By: Alex Liska
Now that the warm weather is here, I decided to share a few tips as well as an at-home workout video clip to help tone the lower body, lift the butt and sculpt those thighs! There are many different variations of squats, lunges and plyometric (bodyweight) exercises that can be done to work on the lower body and tighten it. However, the most important thing is the diet. If you are eating clean, staying active and performing a few slimming/trimming moves 2-3 times a week you will likely see great results!
Here are a few tips that will help you achieve that 'bikini-body' in less time!!
- Go for a brisk 15-20 minute walk every day.
- Drink more water (helps flush toxins and waste out of your body)
- Eat more green veggies
- Increase your Omega 3-6-9 Fatty acids intake! (Salmon, Flaxseeds, Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans or a good omega oil supplement)
- Increase your protein intake (preferably from natural sources- meats, fish, eggs, nuts/seeds etc...)
- Add a few slices of lemon or lime to your water (helps your body detox and also adds flavor and electrolytes to your water. Lemon also has fat-burning properties!)
- Perform resistance/body-weight exercises 2-3 times a week (can be done at home with little or no equipment)
- Have a glass of dry red wine with dinner every now and then (contains 'Resveratrol' which helps regulate hormone levels and contains antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties)
- Enjoy some organic dark chocolate (70% cocoa and up) for dessert instead of cakes/pies or other starchy/sugary foods!
- Stretch whenever you get the chance to! (Helps lengthen the muscles for a longer, leaner look)
- When doing resistance or body-weight exercises, FOCUS ON COMPOUND MOVES that utilize various joints and muscles (Squats, lunges, one-legged deadlifts). They help you burn more calories because there are more muscles (main movers and stabilizers as well as assisting muscles) involved and they require more core strength/stability!
- Drink Green Tea (high in catechins, flavonoids, antioxidants and contains fat burning properties. It also helps your body flush out wastes and aids in overall detoxing of harmful toxins/wastes that can accumulate over time)
Those are just a few tips that can help you raise your metabolism, burn more fat, increase your energy and will help tighten and tone all those problem areas so you can feel confident and look great in your swimsuit this summer ;)
The only piece of equipment needed for this exercise is a chair! How easy is that? No need to rush to the gym and search for fancy equipment! You can perform 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps of this exercise 2-3 times a week and if you are following a few of those tips mentioned above you will see great results!
Best of Luck!
-Alex L. :)