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Exercise is an important part of our lives. Staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectancy. Weight bearing exercises are important also for increasing muscle mass and bone density as you age.

Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising. The problem is where and when to get the job done. With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge.

Weight bearing exercises aren’t just for bodybuilders. As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty, you begin to lose muscle mass. For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem. When the body is in need of calcium it can rob it from your bones. Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.

Here are five easy toning exercises that can be done anywhere and whenever you have time. At home, at the office, or on vacation, you can do these easy yet extremely effective exercises.

1. The Bridge Butt Lift – Sounds like a plastic surgery technique but it is an easy way to tone your buttocks. Lay down with feet flat on the floor, legs shoulder width apart. Place your hands, palm side down, on either side of your body. Pushing with your feet, squeeze your gluteal muscles and lift your butt off the floor. Hold the position for a count of five to ten and release down to the floor.

2. Squats – Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps. If you aren’t sure of proper form, you can use a chair. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and feet firmly planted. Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair. Keep your abs tight and your upper body straight. Once you reach chair level stop and hold the position for a count of two to five and release. At the lowest point, place all of your weight on your heels for balance and maximum toning.

3. Reverse Lunges – Lunges work the quadriceps muscles. They can be hard for people with knee problems. A reverse lunge still tones the right muscle groups but with less pressure on the knee. Stand with feet together and arms at your sides. Take one leg and move it backwards until you are in lunge position: front leg bent at a 90 degree angle and back leg extended until you are on the ball of your foot. From this position lower yourself down until the back knee almost touches the floor. Hold for a count of two and return to starting position.

4. Pushups – This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of the arms plus the chest muscles. If you aren’t comfortable or strong enough to perform a pushup on your toes, lower your body to your knees. Be sure your arms are tucked into the body and your back straight as you lower and lift your body.

5. Crunches – Abdominal muscles can be worked every day to build strength and muscle tone. Lying on the floor in sit up position, lace your fingers behind your head. Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body until your lower back is about to come off the floor. Hold for two to five counts and return to starting position.

These five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time. The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative. Even five or ten minutes at a time will work to your advantage.

Healthy Who doesn’t love lasagna? The downside of this delicious dish is that all that cheese, meat and cream isn’t great for you (or your waistline).

This version is totally skinny, yet simply delicious.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 sticks of celery, finely sliced
1 carrot, grated
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 pound of quality lean ground beef – organic if possible (alternatively you can use organic ground turkey)
1 can of plum tomatoes
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 zucchinis, thinly sliced length ways
1 cup of already roasted red peppers (or you can make your own at home)
4 sheets of lasagna (whole wheat if possible)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the cheese sauce:
8 ounces skimmed milk
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 ounces mature cheddar cheese
Dash of nutmeg

* By using an extra mature, strong cheddar you’ll need much, much less and still get a full flavor.

Directions:

In a large saucepan add the olive oil , onion, celery and carrot and cook over low heat for approximately 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a further one minute. Set aside.

In a frying pan, fry the meat until completely cooked through. Drain away the oil and add to your large pan of onion and vegetables. Turn up the heat and add the wine, stir continuously until all the wine has been absorbed. Then add the tomatoes and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until the liquid has reduced.

Heat the frying pan again and add the zucchini. Char grill for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Do the same thing with the roasted peppers (drain if using jar peppers). Set aside.

Make the cheese sauce by heating up the milk and nutmeg gently over low heat. Mix the corn starch with a little milk in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Add this mixture to the milk and nutmeg. Whisk continuously over low heat for approximately 2 to 3 minutes until thickened. Then add the mustard and half of the cheese. Add salt and pepper if necessary.

Now put it all together. Take a lasagna dish and start with a layer of meat, then roasted peppers, then more meat, then roasted zucchini, then more meat, finally your four sheets of pasta. Now pour your cheese sauce over the top and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 to 30 minutes until bubbly.

Serve immediately with a side salad.

Are you frustrated when you put on a bathing suit and see the belly fat around your middle?
Do you see a lumpy, bumpy silhouette when you put on a new dress?
When you look in the mirror, do you see a spare tire hanging over your belt?

If this sounds familiar, you may be ready to lose your belly fat.

Step 1: Are You Ready?

You need to ask yourself a few questions to decide if you’re ready to take the steps you need to lose belly fat.

First, how do you feel about your situation?
Are you frustrated by your body?
What are the reasons you want to lose belly fat?
Is it so you can wear a bikini this summer?
Is it to make your clothes feel better?

If you’ve been thinking about how to lose your belly fat for some time, it’s time to take the next step.

Step 2: Research and Plan

You’ll need to gather as much information as you can so that you can make a plan. There are many sources of information including books, the internet, weight loss centers, and information from friends and family members.

At this stage you need to put together all the information you can find, and then decide which pieces will work best for you to lose your belly fat. You’ll need to set a goal for yourself including how much you would like to lose in pounds or inches, how you will do it, and by what date you will accomplish your goal.

Step 3: Take Action and Reach Your Goal

Once you have all the information you need, it’s time to put your plan into action. This is the hardest part of your quest to lose belly fat. You’ll need to arrange your life so that you can begin losing your belly fat right away. That means you may need to make sure you have specific foods in your pantry, arrange your schedule so you can get enough sleep each night, and remove as much stress as possible. After following your plan for a while, you’ll find that you've reached your goals.

Step 4: Maintain Your Success

At this point, you have a critical step to make – maintaining your success. This part of your plan will allow you to continue keeping your body trim after you lose the belly fat. If you go back to your old habits, that belly fat will find its way back to your middle.

When you’re ready to lose your belly fat, you need to take action. Once you’ve achieved your goals it’s time to maintain them. You can have the body you’ve always wanted with these simple steps.
Are You Ready to Lose Your Belly Fat?

By Holly Rigsby, CPT
www.FitYummyMummy.com

Have you tried everything under the sun to get a flat stomach, only to come up disappointed? Have you fallen prey to all the gimmicks, fad diets and shameless infomercials promising you that elusive flat stomach that you desire?

Well fret no more, I'm going to let you in on the two ‘secrets' that will help you shed unwanted fat and reveal your toned, flat stomach once and for all.

The first secret for a flat stomach is eating supportively. While this doesn't seem like a secret at all, most women get this wrong in spite of their best – but misguided – efforts. Women have fallen prey to low-fat, low-carb, Hollywood, grapefruit, South Beach and every other over hyped diet that marketers can dream up, all in hopes of shedding those unwanted pounds. But eating supportively is isn't about dieting or deprivation; it's about moderation and balance. While cutting carbs or fats out of your nutrition plan might give you a temporary loss of a couple of pounds, it's typically followed by a drop in metabolism and a weight gain of more than you lost in the first place once you go back to your old eating habits.

So what is eating supportively? Eating supportively is having protein and carbohydrates at every meal. It's grazing on 4-6 meals or snack each day instead of missing meals and then gorging yourself. It's enjoying a healthy breakfast and not drinking your calories. But most of all, eating supportively is enjoying the foods you love in moderation instead of in excess.

If eating supportively is the first secret to a flat stomach, then what's the second? The second flat stomach secret is resistance training. Unfortunately, just as fad diets have stood in the path of women achieving the flat stomachs they so desired, so have the myths of spot reduction and cardio being the best method for fat loss. Late night infomercials have long promoted gadgets that promised to spot reduce those trouble spots that women struggle with and sucked us in with testimonials from fitness models that undoubtedly picked up a nifty paycheck for endorsing their wares. But spot reduction is a myth. Think about it – have you ever met someone with a flat stomach and fat arms? Didn't think so. If spot reduction was possible then undoubtedly one of these happy customers would have toned and tightened their stomach, yet kept their flabby arms.

The other myth that has led women astray is the belief that cardio is the best solution for fat loss. Treadmill manufacturers have sold the virtues of the ‘fat burning zone' and led us to believe that we could plod along on a treadmill watching Oprah and before long a flat stomach would be ours. These two myths have diverted us from the path of what really does work – resistance training. Resistance training is a flat stomach's best friend because not only does an effective resistance training session burn plenty of calories while you're doing it, but it keeps you're metabolism revved long after you're done. One recent study showed that you're metabolism would stay elevated for over 36 hours after a resistance training session.

Try to get that out of an aerobics class.

And there's another benefit of resistance training when it comes to getting a flat stomach. The lean muscle that you gain will raise you're resting metabolic rate and help you burn more fat all day long, each and every day.

There you have it, two ‘secrets' that are guaranteed to boost your metabolism and give you that flat stomach you've been longing for. So ditch the diet books and the aerobics classes and start eating supportively and resistance training. Before long that flat stomach will finally be yours.

About the Author

Holly Rigsby is a nationally recognized womens fitness coach, certified personal trainer (CPT) and the author of the internationally popular e-book – Fit Yummy Mummy - Burn Your Baby Fat & Get Your Body Back.
Go to http://www.fityummymummy.com to get your FREE copy of her special report: "The Five Ways To Boost Your Metabolism."
Two Flat Stomach Secrets For Women