Unless you’re living under a rock or just plain straight, you’ve probably noticed that there are naked men – or nearly naked men everywhere. You guessed it, warmer weather is here and guys are stripping down, taking it off and showin’ their stuff. The competition is stiff – literally, and we’re all in the running. If your workouts are lagging or if you haven’t started at all, Mark Magazine offers some surefire ways to get with the program as we all look forward to a hot, naked summer.

Starving yourself to attain that girlish waistline will only backfire and bite you in the ass. You’ll lose lean muscle as well as some fat, and your metabolism will spiral down the toilet leaving you with no energy for anything. Ditching sodas, cutting out junk food and eating less carbs late at night will make a visible difference to your middle in no time. To lose fat and keep it off you must combine good nutrition with regular cardio and weight training.

Food is your friend. It fuels your energy levels at work, in the gym and in the bedroom. A healthy, plentiful breakfast is essential to everyone’s day. Eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day every two or three hours or so. This way you’ll have more energy, store less fat, and your muscles will have the steady supply of protein they need to grow.

Diversity makes all of life more exciting. Vary your workouts with new routines for bis and tris, chest, back, etc. Take one of the free classes offered at your gym. Change up the times that you workout. Hire a hot, personal trainer for a few jaunty sessions to learn new approaches for breaking through plateaus.

Get rid of that all-or-nothing attitude. So you may not have a solid half hour for a decent cardio workout on your favorite Precor. Try 15 minutes of power walking with dumbbells (the kind you lift, not your co-workers) on your lunch break. You may not have time to get in two full muscle groups at the gym, but you can blast your biceps or chest for a dynamite 20 minutes using a new exercise or two that you’ve seen in a magazine. Be aggressive about your exercise program and fit it into your busy day whenever and however you can.

The clock is ticking. No more excuses. The summer sizzle is upon us, so get with the program and enjoy being more naked this summer.