In need of good toning up tips!

I've recently started toning exercises so have a few that I do;

ABS
1. Crunches - I find these are better than sit ups as it's easier to get the form right, also it's better if you place the palms of your feet together and do a kinda frog leg thing rather than having your knees up, I've been told it works the core more
2. Crunches with leg raised - so lie on your back and put your legs straight in the air and try and reach for your toes - this works the lower abs
3. Leg raises - make a diamond with your hands and place them under the base of your back for support the lift your legs off the ground and slowly lower, before raising again, don't let your feet touch the ground during the lower and if you want to make it harder, engage your upper abs by raising your shoulders off the ground as if you're doing a crunch.
4. Plank - great for arms and core and the side plank is even harder! Try to hold for as long as you can
5. Obliques - Lay down and place your feet on the floor with your knees up, as if going for a sit up, raise your shoulder off the ground slightly and then try and reach for your ankles - alternating your arms so you're kinda swaying side to side

LEGS
1. Squats - make sure that your back is stright and you really get down into the squat, aim to push into your heels and you should feel the muscles working. Make it harder by doing a raised squat - place each foot separately on a raised surface and do the squats - can also do it holding a weight
2. Walking lunges - your knees don't have to touch the floor but your back has to be straight and really engaged core, can also do this with weights to make it harder
3. Step-up - find a step and alternate stepping - so right foot up, left foot up, right foot down, left foot down, the LEFT foot up, right food up etc.

ARMS
1. Press ups - if you can't do a full press up try it on your knees, cross your feet and raise them off the ground slightly then try to get your chest as close to the floor as you can, but without letting it touch the floor
2. Burpees - jump energetically into the air - then crouch with your hands on the floor and jump your legs behind you before bringing them in again
3. Tricep dip - find a bench of some kind and grip the edge of the bench with your hands, place your feet out in front slightly then lower and raise your weight.

These are only basic moves but they really do work and you can feel them working. If you don't have any gym weights just anything will do that you know the weight of, for example do the exercises holding a full bottle of water in each hand, just make sure the weights are equal.

I tend to do all the exercises for legs first, then have a 2 min break and do the same leg exercises again, then go onto arms (do the same thing, arms, 2min break, arms again) and then finally core. As you improve you should be able to gradually increase the amount of exercises you do each time and these exercises are great especially if you're busy with a 5 week old (Congratulations by the way ) because you don't need to go to the gym, they can all be done in the comfort of your own home.

Just make sure to warm up before and stretch out properly before and after, try not to over do it by pushing too far to prevent injury

Also adding cardio into this is great too, so swimming is low impact on joints and great working all parts of the body, there's walking or even running. 20 mins a day would be enough, walking to the shops instead of driving, or even taking your children to the park and running round with them (if they're old enough that is )

Hope this helps!

ndj1979 wrote: »

eat in a calorie deficit
get a food scale
log everything
get on a structured lifting program like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for woman, etc

I don’t know what toning exercises are. I’d to this ^^^. Lifting heavy is a great way to preserve muscle mass while losing weight and get stronger.

You can't out-exercise a poor diet. Get the eating under control. That's where the weight loss will come from.

Fitness comes from exercise. I agree with ndj1979 - get into a lifting program.

To me, toning is one of those fitness industry terms that's vague and means different things to different people. Because of this, it causes arguments, disagreements, misunderstandings, etc. I suppose most people mean they want to look leaner and more muscular which usually means building muscle and losing fat but, for some people, just losing fat may be enough to get the results they want.

The reason I'm bringing this up is not for nothing and it's not just to be pedantic but because I believe that in order to get the results you want you need to be very clear about what it is you're trying to do- so starting with a term that has a fuzzy meaning is a bad place to start.

Regardless of one's opinion of CrossFit, this article illustrates pretty well what I mean. I don't agree, however, that you need a Paleo or Zone diet, but the point holds that your eating will be a major component of this and eating a proper macro balance and the right number of calories for your goals and activity level is essential.

http://crossfitimpulse.com/lies-damned-lies-and-muscle-tone/

ndj1979 wrote: »

eat in a calorie deficit
get a food scale
log everything
get on a structured lifting program like strong lifts, starting strength, new rules of lifting for woman, etc

What he said.

karensuegill wrote: »

If your goal is to lose the baby weight, you have to do some cardio, it's the only thing that will burn calories. But even more important is what you put in your mouth. Set a goal for how much you want to lose each week, plug it in to MFP and it will give you your daily calorie goal to lose that amount. Then add exercise to boost your metabolism and burn even more calories and boost your weight loss.

False. So very false.

"toning" is nothing to do with exercise.... It's all diet. Eat in a deficit, lose fat and "oh look, muscles!". Exercise of course helps, and picking up and putting down heavy things repeatedly will help retain muscle mass as you diet

There are many ways to get to the finish line.. Is there shorter way to get there, maybe. But the OP wants to do some exercises in her home and get the eating down to a science. I think encouraging her to do what ever she can when ever she can (with a new born in the house) should be first and foremost..

OP and by the way, congratulations on the birth of your child.

All the things said are right, lifting heavy, cardio, eating right and at a deficit.. all will get your there, you just have to find your path and create a plan and get to it...

Jillian Michaels workouts were amazing for me as far as looking more toned. I was counting calories on here too but I was very impressed with the results (I started with 30 day shred).

So much of the T word lately. Makes me cringe! You got some good advice OP. Mostly the stuff about eating in a deficit and getting on a lifting program.

Here's this too. Understanding your goals will help you be more successful.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/toning/