Wellness  

5 Effective Exercises To Tone Your Body

By Olamide Sanusi

08 September 2019   |   1:30 pm

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Keeping fit is a lifetime goal that requires adequate information on how best to go about it, strict routine and dedication of your time. Exercise is one of the essential ways you need to stay healthy. Toning exercises are physical exercises used to develop physique with a large emphasis on musculature-“the arrangement of muscles in…

Man lifting weights, Photo. Men’s Journal

Keeping fit is a lifetime goal that requires adequate information on how best to go about it, strict routine and dedication of your time. Exercise is one of the essential ways you need to stay healthy.

Toning exercises are physical exercises used to develop physique with a large emphasis on musculature-“the arrangement of muscles in your body” and it requires two steps: strengthening and developing your muscles, as well as losing fat, so they are more defined and visible.

A recent study in the Public Library of Science (PLOS) states that participants who undergo a total of 30 minutes of high-intensity interval exercise each week improved their fitness and muscle functions than participants that undergoes 150 minutes of steady, moderate-intensity exercise each week.

Here are some exercises that can tone your body:

Squats: Squat is a great exercise for lower body workout and core strength as well as the flexibility of lower back and hips. It also helps your body function in ways that help it perform well in real-life activities. Contrary to the belief of many, squats are not just for weight lifters and bodybuilders; they are for anyone who wants to tone their body. When you bend to tie your shoelace and pick up things, you squat. Squatting is a natural form of exercise and the difference between the two is you deliberately maintain a right posture.

Benefits:
– It helps build your muscle.
– It burns calories
– It strengthens your lungs and heart
– It helps mobilize balance
– It improves posture
– It maintains and improves joint.

Instruction:
– Start by standing straight, with your feet shoulder-width apart while you keep your feet parallel to each other.
– Place your hands- on your thighs, look up and lift your chest.
– Bend your knees, let your weight rest on your heels and slightly sit back.
– Slide your hands down your thighs, so your elbows reach your knees. Make sure your knees don’t go beyond your toes, while your head and chest remain upright
– Hold your position for 3-5 seconds.
– Rise upward, press through your heels and straighten out your hips until you reach the sitting position.
Repeat this procedure 10 to 20 times and do this twice a week for a start.

Push-ups: Push-ups are beneficial for building upper body strength and they work the triceps. The triceps, also called brachii (Latin for “three-headed muscle of the arm”), is a large muscle on the back of the upper limb of many vertebrates. It is the muscle principally responsible for the extension of the elbow joint (straightening of the arm), pectoral muscles and shoulders. They can also strengthen the lower back and core by engaging and pulling in the abdominal muscle.

Instructions
– Start by kneeling on a mat or the floor and put your feet together at your back.
– Position your body with your arms straight out, shoulder-width apart, abs tight and hold your body in a plank position
– Lower your body until your chest is inches above the floor, elbows pulled back
– Push trunk away from the ground until your arms locks and repeat, start with 10 push-ups.

Plank: Plank exercise fires your core; which includes your hips, shoulders, chest and hands. It also builds strength into your upper and lower body.

Forearms plank:

– Shoulders directly over your elbow
– Put your hands in a nice extensive position
– Bend your elbows and rest your weight on your forearms, not your hands
– Your body should form a straight line
– Tug your toes down and fit your knees off the mat, do it for about a minute

Side plank: lie down on your side and rest your forearm flat on the floor.
– Shoulders tug directly under your elbow and both legs extended out in a long line.
– Feet should be staggered or stacked for more stability
– Engage your core; lift your hips off the floor by forming a straight line from your head to your feet.
– Hold for 15 to 30 seconds.

Lunges: Lunges promote functional movement and also increasing strength in your legs, hips and glutes. It helps develop your lower back strength and endurance, unlike squats and also effective in evening out muscles imbalance.

– Make sure you stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and engage your core.
– Take a step forward with your right legs
– Shift your weight so your heels touch the floor first
– Lower your bodies to make your right thigh parallel to the floor and make sure your knees don’t move past your right leg
– Press into your right heels to move back to normal position and repeat on the other side.

Burpees: It improves your cardiovascular functions, blood sugar regulation and aerobic fitness.
According to Beka Badila, a trainer in Los Angeles, burpee is everyone’s most hated exercise, but it is so good. She explained that there are the great full-body exercise that not only strengthens but also raises heart rate and burns more calories than lower intensity exercises that work the same muscles.
– Hold your arms at your sides and stand with your knees straight
– Tighten your abs, keep your back flat and squeeze your butt
– Bend at your hips and knees to lower yourself into a squatting position
– Place your hands at your front
– Kick your feet back like in the plank position
– Drop down to the floor
– Press up with your arms and jump your feet forward and jump up straight to complete the moves
– Repeat the procedure.