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Exercises I do and Like

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Exercises I do and Like

Arms

Exercise One: Bench Dip (shoulders/triceps)

· Sit off the edge (long side) of your bench or sturdy chair with your hands on the edge next to your hips and elbows bent. Knees are straight and heels are on the floor. A dumbbell can be placed in your lap for added resistance.

· Move forward slightly allowing your buttocks to come off the bench with your body weight being transferred to your arms.

· Exhale and push down against the bench lifting yourself up. Feet remain on the floor.

· Inhale and slowly lower yourself to a point where your butt is below the bench. Repeat.

· Do two or three sets of up to 20 repetitions, or stop at muscle fatigue

· Exercise Two: Upright Row (shoulders/biceps)

· Stand with feet shoulder-width apart holding dumbbells at waist level but about six inches out from the body.

· Exhale as you keep the weights away from your body and pull up, making sure your elbows never rise above shoulder level.

· Inhale as you lower dumbbells to the starting position.

· Do two or three sets of up to 20 repetitions, or stop at muscle fatigue

Stomach

“Strong abs not only look great, they promote good posture, alleviate lower back pain and are essential to overall good health,” the New York City fitness pro explains.

It takes just five minutes to get on your way to a buff rather than a puff belly. So why not follow Stefano’s expert advice today?

Leg Raise

Lie on your back on a mat or padded carpet, legs straight, both hands under your buttocks to help maintain the proper pelvic tilt, head on the floor. Exhale as you slowly bring your knees to your chest and your head off the floor. Inhale as you lower your head and straighten your legs to a point where your feet are a few inches off the floor. Repeat to muscle fatigue.

Side Raise

Lie on your left side on a mat or padded carpet, head and legs straight. Exhale as you raise your right leg as high as it will comfortably go. All movement comes from the hip joint. Inhale, lower top leg to starting position and repeat. Repeat on the opposite side. Repeat to muscle fatigue.

Rear Raise

Lie on your stomach on a mat or padded carpet, head straight. Hands can be used to form a pillow for your face. Inhale as you slowly raise your right leg without bending the knee, holding briefly at the top of the movement. Exhale and lower the leg to starting position and repeat. Repeat with the left leg. Repeat to muscle fatigue.

Crunch

Lie on your back on a mat or padded carpet with your knees partially bent, feet flat on the floor, arms folded across your chest. Exhale as you tighten your buttock muscles and begin to raise your chest off the floor, feeling your abdominal muscles tighten. The movement need only be a few inches. Inhale as you slowly curl back down without letting your head touch the floor, maintaining tension in the abdominal muscles for the entire set. Repeat to muscle fatigue.

The Bridge

Lie on your back on a mat or padded carpet, knees bent, heels near your buttocks, arms at your sides. Inhale as you slowly raise your pelvis off the floor as high as it will comfortably go. Tighten your buttocks and squeeze your shoulder blades together, hold and breathe. Exhale as you lower back down to the floor. Hold for 5 seconds, repeat 5 times.

"Dos and Don’ts." For leg workout

· DON’T overextend your hip joint. In an effort to contract the glutes fully, women tend to overextend their hip joints (bring them too far behind the body). However, only a limited amount of hyperextension is possible at the hip. Past a certain point, stress is taken away from the target muscles of the glutes and is transferred to the lower back. This places stress on the hip joint and lumbar region and can lead to injury.

· DO concentrate on keeping constant tension on your glutes. Once you feel an intense contraction, reverse direction and begin the next rep.

· DON’T twist your body to complete a rep. The body tries to gain leverage during training by using ancillary muscles for assistance. In many glute exercises, this is accomplished by contorting the upper body. When your torso is twisted, excessive torsion forces are placed on the vertebral column, often leading to disc rupture.

· DO maintain strict form, moving only the required muscles. To get the most out of your efforts it is essential to resist the temptation to use leverage.

The toning workout should be performed as one complete set. You should move from one exercise to the next without any rests in between. After completing all three exercises, repeat the entire set. Take a 30-second rest then do one final set of all three.

During the rests, you should take the time to stretch the muscles. The entire workout should take approximately 10 minutes.

Unilateral Hip Extension
Begin by placing your left knee on the bottom of an inclined bench. Bend your elbows and place your forearms across the top of the bench so they support your body weight. Slowly raise your right leg as high as comfortably possible, keeping it straight throughout the move. Contract your glutes and then reverse direction, returning back to the start position. After performing the desired number of repetitions, repeat the process on your left.

Standing Leg Curl
Begin by attaching an ankle weight to your right ankle. Grasp onto a stationary object and slowly curl your right foot upward, stopping just short of touching your butt or as far as comfortably possible. Contract your right hamstring and then reverse direction, returning back to the start position. After performing the desired number of repetitions, repeat the process with the weight on your left leg.

Kneeling Abduction
Begin by kneeling on the ground, assuming an “all-fours” position. Keeping your right leg bent, raise it to the side as high as comfortably possible. Contract your glutes and then slowly return the weight along the same path back to the start position. After finishing the desired number of repetitions, repeat the process on your left.

By following the three-step plan, you’ll begin to notice a change in the thighs in just four weeks. However, performing the right exercises is only half the battle. You should also be aware of these eight tips for getting on the fast track to tight and toned thighs.

1. Use a compound movement like squats, lunges or leg presses. A compound movement exercise requires more than one joint in the action of the exercise. It’s important because it requires the use of the stabilizer muscles, which don’t usually get activated in isolation movements like leg extensions.

2. Target the upper thighs. There are four muscles in the quadriceps frontal thigh muscles. This area is not as active as the other muscles during many activities. It’s important to choose movements that target this region.

3. Work the inner thigh. This tends to be a problem area, especially for women. Fortunately by using certain exercises you can target this muscle specifically.

4. Choose the appropriate rep range. Different reps have different effects on the body. If you want to increase size or maximize muscular bulk, choose moderate reps with a range of eight to 10 reps per set. If you’re looking more for muscle tone, choose high reps of about 15 to 20 per set.

5. Go all out. The only way you achieve muscular development is by pushing muscles to their limit. It’s very important to make sure you struggle on the last few reps of each set.

6. Do "supersets!" Perform one exercise followed by another without rest. This allows you to achieve added intensity as well as make workouts more efficient.

7. Don’t overdo it. During exercise you’re breaking down muscle tissues, not developing the muscles. If you train too frequently, you’ll shortchange the recuperation process therefore not achieving proper muscular development. Allow 48 hours rest between sessions.

8. Watch your calories. You can exercise all you want, but if you have a layer of fat on the muscles you’ll never see the fruits of your labor. Eat sensibly which can be done following the eDiets program.

The following exercises are ideal for both beginners and veterans. Simply adapt the workout to your needs. Perform each exercise the appropriate number of reps for desired effect without rests. After the lunge, sissy squat and lying adductor raise exercises are complete, rest 30 seconds. Repeat the supersets two more times with a 30-second rest between.

More Leg Workout

Lunge -- Begin by grasping two dumbbells and allow them to hang down by your sides. Take a long stride forward with your right leg and raise your left heel so your left foot is on its toes. Keeping your shoulders back and chin up, slowly lower your body by flexing your right knee and hip, continuing your descent until your left knee is almost in contact with the floor. Reverse direction by forcibly extending the right hip and knee until you return to the start position. After performing the desired number of reps, repeat the process on your left leg.

Sissy Squat -- Begin by taking a shoulder-width stance. Grasp an incline bench with one hand and rise onto your toes. In one motion, slowly slant your torso back, bend your knees and lower your body downward. Thrust your knees forward as you descend and lean back until your torso is almost parallel with the floor. Then, reverse direction and rise upward until you reach the starting position.

Lying Adductor Raise -- Begin by lying down on your right side. Bring your left leg over your right leg, keeping it bent at a 90-degree angle with your left foot planted firmly on the floor. Keeping your right leg straight, slowly raise it as high as possible. Contract your inner thigh and return to the start position. After finishing the desired number of repetitions, turn over and repeat the process on your left. For added intensity, strap on ankle weights.

SEATED SINGLE LEG LIFT Begin by attaching a leg weight to your right ankle. Sit on the floor, leaning back slightly and supporting your weight with your hands. Bend your left knee and keep the left foot planted on the floor. Straighten your right leg and let it hang down a few inches from the ground. Slowly raise your right leg upward as far as comfortably possible. Contract your right quad and then reverse direction, returning to the start position. After performing the desired number of reps, repeat the process on your left.

Legs Bums and Tums

No butts about it
Tighten your behind with squats and flutter kicks. For squats, stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and slowly bend the knees as you lower your buttocks. Be sure to keep your knees over your toes. Do three sets of 12. To increase difficulty, hold weights or soup cans in both hands. For flutter kicks, lie on your stomach with elbows bent and hands on the floor close to your shoulders. Squeeze your buttocks together and kick your legs as if you were swimming. Try 50 repetitions and increase as you gain strength.

Get more exercises for your bottom line here.

Get a leg up on it
Lunges are one of the best ways to tone up the thighs. Start by standing with your feet together, then step forward with one leg, lowering your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Go back to the starting position and repeat with the opposite leg. Keep going until you get tired. Again, you can increase the difficulty by holding weights. Find a stair or sturdy box for calf raises. Stand with the balls of your feet on the edge of the step. Go on your tiptoes and hold, then lower your feet so the heels drop below the step. The slower you go, the harder the exercise becomes. Try three sets of 12 reps.

Find more leg work here.

Strong-arm
Overhead presses will tone up your shoulders and triceps (back of your arm). Hold a weight in each hand at shoulder level. Raise them over your head then lower again. Do three sets of 12, making sure the weight is heavy enough so your muscles are exhausted on the last rep.

“Pushups are also great for upper body toning,” says Kathy Groenke, a personal trainer in San Antonio, Texas. “They work on the chest, back, shoulders and arms. Start with as many as you can do, even if it’s only one or two, and work your way up to three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps, three times per week.”

If you’re thinking about joining a gym, Groenke’s Web site features tips on how to select one.

Ab-solutely fabulous
Crunches are the most effective way to tighten up the mid-section. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent. Place hands behind your head and, using your abdominals, raise the upper body so it’s at a 45-degree angle. Hold for a few seconds, then return to the starting position. Perform three sets of 20 crunches. To increase difficulty, cross your arms over your chest.

Get more ab toners here.

Food for thought
You can tone what you have but if you want to be thinner, you will have to modify your eating habits. Julia Derek, a personal trainer based in Los Angeles, recommends eating six small meals a day, each no larger than your fist, rather than two or three large ones. This will speed up your metabolism, allowing your body to burn off calories more efficiently.

People eat too much and eat meals that are too big. Small meals throughout the day is really important. You want to keep a constant flow of fuel for your body. More is advice at http://www.Aadrenalin.com.

Sweat it out
No matter how many crunches, lunges or squats you do, no one will ever see your buff muscles if they’re hidden under a layer of fat. That’s why Jacqueline Roman, a supervisor at the Center for Health and Fitness in Vineland, N.J., recommends rounding out your routine with cardio work. Join an aerobics class, get on a treadmill or head outside for a brisk walk uphill. Even as little as 20 minutes of cardio a day will help, although Roman recommends at least 30 to 45 minutes.

Cardiovascular exercises will help reduce body fat and strength training will help with toning up. It is important to incorporate both types of exercises in order to get the best results quickly.

This is some of my collection of exercises which have worked for me. Masha Allah. I start my work out in the morning. This is a good time for me ,as my baby is sleeping, this gives me an hour to get things down. My boys are up, but it's no problem, sometimes the join in. Also if I'm not up to doing this I hurdle over my kids lol. I let them sit on their cars and jump over them. Masha Allah it's no problem for me to do that and my kids love it. Or I just jog around the house. The important thing for me is to get the job done and to make sure I'm enjoying it at the same time. The toning is no problem but sometimes when I think about the cardiovascular workout and I don't feel like it but I choose things I like. Sometimes aerobic steps is very good, skipping, jogging, hurdling and walking. But it's worth it Masha Allah I've been doing it for 5months now and I've lost 20kg Alhamdulillah. I ask Allah to make me continue ameen.

I also find the Shape Up Challenge on IVillage very good. Please check out my Health and Fitness Links.