Get Toned Fast With These Top 5 Exercises!
Fat is an efficient source of energy. For women, it tends to develop in the lower body and the midsection to function as stores of energy during pregnancy.
Women are also predisposed to storing fat around the shoulders and lower arms as these serve as protection for nerves and arteries.
The 5 Best Exercises For a Toned Body
In body toning program, you should utilise exercises that recruit the largest muscles and those that require you to perform multiple movements.
Compound exercises work different muscles at one time. This allows you to build muscle and increase the rate of fat burning which are what you need to achieve a toned body.
The 5 exercises presented here target the usual problem areas of women: thighs, glutes, hamstrings, midsection, lower back, upper back, shoulders and arms.
1. Squats
Squats should always be part of your lower body training program. It is called the “King of Exercises” because of the following reasons:
• Squats makes you work like no other exercise; you have to stabilise your body, balance the weight and maintain perfect form in order to achieve the required depth.
• The range of motion of the Squat allows you to work every muscle in your lower body. The Squat works the top of the thighs to your gluteus muscles, hamstrings, calves even the insertions of the adductor and abductor muscles. Nothing escapes the reach of the Squat!
Squat your lower body problems into extinction. The Squat will tone up your legs, glutes and abs while incinerating body fat.
2. Deadlift
There are those who believe the Deadlift is the “King of Exercises” simply because it works every muscle in the body. Here’s a rundown of all the muscles used in the Deadlift according to sequence:
• Thighs
• Hamstrings
• Glutes
• Hips
• Back
• Shoulders
All throughout the Deadlift your calves, abs and chest have to remain contracted and tight in order to maintain stability and balance. You can also use the Deadlift in a variety of ways to target specific areas:
• Romanian Deadlift – Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower Back
• Deficit Deadlift – Thighs, Hips, Glutes
• Snatch Deadlift – Thighs, Hips, Upper Back
• Sumo Deadlift – Adductors, Hips, Upper Back
When you’re trying to get toned, don’t be afraid to do low reps for the Deadlift. It is one exercise where low reps will generate more results than higher reps.
3. Kettlebell Thruster
You have to utilise perfect technique in order to reap the muscle toning benefits of this exercise. Kettlebell Thruster requires you to coordinate different muscles as you transition from the clean to the full squat to the thrust. Kettlebell Thruster hits the following muscles:
• Hips
• Lower Back
• Thighs
• Abs
• Upper Back
• Shoulders
• Arms
Kettlebell Thruster not only tones up your muscles it also builds your conditioning, agility and increases metabolism to burn more body fat.
4. Kettlebell Turkish Get Up
There are many trainers in the fitness industry who believe the Turkish Get Up is the best exercise you can do for overall muscle tone. The Turkish Get Up is a functional exercise which targets the legs, glutes, shoulders and back but its value is best represented by how it works the core section.
You have to maintain a tight midsection to accommodate the different shifts in body weight as you go through 7 stages of movement. Keep in mind you have to go through these 7 stages on the way up then again on the way back down to starting position before you switch to the other side.
5. Swiss Ball Pike
There are many great abdominal exercises you can do but the Swiss Ball Pike should be on the top of your list for a number of reasons:
• The need to balance and remain stable increases its degree of difficulty.
• It is intense but safe for the lower back and hip flexors.
• It not only tones up your midsection but also improves agility, flexibility, mobility and coordination.
• You can use Swiss Ball Pike to transition to other exercises such as the Plank, Push Ups and Roll Out for interval training.
With Swiss Ball Pike, it’s not the number of reps that you do but the execution of each rep that matters the most.
For the Squat and Kettlebell Thruster, 4 sets x 10 reps will work best. For Turkish Get Up and Swiss Ball Pike, do 4 sets but keep the rep range only to where you can maintain good form. The Deadlift will yield better results with a 6 sets x 6 reps program.
Use a weight that presents difficulty during the last 2 reps. Keep your rest periods to 2 minutes between sets and 3 minutes between exercises.
You can do these 5 exercises in one workout or in separate days. You can even perform them as intervals. The important thing is to include these 5 exercises in your body toning program.
