Most of us could probably do with a little work in the abdomen area. You might have a pooch in front of love handles on the side or maybe you just aren’t happy with your shape. Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t lose fat in just one part of your body. No matter how many crunches you do, unless you burn fat all over your body by doing aerobic exercises combined with a lower calorie diet, you aren’t going to lose the pooch. However, regular exercise including ab slimming exercises, and a healthy diet, can help you slim, trim and firm your abs in a few weeks. Set aside 3 non-consecutive days each week to work on your abs.

Start your workout by focusing on your upper abdominal area. Your upper abs are found between your belly button and the bottom of your breast bone. Knee raises, sit-ups and crunches target these muscles. You can do these exercises on the floor, but to add a real punch to your crunches and sit-ups, do them while sitting on an stability ball. Do knee raises on an inclined exercise bench with your feet higher than your head to maximize the benefit of this exercise. Work your lower abs by doing pelvic lifts and reverse crunches. The obliques can be difficult to exercise. This area is where you get those not-so-loved love handles. Any exercise that twists your torso to the left and to the right will help strengthen these abdominal muscles. Russian twists are a good exercise for your obliques. Side planks help increase muscle strength in your obliques. 

Women tend to shy away from strength training exercises because they don’t want bulky muscles. Women and men build muscle mass differently. Most women won’t develop bulging muscles from strength exercises. Push-ups work your whole body, especially your arms, chest and abs. Your legs and butt will develop lean, strong muscle too. Increasing the size of your pectoral muscles, located behind your breasts, can also give the appearance of a fuller breast. Women benefit from upper body and core strengthening exercises by increasing strength and greater endurance. You don’t need any equipment to do push-ups. Just do them!

Before you do any exercise, it’s important to warm up. Warming up your muscles before exercise helps to increase circulation and reduces the risk of injury. Increased circulation also loosens up stiff joints so exercise is easier. Do light to moderate exercise for 10 minutes to warm up your muscles and joints before exercise. Brisk walking, jumping jacks, jump rope or even marching in place are good ways to warm up. Stretch your muscles for 5 minutes after your warm-up before you start doing push-ups. 

Push-ups not only work your upper body, but also strengthen your core. A strong core helps improve your overall strength and endurance. Your balance will improve when your core muscles are stronger. The core muscles help to stabilize your spine and hips for better posture too. Squeeze your abs when doing push-ups to maximize the core-strengthening workout. 

Beginners may want to try wall push-ups or bent-knee push-ups. These push-ups are easier but still effective. Once your strength increases, switch to the regular push-up with your legs outstretched so that your body weight is supported by your hands and toes. Keep your body rigid and your abs tight when doing push-ups. Lower your upper body toward the floor, but don’t let your spine sag toward the floor. Push your body back upright. You’ve just done a push-up! Now, how many can you do? Start out slowly and try to do 4 or 5 push-ups. Gradually increase the number of push-ups you can do until you can do 20 push-ups before you give out. 

You spent a lot of money to stock your pantry. You have snacks, canned foods, quick meals, flour and oil. You’re stocked up for the month and chances are you will be eating what is in your pantry. The food choices in your pantry might be one of the reasons you can’t drop those last 10 pounds no matter how much you work out. Check your pantry for those diet-defeating goodies.

The worst foods for you and your family include those that are high in sugar, salt, solid fats and refined flour. Soda and sweetened drinks are the worst offenders for empty calories from sugar. Foods with empty calories are high in calories, but provide little or no nutritional benefit. Energy drinks are on this list too. Opt for tea and water instead. Sweetened cold cereals made using refined flour are big diet disasters. Choose cold cereals made with whole grains without any added sugar. 

Cakes and cupcakes are obviously going to add empty calories to your diet. Choose whole grain muffins, fresh or dry fruit and yogurt for deserts and snacks.  Popcorn can provide some fiber and nutrients, but steer clear of the extra butter and movie theater butter varieties. They can be loaded with saturated fat and sodium. The same is true of chips and cheese flavored snacks. Unsalted nuts are also a healthy snack choice. 

You expect Pop Tarts to be full of sugar (about 16 grams of sugar each) but you might be surprised to learn that even the more healthful sounding cereal bars or packaged muffins contain about the same amount of sugar (or more) than your typical toaster pastry. Otis Spunkmeyer brand muffins contribute about 30 grams of sugar per 4-ounce muffin, Weight Watchers muffins add about 20 grams of sugar per 2.2-ounce muffin, and a small Nutri-Grain cereal bar has 13 grams of sugar.

Most canned soups and canned vegetables contain a lot of sodium. Most canned foods contain an entire day’s worth of salt in just one serving. If you have high blood pressure, kidney disease or are just trying to cut down on your salt intake, these foods are a no-no. Select no-sodium or low-sodium varieties of your favorite canned soups. Buy fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned foods.  

You probably have some pasta in your pantry. Is it made with whole grain or refined flour? Switch to whole grain pasta to eliminate refined flour and add more fiber and nutrients to your pasta dishes. Use extra virgin olive oil and canola oil for cooking and salad dressing to eliminate saturated fat from your diet.

“I don’t have time to exercise.” Have you said this? No matter how busy you are you always have time to exercise. It would be best if you could find time to do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise each day. If you can’t manage a whole half hour, set aside just 15 minutes each day to do some cardio exercises. Your body will thank you. 

Exercise machines are available in every gym. These days even most small towns have a gym with a treadmill, an elliptical machine, a stair-stepper and an exercise bike. Plan your route to and from work so that you have to drive past the gym to remind you to stop in for 15 minutes and work up a good sweat before going home. Stair-steppers, ellipticals and stationary bikes are low-impact exercise machines, so they are easy on your joints. Your legs and abs will get a good workout too. 

Swimming places virtually no impact on your joints, but is a whole body strengthening cardio exercise. The water supports the weight of your body so swimming is ideal for people who have knee pain or have difficulty doing weight-bearing exercises. The water creates resistance that your muscles have to work against as you swim through the water. Even if you don’t know how to swim, you can still take advantage of your local swimming pool. Water walking is a vigorous cardio workout.

Try some equipment-free cardio exercises in the comfort of your own home in less than 15 minutes. Jump roping, mountain climbers, dancing, stair climbing, burpees, jump squats, kickboxing and jogging are all excellent choices to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time.

The easiest way for busy people to get a good cardio workout is to walk. Walking is low-impact and you don’t need special equipment to do it. Walking increases your breathing and strengthens your heart. Because walking is a weight-bearing exercise, it’s good for your bones too. A brisk 15-minute walk each day before work, during your lunch break or after work can help you stay fit. Combine your walk with a low-calorie diet and you can lose weight, too.  

Can too much exercise be a bad thing? Exercise is an important part of your healthy lifestyle. You should get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day and strength train a couple of days each week. Your body needs good nutrition, adequate sleep and moderate exercise to remain healthy and humming like a well-designed machine. But you can overdo it. Excessive exercise can cause serious health problems and interfere with a balanced life. If you experience any of the signs of excessive exercise, slow down and rest. 

One of the signs of excessive exercise is poor performance and fatigue. Your muscles need time to recover from exercise, especially strength exercises that work your muscles hard. You might misinterpret poor performance as the need to exercise harder and longer, but the opposite is true. More exercise only makes you feel more fatigued and decreases your performance even more. You might be exercising too much if you feel tired instead of energized after a workout. Take 2 or 3 days off from exercising to rest and allow your body to heal. 

Your heart rate naturally increases in response to exercise. After exercise, your heart rate returns to a normal resting rate. If your heart rate is taking longer and longer to return to a normal rate following exercise, you might be overdoing it. If your heart rate is still elevated after a cool-down, slow down and exercise less. Headaches after exercising are another sign that you are working your body too hard. Most people sleep better when they exercise regularly, but if you are over-exercising you might not sleep well. You may wake throughout the night or have trouble falling asleep. 

Muscle soreness that doesn’t go away in a couple of days and exercising even when you are injured are definitely signs of excessive exercise. Your muscles need time to heal after a strenuous workout. You only need to do strength exercises 2 or 3 times each week on non-consecutive days. Choose a less vigorous workout or take a few days off to recover. When your muscles are no longer sore and your injury healed, start slowly and stick to a regular exercise routine. 

Most people will experience back pain some time during their life. Some back pain may be attributed to sitting for long periods of time. Your weight can also contribute to back pain. You can help to reduce your risk of back pain or prevent it altogether by doing some basic stretches that help to strengthen the muscles of your back and improve your flexibility. Losing weight by doing regular exercise and eating a healthy diet can help reduce the stress on your back muscles and may alleviate back pain. If you have a back injury or suffer from severe back pain, see your doctor before doing any stretching or strengthening exercises on your own. With your doctor’s okay, try some stretches while lying on your back.

Stretch your lower back muscles by lying on your back with your knees bent. Reach forward with your hands and grasp your left knee. Pull your knee as close to your chest as you can. Keep your other foot flat on the floor. Hold the stretch for up to 30 seconds and then relax and then repeat with your right knee. Do 3 or 4 repetitions on each side twice each day.

The next exercise is easy but will help stretch your muscles to relieve tension, especially in your lower back. While still on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. Press your upper back and shoulders flat on the floor. Roll both of your knees to the right as far as you can. Hold for up to 30 seconds and return to the middle. Repeat on the left side. 

Lifting your pelvis off the floor can help stretch the muscles of your lower and middle back to relieve tension and alleviate pain. Start in the same position as the previous two exercises with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Arch your lower back until your pelvis lifts toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 10 seconds and then relax. Press your lower back to the floor by pulling your abdominal muscles in toward your spine. Pull your abs in and press your back down until your pelvis tilts toward your head. Hold for 10 seconds and then relax. Try to do 5 repetitions of this exercise in the morning and another 5 in the evening. 

The weather is turning colder. The wind is blowing. Maybe there are a few snow flakes in the air. You just don’t want to go out into that blustery weather for your daily run. What can you do to stay on track with your exercise routine? Even when the weather turns cold and wintry, you can stay in shape by doing activities you enjoy or exercise indoors.

Use resistance bands at home while watching television or listening to your favorite radio station to strengthen your muscles. Rent or buy a couple of exercise DVDs and try some new dance aerobic and strength training exercises. Even doing regular housework is good exercise. Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping floors and carrying laundry are all ways to get exercise without having to brave the bad weather. Run up and down stairs or quickly jog from room to room. While watching television, drop and do 10 push-ups during commercial breaks.

Your local gym is another alternative to running or jogging outdoors. Use the treadmill to get your daily run or jog. Try out some new machines, such as a stair-stepper or elliptical machine. You might even want to try the cable machine or other resistance exercise equipment. 

If you do decide to go outside, bundle up with layers of clothing to stay warm. Beware of over-doing it and drink plenty of water. Other outdoor activities that are fun and give you a good workout include ice skating, skiing or even shoveling snow and raking leaves. 

Want to jump-start your metabolism to burn calories all day long? Exercise in the morning. Make exercise part of your morning routine until it becomes a healthy habit. It’s easier than you might think. Set your alarm clock 20 minutes or 30 minutes earlier than you normally wake. Start right in your bedroom with some stretches followed by some bodyweight exercises, such as sit-ups, push-ups or crunches. Do a little cardio, including some jumping jacks, marching in place or even jumping rope, before breakfast. Before work or the start of the rest of your day, eat a whole grain, low-fat, nutritious breakfast.

People who exercise for about 30 minutes before eating breakfast typically burn more calories throughout the day than people who do not exercise. As you lose fat and gain muscle mass, you will burn even more calories. Muscle requires more energy than fat, so the stronger you get the more calories you burn.

You can sleep better at night if you start your day with some exercise. You may also be in a better mood all day long. When you exercise your brain releases endorphins, or the “feel good” hormones, that improves your mood and gives you a sense of well-being. Start your day energized and feeling good. You’ll lose weight and have more energy all day long. 

Many people want to lose weight, especially fat on the belly, hips and butt. Belly fat is especially hard to get rid of and it’s dangerous to your health. Belly fat contributes to heart disease, diabetes and even some cancers. Doing exercises to strengthen your abdominal muscles will help you develop strong abs, but ab exercises alone won’t help you get rid of belly fat. Squats will help you build strong leg and back muscles, but won’t burn butt fat. Spot reduction or burning fat from just one part of your body doesn’t work. You have to burn fat all over your body. To burn fat, get plenty of aerobic exercise and eat a healthy, low-fat diet. An exercise ball can help strengthen your muscles on the days you aren’t sweating away fat by doing aerobics.

Doing sit-ups on an exercise ball strengthens your entire core, works your chest muscles and strengthens your legs. Sit on an exercise ball and spread your feet about 2 to 3 feet apart or until your body feels stable on the ball. Put your hands behind your head or cross your arms over your chest to help maintain your balance. When you do sit-ups, lift your body upward using your ab muscles. Avoid pulling your head up with your hands. Do push-ups by placing your feet on an exercise ball and your hands on the floor. This exercise is great for your upper arms, shoulders, chest and abs.