How to Tighten the Body

Building a tight, lean body means that you must perfect your nutrition and stay disciplined with your workouts. Building muscles tightens your body and firms all your trouble zones. Increasing your cardiovascular and adding muscle-building workouts to your weekly fitness routine can give you the results you're looking for. Consuming the proper foods allows you to take in the nutrients your body needs to maximize muscle-building and minimize fat storage.

Eat smaller meals throughout the day and stay disciplined in your workouts. (Image: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Getty Images)

The Diet

Step 1

Create a caloric deficit. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume daily; 3,500 calories is equal to 1 lb. Reach your caloric deficit by reducing your total caloric intake and burning calories through exercise.

Step 2

Eat six small meals a day, two or three hours apart. Eating frequently helps to suppress your appetite and increase your metabolic rate to burn more fat. Consume breakfast, lunch and dinner, with three additional snacks during your day.

Step 3

Consume a variety of nutrients. Aim for a diet in which 45 to 65 percent of calories come from carbohydrates, 10 to 35 percent from protein and 20 to 35 percent from fat. Choose healthy carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Pick lean proteins like lean meats, low-fat dairy products and protein shakes and pick healthy fats like olive oil and nuts.

The Workout

Step 1

Perform at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity per day. Cardio training helps you to burn fat and tighten your body. Choose activities that work the entire body like running, swimming or kickboxing to burn the most calories.

Step 2

Train using intervals to maximize your caloric burn. Interval training burns more calories in a short period of time. Interval-train with any aerobic activity by working at a high intensity for 30 seconds followed by a moderate intensity for one minute. For example, sprint for 30 seconds and jog for one minute, alternating for 30 minutes.

Step 3

Build muscle with strength training. Perform strength-training exercises three to four days per week. Split your days by working your legs and core one day, chest and triceps together and your back and biceps a separate day. Choose six to 10 exercises each strength-training day. Complete three sets of each exercise with eight to 12 repetitions per set.

Step 4

Focus on your tummy. Train your abdominals most days of the week after your aerobic activity. Choose three exercises, completing three sets of 15 repetitions each. Mix up your exercises with bicycle twists, traditional situps, reverse crunches, planks, leg lifts, scissor kicks and crunches.

Things You'll Need

• Exercise mat

• Sneakers

Warning

Consult your doctor before making any dramatic changes to your diet or fitness regimen.