus’ intense full body workout in the video below.
Aubrey’s workout involves hanging from a bar, otherwise known as dead hangs. These help to strengthen your shoulders, upper back, core, forearms and grip strength, and are a movement employed when working your way up to a perfect pull-up. They can also help stretch your lats in your back, for when you’re performing front squats.
But, that’s not all. Whilst hanging from the bar, Aubrey and his workout partner grip a medicine ball in between their legs, and flick it to one another, catching it in their legs each time. It shouldn’t take us to say how much core strength this requires, not only to keep yourself hanging from the bar without dropping, but to also hold the ball between your legs – working your quads and hamstrings – only to then use your core to flick your legs forward and let go of the ball.
This movement alone won’t gift your the washboard abs you crave, but it will certainly help to strengthen them. Combine this with a solid meal plan or diet to help shed some body fat – as we’ve discussed before, there is much to be said for eating more food and putting on muscle to help shed the fat more easily – and your upper body will be popping.
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All that’s left for you to do is equip yourself with some of the latest swim shorts to elevate your look, and you’ll be turning heads on the beach all summer long.