It’s nearly time to don those swim shorts. But don’t panic, you can still get in shape in just 60 days.

Consider this your two-month warning. There are only 60-odd days and counting until your holiday, which means that there are little more than 30 gym visits at best. Despite the plans you laid on New Year’s Day to sculpt an impeccable beach body, you’re facing the uncomfortable prospect of being forced to take your sofa physique on holiday.

Even if you’re well-upholstered, the good news is that two months is plenty to substantially change your figure. But you don’t have the luxury of six months of bulking like a socially reclusive bodybuilder. Muscle will most dramatically alter your shape and consistency, but is time-consuming to construct in any real quantity; attempt to bulk too impatiently by piling up your plate and you’ll wind up puffy – or just plain fat.

Blubber blurs definition, obscures your abs and is comparatively quick to shed. But if you’ve got no muscle to chisel around, then even if you do slim down, you’re practically inviting a bully to kick sand in your face, as supposedly happened to early 20th-century fitspiration Mr Charles Atlas when he was a 97lb (44kg).

To look hot to globetrot at the last minute, follow the below principles and priority-board some brawn while losing only your excess baggage. Then come July, you’ll be fully ready to take your shirt off and put your Orlebars on.