Body Toning Exercises

There are countless different body toning exercises for people looking to get in shape. Regardless of any preferences or problems you may have, toning exercises are readily available that can be perfectly suited to your needs.

Body toning exercises can be lumped into three basic categories; isolated-muscle, multi-muscle and full-body workouts. Isolated and multi-muscle exercises work specific muscles to help sculpt your shape or target stubborn spots. Full-body exercises are the most efficient for overall body toning.

Isolated-Muscle Body Toning Exercises
Isolated-muscle body toning exercises target a specific muscle, such as the hamstring, or a specific muscle group, such as the thighs. Sit-ups, crunches, leg-lifts, toe-lifts, curls and push-ups are isolated-muscle exercises. Though these exercises can be helpful, they are the least efficient types of overall body toning exercises. They usually do not increase your heart rate and leave the majority of your body stationary.

Multi-Muscle Body Toning Exercises
Multi-muscle body toning exercises target different muscles, such as the calves and arms, or different muscle groups, such as the legs and stomach. Jumping jacks, squats and scissors are multi-muscle exercises. Any movements that require your arms to hold or lift weights as your legs work-out are also multi-muscle exercises. These exercises are effective for increasing the heart rate slightly while focusing on certain muscle areas.

Full-Body Toning Exercises
Full-body toning exercises target the entire body, forcing at least a little work out of each muscle group. These exercises increase your heart rate and help tone every muscle. The most effective full-body toning exercises are walking, jogging and running. As long as your move your arms when you're doing these activities, you're getting a very healthy, full-body toning work-out.

• Thrust Push-Ups are useful if you need to do your full-body toning indoors or in a restricted area. Stand straight with your arms at your side. Bend your legs and squat down, placing your hands flat on the ground. Use your hands to hold your upper body as you thrust your legs out so you are in a basic push-up position. Do one push-up. Bring your legs in so you're back in a squat and stand up. Take a breath and repeat the exercise as many times as you can.
• Twist Marching is a generally effective full-body exercise that can be performed in a small and restricted area. The activity is basically a brisk march that twists your body. Start by bending your left leg and bringing to up to the right while you bend and raise your right arm to the left. Put your leg and arm back down and switch, bringing your right leg up and to the left while your left arm goes up and to the right. Repeat the process at a brisk pace for as long as you can.
• Weighted Lunges require some room to move around. It doesn't matter what kind of weight, just use something appropriate for your fitness level. Take a weight in each hand and stand straight with your arms down. Lift your arms up and forward as you bend your left leg, keeping your left foot flat on the ground, until your right knee touches the floor. Bring your arms down as you stand back up. Repeat process to bring left knee to the floor. Keep lunging forward as long as you can.