Fitness

The first rule of exercise is that it should be fun, at least some of the time, since most people will get bored with a formula that never changes and that doesn’t incorporate some enjoyable elements. That’s why fitness instructors create programs like Zumba, and Tae Bo and even Kindegarten Bootcamp.

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The usual tips like walk or bike to work, even part of the way, walk stairs whenever possible can help. Also remember that you can divide up your “dose of exercise” and do it in smaller increments throughout the day, as long as you elevate your heart rate during each experience. Keep weights at your desk and get in some arm workouts or squats and lunges during the day if you can.

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Resistance training in the form of lunges and squats, and certain exercise machines that allow you to perform leg raises, leg kickbacks and other specific-muscle exercises can certainly help to sculpt your legs. Uphill walking and running can also help you to tone your calves and quadriceps muscles. And many exercisers are crediting spinning classes with toned, firm legs.

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Here’s a great exercise that can help you to improve your posture while helping to tone your legs. Lean back against a wall, making sure that both shoulders as well as your lower back, touch the wall surface. Slide down the wall until you are in sitting position, moving your feet away from the wall as you do so, so that your knees are at right angles to your ankles.

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You may think you are an active walker, but the true way to determine how many steps you take daily is to wear a pedometer which will accurately reflect your daily walking tally. The current goal is 10,000 steps daily and unless you are pretty active on the job (a messenger by foot, a professional athlete) you may fall woefully short of that milestone.

When you wear flip flops your shin muscles tend to work harder. There is also typically a thin sole on flip flops, which means less cushioning when you walk.

Our yoga instructor was brought to tears when all 20 of the students were in handstands at the same time -Jessica Steele, Health Coordinator, Sacramento Charter High School, Sacramento, CA

Maybe you hate to exercise. If you try using some of these new tools, it may add a dimension of engagement to the efforts. Maybe you exercise a lot and you are getting bored. Take the same exercise routine and add some of these tools to the workout. Maybe you don’t realize that you are not getting all you can out of a workout.

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We get so caught up in exercise formulas and the science of exercise and the goals that experts espouse, that we forget about the simple movements that can yield huge payoffs in terms of health benefits and weight control. You don’t need to go to a gym in order to engage in the following calorie burn activities:

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