Your Weight! Your Health! Your Skin!

In order to lose weight you need to do some form of exercise, and as you know it can sometimes be boring and tedious. Perhaps that is the reason why you have come across this article. You may have, like many people, previously exercised in one way or another and due to reasons beyond your control, have fallen off track. Perhaps you had a gym membership but stopped going after a couple of weeks. Or the weather has been a little too horrible to go for your regular walks.

Have you ever thought about Pilates and how it can significantly change your health and weight for the better?

What makes Pilates different from regular exercises? Well for starters Pilates is not as boring and repetitive as some other exercise options. Or as daunting as going to a commercial gym. All that ‘excessive’ testosterone. No wonder my somewhat overweight friend suddenly dropped out of our weekly exercise sessions at our local weights club. However, a couple of months later I saw her looking noticeably slimmer. Of course I had to ask her to let me in on her secret.

It was at that time that she began to open my eyes to the benefits of Pilates. Would you believe that Pilates is practised by people like Madonna? Madonna credits her gorgeous body solely to her Pilates training. Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates and focuses on balanced development through core training, flexibility training, movement and poses. It also has a cardio element.

Now how is that for something a bit different? Also your Pilates training continues outside of normal training and into your daily life as you constantly practice breathing and balance. Additionally unlike exercising you do not need to invest in expensive equipment nor an overpriced gym membership. In fact all you will need to commence your Pilates lesson is a Pilates mat. That’s it! If you don’t feel like going to the nearest Pilates class near you then try what I did and look around for a beginners DVD and try it in the privacy of your home. I purchased Pilates ‘Boot Camp Workout’ by Ann Crowther on-line and thought it was okay as a starting point for beginners.

Starting Pilates will most certainly lead to weight loss as it has that cardio element built into their sessions. These cardio movements will get your heart rate up and allow you to burn those extra calories. Weight loss won’t be the only benefit. You will also get more toned and defined muscles and improved posture through the core training. One word of advice to all who intend to start their Pilates lessons – don’t expect to see the pounds melt away instantly. Be prepared to give it time and the results will come.

A few years ago I woke up after a shocking night’s sleep and hazily thought “How did I let myself get in such a bad condition with all these ‘niggling’ health issues”?  Over the next week or so I thought about the best way to start getting back into some kind of shape.

My waist was around 41.5” which on my light bone structure wasn’t healthy. I knew I needed some form of exercise but I also needed it to be at a basic level. Being a tried and true ‘frugalist’ I didn’t want to pay for a trainer. It had to be something low impact, enjoyable and eventually have a progression element to it.  Where to start?  Something basic!

By chance not far from where we lived were some designated bush tracks so I decided to start tackling these. Under the guise of taking my old dog for a walk I got started. I thought the dog would give me an excuse for the lack of pace on my part.  Funny how much we worry about what other people think.

The first few walks were around 20 minutes and some areas of the bush tracks were quite steep so at times I was breathing quite hard. Not good. I had absolutely no cardio fitness. But I stuck with it and after a couple of months things were getting easier and I was setting a nice pace.

Eventually I left the dog at home and took him for separate walks from my ‘fitness walks’ and was able to build up to 45 minutes using some of the steepest tracks.  Now 2 years later I can run those same tracks.

So for those of you that are so out of shape, where a walk from the couch to the refrigerator leaves you out of breath, I highly recommend starting a walking program.  No matter what your age or how out of shape you think you are, walking can be beneficial for you.  It doesn’t have to be far to start with as long as you do it.  Try for 15 minutes 2-3 times a week at your own pace.  Or even 10 minutes.  Eventually each time try to go a little further or a little faster or start to time it and try to knock off a few seconds.

The Japanese have a saying or word kaizen, the technique of achieving absolutely incredible improvements through very small, regular and steady increments. So make the steps so small that you can’t possibly fail.

Further down the track set yourself a goal and within 6 months aim for everyday for 30 minutes and upwards at a pace that gets you breathing harder.

Remember the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Multiplanar exercises are the kind of exercises that we should all be gearing up to do, because they maximum your body movements. This in turn will ensure that more muscle groups are used, which means that you burn more calories, because your body moves from side to side, forward and back and also engages in rotation movements.

A great illustration of this is leg exercises for people who are interested in toning their legs as well as their butt.

Most people would do the typical leg press machine which only focuses on movements that are backwards and forward, but a squat would yield far better results in a short space of time.

Here’s how you would get more out of your leg workout:

1. Perform the Basic Squat – Your feet should be shoulder width apart for this to be effective. Sit back as if you were going to sit on a bench and then use your legs and butt to come back up to a standing position.  This illustrates the forward and backward position.
2. Perform the Side Squat – Perform the same squatting movement as illustrated above but now step out to the side, alternating left and right, with each squat.
3. Sumo Walk Squat – Go down into a squat position and walk forward and back like a sumo wrestler would.

From the illustration above, more muscles are used when you are doing the squat instead of the normal leg press exercises, and your leg will be toned faster. The results not only will they be faster, thy will also be more impressive.

To get more out of your workouts regardless of what body part you are using, you need to think of ways to maximize the effect of the exercises so that you are able to burn more calories, and more weight.

Lower body workout for women are for the sole purpose of having a nicely toned lower body, with nice slim thighs and a sexy butt.

Women who are interested in toning their lower bodies need to use toning lower body exercises to get the results that they want.

A great workout would be one that incorporates lower body toning at least 3 times a week. This is to ensure that the muscles get the rest that they need to build the lean muscles.

The exercises that one should incorporate into their workouts should include calves, glutes, hamstrings as well as the quadriceps. exercise routines should include the following exercises:

• squats
• calf raises
• dead-lifts
• lunges
• hamstring curls
• step-ups

To get the best of these exercises, one needs to do at least 3 sets of 8 reps each. It is also advisable to take a minutes rest to 3 minutes after each exercise session. As for the weights, it is important not to overexert the muscles. Start with a comfortable weight and build up as you get more fit and toned.

These exercises are great for a lower body workout for women and they do yield results.

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I love walking, and it is one of the main reasons why I managed to lose 15 pounds. I like it because somehow unlike the other exercises, it just does not feel like I am ‘working’ out.

The spotlight today is on walking uphill, whether it is on a trail, treadmill or a kind of incline. It has massive benefits, some of which include burning a lot of fat, it helps tone and sculpt your legs and improves your overall endurance.

If you love walking like me, here are three reasons why you should include uphill walking instead of the normal brisk walking:

#1 – Uphill walking burns more calories off your body

Weight loss and having a slim body is all about burning calories right? When you push your body and challenge to do more physically demanding activities, you burn more calories.

Uphill walking will get your heart rate to the fat burning zone and the fat on your body will have no choice but to me melting off. If you do not like running or have issues with your joints or have some sort of injury, walking uphill is the way to go.

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#2 – Uphill walking helps to strengthen your legs and firms up your butt

A lot of women are interested in having a firmer legs, thighs and butt. And guys also want their legs looking strong, with nicely defined calves as well strong hamstrings.

All these one can get from walking uphill for adequate amount of time. We all want to look good, with a nice sexy butt and nicely toned legs, and you can have that if you include uphill walking in your workouts.

Your glutes will benefit a lot because as a result of them being stronger, you will be stronger and you you will able to challenge your body more than ever before. This will allow you to be a better and faster runner if that is your desire.

Don’t forget, stronger legs and a firmer butt will make you awesome in whatever you wear!

#3 – Uphill walking builds your endurance

If you are like me and you do not like running, walking on an uphill can give you the same benefits that you can get from running.

When you are pushing yourself and your body as you walk that incline, your heart rate will increase, which will result in your heart pumping oxygen and nutrients more faster. In time, your heart will become more efficient and your endurance will improve.

I hope that now you know why you cannot afford to not use incline walking to enhance your workouts.

If you have been exercising for a while and are not seeing the results that you want, start walking on an incline and watch how your body will respond to it.

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