People who are either too fat or too thin constantly wonder and worry about getting into shape by losing or gaining weight. The best way to do it is by following a strict diet program and getting started on weight training exercises. Every day, if you do some basic weight lifting exercises even for just 20 minutes or half an hour, it will go a long way in boosting your strength and of course tone up your body. You may even feel encouraged about raising up the limit of your weight lifting exercises. However, you need to keep a few things in mind like asking your physician if it is ok for you to start on a weight training program and your basic warm up session which will help you prepare better for the exercises.

Upper Body Exercises

The weight training exercises for the upper body will tone up and strengthen your shoulders, back muscles, chest and biceps. The main exercises for toning up the upper body are:

• Flat Bench Press

In this, the chest muscles are toned up and strengthened. You are supposed to lie on your back on a bench and let your legs rest. Hold the bar or dumbbells and slowly lift it up so that your hands are straight and parallel. Bring it down slowly and hold it just below your chin. Repeat till you feel your chest is worked out.

• Push Up

Push ups help to strengthen the arms and shoulders. Lie face down on a flat surface, keep your legs straight and fix your toes on the ground. Keep your palms adjacent to your shoulder and try to lift up your body till your hands are straight. Don’t keep your knees on the floor.

• Bicep Curl

This exercise helps tone up the arms, mainly the biceps and the elbows. Take a dumbbell in each hand and stand straight, with your legs slightly apart. Slowly, lift up one dumbbell and bring it till your jawbone. Hold for a few seconds and drop your hand down slowly, in control. Repeat this with both hands.

Lower Body Exercises

The lower body exercises concentrate on toning up and strengthening the leg muscles. The main exercises for toning and strengthening of the lower body are:

• Squat

Squat help to tone up the Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteals, Hip Flexors and Calf muscles. In this, you need to hold a bar right behind your shoulders and stand absolutely straight. Make sure you are absolutely comfortable with the weight on your shoulders and they are not strained. Bend your knees and try to remain in a position as though you are sitting on a chair. Stay in that posture for a few seconds and slowly go back up. Inhale while going down and exhale while coming up.

• Lunge

In this, the main muscles that are worked up are Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Gluteals, Hip Flexors and Calf muscles. You can do this one with just your body weight or dumbbells. Stand straight facing forward and shoulders straight. Take the right foot ahead covering a significant area. The left foot should remain where it was. Bend down both knees so that you balance yourself on your legs but don’t touch the floor. Come back slowly and don’t loose balance. Repeat with the other leg.

• Deadlifts

The deadlifts help to work out the hamstrings and the knees. Keep in mind the fact that you need to keep your back absolutely straight even when you go down to pick the weight. Move your hips slightly backwards and then bend down to grasp the bar with both hands. While breathing in, lift it up till you stand straight again and your hands are fully stretched down. Keep your knees tight in a semi-locked position so that your hamstrings are stretched. Repeat a few times.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 9:02 am and is filed under Yoga, Health tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.