Home Toning Exercises

With just a little bit of creativity and some strategic planning, home toning exercises can be almost as effective as a full gym workout. In fact, even with a limited amount of space, it's possible to design a full-body toning workout.

If you have wood floors, in your home, or linoleum floors in your kitchen, you can create a slide board. Place a towel under one foot. To work your inner and outer thighs, keep your foot in contact with the towel as you slide the leg away from the center line of your body. Then, contract your inner thigh to bring the leg back to center. Perform three sets of 15 repetitions on each leg.

Your bed can also serve as an excellent piece of equipment for thigh toning exercises.

• Lie on your side with your upper body on the bed and your feet on the floor.
• Make sure that your hips are stacked and that your shoulders are aligned with your hips.
• Keep your bottom leg bent and your top leg straight.
• Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, slowly raise your top leg to hip height. Make sure to keep your pelvis and back stable and your knee facing straight ahead.
• Inhale to return.
• Perform 15 repetitions, and then switch sides.

Performing this exercise off the bed increases the range of motion, which makes it more effective and more challenging. You can also perform this exercise by wrapping a resistance band around your ankles. Speaking of resistance bands, they are perfect for toning exercises. To work your hamstrings, tie the band around your ankles, or purchase a special ankle band designed for leg exercises.

• Lie face down on your bed and rest your head on a pillow.
• Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, slowly bend one knee.
• Inhale to return.
• Perform 15 repetitions, and then switch sides.

When you're at the gym, you might have performed lunge exercises by placing one foot up on a bench. This adds intensity to the workout, while distributing the work load between the quadriceps and gluteal muscles. You can do the same thing at home, by placing one foot on a coffee table or your bed. If you use the coffee table, make sure to cover it with a mat. Of course, if you use the bed, take your shoes off. You can perform the lunges by placing either the lunging foot or the rear foot on the table or bed.

Your bed can also be used to add challenge to the bridge exercise.

• Lie on your back with your heels on the bed.
• Contract your abs and glutes and slowly lift each vertebrae from the floor, until you are in a bridge position.
• Slowly return to the floor.

If you can purchase only one piece of equipment for home toning exercises, make it the stability ball. Simply sitting on the ball for one hour a day can improve your posture, which can in turn tone your deep core muscles. Sit on the ball while watching television. During each commercial, perform a set of abdominal curls. You can also lie on your back and wrap your legs around the ball and then draw your belly in. As you squeeze the ball with your inner legs, lift the lower pelvis off the floor. It's a great exercise for the lower abdominals and the inner thighs. For the upper body, use the ball in junction with resistance bands. Here's a great exercise for the upper back and core muscles.

• Sit on the ball and wrap an exercise band around your feet.
• Criss-cross the band and hold one end in each hand.
• Begin with your knees bent. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, squeeze your shoulder blades together as you bend your elbows. Simultaneously straighten your legs.
• Inhale and return to the starting position.

Don't let finances or time concerns prevent you from keeping fit. A home toning exercise program is inexpensive and convenient.

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