Toning your body

Body toning exercises concentrate on specific areas of the body. For example, sit-ups are done to tone the abdominal muscles. Other examples include jumping jacks, any floor exercises or gymnastics and leg lifts.

Leg Raise:

Step 1: Lie flat on your back, with your hands under your lower back.

Step 2: Raise your legs a few inches above the floor, slowly. By lifting slowly, you do not gain momentum from the upward swinging. Slower the legs are raised, the more work your muscles do, thereby giving you a better work-out. When raising your feet, raise them to a point so that they form an angle of 30 – 45 degrees. Beginners may need to raise their feet to form an angle of about 15- 20 degrees.

Step 3: Lower your feet to the floor, without your heels touching the floor.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1 to 3.

It is recommended to repeat the steps 20–30 times. As you gain endurance and strength, increase the repetitions by increments of 5 to 10.

Crunches:

According to a recent study four of the top-selling abdominal machines show “no significant differences in muscle activity for the basic crunch, oblique crunch and reverse curl with the devices when compared to the same exercises performed without them”.

Basic (Front) Crunch:

Step 1: Lie on your back (belly-side up) with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Place your fingertips behind your ears, or cross your arms across your chest.

Step 2: Contract your abdominal muscles and tilt your pelvis up toward your knees.

Step 3: Raise your shoulders off the floor so that your head and the ground form an angle of 30-45 degrees.

Note: Do not bend your back out of the normal posture (flat and slightly curved inward,) as it may cause back injury.

Step 4: Lower your shoulders back to resting position.