The perfect beach body

There is no dispute: The key to getting bikini-ready is choosing a fitness routine that will get you motivated. What’s your style: feeling the burn at a kick-butt boot camp or getting centred with a Zen workout?

Workout warriors
If your goal is a strong, shapely body and you’re prepared to sweat, consider the Tracy Anderson Method. Anderson, a petite blonde based in Los Angeles, is the trainer responsible for Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour shape and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Iron Man physique. She says that the secret to her workout is “a new routine every 10 days.”

“It’s not about changing your workout mindlessly,” she explains. “It’s about having a strategy.” The Tracy Anderson Method is the result of 10 years of research, which started when the former dancer was struggling with her own post-baby body shape. Her method mixes mat work with dance-inspired cardio exercises that “kick in the smaller muscle groups, exhaust the larger muscle groups and, ultimately, sculpt the body,” she explains. It’s a high-energy workout that gives new meaning to the term “high-definition”: It’s light on weightlifting (three pounds max) and heavy on reps (at least 50 per exer­cise). And prepare yourself for commitment. “You have to train at least 20 minutes a day, six days a week,” she says. “But the thing I love is that you get results right away. You’ll feel tighter immediately and, within a week, see a difference.”

'If you keep it up at least three times a week, it’s almost impossible not to see any gains,' says Tommy Europe, host of Slice TV’s The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides

In parks and parking lots across the country, boot-camp recruits meet at the crack of dawn for an hour-long drill of squats, lunges, push-ups and jogging. Typically, it’s a challenging mix of cardio and resistance training (using dumbbells, resistance bands or your own body weight). Although the military-inspired workout may sound better suited to those who are already in shape, former CFL star Tommy Europe, host of Slice TV’s The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides, says, “It’s for everybody.” But, he cautions, “If you don’t want to work, stay home or do something less demanding.” Europe likes to incorporate interval training  (30 seconds of hard work followed by 30 to 60 seconds of less intense effort) in his program — an exercise approach that, according to a 2007 University of Guelph study, boosts a woman’s ability to burn fat by 36 percent.

Europe swears by his “no pain, no gain” philosophy: “If you keep it up at least three times a week, it’s almost impossible not to see any gains,” he says. Participants on his show lose anywhere from four to 24 pounds in four weeks. For best results, look for classes that change the routine every week — that way, you’ll avoid boredom, stay motivated and ensure that you work your entire body, says Europe.