Getting Ready for Summer

Get ready to hit the pool and beaches this summer! Winter has already said good bye and summer is just about to approach with lots of fun and relaxation.  Well for some of us, because for others like me we need to think abut how we are going to look good (or at least Ok) in a bathing suit.  Winter has left many of us lethargic, due to those days and nights of extra eating. But, as we know summer is all about beaches and poosl, and that's synonymous to shorts, small tops, and bikinis. So lets get into shape and the only way is through hard work. Start a workout and diet plan today and lose those extra pounds that are creating a barrier in the path of your enjoyment.

Let's focus on some of the easy workouts that can help you lose those extra pounds:

Pilates is a low impact workout that anyone can do and here are some simple exercises you can do at home.

The hundred, this is a start up exercise:

1. Bring your legs to 'table top,' which immediately pushes on your core.
2. Peel your head, neck and shoulders up and raise your arms next to you about hip height.
3. Pump your arms up and down, inhaling for five counts and then exhaling for five counts for a series of one hundred pumps in total.

Roll up:

1.  Lay flat on your back with your knees pulled in and feet on the floor.
2. Begin a series of roll ups.
3. Inhale, then exhale as you lift your head up over your chest, your chest and mid section up off the floor, and sit up nice and tall with your arms stretched out in front of you the entire time.
4. Inhale again, and then exhale as you pull your tummy in and slowly lie back down on your back, rolling down one vertebra at a time until your head is resting on the floor and your arms are back at your side.
5. Do this five to six times. You may have to use your hands to help pull yourself up the first few times, but when you become a pro there is no stopping you.

Lengthen Back

• Keep length in your leg and through the whole body, point your toe and sweep the top leg to the back. Pause, but do not do a second kick.
• Flex the foot and kick to the front.
• Repeat this exercise 5 to 10 times.

Waist work (and we all want that slender waist)

1. Sit up tall with your legs stretched out straight in front of you and squeeze together.
2. Stretch your arms out to the sides about as high as your shoulders and turn to each side, and then the next from the waist up.
3. Exhale each time you come to a full turn.
4. Repeat this about twenty times- ten times each side.

There are other ways we can all lose those extra pounds and they include, walking or jogging, going for a bike ride, or it can be as easy as using stairs instead of elevator whenever you can. After all these years we know what we can do to help us loose weight, we just need to get up off our "behind" and do it.

Also, if you can your diet and exercise now then next year you will not need to go out of your way and you would be fit and healthy all year round. Have a nourishing breakfast of high-fiber cereal, skim milk, and sliced fresh fruit, this will keep you energized for your workout, and will keep your stomach full until lunch.  Have a good sleep each night, and remember to drink plenty of water each day and nibble on healthy snacks, such as Baked Goods, Flat Earth, 100 Calorie Packs and Smart Food. Who knows you may be pleasantly surprised when you go and try that bikini!

This post was sponsored by Only In A Woman's World.