For most women any type of physical exercises, including exercises for lifting and firming the thighs, are going to help improve the body. Whether your main goal is to enhance the appearance of your problem areas or your overall well-being, the right thigh lifting and firming exercises can definitely help you get the best results.

You were built to walk and move – you were built to for physical activity. But, most modern jobs require a lot of sitting at a desk – especially for ladies. This leads to long list of unwanted health conditions and negatively affects your appearance – and sex appeal (wide flabby, saddle bag hips and big, heavy thighs).

Since we can’t all leave our regular jobs and earn a living by walking/jogging through the streets, a regular fitness program is an ideal solution. Specific thigh lifting and firming exercises are an essential part of that targeted workout routine.

So, what should you do for your problem thighs?

Brisk walking (especially hill waking) or jogging, 3 – five times each week is a great start. Do things that prompt you to walk more (use your body), such as parking your car further away from your workplace and taking the stairway as opposed to the easy elevator (yes, I know you’ve heard that one before – but are you doing these simple things?).

2 to 3 times per week, do specifically targeted thigh lifting and firming exercises, if your thighs, buttocks and hips are stubborn problem areas for you. If you don’t like looking at your lower body in the mirror when you are naked – then this means you.

Beneath, you’ll read the written instructions of an exercise that works well, but it truly helps to have a video, e-guide or detailed photos to insure that you are doing the exercises properly. For some ladies, it is also helpful to exercise in front of a mirror – to check for proper positioning and movement.

Bad form can lead to unnecessary injuries and negate the effectiveness of the exercise – leaving you with disappointing results – and long term frustration.

Here is a great thigh lifting and firming exercise to include your workout.

‘Slow Burn’ Hip and Thigh Lifts (Hip & Thigh Abduction)

Lie down on your right side (preferably on a soft fitness mat), with your head resting on your arm or the palm of your hand. Bring your knees forward – so your hip joint is at a 90 degree angle.

Straighten your top leg (left) so your foot is out in front of your body. Slowly lift your left foot from the floor to the sky (about 3 feet off the floor) – pause for 1 second at the top and then slowly lower your foot, lightly touch the floor and repeat the move. Do 10 – fifteen repetitions and then turn over onto the opposite side and do the same number on the other side.

Are you confused yet?

Typed instructions of thigh lifting and firming exercises can be quite confusing, especially to the first time exerciser. A woman that has performed this type of lower body lifting and firming exercise in the past, understands the movement, almost instantly.

But any female who is new to this exercise can quickly become frustrated and helpless.

Thigh abductions are very targeted thigh lifting and firming exercises, but they must be executed properly. And they must be done in conjunction with a series of other lower body exercises in order to give you the body enhancing results you deserve and desire.

Its quite possible that you may either need the help of a fitness professional, a good instructional guide with photos or a video.

Truthfully there’s actually no point in doing just this one thigh exercise, if you are not doing it properly and you are not combining it with the right support exercises. When the right exercises are combined in the correct sequence – you get the body changing benefits of muscle movement synergy and stimulation.

Also – you want to get this right because you could easily injure yourself and cause unnecessary setbacks – that would delay your positive results even longer – and nobody wants to wait longer to improve their body?

The key point is that specific thigh lifting and firming exercises are extremely effective, but you’ve got to be certain you are following a well-structured program that consists of the group of critical exercises you need – and not just one single exercise.

A well planned grouping and sequence of butt, thigh and hip exercises can visibly transform your lower body problem spots into an eye-catching work of art – that you’d certainly be proud of displaying in your favorite swimsuit.

Joey Atlas, MS – Exercise Physiology, is the Amazon.com Bestselling author of the fat loss book, Fatness to Fitness and the Author of the Ultimate Cellulite Reduction Exercise Program for Women. Visit his sites for more free tips and articles from Womens’ Favorite Trainer, Joey Atlas..

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Healthy eating requires precise planning, from grocery shopping to lunch options to eating out. The best way to maintain healthy eating habits is to have a good support system for your efforts.

Plan your supermarket visits. You can easily bypass foods that add valuable and needed nutrients to your nutritional plan when you shop impulsively and aimlessly. Schedule routine visits to the store, have a list, and never shop when you’re hungry. Read the labels. You’ll find a nutrition label on most food packages that provides information on how much protein, fat, carbohydrate, sodium, cholesterol, vitamins, minerals, etc.is contained in a single serving. This info helps you see how certain foods (even your sinful favorites) fit into a healthy diet. If you are shopping the perimeter of the store, buying fresh produce, fish, meat, poultry, and dairy, you’re already getting most of what you need in a sound nutrition plan. Foods in the center of supermarket aisles generally contain the most preservatives and are devoid of important vitamins and minerals unless you really know what you are looking for.

Lunch and post-lunch tips. Bring your lunch to work in one of these five forms:
1) Brown bag containing a healthy sandwich or salad (it only takes a couple of minutes to pack it)
2) A nutrition bar, with an ideal combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
3) A protein shake in a thermos, with an apple at the side.
4) If you are a fan of pasta, watch what you put on it. Alfredo sauce and oils can pack a lot of calories. Use soup broths or vegetable purees as a sauce base. Add chopped vegetables to make a pasta salad. Dice up broiled or grilled chicken to get your protein in.
5) Plan ahead for a mid-afternoon snack at work – Have apples, oranges, and raw veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, or baby carrots, cans of tuna and chicken for boosting your energy levels.

Eating out tips.

When eating out at a restaurant, avoid entrees that are fried or in a cream sauce. Stick with fresh fruit, and ask for steamed veggies, which are nutritionally denser. Soups are generally low in calories, and hence a soup as a starter is a good idea. Other starters and appetizers should be either boiled, poached, barbecued, steamed or baked. For your protein, have baked poultry or fish. Skip the dinner rolls and butter. Have a salad with light dressing on the side. Ranch and cream dressings are usually higher in calories. Vinargrettes are usually the best in terms of calorie content.

The importance of a support group If you plan on joining a diet group (or are already in one), you’ll get a boost when you attend weekly meetings. Whether you like the idea or not, diet groups can offer tremendous support, motivation, and education about eating a healthy diet. The social atmosphere fosters a sense of accountability and responsibility, which is conducive to more weight loss. Most successful dieters are involved in some kind of support group, whether it’s family, a diet group, or friends. Having a “cheering section” could make the difference between quitting and persisting.

For more information about these exercises and to get free full color exercise routines, diet plans and grocery lists, visit Best Weight Loss Programs and Toning For Women. You can train with Nitin at the Phone Fitness Trainer website

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There are a lot of different foods out there that pack a nutritional punch. Most people tend to stick to the usual suspects when it comes to tasty nutrition—such as apples, oranges, bananas, broccoli, spinach, and tomatoes. But variety is the spice of life. And I’ll bet you didn’t know the foods I’m about to tell you about packed such a powerful punch, and are quite tasty.

Since Halloween just past will start off with a Halloween staple. Pumpkin! Pumpkin is packed with the antioxidant beta-carotene, just like it’s orange brother the carrot. This powerful antioxidant works wonders on your immune system among many other benefits such as lower the risk of cancer and heart disease. It’s also jammed 3 grams of fiber into each serving. Remember canned or frozen is just as good as fresh because it’s stored at the peak of freshness; this goes not only for pumpkin, but all fruits and veggies. Pumpkin is a vegetable by the way.

Next we have beans. Beans are super cheap. They pack a good amount of protein in them. And are an excellent source of fiber and energy. Long lasting energy because they provide complex carbohydrates. Try adding them to your salads, rice or pasta dishes, or even eaten alone they are great. Baked beans are fine too; just go light on the extra sauce.

Third are sardines. Just like tuna, basically health food in a can. But sardines pack a much higher amount of omega-3′s in them. Also include a tremendous amount of calcium. And obviously very good source of protein. They may not smell too good, but their jam packed with vitamins and are pretty much mercury free.

Next would be what most people would call the big brother of raisins—Plums. Also known as prunes. They are a dried up fruit that look like a big raisin. But get this, plums contain two times the amount of potassium that bananas have, and close to 40% more antioxidants than blueberries! That’s pretty awesome! Plus it is a good source of fiber. They make for a very easy snack to just take along in a little baggie, as long as you’re having some protein along with it.

Lastly we have cabbage. Green or red it’s all good. Cabbage contains phytonutrients. These nutrients help protect the body from free radicals much like antioxidants do. Red contains more than green, though. It is super rich in iron. It also has been proven to lower serum cholesterol. Red cabbage has several benefits over green in that it contains up to 8 times more vitamin C, and contains the antioxidant anthocyanin that helps protect brain cells. Either way, red or green, it is a powerhouse vegetable and will vastly improve your health.

Try and some of these to your diet and I’m sure you will see and feel a difference in the way you feel. Remember no diet is complete without protein at each meal and plenty of water throughout the day.

Feel free to pass this article on to family, friends, and co-workers. Enjoy!

Jason Yun, CSCS, CISSN is a Columbus Body Transformation Expert who runs Yun Fitness Boot Camps in Hilliard and Dublin, and teaches the Metabolism Makeover Weight Management Program in Columbus. For a free 2-week trial of his boot camps visit www.Yunbootcamps.com/specialoffer.html or call 614-432-9703.

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Many exercisers (both athletes and non-athletes)are under the impression they don’t need bodyweight training. But bodyweight only exercise should not be ignored if you want to improve fitness, burn fat and build a high-performance body. Let’s look at how bodyweight training can benefit both athletes and regular exercisers.

Here is what happens: We have been brainwashed to believe physical training is resistance Training (weight lifting) and Cardio. We do sets and reps of a certain exercise to target a certain muscle group with certain rest periods. Then after we are done treating the body like a bunch of parts, we do some aerobic cardio to improve the heart and lungs. So, athletes think that doing a workout with only the resistance of their own body is too easy because there is no added resistance. And here’s the thing… if you are only getting the inflated muscles of bodybuilders, they are probably right.

However, I believe the body should be trained as one complete unit. The entire body, all the muscles as well as the heart and lungs should be challenged at the same time. The lines between resistance training and cardio training need to be blurred. I would ask the athletes, “Is your sport done in a compartmentalized way with robotic actions where strength and cardiorespiratory endurance are separate? Or, is your entire body needed to work in unison in order to excel at your sport?” Bodyweight training is great for switching between strength exercises and “cardio” exercises seamlessly… which is an excellent way to train.

Plus, exercise is really a question of movement. And there are two types of movement: moving your own body through space, and moving objects through space. I would argue that for most athletes, being able to control and move your own body around with strength, balance, flexibility and coordination is going to help your perform better. And for the regular non-athlete, bodyweight is important to help you prepare yourselves to meet the challenges of everyday life.

My recommendation is to blur the lines between strength training and cardiorespiratory training in the same bodyweight workout. For example, complete a circuit of push up, air squats and crunches as fast as possible without rest, and then do 50 jumping jacks before repeating the circuit 2-5 times… and repeat for 20 minutes without rest. This type of bodyweight workout targets all your muscles as well as your heart and lungs and trains the body to work as one complete unit.

I encourage you to add bodyweight training to your overall workout program regardless of whether you are a high-performance athlete or just a regular exerciser trying to improve fitness and control your weight. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how effective bodyweight training can be. And when your heart is pounding, your breathing is hard and you are laying on the ground in a pool of your own sweat, ask yourself… “Are bodyweight exercises too easy?”

Get a free copy of my Special Report “Bodyweight Exercise Cardio Intervals” . I’ll show you how bodyweight training can be surprising challenging and very effective. Get this valuable free report .

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Results in fitness are dependent on a three-part formula of lifestyle choices. One part of the formula does not work well without the other parts. Those who have tried one or two without the third know something is missing. This article is going to address the three-parts of the equation to help you make positive steps to a healthy body.

A healthy body can provide you with a healthy mind, increased energy and stamina, more productivity and self-confidence.

Here are the three parts:

1. Cardiovascular training
2. Resistance and weight training
3. Balanced nutrition

Now, the questions are why, what, when, where and how? Many people diet without exercise and others exercise without eating right. Their intentions are good yet they don’t get the results they want so badly to achieve. Allow me to simplify basic fitness and balanced nutrition principles. In the informational age in which we live, people are confused with what to do, so they do nothing.

Let me be straight with you, achieving the “ideal” body isn’t easy, you have to put effort, consistency, and commitment to achieve your desired results. The first step is to develop a positive mindset. If you think it’s impossible, it will be. If you think you can, you will. I can’t speak strongly enough how important your mindset, mental thoughts, and self-talk play such an important role on your results.

So let me begin with foundational principles that will make a difference. I’ll start with cardiovascular training. For the ease of understanding, cardiovascular, cardio-respiratory, cardio and aerobic training are all synonymous. The goal is to keep a healthy function of the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Sustaining aerobic training for a period of time will increase the endurance of the cardio-respiratory system.

Cardio training will also burn calories that will decrease body fat stored. Cardio training has been reported as beneficial for many health reasons including: decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol, and depression. It has also been reported to increase heart, lung, and circulatory function as well.

Don’t worry about when is the best time to do your cardio exercise. Just do it. I like to get my cardio workout in during the morning. That way I won’t be tempted to blow it off during the day and I won’t be too tired at night to do it. But, if you are not a morning person, this might be more difficult.

Schedule your exercise into your life just like all your other appointments. Your cardio workout is important to your health, just like your child’s soccer game or tennis match is important to them. Put it on your calendar then check it off after you do it.

Cardiovascular exercise is one type of exercise where you don’t need any equipment. Unless your doctor, restricts you, anyone can walk. I see people walking around my neighborhood, public school tracks, and in the shopping mall all year round.

Other people prefer to do their cardio exercise in their home. Cardio equipment is available at most sporting stores, specialized exercise stores, and even at garage sales. Treadmills are the most popular cardio equipment, exercise stationary bikes, and stair steppers. The newest, most popular, are elliptical machines.

Find what type of cardio training is best for you and be consistent with it. If you like variety and get bored easily, then a variety of cardio exercise works really well.

To get maximum results from your cardiovascular training keep track of your heart rate. I wear a heart rate monitor when I do my cardio exercise. Another way to check your heart rate is counting the heartbeats per minute. If you count your heartbeats for 6 seconds and add a zero behind the number you have your heart rate. By keeping track of your heart rate, you know how hard your heart is working or how much harder it needs to work.

Now, you need to figure out your maximum heart rate. A simple formula is to take the number 220 and subtract your age. That is your maximum heart rate. To burn fat, your heart should work at 65 – 75 percent of your maximum heart rate. For cardio-respiratory fitness your heart rate should be at 75 percent. Don’t exceed 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

For optimum conditioning, cardio five to six times a week for 30 – 60 minutes is best. Your training heart rate should be at 65 percent for a minimum of 20 minutes. Depending on your goal and the results you want to achieve, the minimum I would recommend is three times a week for 20 minutes.

If you take medication with beta blockers, or have any question about your health condition, always check with your doctor first to determine where your heart rate should be.

Now, I will explain why weight training is important and give you the basic principles of weight training.

Weight training is for everyone. I start clients as young as 8 years old and my oldest client was 99 years of age. Yes, their workout design is different, but everyone between those ages can and should exercise with weights. Weight training strengthens, firms, and builds muscle. If you don’t use or challenge your muscles they will atrophy (get weak and wither away). You are never too old to weight train and muscle knows no age.

Let’s talk briefly about metabolism. Your muscle is your metabolism. If you don’t have good muscle tone, you will have a slower metabolism. The more muscle on your body, the faster your metabolism. There are three things that directly affect your metabolism:

1. Muscle
2. Nutrition
3. Hormonal Imbalances
You can control and change your metabolism by weight training and eating “right”.

For women, don’t worry about bulking up. It doesn’t happen by accident. Women bodybuilders take tremendous effort to lift heavy weight; they train for years and sometimes use anabolic steroids. This is not the fitness training we prescribe.

Any weight training should start with lighter weight and progress to moderate weight. Don’t start to heavy; just use enough weight to challenge your muscle. I hand many of my new female clients a 5 or 8 pound dumbbell on their first visit. They get real nervous thinking it’s too heavy. I can pretty well guess that their purse weighs more than 5 pounds. Men, don’t be in a hurry to look like Arnold by next week. It won’t happen and you’re only setting yourself up for injury.

There are a couple factors we use in designing workout programs. First, we look at your goal. Second, after determining your goals we decide the right mix of repetitions, sets and rest. Repetitions or reps are how many times you lift the weight. Sets are the number of times you perform a given number of reps per exercise session. Rest is the time you allow the muscle to recover before the next set.

Below is a general guideline to the proper mix of reps, sets and rest.
Muscle endurance:
• 12-20 reps, 1-3 sets, 20-30 second rest

Strength and size:
• 8-12 reps, 1-6 sets, 30-120 second rest

Strength and power:
• 4-8 reps, 1-5 sets, 2-5 minute rest

Since my average client is trying to lose body fat and get lean, I generally use 12-20 reps, with 3 sets and 30-60 second rest. I like to teach my clients to perform active stretching between their sets. This will increase their flexibility, prevent injury and further challenge the muscles. I also recommend exercising all major muscle groups. Make sure your program includes the following muscles: chest, back, shoulders, arms (bicep and triceps), lower back, abdominal, legs (quadriceps, hamstrings and calves) and gluts.

To fit most people’s lifestyle, I recommend weight training at least 2 times per week, however, 3 times is better. If you train 5 times a week your workout design will be much different from people who train 2-3 times per week. I tell my clients, the difference between 2-3 times per week is the difference in your time schedule (what is doable in your life), your goals and priorities.

One last important thing regarding weight training, if you do the same workout week after week, month after month, and year after year…your muscles know exactly what you are asking them to do and you will reach a plateau. You are no longer challenging your muscles. You are only maintaining their current status.

If you have not yet reached your goal, change your workout program once a month to challenge the muscles. Changes can be as simple as changing the order of exercise, the number of repetitions, the number of sets, your rest time, the pounds of weight, the intensity, or do circuit training. One or more of these changes will make a big difference in how your muscles respond to your workout. Have fun and keep lifting!

Are you tired of yo-yo dieting? Do you have a difficult time sticking to a diet? You are not alone. More people who diet fail rather than succeed. Dieting doesn’t work. To get real results it takes a concentrated effort. Most people aren’t willing to do what it takes. They want a fast, quick solution that’s not out there.

Why is eating right so challenging? We’re all too busy and convenience foods seem limitless. We let our minds get in the way, we don’t focus on our goals, and stress can play an important role in sabotaging our efforts.

If feeling good about yourself, being healthy and looking good is important to you, then you have to eat sensibly. It’s true you are what you eat. Here are 4 tips on eating right. I call it my 4 P’s of Nutrition. Do these 4 things every week and you’ll be on your way to a leaner and healthier you.

1st P: Plan: Plan what you are going to eat either one-day at a time or a week in advance. Planning includes writing out a menu. For example, oatmeal for breakfast; chicken, yams and broccoli for lunch; fish, brown rice and green beans for dinner; apple and yogurt for snacks.

2nd P: Purchase: After you plan what you’re going to eat, write out your grocery list. Remember that most of the items you need to purchase are around the perimeter of the store. If you only purchase what is on your list, you will save a lot of money and calories.

3rd P: Prepare: Now that you have all your ingredients, prepare your food. I work 6 days a week, 12-14 hours per day. What works for me is to prepare all my meals for the week on Sunday afternoon. It takes me only 2 hours in the kitchen. That takes the guess work out of my meals, it eliminates the “what do I feel like eating”, and saves me a ton of time throughout my week. I’ve been preparing my family’s meals like this for several years. It’s just part of my routine and it works for me.

4th P: Package: After I prepare all my meals for the week, I put the food in plastic reusable containers and take the meals with me to work. This way I can control the portion size, quality of food, amount of fats and sugars and it makes my life a lot easier. This keeps me eating healthy every day.

These tips really work for me and they will work for you. Once you get in the habit of planning, purchasing, preparing and packaging your meals you will see an improvement in your nutrition. You will have more control over your eating habits, portions size, healthy balance, and nutritional value in your meals.

Give yourself time to put all these steps together. If you need to, take baby steps. Practice one good habit each week, and soon you will have put cardio exercise, weight training and eating healthy all together and you’ll get great results. You’ll get Your Ideal Body. For more free information and tips on exercise, motivation, and healthy eating, go to http://www.easyexercisetips.com

Linda Geyer, entrepreneur, speaker and author has spent her entire career in health related businesses helping clients and audiences make health a priority. She is Founder and CEO of Vitality Management and owner of Peak Physique Fitness Training in Michigan. Linda inspires, motivates and educates on health prevention through exercise, healthy eating and positive attitude. For FREE tips go to www.easyexercisetips.com To contact Linda Geyer, email linda@peakphysiquefitness.com

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