It’s “Hot Girl Summer” — with a side of herd immunity.
Enter “Shot Girl Summer”: a time to re-emerge after getting the jab. As the weather heats up and the number of new COVID cases comes down, women everywhere are seizing the chance to remake themselves after a yearlong lockdown.
And they’re starting by dropping the pandemic pounds and ditching their dingy sweats.
“Sunshine, self-love and feeling sexy … that’s what ‘Hot Girl Summer’ is all about,” mortgage company coordinator-turned-fitness influencer Tassha Clemens told The Post.
Here are four women who are busting out of lockdown, determined to look and feel their best for some post-vaccine fun.
She jumped her way to joy — and a 65-pound weight loss
Tassha Clemens, 32
At the start of the pandemic, Tassha Clemens said, “I was depressed and uncomfortable in my own skin.”
Filled with anxiety over the COVID outbreak and lingering heartache from her mother’s death from breast cancer in 2017, the New Jersey native was also weighed down by an extra 50 pounds.
“I knew I couldn’t stay that way,” the 32-year-old, who lives in Blackwood, NJ, said. “I wanted better for myself.”
She found salvation in an unexpected place.
“I’d go to a park near my house and jump rope for 30 to 45 minutes everyday during the pandemic,” she said. “In the past, I’ve worked out and lost weight before a vacation or special occasion. But this time I adopted the mindset that healthy living is forever not just for the moment, and I started seeing results.”
Clemens, a former mortgage coordinator, began adding core and strength training workouts into her daily fitness regimen. She also cut out junk foods and cigarettes all together. She ultimately shed 65 pounds over a year.
“My body and health are [now] in great shape and my self-esteem is through the roof,” she said.
Her physical transformation even caused her to re-examine other parts of her life.
“I recently became a fitness trainer and body transformation coach,” Clemens said, adding that she quitting her corporate job to get her certifications online. “I want to help other women to achieve their goals and feel like hot girls, not just this summer, but every summer from now on.”
She dropped 70 pounds — with her toddlers in tow
Kaitlyn Hunt, 35
In spring 2020, the number on Kaitlyn Hunt’s scale was at an all-time high — and she felt like she’d hit a new low.
“I was like, ‘Oh, hell no. This stops today,’” Hunt, 35, told The Post of hitting 253 pounds. “Personally, I just don’t feel my best at that weight.”
The high school special education teacher and mother of two toddlers had packed on the pounds at the start of the pandemic, stress-snacking on salty chips and sugary cereals. This added to the baby weight that she was still carrying after giving birth to her daughter in March 2019. Realizing her health and happiness were at risk, Hunt embraced a diet of lean meats and fruit and vegetable juices.
“Once I started juicing and cutting out the junk food, the weight began pouring off,” the Staten Island resident said.
With gyms closed and her kids at home all day, Hunt found ways to get exercise by incorporating fun family fitness practices into their daily routine.
“I bought a trampoline,” she said. “The kids love it, and I love that it tires them out.”
During nap time, she has the trampoline all to herself: “I get on and do jump workouts for about an hour.”
Hunt has lost over 70 pounds since last March.
“What a difference a year and a few small changes can make,” she said. “I can’t wait to live my best life this summer.”
She even treated herself to a brand-new bikini and a pair of rollerblades for cruising around the beach boardwalk.
For Hunt, it’s not about getting attention or even going out on the town: “Enjoying a ‘Hot Girl’ or ‘Shot Girl’ summer isn’t about partying every night.”
Instead, she said, “It’s about being the most confident, happy and healthy version of myself for myself and my kids.”
She boosted her booty
Presley Pritchard, 28
For paramedic firefighter Presley Pritchard, ’tis the season to show off a new side of herself.
“I spent last summer sitting on my couch eating potato chips,” Pritchard, 28, told The Post.
The uncertainty of the virus disrupted Pritchard’s once-steady weightlifting workout routine, derailing her booty-centric fitness goals.
“The gyms were closed, and it was hard to get motivated and workout at home,” said the Montana mom, who grew up in Westchester County. “I wasn’t happy about how much I had let my body go.”
At the onset of the pandemic, she was unable to get her hands on any home exercise equipment, so she decided to improvise.
“I didn’t have weights at first, so I used my daughter,” the mom of two girls said.
“I’d toss my youngest on my back and do some squats or some plank up-downs using her bodyweight,” she said of her 6-year-old, who weighs 45 pounds. “She loved helping her mama out.”
After months of squatting, hip-thrusting and lunging her bottom back into shape, Pritchard now says being a “Hot Girl” this year means celebrating your curves.
“I’m gonna be thick this summer,” she said. “It’s all about going into the season with confidence, especially after the rough year we all had.”
She mastered meal planning — and shed 25 pounds
Brooks Hurbis, 28
Looking ahead to summer 2021, Brooks Hurbis was sure about two things: She loved eating ice cream, and she wanted to achieve her best body goals.
But could she have her cone and eat it, too?
“One hundred percent: I allow myself to enjoy pizza, ice cream and wine,” Hurbis, 27, told The Post. “And I’ve been able to lose weight and keep it off during lockdown.”
Through her “plate portion” method, the Denver digital content creator dined out on her favorite snacks, meals and adult beverages, and still dropped 25 pounds.
“I learned that what you eat is a major factor in weight loss,” Hurbis said.
Her simple strategy: “I fill half of my plate up with vegetables, a palm-sized portion of protein (chicken, fish, tofu or eggs), a fist-sized portion of carbs (potatoes, brown rice, bread or even pasta) and a thumb-sized portion of fats (oils, avocado or nuts),” she said.
Her mindful meal planning allows Hurbis to enjoy the occasional glass of bubbly and decadent dessert, guilt-free.
“Filling up on the veggies and proteins and not depriving myself of the foods I love is the most sustainable way to keep my body, health and happiness intact,” she said.