Easy Exercise How-To's for Beginners

• Stand with your feet under your hips and hold weights in your hands, palms facing forward.
• Bend your arms at the elbows, lifting the weights toward your shoulders.
• Straighten your elbows and lower the weights back down.

Perfect Plank

• Lie on your belly and rest your upper body on your forearms, which are flat against the floor.
• Contract your abs and buttocks.
• Slowly lift your torso off the ground, keeping your body straight.
• Hold this position for 5 seconds, then lower back down.

Tree Pose

• Stand straight and shift your body weight to your right foot.
• Lift your left knee toward your chest.
• Turn your left knee to the side and press the sole of your left foot against your right calf.
• Bring your palms together above your head.
• Hold this pose for 5-10 breaths.

Squats

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your back straight.
• Bend your knees and lower your rear as if sitting down in a chair, making sure your knees are over your ankles.
• Straighten your legs to return to the starting position.

The Pilates Hundred

• Sit on the floor with your feet flat, holding the backs of your thighs.
• Keep your belly in and curl down to the floor, curling your head and shoulders up slightly.
• Pump your arms up and down at your sides while breathing in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds.
• Repeat this breathing and arm movement until you reach 50 pumps, then sit up and repeat for a total of 100.

Pilates Roll-Up

• Lie on your back with your legs straight and feet flexed, and reach your arms overhead on the floor.
• Press your lower back into the floor.
• Exhale and, keeping your navel in, slowly roll up one vertebra at a time until you're sitting up.
• Slowly roll back down to the starting position.
• Repeat this movement 3 to 5 times.

Side Plank

• Lie on your side with your bent elbow directly under your shoulder.
• Use your torso muscles to lift your hips up into a side plank position.

Sculpt a Better Butt

• Stand with your feet under your hips and hop sideways to the left on your left foot, touching your right hand to the floor.
• Alternate sides and do 3 sets of 20 hops.

Tone Your Hamstrings

• Hold free weights and stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Fold at your hips while keeping your back straight, moving your hips backward as you lower your upper body until it's parallel to the floor.
• Slowly return to the starting position.
• Do 10 repetitions.

Work Your Abs

• Try the canoe twist by standing upright with your feet apart.
• Lock your fingers in a solid grip and exhale while sweeping your hands, arms, shoulders, and chest to the left as if rowing a canoe.
• At the same time, lift your left knee up and to the right.
• Inhale and return to the starting position, then exhale and repeat the movement to the right.
• Switch sides and do 20 reps.

Get Perfect Posture on a Cardio Machine

Make Your Routine Stick