Toning Your Body

If you are like most people, you want that perfectly toned body that we all see in magazines. First of all, you need to realize that most of those people that you see in magazines and in the movies spend numerous hours per day to get that perfect body. This is not to say you cannot get a good body yourself, just don’t set your expectations too high or your goals to quickly. The reason that most weight loss and exercise programs fail is because people set their goals too high and expect unrealistic results. This leads to frustration and that causes the person to give up.

There are always two elements to a good fitness plan, diet and exercise. I don’t care how many commercials you see for different apparatuses to get in shape and how easy they say it is; no program will work without a proper diet. The diet does not need to be some complicated matrix of points and carbs, just plain low fat and high protein. No fat in, no fat on your body, and protein will help muscles use the fat on your body for energy. Very simple, just eat right; there are many diet plans like this available to you on the internet.

There are no more important exercises than body toning exercises for overall body conditioning. Please do not confuse “body toning” with “body building” these are two completely different programs. A program for body toning will combine nutrition together with fitness to sculpt a good, toned body. With a program like this, you will be able to firm up the trouble areas and give your body a nice toned look. Toning can be done without weights. Body building on the other hand is meant to increase your body mass and you need weights for this.

By following a good fitness and diet program you will be able to address several elements. These are cellulite removal, fat reduction, inch loss, muscle shaping, overall decrease in body fat, and an overall change in body composition. All of these things will be addressed in a good program of body toning.

The overall object of body toning is that all people are capable of doing the same exercises to tone and redefine the body. This may hold true to some extent. In the case that someone needs to lose excess weight to tone up, there will be different nutritional requirements. The principals will always remain the same, and the diet will be the varying factor from person to person.

Once you decide on the right nutritional program for you and begin with eating properly to enhance your exercise results, then you can begin with the exercise program.

LEG TONING

There are many exercises to tone the leg and thigh area; however, these two are the most productive.

The reverse lunge is very good. With your hands holding the back of a chair, you will step back with one foot and lower with the knee pointing to the ground. Pull the leg back to standing and repeat with the other leg. Start with a low number of reps in a low number of times for each.

The lunge is good for hamstrings buttocks and hips. Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Step forward about 18” with one foot and lower the back leg with knee pointing at the ground as you lean forward ( do not touch the knee to the ground) then come back to standing position. Alternate from leg to leg about 12 times on each side.

AB TONING

There are tons of exercises for this; however we are going to concentrate on just one.

The reverse crunch works well and puts less strain on your back. Lie flat on the floor with your back on the ground. Extend your hands to your side, Cross your feet at the ankles and lift your knees to a 90 degree angle. Press your lower back to the floor and contract your abs so that your hips rotate and your legs reach toward the ceiling.

ARM TONING

Just as the other parts of the body, there are plenty of exercises you can do. The standard push up will do the best. Lie on your stomach with your hands placed palms down, even with shoulders. Rise to your toes and push your upper body up with your arms than down slowly, begin to go up again before touching the ground. Start with low numbers of these and work up.

By combining these exercises with the proper diet and a little determination, you will begin to see results within the first ten days by doing exercises 5 times per week.