30 Minute Tone Up

Today modern life can leave all of us wanting more time, and we don’t want to use up precious hours at the gym, particularly in the summer or around holiday seasons. To combat the lack of time, work-outs now need to be as quick as possible, and here is a routine that you can do at home in just 30 minutes. Do two or three sets of each exercise in a cycle until the 30 minutes is up.

If possible take two weights that you are comfortable holding and hold one in each hand. You should use these for steps 1,2,3 and 5:

1. Stand with your feet at shoulders width apart, feet pointing outwards. Holding your weights at shoulder height, with your arms bent to your body, squat and at the same time thrust your arms up in to the air above your head, arms straight. Make sure your bottom goes out to get the right position. Stand again and get in to the original position. You should do 15 reps.
2. Shadow-boxing is the next exercise, and to do this you need to be holding your two weights up to your chest. Punch one arm out diagonally across your body and return it to your chest, squatting as you do so. Stand and repeat with the other arm. Also, to vary, try punching your arm out straight and making a hook with your other arm. Do this for a minute, or 30 reps with each arm, whichever is easier for you.
3. Stand with your feet wide apart and holding your weights to your chest. Step out to the left, bend your left knee and lower into a squat. Your right leg should be straight. When you are moving in to the squat, thrust your arms out in front of you at arms lengths before curling them back in. Stand up and repeat on the other side. Do 15 reps, alternating legs.
4. This move can be hard depending on your upper body strength, if you cannot do regular press-ups then try doing this move with your knees bent and supporting you, stretched out as far behind as possible. For the regular press up, support yourself on your hands and feet and tense your abs. Lower down until your chest is virtually on the floor and raise again if possible. Do 15 if you can, or as many as comfortable.
5. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet in the air. Your thighs should be at a right-angle to your body. Hold your weights overhead and breathe out as your crunch your body forward, bring the weights down towards the knees. Go back into the starting position and do 50 reps.

If you use a routine such as this, with some extra exercises of your own added in if desired; you are targeting all of the main muscle groups. Aim to do this 2 to 3 times a week and you should help to tone your body and avoid weight gain. If you want to gain a lot of muscle mass as opposed to just staying fit and trim, then extra exercises at a gym or elsewhere would also be necessary on top of this routine.