Five Easy Toning Exercises for Your Body

Exercise is an important part of our lives.  Staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectancy.  Weight bearing exercises are important also for increasing muscle mass and bone density as you age.

Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising.  The problem is where and when to get the job done.  With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.

Weight bearing exercises aren’t just for bodybuilders.  As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty, you begin to lose muscle mass.  For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem.  When the body is in need of calcium it can rob it from your bones.  Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.

Here are five easy toning exercises that can be done anywhere and whenever you have time.  At home, at the office, or on vacation, you can do these easy yet extremely effective exercises.

1. The Bridge Butt Lift – Sounds like a plastic surgery technique but it is an easy way to tone 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 gluteal muscles and lift your butt off the floor.  Hold the position for a count of five to ten and release down to the floor.

2. Squats – Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps.  If you aren’t sure of proper form, you can use a chair.  Stand with feet shoulder width apart and feet firmly planted.  Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair.  Keep your abs tight and your upper body straight.  Once you reach chair level stop and hold the position for a count of two to five and release.  At the lowest point, place all of your weight on your heels for balance and maximum toning.

By embhoo (embhoo) [<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0">CC-BY-2.0</a>], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASquat_woman.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a>

3. Reverse Lunges – Lunges work the quadriceps muscles.  They can be hard for people with knee problems.  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.

By Everkinetic (http://everkinetic.com/) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

4. Pushups – This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of the arms plus the chest muscles.  If you aren’t comfortable or strong enough to perform a pushup on your toes, lower your body to your knees.  Be sure your arms are tucked into the body and your back straight as you lower and lift your body.

By Deutsch: Fotograf: Frank C. MüllerEnglish: Photographer: Frank C. Müller (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

5. Crunches – Abdominal muscles can be worked every day to build strength and muscle tone.  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 two to five counts and return to starting position.

Photo credit: George Stepanek, CC-BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

These five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time.  The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative.  Even five or ten minutes at a time will work to your advantage. ^_^

Eating Right to Improve your Personal Life

How to live a healthier life

The main thing to a healthier you is to eat right, exercise, and visit your family doctor regularly. This is all part of a healthier you and if you're healthier, you will feel better about your self. One of the biggest problems we have today is that most people do not eat right. While the world is wising up, they still fall short of proper eating habits, since we are rushed by a fast-paced world.

What do I have to do to eat right?

Eating right is a hard thing to do for some of us and for others it is easier to do. Eating healthy is a big problem these days. For some of us it is hard to buy healthier food due to the fact it cost more to fix meals the right way. There are a lot of people that are just making it in the real word without having to buy a loaf of bread that costs $2.50 a loaf when they can get a loaf for $.50 so what do they do get the $.50 loaf and knowing that its bad for them but that’s all they can afford. So eating right can be hard for you too. We have options. You can grow your own home garden; bake your own bread for a fraction of the cost and so on.

What are some of the things I can eat?

Some of the things you can eat right are vegetables, dairy products, high-protein dishes and so on. You need a certain amount of fat, carbs, etc, which helps to keep you healthy. 

You can get a list from your family doctor or you can go to the library to get information on the basic food groups. If you cannot afford to eat right then maybe you should not eat as much. In addition, do some excising; exercising is always good for you. Exercise will increase your health, even if you cannot afford the basic groups of nutritious foods. In addition, you have many services available to you, which can offer you food supplies. 

How do I learn how to eat right?

If you want to learn how eat right you can read about it in books from the local library or maybe you will want to talk to your doctor. Your doctor might be able to tell you how to go about doing this and the right way for your body. You cannot just jump in and change everything about you overnight. You have to take time to start and to learn. For some of us that have been eating wrongly all of our life, this would be hard to do overnight. Then again, others may not have any problems with it.

Will I feel better if I eat right?

You will feel a lot better if you eat right. Eating right has a lot to do with how we feel. If we lack nutrients, it can make one feel depressed, ill, etc. Since, we get vitamins from our foods, you may want to include natural regimens of vitamins in your daily schedule too.

We need the right vitamins every day to make us feel good about ourself. We get many vitamins from what we eat. Vitamins are what make us feel like a glowing person. So if you eat right and get the right vitamins daily that your body needs to function, you will feel a lot better about yourself and that will help you to improve your personal life.