Womens Fitness Tips

This workout video from Femme Fatale Fitness is perfect for toning bums, tums and thighs. These workouts will target those stubborn areas to reduce fat and tone muscles.

Warning: The sound is not good on this video, the trainer speaks quietly and the music is very loud! Nevertheless, it is worth watching to learn the correct form of the exercises below.

This workout is done as a circuit, you cycle through each exercise and if you are fit enough you repeat them all again. To start with work on going through the exercises just once. The video provides instructions on how many of each exerise to perform. You generally perform 8 to 12 of each exercise.

You can do these exercises at home or in the gym. Home workouts can be very effective and do not cost anything. Plus they can be done at any time of the day. No more gym memberships, no more excuses for not being able to get to the Pilates class. Get out your yoga mat, put on some music, and start working out!

All of these exercise use a customised sandbag. It is a “sand bag” fitness routine. A sandbag simply acts as a dead weight. It has some advantages over traditional barbells and dumbbells. For a start it is softer to you can hold it to your body more comfortably. It provides many grip options. Watch the burpee, press and squat combos at the end for the video to see how you can use it to effectively increase the intensity of a traditional bodyweight workout – the burpee.

1. Clean to Reverse Lunge – works thighs and buttocks – a great leg strengthener
2. Squat Presses – works thighs, buttocks and arms/shoulders – a combination exercise to burn more fat
3. Single Leg Deadlifts – works the thighs and lower back and improve stability
4. Shovelling - these work the core and simply mimic a shovelling movement. A simply twist and squat.
5. Lateral Lunges – these focus on the thighs. Step wide and sink low for best results.
6. Bent-over row to clean and press – clean and presses work the back, shoulders, arms, great for toning and strength
7. Get-up Bridge – another excellent core strength exercise, similar to the Turkish Get Up. A fantastic core strength exercise.
8. Sandbag Ab Isolation Exercise – works the abs of course! Really these are leg raises, but very effective at improving hip strength.
9. Windmills – a core workout that is most often seen in kettlebell classes.
10. Shoulder lunge press – complex movement that works the legs, shoulder and the stabilizing muscles.
11. Around the world – works upper body and core, a very dynamic exercise.
12. Marine Burpee and Squat – very intense workout that requires a good fitness level. A squat, squat thrust, leg split, then jump squat back. If you want to go really hardcore add a push up!

As the thighs are one of the largest muscles of the body they do respond well to focused training, mostly because to work your thighs you have to work the whole body hard. However, before we jump into the thigh workouts we need to talk about diet and nutrition.

How To Lose Thigh Fat Through Dieting

We we consume more calories than we need to maintain our weight, our body converts excess energy (generally sugars) into fat. Where the fat is stored is mostly determined by genetics, which is why we are all different shapes even though many people eat the same diet.

Even if you have a relatively slim waist, excess fat on the thighs is a sign that you are eating too much each day. Thigh fat is not really unhealthy (unlike stomach fat which is) but it still signifies that your overall body-fat is too high.

As with any weight loss plan you need to follow these rules to trim the fat on your thighs:

• Total calories consumed each day must be less than your daily requirements.
• Most of your calories must come from healthy, low GI, low sugar sources, such as salad vegetables, eggs, dairy and lean meats.
• Only by keeping a near constant calorie deficit will you lose weight.

Diet is the cause of weight gain so it must also be the solution. To get thinner thighs you really need to change your diet. Follow these dieting tips:

• Calculate your daily energy requirement (see the table below)
• Consume around 500 calories less per day than your daily needs
• Stop eating all refined or baked goods – no flour, no sugar
• Eat mostly low GI vegetables
• Stop drinking all fruit juices and sodas. Drink only water, green teas and coffees
• Stop eating sugary breakfast cereals (these are also refined goods)
• Instead eat eggs, fresh fruit and wholemeal toast (1 slice) for breakfast
• Eat a fresh salad each day
• Eat more protein and less carbohydrates
• Protein sources: eggs, fish, poultry, lean meats.

Best Thigh Exercises to Burn Fat and Tone Muscles

It is tempting to provide just one exercise only, as there is one exercise that really beats all others hands down at toning the thighs: SQUATS.

Bodyweight squats are extremely effective at toning thighs and they are also very simple to do. Keeping good form is important. To perform squats just stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart and feet facing slightly outwards. Then squat down, looking ahead and keeping your back straight. Try not to move your torso forwards above your feet, instead sink your bum downwards. Once your thighs are parallel to the floor, stand up again.

An exceptionally simple exercise, but very effective. Aim to perform 100 squats per day. Other exercises that will help are star jumps, burpees, leg raises and lunges. Perform a simple circuit like this every day or every other day:

• 50 star jumps
• 50 squats
• 10 push ups
• 10 burpees
• 10 lunges on each leg
• 20 leg raises
• 20 crunches

That is a total of 170 exercises in one circuit. Aim to perform this circuit 2 to 3 times. It will be hard to start with but gradually become easier.

As it does get easier you can increase push ups and burpees to start working the cardiovascular system and upper body harder to aid fat burning.

Legs and glutes workout with fitness pro Lyen Wong

This is a simple free weight exercise routine, performed by German-Cuban ACE-certified personal trainer Lyen Wong. Lyen Wong has won Miss Universe Shape, Miss Fitness and placed in Miss Universe Fitness.

This workout works all the leg muscles and core effectively. These exercises really help to firm the thighs and butt.

She starts with some barbell squats. Note how she squats low, keeping her back straigh and gaze looking forward at all times. The towel can be used to cushion the bar as well as soak up sweat. Form is maintained well and the movement is steady. She performs many reps with a light weight. The key is to go slow and maintain a steady pace so that you do not burn out too quick. As the weight is light the muscles will be worked well be you are not aim for maximum strength, just slender toning.

Next she performs a series of stiff legged deadlifts. Rather then allowing the bar to touch the floor she stops halfway. A standard deadlift is done with the bar starting and finishing on the floor. The deadlift works the core and lower back as well as the hips. Start with a light weight, it is important to maintain good form throughout.

The next exercise is reverse leg raises which work the core and the glutes. Lie face down on a bench with your legs off the end of the bench. Then lift your legs upwards behind you with your legs bent. Again, maintain a steady and controlled movement to ensure that your work the muscles effectively without risk of burning out too soon.

I love the soundtrack on this video. The music is by Salt Tank who provide a mellow latin grove which is great working out to.

If you are interested to learn more about Lyen then she has a website which features her work as a figure competitor and personal trainer as well as fitness and training information for reaching peak performance. Visit her website: www.lyenwong.com.

The key to having a great body really is eat healthy and exercising often.

Would you prefer to sit on a stationary bicycle in your living room for 45 minutes, or turn your home into a mini Rio carnival scene, with Samba blasting from your home cinema, while you dance the night away to classic Brazilian tunes and get fit in the process?

One of the best dance fitness DVD’s on the market at the moment is Vanessa Isaac’s Brazilian Dance Workout. This dance workout is a mixture of the most popular dances in Brazil at the moment, namely the Samba, Samba Reggae, African, Axé and Frevo.

• Shape Magazine described it as “An exhilarating total body workout.“
• Fit Magazine said “What a joyous, fun workout Vanessa Isaac has put together-you can feel her passion for dance…“
• Weight Watchers Magazine gave it the thumbs up too: “ideal for those who like to shake it while burning major calories.“

These fun and energetic workouts are such a great way to get in shape. You never have to feel like you are doing a workout again. Every night after the kids have gone to bed you can dance the evening away, have fun and burn a lot of calories. The moves ensure that you work your whole body from the head, through your core to your toes.

The workouts are varied and exciting too. You should never get bored with a Brazilian Dance Workout. Imagine that you are on the beaches of Rio dancing the nights away with all your friends and family. Have fun, get fit, be healthy and dance!