Improve Your Muscle Tone, Strength
With These 5 Exercises
Have you always wanted to start weight training but aren’t sure where to begin? Perhaps
you’ve avoided it in the past because you thought you needed to take out a loan to afford an
expensive gym membership or a shiny set of weights.
Fact is, building your strength with a short exercise plan is a great investment in your
health, and you don’t need a gym membership to make it happen. Just 2 or 3 sessions of
20 minutes three times a week (with a day off in between to allow your muscles to grow,
recover and rest) is all you need.
You’ll fill 20 minutes doing 1-3 sets of reps of the following 5 exercises (8-15 repetitions
per set). To keep the burn going, be sure to rest no more than 45 seconds between sets.
Two more important caveats to remember as you start this training program, especially if
you’re out of shape or have done no lifting recently: Start with light weights (2-5 pounds)
and fewer sets.
One-Arm Row
1. Standing on the left of a chair with your feet a hip-width apart, hold a dumbbell on the
right hand with the palm facing inward. Pull your abs inward and bend your body forward
from your hips so that your back has a small arch. Your body should also be parallel to the
floor with your knees bent slightly. Using your left hand for balance, then tilt the chin into
your chest so it is aligned with your spine.
2. Pull the right arm upward along your body until the elbow points to the ceiling and the
hand comes in contact with your waist.
3. Lower the weight, and complete the rep cycle, then change hands.
Biceps Curl
1. Hold a dumbbell with each hand and your feet spread apart, allowing your arms to
hang at your sides and palms facing inward. Pull in your abs, stand straight and keep your
knees relaxed.
2. Curl up your right arm and twist your palm so that it faces the front of your shoulder at
the top of the rep. Lower the dumbbell slowly, then repeat with the other arm.
The Plank
1. With your body on the floor, clasp your hands in front of your body under your forehead
and being sure to tuck your toes underneath.
2. Press upward to balance on your toes and forearms and pull your abdominals so that
your hips don’t fall or lower back doesn’t sag.
3. Keep your torso straight and your abs pulled inward to support you.
Shoulder Press
1. While holding a dumbbell in both hands, sit straight on a chair with good back support
and place both feet on the floor a hip-width apart. Pull in your abs so there is only a slight
gap between the small of your back and the chair’s back.
2. As you keep your palms forward, bend your elbows and raise the dumbbells to the
point they are level with the ears (your elbows should be at or below the height of your
shoulders).
3. Raise your arms straightly over your head without locking the elbows, then lower them
slowly.
Kick-Backs
1. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and keep your feet hip-width apart while standing to
the left of a chair. Let your hips lean forward until your body comes to a 45-degree angle in
relation to the floor.
2. While placing your left hand on top of the chair for support, bend the right elbow so the
upper arm is parallel to the floor, your forearm is perpendicular and your palm is facing
inward. Keeping the elbow close to your waist, pull your abs inward without locking your
knees.
3. As you keep your upper arm still, straighten the other arm until the dumbbell is pointing
downward. Bend your arm deliberately downward to lower the weight for the set of reps.
Repeat the set with your left arm.