Tone and Lean Your Body

Most of us women would like to have an toner and leaner body. Not necessarily one covered with iron straps of blasted muscles. It can be challenging to find enough time to achieve this. The key is to select a training routine that delivers results without sucking up too many hours in the gym. Believe it or not 3 hours a week is all it takes!

First off, we have to cover cardio. What particular cardio exercise you do doesn't really matter. The important thing is you have to do at least 3 days a week of high intensity cardio. To be definite, I always say do 30 minutes of cardio. Follow a Day ON Day OFF pattern with 3 on days each week. Running is a good choice for cardio. It especially helps with some of the common female problem areas like the butt, lower stomach and thighs. If you are just starting your training, work up to 30 minutes gradually. Start with 15 minutes (or even 10 minutes) and then then next week add a couple minutes until you get up to 30.

In addition to cardio you will have to do some light weight training for that feminine toned, lean muscle look. You can do 3 sessions of 30 minutes a week and it will be enough. Begin with lots of repetitions and low weights. Every couple of weeks as the exercise gets less difficult add a little more weight. For your legs and butt you can do 2 sets of 10 or 12 repetitions of squats, hamstring curls and quad raises. For your arms, shoulders, back and chest do 2 sets of 10 or 12 repetitions of these : arm curls, tricep dips, side arm raises, front arm raises, bent arm raises and pec decks.

Now let's talk about the abs. A tight, lean stomach can be a girl's best asset. Twice a week do a non-stop high intensity ab training. It is super important that you go continuously without resting. The exact exercises you use are not nearly as important as the intensity and continuous nature of the workout. Here is a list of ab training exercises you could choose from. Do each exercise for no more than 25 repetitions and then switch to another. Keep doing this without resting for a 4 to 5 minute period. If you are just starting your training, you can go for less than 4 minutes and gradually build up the time. Here are some exercises you could use in your abs training: crunches, bicycles, v sit-ups, normal sit-ups, inclined bench sit-ups, back extensions or suspended leg lifts where you hang from a bar and lift your legs parallel to the ground.

Follow a routine like this and you will soon find yourself in possession of a head turning lean, toned body!