Of all the important things in life exercise is one of the most. Wanting to live longer staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectation. As we age increasing muscle mass and bone density are important weight bearing exercises are some ways to do this.
“Well I know I need to exercise but I’m so busy I don’t have the time.” Or “I will start exercising tomorrow, better late than never!” That is what most of us say and never get started. We have learned what to do when it comes to exercising. The problem is where and when to get the job done. With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.
Just think when a person hit the age of 40, we begin to loose muscle mass. With women bone loss becomes a problem. Just think when we don’t get enough calcium our body can rob it from your bones. Most people think weight bearing exercises are just for bodybuilders but that’s not true. Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength. Building muscle mass helps builds strong bones too.
These are five easy exercises I bet you did not know you can do them anywhere. Toning exercises that can be done anywhere and whenever you have time. At home, at the office, or on vacation, you can do these easy yet really helpful exercises.
1. Easy way to tone your buttocks. Lay down with feet flat on the floor, legs shoulder width apart. Place your hands, palm side down, on either side of your body. Pushing with your feet, squeeze your gluteal muscles and lift your butt off the floor. Hold the position for a count of five to ten and release down to the floor. I can do this sitting down too.
2. Squats – Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps. If you aren’t sure of proper form, you can use a chair. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and feet firmly planted. Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair. Keep your abs tight and your upper body straight. Once you reach chair level stop and hold the position for a count of two to five and release. At the lowest point, place all of your weight on your heels for balance and maximum toning. I do this in the kitchen when waiting to heat up the water for my Raspberry Tea. Any where and any time.
3. Reverse Lunges – Lunges work the quadriceps muscles. They can be hard for people with knee problems. A reverse lunge still tones the right muscle groups but with less pressure on the knee. Stand with feet together and arms at your sides. Take one leg and move it backwards until you are in lunge position: front leg bent at a 90 degree angle and back leg extended until you are on the ball of your foot. From this position lower yourself down until the back knee almost touches the floor. Hold for a count of two and return to starting position. My friend did this at work all the time; she is fit and toned up too. What about doing this while standing in line somewhere.
4. Pushups – This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of the arms plus the chest muscles. If you aren’t comfortable or strong enough to perform a pushup on your toes, lower your body to your knees. Be sure your arms are tucked into the body and your back straight as you lower and lift your body. Now this is hard for me I do wall push ups. I use the wall as if it was the floor only my feet are still on the floor, I stand on my tippie-toes and push away from the wall.
5. Crunches – Abdominal muscles can be worked every day to build strength and muscle tone. Lying on the floor in sit up position, lace your fingers behind your head. Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body until your lower back is about to come off the floor. Hold for two to five counts and return to starting position. I can only do this sitting again, I always do this at the red light when I am driving, around town. I am doing it right now along with the butt lifts while typing this blog post.
See now these five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time. I bet you can think of many other places and ways to do them. The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative. Even five or ten minutes at a time will work to your advantage.
They say 30 minutes a day is good way to start, but you don’t have to do all 30 minutes at one time. Just do these five here and there during the day and before you know it you will be doing 30 minutes of exercise a day.
NOW THAT WAS EASY. I just did 10 minutes right now.
