Easy Excercise Program

I love doing pilates! It makes me feel stronger and leaner. We have Netflix and there are so many different exercise dvds that you will have many different ones to chose from.

Walk some more. Do more stairs. Park farther away in parking lots so you walk a little bit more every day. If you can go to the high school off hours and run up and down the bleachers, your legs will look and feel great.

I know it doesn't sound fun, but it is wha tis easiest for me. I have two 10 ound weights under my chair where I watch TV in the evenings. I pull them out and do curls, etc. My husnand and some online videos taught me how to do some arm workouts. I rely on walking/cardio to tone my legs, but probably shoudl do more. I started at 2 sets of 8 reps for each exercise and am now doing 3-4 sets fo 12 reps. About 4 nights per week. I will probably increase the wieight soon to 15-20 pounds. It is probably a pretty light workout, but he way I look at it it is working for me and making me stronger. I go to the gym, but I hate giving up cardio time to do weights. But at the gym, I do get to do more like 25 pounds for arms.

I do about 100 crunches with bicycle legs (alternating opposite elbow to knee) about 4 nights per week. Hate them, but I think sometimes simple is best. No funny equipment. At the gym I use the great big exercise balls and sit on it, then lay down and roll it to the small of my back keeping my fet on the ground. I do about 20 crunches on that. Hate it more, so it must be good for me.

Do you have Netflix? It's totally worth the money if you don't. There are several workout videos on there that you can stream and you can switch things up when you get bored. There's a 10 minute yoga solutions workout on there that has a 10 minute program for your abs, your legs, for fat burn, for flexibility. My life sounds just about like yours (full time career, full time mom) but it's so important to take some time for yourself and exercise. This program can either be done in ten minute intervals or you can do the whole thing which is a 50 minute work out.

However, I have to warn you, I've been doing yoga for 8 years and I was surprised how quickly this woman got into and out of some of the poses. If you have never done yoga or pilates, take it slow and listen to your body. If something hurts, stop, but know the difference between pain and challenge. Yoga and pilates are great for toning, shaping and calorie burning and all you have to have is some time and a mat.

Good luck!
Hilary

The shortest toning that I have ever come across (time wise) that really gives a broad range of muscle workout is a video that you can find on youtube called 8 minute Abs. It works out lower back, stomach muscles, bottom, and some inner thigh. The repetitions are manageable, and the whole thing only takes 8 minutes. It definitely isn't a full body work out, but if you are already walking and doing cardio it might compliment your existing routine!

I work out using my Wii. My favorite workouts are My Fitness Coach and EA Sports Active. The Wii Fit also provides a good workout. We also purchased the Wii Fit Plus for a little more variety. With almost all the workouts you can customize them to you are targeting your trouble spots. Since I have bad knees and can remove the squats and exercises that require me to put pressure on my knees.

Check out the DVDs at places like Goodwill. I like having a variety of of DVDs or I get bored really fast. I also have a Thigh Master, they are available at Suzanne Sommers website. Make sure you get the original, my daughter got me one but it's not the orginal and it's not as good. Anyway you can use them to tone legs, arms, back and it only takes a few minutes a day. I also have a Total Gym and love it but it takes up a lot of room, more room than a couch, so unless you have a separate room to put it in it's not a good idea. If you can convert a basement room to an exercise room the Total Gym is a great way to tone up and get a cardio at the same time.

I like the Jillian Michaels DVDs. I have the no more trouble zones and the 30 day shred. The first is more toning; the second is a mix of cardio and toning. Both are short (20 or 30 minutes at once), but intense enough to get results. They are also adjustable, so you can use lighter weights (or none at all), or modify the movements to go down or up a notch to fit your skills.

They are usually $9 at Walmart or Target.

get the windsor pilates videos--they do work

Easy or straight forward and short? If you want easy, meaning, don't want it to hurt much, try yoga or pilates DVD. I have a Denise Austine Pilates for Every Body, its not bad. But if you mean you want to get it done fast try Jillian Micheals 20 min. work out called 30 Day Shred. However, its not "easy".

I think the best and easiest way to get an overall tone and do some stress reduction is to do yoga and/or pilates. It kills two birds with one stone. You can relax and unwind while toning up. You can move on to other things later but start with that. You can even get easy classes through your cable TV if you have ON Demand or something to that effect or pick up a yoga mat and a DVD at the store. Trust me, you'll feel so much better.