Top 6 Tips for a Beach-ready Body

By Sophie Brink

Published on March 25, 2008

Summer, she calls to us like a siren, singing of hedonistic pleasures and unfettered joy. Sun worshippers will soon make their annual pilgrimage to summer central: the beach. This list of DocShop's top six tips for a beachy keen body can help you prepare to heed the call.

#6 Shed the Past

After shedding our winter sweaters, we may notice that our skin isn't looking as lustrous as we would like. A salt scrub can gently exfoliate our skin to promote a healthy glow. You can make your own salt scrub at home by mixing a nourishing oil, such as almond or grape seed, with sea salt. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the mixture for a custom spa experience.

#5 Treat Your Feet

When wearing sexy sandals or wiggling our toes in the sand, our feet are on full display during the warmer months. For neat feet, treat yourself to a professional pedicure, or pretty up your little piggies at home. All you'll need is lime juice, sea salt, and an emollient lotion.

First, mix the sea salt and the lime juice in a bowl. Next, massage your feet with the mixture. The lime juice and sea salt will help to slough off dry, rough skin. After rinsing your feet thoroughly with lukewarm water, apply the lotion to moisturize and protect your soft, smooth, touchable tootsies.

#4 Go Nuts

Essential fatty acid (EFA), omega-3 is an important part of Dr. Nicholas Perricone's Clear Skin Prescription. By reducing inflammation in our body, EFAs can improve the texture and clarity of our skin - just in time for warmer weather! A great source of this mega omega is walnuts, which contain over 94 percent of the daily recommended value.

#3 Perfect Your Pecs

For men, it's long been obvious that well-developed pecs are the perfect accessory to go with board shorts and Speedos alike. But a little pectoral definition can also noticeably enhance the shape, if not the size, of a woman's bust line.

For those of us who dislike traditional push-ups, there is a modified version of the exercise that can reap many of the same benefits. With your feet together, lean forward and place your palms shoulder-width apart on an empty wall. Keep your body straight, and slowly lower yourself until your nose touches the wall. Then, slowly push yourself back to your starting position.

#2 Suit Yourself

In order to look our best when stomping the sand or hitting the surf, it is crucial that we find a swimsuit that works for our body type. Whether you are shaped like an apple, a pear, or more like a cucumber, there is a suit that will suit you.

Apple

Apple women typically carry their weight in their midsection. A tankini is often a perfect swimsuit selection for apples. Consisting of a longer top that extends to cover the midsection and a bikini bottom, the tankini minimizes the abdominal area while providing the va va voom value of a two-piece suit.

Pear

If you tend to gain weight in the hips, butt, and thighs, you might be a pear. To draw attention up and away from the lower half the body, choose a patterned top in a bright, bold color and a solid colored bottom.

Cucumber

Cucumbers are long and thin with narrow hips. To create the illusion of curves, a tie-front bikini top can accentuate cleavage. A frilly bikini bottom can also add volume to smaller hips.

#1 Mind Your Mind-set

Now that we have silkier skin, proud piggies, and a sexy swimsuit, it's time to own the beach. Confidence, after all, is the ultimate secret to a beach-ready body.