5 Easy Exercises for Toning

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5 Easy Exercises for Toning

Please consult your physician before trying any of these exercises.

Here are five easy exercises for toning up your body that you can perform anywhere wherever you have time. Be it your home, your office, or even if on a vacation, you can do these easy yet extremely effective exercises.

1. Squats: Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps. You can use a chair if you are not sure of proper form. Stand with feet firmly planted and shoulder width apart. Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair. Keep the upper part of the body straight and your abs tight. Once you reach chair level, stop and hold the position count from one to four and than release yourself slowly. For maximum balance and toning, place all of your weight on your heels.

2. Pushups: This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of your chest muscles as well as your arms. If you are not strong enough or are not comfortable to perform a pushup on your toes, lower your body to your knees. Be sure your arms are inserted into the body and your back is straight as you lower and lift your body.

3. The Bridge Butt Lift: This is one of the easiest exercises to tone up your buttocks. Lay down with feet flat on the floor, legs shoulder width apart. Place your hands, palm side down, on either side of your body. Pushing with your feet, squeeze your gluteus muscles and lift your butt off the floor. Hold the position for a count of one to five and slowly release down to the floor.

4. Crunches: This is an effective exercise for building up the abdominal muscles and adds strength to them. Lying on the floor in sit up position, lace your fingers behind your head. Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body until your lower back is about to come off the floor. Hold for one to three counts and return to beginning position.

5. Reverse Lunges: Lunges are good for the quadriceps muscles. People with knee problems can find it hard to perform them. A reverse lunge still tones the right muscle groups but with less pressure on the knee. Stand with feet together and arms at your sides. Take one leg and move it backwards until you are in lunge position: front leg bent at a 90 degree angle and back leg extended until you are on the ball of your foot. From this position lower yourself down until the back knee almost touches the floor. Hold for a count of two and return to starting position.

Thus it can be concluded that one can perform these five exercises at any time out of the busy schedule by devoting only five to ten minutes everyday with beneficial results.