Tone Your Body For Summer
 It's
that time of the year when the deciduous trees have come to
life, flowers are blooming, insects are buzzing and the birds
become very vocal too, twittering hither and thither in excitement.
Now is the ideal time to 'tone up' in order to not only look
good, but feel good during the indulgent festive season and
summer months in Australia and New Zealand.
So, without any further ado, here's some ideas that may help
you tone up for the warmer weather:
Summer Excercise For Her
As women, one of our most problematic areas are the thighs
and we will attempt to offer up some fairly straightforward,
but results-based ideas in order to tone those areas in time
for summer.
The upper thighs (inside and out) are often hard to target
with specific equipment, and sometimes you'll need rudimentary
weights, such as ankle weights to more effectively target
specific muscles.
The quadriceps, hamstrings and butt cheeks (gluteus maximus
or 'glutes') are the best areas to work to reduce flabby thighs.
Doing squats with an extra weight (big bottles of water, tins
of tomatoes) is a good start, and if you have ankle weights,
lying sideways on the ground and raising one in repetition
and holding it briefly before relenting will also yield results.
If you attend gym regularly or perhaps have extensive equipment
at home, the leg extension machine (where you sit and push
out with you legs) will also help trim and tone thighs.
As is always the case, you'll see best results if you combine
the abovementioned activities with a balanced and healthy
diet, and cardiovascular exercise or aerobic exertion twice
or three times a week for 20-40 minutes will help the toning
process considerably (it'll burn off those calories quick-smart).
This can include walking, jogging, running, cycling or anything
that'll work your legs and get you sweating.
Ideally, you'll want to find a cardiovascular activity that
you enjoy, as it's much less of a laborious when you're having
fun. Some people like walking on the treadmill while watching
the nightly news on the TV, or listening to classical music
on the stereo.
If you can find an enjoyable way to exercise, you'll have
it made. It's not always easy, and sometimes you just want
to relax, but if you can manage at least 30 minutes of exercise
every other day, you'll begin to see results.
Summer Excercise For Him
 One
of the more common afflictions for Australian males is the
spare tyre. That is, a considerable build up of fat around
the stomach or lower torso.
One of the biggest misconceptions about the spare tyre is
that sit-ups or stomach crunches will help tone up this problem
area. Wrong. Such repetitive movements actually don't
really reduce the excess fat about your waistline, but work
the underlying muscles.
Instead, try an aerobic workout - and this doesn't necessarily
mean bopping about in a leotard while listening to Kylie (though
it can if you like).
Listed here are some examples, and if you can adhere to one
of these for at least three times a week for 30 minutes each
time, you'll be right. It's all about routine, and once you
find an achievable regime you can easily stick to, you'll
tone your tyre in no time.
Anything that involves working the bigger muscles in your
legs and body repetitively and for extended periods of time
are considered aerobic (in addition with heavy breathing),
and these are just a few examples to get you started.
- Walking
- Jogging
- Running
- Cycling
- Swimming
- Aerobics
In addition to regular exercise, a healthy diet is essential
to toning your physique: simply reduce your caloric and fat
intake by eating healthy foods (fresh fruit and veg are a
good start) and read the labels on foods you buy at the supermarket
and compare brands to see which offers a lower intake.
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