Have you been on point with your workouts lately but concerned that the summer vibes are going to derail everything?

With summer comes beach barbecues and boating; party invites are flying in and filling up the calendar.

Have no fear! You really don't have to choose between enjoying summer and staying dedicated to your fitness goals.

Relax … a bit

Fitness is how we take care of our physical and mental health so it’s important that we keep some sort of routine. Changing things up so you have time to enjoy the weather and socialise is totally allowed. We were locked away for two years during Covid. It is time to do all the things the pandemic kept you from enjoying; live your life.

Try to maintain whatever goals you choose this summer. Studies have shown that people are more likely to achieve goals if they write them down.

Start with a realistic plan

Create a schedule for workouts and healthy meals that can revolve around your weekend activities. If you expect to go out with colleagues midweek, schedule your workout for earlier that day – morning workouts are a great way to beat the heat. Think of summer as maintaining your activity, not necessarily always focusing on seeing major progress.

Train with your schedule in mind

If this is your busy season – at work or play – It may be time to scale down the workouts from five to maybe three days per week. It doesn’t mean you are falling short. You do not have to exercise for one hour every day to get an effective workout. Training 30 to 45 minutes is still plenty of time to break a sweat and engage those muscles. A simple way to accomplish this is to take your exercise routine and form a circuit. Do all the exercises back to back and take a rest. Make sure the routine has several compound exercises that require more than one or two muscle groups to work at the same time like a squat and press, or a bent-over row. Think quick strength training over elongated cardio sessions this summer.

Quick sprint

Sprinting intervals are a fabulous high-intensity option that will boost your endurance and metabolic rate. You could try 20 to 30 minutes of compound-weighted full-body exercises and then about 15 minutes of sprints, 2 to 3 times per week over the summer. You can do them on the treadmill or outside. Just try your best to sprint during the coolest times of the day.

Drink clear fluids

It's so easy to get dehydrated especially with our heat and humidity in Bermuda! This can totally drain your energy during workouts.

Say you went boating after work and have a couple of drinks. You get up the next day not feeling too bad and plan to workout that evening. In the afternoon, you realise you haven't drunk anything. You drink a couple glasses to make up for it. However, at 3pm, you are feeling bad. Last night's drinks and today's lack of hydration is catching up with you. By 5pm you decide to skip the gym all together because you're too tired.

Although skipping a workout is OK, don’t forget to be aware of your hydration so it doesn’t derail all of your summer intentions.

Phone a friend

During the summer, it is actually enjoyable exercising with others. Making exercise a social event is a win-win in my books! Invite your friends to your fitness class, arrange a pole or aerial class or go walking along the railway trails near Shelly Bay Beach. Lookout for personal trainers offering summer deals or group sessions which could help you make your workouts more effective and efficient.

Training with like-minded people definitely enhances your workout and can give you just the push you need!

Enjoy the party this summer and B-Active For Life!

• Betty Doyling is a certified fitness trainer and figure competitor with more than a decade of experience. Look for B. ActiveForLife on Facebook