Beach Body Ready!

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It’s time to take out those bathing suits and strut your fit physique in the beach area this summer. However, are you shy of your flabby tummy, jingly arms and wobbly thighs? Fret not! You can tone your body and prep yourself for that summer beach body you have been aiming for.

Be realistic with your goals. You cannot lose the fats just like that in few weeks times but you can tone and firm them if you regularly exercise and workout.

Here are some ways to burn some serious flabs and get fit for summer!


Do ab crunches

Lift weights

Jog, brisk walk, run or cycle and get that cardio pumping

Do the Zumba! (Check with your doctor first)
Do the Insanity workout! (Check with your doctor first)

House Cleaning As An Exercise

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Ever since I read a blog about someone's successful and remarkable weight loss of more than 135 lbs in few months, I am determined at any cost to do everything to keep me going and moving. I started with burpee exercise and Zumba. Now I am moving to house cleaning.

It will not be my second day job. I am cleaning my house as often as I can these days without the aircondition unit on. I sweat like crazy and can feel every inch of my muscle move. Cleaning the house can be a good and cheap form of exercise. Why? Here are the reasons:

1. You move a lot especially when you're scrubbing the floor tiles and the walls. That's a lot of muscle movement for the arms and upper torso.

2. You bend a lot when you mop, apply floor wax and pick up loose trash on the floor. The goal here is to try to stick to the conventional way of cleaning the house. Imagine the good old years when there was no vacuum cleaner and you have to literally pick up the trash and throw it to the bin.

3. You sweat a lot because you're moving non-stop. And don't try to cheat on this one. Don't use the electric fan or aircondition unit. Sweat it out like you would in a spa. This is a cheaper version of a sauna. Enjoy the free sauna at home!

4. It's a good cardio exercise especially when you are polishing the floor sans the floor polisher. Do it the old-fashioned way by using an old rag and you're good foot and leg. Now do that up and down movement with your foot on the floor. That's a good form of thigh and leg firming session right there.

After a good hour or so of cleaning, don't you feel great and sweaty? Just remember that sweating means your muscles are crying ;) Clean some more and treat it as a good, free and very cheap way of losing weight and getting fit and toned.

Now go and clean!

Thinner Thighs

Isn't this a common dream of the other half of the female population who are born with fuller figure? I dream of having thin thighs too but in a healthier vision of "thin." I think I must term it aptly as "toner thighs."

I used to be very thin before hitting mid-30's. I could fit in a size 0 or 1 jeans even after delivery. I was that skinny but things changed in my body. I got rounder and flabby. My thighs grew like big logs and I didn't know why and how. I just knew that one day, I could not fit into any of my normal jeans. I had to buy a bigger size now.

However, don't despair if you're in the same boat as I am. There are ways to slim and trim your flabby thighs but you have to commit to a regular exercise and proper eating habits.

1. Run or go for regular walks
Endurance sports build certain muscle fibers which does not bulk up. It makes your legs toner and firmer. Start your regular walk and then progress into jogging later on as you build up your endurance.

2. Do squats
If you are seated most of the time in the office, take a breather and stand. Use the back of your chair as support and do squats or side lifts. I normally do this in the office without a care.

3. Engage in Pilates
These workouts are designed to stretch and tone the muscles minus the bulky part.  However, doing Pilates alone cannot make your thighs slim. Combine this with other cardio routines and proper nutrition.

4. Weight Training
Adding this routine to your workout will help tone and firm your thighs especially if you concentrate on the leg areas. Body fat is burned during exercise and adding weight training to your exercise can speed up the fat-burning process and will help in making your thighs leaner and more shapely.

5. Eat properly
Remove junk food in your eating equation and replace them with healthier options like fruits, vegetables and lean meat. Minimize the intake of sodium and drink more water to eliminate water retention.

6. Climb the stairs
Use the stairs often than the elevator if you can. Lightly running up and down the stairs help burn out fats and will make your thighs firmer and leaner.

Hula Hoop To Whittle Your Waist

You don't need expensive gym equipment to slim that middle part of your torso. You definitely need not burn a deep hole in your pockets (and wallets!) to enroll in slimming classes like aerobics (although they greatly help too with the cardio) and the gym. There's a cheap and very common equipment you can use to whittle that middle part - the HULA!

Yes, this inexpensive toy we used to love when we were kids is a sure fire hit to a cheap and effective way to tone down your mid core. Doing the hula for 20-30 minutes several days in a week can help burn that belly fat and calories, increase your agility and improve coordination and strengthens your core muscles.

The kid version kind of hoop can do for starters but as you engage in the activity regularly, you may want to upgrade to the weighted hoop you can get from sports shop.

So, what are you waiting for? Start shaking!

Taebo and Zumba

I wonder why I haven't done Zumba before when it existed since the 1990s? I have done Taebo in the early 2000. Back then, my purpose for doing the Taebo was to build my stamina and resistance since I was sickly. It did help a bit but I had to stop because of work pressure.

I am doing Taebo again for health reasons now. I am alternating Taebo and Zumba but on weekends, I do them both to boost my cardio and stamina. My Taebo and Zumba sessions are done at home in the comfort of my bedroom so nobody can see my flabs jiggle around. I prefer to sweat alone anyway.

I will track my progress and hopefully do the advance Taebo session in few weeks time. My Zumba is also the basic because I need to practice on the footwork first.

I enjoy combining these two equally high-performing workouts to jump-start my weight loss goal which I derailed during the last quarter of 2010. I pray that I can stay on track this time. I need to lose weight for my health's sake! Cheer me on please :)

Health Nut - Blast Fat while Walking

Climbing the steepest hill will not burn all your fats. it will certainly help but you do not have to climb the mountains or run a marathon to help boost your fat-burning mechanism while walking.

Here are ways to help you blast those flabs away effectively while walking:

1. Carry weights
The extra "burden" you carry can trigger more calorie burns from the walking workout because more muscles are involved.

2. Moderate your pace
You don't have to walk as fast as a speeding bullet. Just keep your pace to moderate where you can still talk and not pant.

3. Keep smaller steps
Don't think that longer strides can burn all those flabs quick. Although it can give earn your mileage but the smaller steps are the most effective ones.

4. Set goals
Look at markers at the park as your start and end point.

5. Stand straight
The body's alignment can make your back and glutes' muscles to work effectively making your walk burn more calories.

6. Buy a great walking/running shoes
Choose a rubber shoes which is flexible and have minimum cushion on the front part because this will help on your power to push-off as you start your workout.