Arms
Flabby, saggy arms are not a great look, one among in the list of ‘body hates’,
Firstly, although you can tone your arms without using fitness equipment a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells can be really useful and fun to train with. If you have this equipment you can then tone your arms doing a wide range of exercises, including: shoulder presses, tricep pushbacks and the standing shoulder fly. If you don’t have fitness equipment you can tone your arms by doing dips, press-ups and kneeling plank-ups. You should aim to do between eight and 15 reps of each exercise and do between three and four types of these toning exercises when you train, which should only take a few minutes out of your day!
Top Tip: Aim to do these exercises three to four times a week for the best results.
Legs
No little black dress look would be complete without a pair of perfect pins. If you want to shape your legs to perfection there are a number of quick exercises you can do.
One of the best ways to tone your legs and get in a dose of cardio at the same time is to skip. Just a few minutes of skipping a day will help you boost your fitness levels, whilst also shaping up your legs. Skipping can be hard work so pop on your favourite, upbeat song whilst you workout and try to skip to the end of the song without stopping – this is a great way to wake up.
As well as skipping you can do a whole range of different squat moves. The jumping squat is particularly good. To do a jump squat you simply squat as normal and then when you rise up, you lift your leg out to the side until it is about level with your hip and kick out, keeping your leg straight. Then return to the squat position and repeat. Other exercises that will only take you a few minutes to do are lunges, leg raises and deadlifts.
Stomach
A flat stomach is on most of our wish lists, but sadly no amount of wishing will bring us our dream tummy. However, just doing a few minutes of stomach-focused exercises regularly can deliver big results and you and your stomach might finally be on better terms with one another after doing these short, focused workouts.
One of the best pieces of kit you can use when you are trying to get a flat stomach is a stability ball. There are a ton of excellent exercises you can do with a stability ball that will ensure you get a gorgeous stomach. You can do a ball curl-up for example. To do this lay on your stability ball with your bottom off the edge. Then contract the abdominals, but not the bottom, and raise and flex the head, neck, shoulders and upper torso as far as you can without moving the ball underneath you. Pause, then lower and repeat. Do eight to 12 repetitions.
Other stability ball exercises you can do to get a little black-dress-ready stomach are plank shoulder taps, stability ball V-pass and the ball jog (the ball jog is a lot of fun). If you don’t have a stability ball there are other exercises that will work and tone your stomach such as the plank, walking out from a push-up and the oblique V-up.
Top Tip: If you don’t have time for a workout, watch a funny video on Youtube – laughter is great for your abs.
Weight loss
Losing weight can seem like a never-ending battle that is always won by your grumbling stomach, but with a few slight tweaks and some small changes you could shed pounds quickly and without feeling hungry.
One great trick is to make sure you keep your insulin levels low because insulin can make you store fat around your stomach area. To keep your insulin levels low you need to keep your blood sugar low and you can do this by eating small amounts regularly. Eating three main meals and two protein-based snacks a day will ensure you feel full and will help you to maintain these all-important levels.
Other great ways to lose weight without going on a drastic diet is to swap calorific foods for lighter options. For example, if you love burgers try making bean burgers instead. Or if you like mash potato use sweet potato for your mash. Little changes like this will help you lose weight and will transform your body until you are ready for the LBB.
Top Tip: Try to cut down on your portion sizes slightly. You might be surprised at how much this simple tweak can help you lose.
Butt
Some want a big butt, some want a small butt, but whatever sized butt you crave you’ll all want it to be pert and toned. To begin toning your behind, get on the floor and do a lying leg raise. To do this, lay on your side, with hips stacked one on top of the other, and your head supported on your outstretched right arm. Then lift your leg up, toes pointing forwards, without allowing the pelvis to roll open. Pause then lower and repeat. If this isn’t hard enough for you just add a resistance band to your workout by tying the band to both your ankles and repeating the exercise as before.
Other great ways to work out your butt include: toe taps, Sun Salutation yoga pose, squats and also lunges.
Top Tip: Not got time for your workout today? Squeeze your glutes (the muscles in your butt) throughout the day, holding for five seconds before releasing.
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