Tone up and lose weight quickly and easily when you add weight lifting to your workout. Just a little bit of weight can go a long way to helping you get thin. It doesn’t take a lot of weight and the best thing is, it won’t take you any more time than your normal workout. Once you add weight lifting to your workout, you will begin to notice more definition to your muscles in your shoulders, arms, tummy and legs. As you tone your torso, you’ll shrink your waistline.

Along with cardio, strength training is essential to any successful workout. Adding weight lifting to your strength training exercises or circuit training will give you significant results, but you have to add enough weight to make a difference.

Aim for muscle fatigue or failure. When you work your muscle to the point it can’t lift anymore, your body releases testosterone and growth hormone. This signals your body to burn fat and build lean muscle. You don’t have to worry about your muscles getting bulky—your arms will actually become firmer and more compact.

You will lose weight quicker and easier when you add weights to your resistance-training workout. As you build muscle, you will increase your base metabolic rate. The benefit for you is that you will burn more calories all throughout the day, no matter what you are doing, even when you are resting.

Within a few weeks of increasing the intensity of your workout and adding weights to your program, you will find some noticeable changes taking place on your body. Your waist will be smaller, legs firmer, arms toned and butt shapely. Your clothes will fit better, too.

When trying to determine how much weight you should be lifting, try lifting at least 5 pounds more than you think you can lift. Remember, you may be able to lift more weight doing some exercises than others, but as you continue working on weaker areas to make them stronger, the exercises will become easier. Consistency brings results.

Start by working with an amount of weight that you can lift for 2 to 3 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions. Remember, your goal will be to work your muscles until they are too tired to lift anymore. Don’t worry—your muscles will recover quickly. However, don’t overwork them because you might experience extreme muscle soreness later.

Stand naked in front of a full-length mirror and take a good look at your body. Do you see the tell-tell signs of cellulite? This unsightly, dimpled, fat that looks like cottage cheese and appears on the legs and buttocks is caused by several factors and is common in many women, especially as they age. If you are one of the many women who is bothered by this condition, you are not alone, some of the most beautiful celebrities and super-models are plagued with the same. But the good news is, you can control cellulite.

Learn to control your metabolic rate in adipose tissue (fat) in the thighs and butt to reduce and control cellulite. A healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise helps prevent cellulite buildup and improves the way your body processes and stores fat.

Genetics play a major role as to who will get cellulite, for instance cellulite is more common in white women than in Asian women. Hormonal changes, such as elevated levels of estrogen, can also trigger cellulite growth. In addition, pregnancy, stress, weight gain and lack of exercise all contribute to cellulite buildup.

Exercise is one of the best ways to help control cellulite. For one thing, exercise and I am talking about regular strenuous exercise, helps to control hormonal changes that can disrupt your body’s normal functions. Exercise helps to balance the hormones and reduces stress reactors in the body. While we can’t always reduce stress in our lives, we can learn to control the way it affects our bodies. Exercise is one of the best ways to make that happen.

Interval training is one of the best ways to balance hormones, reduce stress and as a result control cellulite in your body. Interval training, combining high-intensity aerobic exercises with weight bearing exercises will help you burn calories at a faster rate, even when your body is at rest. This means your body will use up its fat stores reducing and preventing the growth of cellulite.

While aerobic exercise is key to burning calories, strength or weight training exercises help to strengthen the muscles. The more muscular your body is, the quicker and better effective it will be for reducing fat. Since muscle requires more energy to grow and we get energy from the calories that we eat, it just goes without saying, that muscle burns more calories than fat. Even at rest, muscles continue to burn calories, using up fat that is stored in your body. A more muscular body helps to change the way existing cellulite looks, too. Muscles push against the fat in the body allowing for a smoother appearance.

Cellulite occurs most frequently on the front, back and sides of thighs and on the buttocks. Exercises, such as squats, lunges, bench step-ups, power walking, running and elliptical training are all great for reducing cellulite. Intensity is a key factor. The goal is not only to burn calories during exercise; but also to rev up your metabolism and strengthen your muscles so that your body is constantly burning fat at a faster rate.

Do you want great abs but can’t seem to get the definition that you desire? I’ve got a few suggestions for some tried-and-true moves to get you ABSolutely fit and fabulous.

Let’s face it—a toned and trim mid-section is an eye-catching sight. Beautiful to behold—it’s the sign of a truly fit body. But, those hard abs are more than aesthetics alone. Developing a six-pack will help to strengthen your back and legs.

To get good abs, you have got to develop your core muscles. Your core is the center of your strength. So, just where is your core? The major core muscles are found in the belly and mid and lower back.

Whether playing a game of tennis, simply reaching across a table to clear the dishes, stretching to reach the upper shelf of a bookcase, or bending down to pick up a child, you utilize very small muscles in the body to keep yourself steady. Even the act of walking relies on core muscle strength to stay upright. Certainly the large muscles of the legs are working hard to propel your body forward, however the large muscles would not be able to perform their function if not for those small muscles found throughout your torso, between your shoulders and your hips.

To engage your core, imagine that you are pushing your belly button towards your back. Not merely sucking in your gut, engaging the core wakes up all the abdominal muscles and prepares them for battle.

The following exercises will work your core muscles to make them stronger and more defined. Keep your core engaged throughout these exercises to develop deep ab muscles, shrink your waist and improve your posture.

Abdominal Crunch
Lying on your back (supine) on a mat, bend your knees and place your feet hips width apart. Place your fingertips behind your ears, and keep the lower part of your back pressing downward into the mat, your shoulder blades reaching down your back, your navel drawn inward towards the spine and keep your chin level. Breathe in, then exhale and roll your upper body off the mat keeping your chin tucked towards your chest, inhale and roll your upper body back down on the mat.

Chest Press
Lying on your back (supine) on a mat, bend your knees and place your feet hips width apart. Holding weights in your hands (2 to 5 lb to start), extend your arms straight up above your chest, with your wrists facing away from your body so you can see the backs of your hands. Inhale lower weights to your chest, exhale as you press the weights back up, arms fully extended. Squeeze your chest muscle as you press the weights away from your chest.

Practice engaging your core at all times, when you sit, stand, work and play. In addition to the above exercises, keeping your core engaged will really make a difference in the definition of your abdominal muscles. Be consistent and persistent in your goal. You will get there and you will love the way you look.

Women interested in fitness may be considering boot camp training in an effort to get in shape. The truth about this type of training is that it might just give you the best-looking body you’ve ever had. That’s because this back to basics training combines strength training, cardiovascular and agility exercises that train various muscle groups for an effective workout.

Be sure to check with your physician before beginning a boot camp training program or any new exercise regimen. Once you get the okay, select a program that best suits your personality and fitness goals. If something doesn’t seem right for you, check around and find one that does. It’s more important that you like a program and are willing to participate 100%, than to dread going there and then eventually give up. Remember, it’s your time, your body and your money, so make sure it works for you.

Boot camp training exercises combine strength training and cardiovascular exercises in short 30 to 60 second intervals. You may do 30 seconds of jumping jacks followed by as many squats as you can do in the same amount of time, then switching to 60 seconds of jump roping, followed by a set of abdominal crunches. Designed to work a variety of muscle groups, boot camp training can get your body into ultimate shape.

Trying new exercises and workouts is a wonderful way to stay in shape and keep you motivated to stick with your women’s fitness program. I believe in exercising for at least 30 minutes at least six days a week. It’s especially important, as we get older to keep our bodies in tiptop condition. I believe staying healthy is something we owe to ourselves and those that we love.

When asked what exercises I do to stay in shape, I can always answer that I like to combine strength training, cardio and Pilates to my workout. I love boot camps, especially those that are held outside in the fresh air. That is one of the advantages of a boot camp. While there are several that are gym based, many boot camps train outside with plenty of space to run. The outdoors allows for greater creativity, thus keeping the workout highly interesting and loads of fun.

So if you are looking for a way to take your workout to a whole new level, by all means give boot camp training a try. Look around, find a program that works for you and get to work. It won’t be long before you get that beach body that will turn heads this season.