It’s finally starting to look like summer is on its way, and as the sun comes out so do the shorts and bikinis.

But are you uncomfortable with your body? If the idea of getting your flesh out on the beach this summer is your idea of hell, or you just don’t feel that in shape, maybe it’s time to try and do something about it.

Here are our top five ways to get fit this summer.

Running

It’s straightforward, but getting out for a quick jog round the block can go a long way to burning some calories.

When you think about it, it’s surprising just how much time we spend sat down, whether it be at a desk at work or on the sofa at home.

Even if you just start out by going for a walk, getting yourself moving is the first step to losing weight.

Once you get into the swing of things start pushing yourself further and further and try to incorporate more hills into your route.

And be sure to properly warm up and stretch before and after your run to make sure you don’t do yourself any damage.

Find a diet and stick to it

Diet is crucially important to keeping fit, but it can be very hard to keep on top of. It’s important that you find a diet that works for you.

If you’re forcing yourself to eat horrible, expensive leafy things and grains which aren’t appetising to you at all, then you’re never going to stick to the diet.

As a nation,we’re eating more and more so it’s also important to try and minimise your portion size.

Yoga

Yoga has been helping to maintain healthy body and mind for over 5,000 years and it’s as effective now as it was back then.

There are many benefits of yoga, including increased flexibility, stamina and strength and generally creating an aura of calmness and wellbeing.

Yoga is essentially a combination of ‘pranayama’ which is deep, rhythmic breathing, and ‘asanas’ which are the physical postures.

Together they work to improve respiration and strengthen and tone muscles.

Swimming

If you’re getting bored of running your same route day in, day out, why not considering swimming instead?

We spoke to fitness club, The Shrewsbury Club who said: “Water is ten times more resistant than air and swimming uses all of the major muscle groups at once, so getting in the pool is one of the most effective cardio workouts, as well as being one of the most fun!”.

And it’s not just limited to doing endless lengths. There are a number of great aqua-fitness exercises such as aqua yoga and pilates.

Eat breakfast

Apparently over 20 million of us regularly skip breakfast, even though it’s known to be the most important meal of the day!

Think about it, when you wake up your body has gone many hours without any food, and your blood sugar levels will be dangerously low.

Heading off to start the day without breakfast will lead to headaches, dizziness and of course hunger!

Many of us try to stave off the morning hunger by snacking but this usually lacks the proper nutrients of breakfast and simply results in a short term sugar rush.

However you try to slim down this summer, make sure that you commit to a plan of action and stick with it.

Once you start to see the benefits you’ll feel like a totally new person and be ready to take on summer!