An important part of staying healthy is exercising and staying fit. People are commonly mistaken that they don't have enough time to get in shape or that they won't be able to maintain a healthy routine if they do. This is not true. You can build and increase muscle tone in ten minutes a day; it just takes some motivation. Here are several Pilates-based stretches that will tone different parts of your body.
Instructions
1. Focus on quality instead of quantity; you will be working out for a very brief period of time so you need to focus and make every second count. Slow down and keep your muscles flexed when doing these stretches to get maximum benefits, you want to exhaust the muscles and feel a burn to know that you are working them as best you can.
2. You are going to perform five exercises, each focused on a specific part of your body and intended to stretch and lengthen your muscles. The exercises (including some extra stretching) should take you increments of about two minutes, adding up to your ten-minute workout.
3. The saw is a good exercise to focus on your posture, your breathing and to stretch your waistline. Sit on the yoga mat with your legs outstretched, shoulder-width apart, feet flexed. Sit with your back straight, shoulders back, head up and breath.
4. Lift your arms up at your sides and hold outstretched, no higher than your shoulders. Breath in and twist at your waist, turning and stretching your pinky-finger of your right hand out toward the littlest toe on your left foot. Breath the air slowly out as you slowly reach as far as you can ("sawing your little toe").
5. Breath in as you sit back up and return to your straight back, arms outstretched posed. Then reach the other direction, left-pinky to right, little toe and breath out the air again. Then sit up as you breath in again.
Repeat twice more on each side.
6. After your sit up tall one last time, lower your arms to your sides. Tuck your chin down and roll back slowly vertebra by vertebra. Stretch your arms and legs long as you breath in and then lower your arms to your sides as you breath out.
7. Legs lowering. This exercise is one of the most difficult and definitely the most exhausting. It will really work your abdominals, and you will feel a strong burn, but don't give up! This exercise will get easier as you get stronger in your abs and lower back and it will give you the most rewarding results.
Stretch your legs up at a 90-degree angle to your body. Strengthen your abdominals, breath in and lower your legs to a 45-degree angle (even more for more of a challenge). Then pull your legs back to the starting position. Repeat this ten times and then bend your knees to relax your legs and back. Breath in and out.
8. Next, lower your legs five times each individually. Make sure to keep your abs tight and remember to breath.
Finally, lower them five last times together even more slowly, just to really feel that burn in your core. When you are done, lower your legs to the floor and stretch your arms and legs long. Feel the length of your body.
9. Push-ups. This exercise is something you are probably familiar with and don't like the sound of, but it's a great way to quickly tone your arms. Roll onto your stomach and stretch long again. Lift your legs as high as you can off the ground (repeat, pumping the legs to tone your buttocks a little) as you breath.
Prepare yourself to perform a standard push up, either from your knees or your toes (whichever you can do). Breath and do ten push ups. Rest and then repeat.
10. Sit back on your heels, leaving your arms outstretched in front of you and your head tucked. Breath in deeply and feel the stretch through your spine. Repeat if you like.
Set up to do another push up but instead support yourself with your left hand and rotate your right hand in small circles, as if you were cleaning the floor. Make five small circles clockwise and then five small circles counter-clockwise, then repeat for the left hand.
After, sit back on your heels and stretch your back again.
11. Sidekicks and leg lifts. These are the only exercises that you can perform with a little more speed because you are actually performing two exercises with only one minute for each leg, so focus on performing with strength and accuracy.
Lay on your side in a straight line, support your head with your lower hand (propped on your elbow) and place your top hand on the floor in front of you to support your body from moving during the exercise. Breath in and lift your legs together to be about 45 degrees in front of you. This is your starting position.
12. Lift your top leg about shoulder-width distance off the floor, tighten your abdominals and kick your leg forward as far as you can while still keeping control. Keep your toe pointed and swing your leg back until it's about parallel to your body. Repeat ten times--be sure to breath and control the height of your leg--then return to your starting position.
13. Next, lift your leg up as far as you can, controlling as you both lift and lower. Focus on strengthening the muscles and repeat ten times.
Repeat both exercises on your other leg, stay focused and breath.
14. Abdominal crunches. Again, not one of your favorites but this is another, slower twist on the traditional crunch. It's a second core exercise in this quick workout with great benefits if performed accurately.
Roll onto your back and bend your knees, extend one of your legs out at a 45-degree angle. Bend your elbows, stack your hands and support as you lift your head off the floor.
15. Twist from your waist and curl up as you reach your opposite elbow to your bent knee. Keep your abs tight and feel the stretch in your side. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position, switch your legs and twist in the opposite direction.
Repeat this slowly five times on each side, then speed up and do quickly fifteen more times--keep your motions defined, feel the burn.
16. It's been about ten minutes, give or take, and your body should feel great! Your muscles should feel strengthened and lean but tired. With practice and focus, you can master these exercises and increase your muscle tone in no time at all.
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