All you need is a resistance band, stability ball, and medicine ball or free weight. Make sure that you invest in quality equipment to ensure your safety. Check out our online store for affordable, professional grade balls and bands at www.FriendYourBody.com.

This workout consists of four exercises that are each performed for 12-15 repetitions back to back in a circuit. If the Stability Ball Single-Leg Dip is too challenging for you, then perform the exercise placing both feet on the ground.

Click here for the video.

To a firmer butt and stronger core,

Melissa Koerner

To combat this, it is a great idea to run while on vacation, and it is surprisingly easy. Here are some tips to keep your running schedule on track, and have a bit of fun while doing so.

Making the time. This is by far the biggest obstacle that many runners face. Even while on a relaxing vacation to the beach, or a busy vacation to the city, it is important to schedule even an hour to take a run. Just skip an afternoon activity, or get up in the morning before everyone else, and take a lap around the neighborhood you are in.

Layovers. While faced with a long layover, use it to your advantage by taking a run around the long-term parking lot, or several laps around the nearest small parking lot. Many larger airports even have fitness centers with showers that make it easy for travelers to dedicate some time on their journey to exercising. The website airportgyms.com has a comprehensive list of all of the airports with fitness amenities.

Do not worry about distance. Many runners suggest not paying as much attention on vacation to the distance that you run. Simply getting out and taking a run far outweighs how long you actually run. Any run is better than no run.

Exploration. Running around a new city is a great way to explore. While running on foot in parks and down side streets, it is possible to discover interesting bars, restaurants, and off beat attractions. There is no better way to explore a city on foot, and while running you will see twice as much of the neighborhood or area you are vacationing in.

Research. If you are more of the planning type, do plenty of research into the area you are staying in, as well as parks and trails in the area. If you prefer to take out the element of surprise and get in a nice full run, there are many websites that make it easy to plot out a scenic run.

Road races. If you are feeling extra motivated, enter a race in the city you are traveling to. I have many friends who travel to cities simply to run in their races, so why not enter one just for fun if on vacation?

Although vacations are a time for relaxation and indulgence, it is still important to stick to your running schedule so you can be sure not to lose any of the progress you have made. Next time you are planning a vacation, don’t forget to allot time for a relaxing, adventurous run.

Location, location, location. When it comes to running, I am a location snob. The result, however, is a beautiful background to all of my runs. Most cities have gorgeous parks or running trails. My favorite spot is the large park in my neighborhood. It has a running path that circles a mossy oak-lined bayou, and that leads to the Mississippi River. My run is always pleasant, as the path is paved and clearly divides runners and bikers. Pick a great, but close, location for your run, and it will be much more enjoyable.

Run, even when you do not want to. It is extremely easy to make up excuses not to go for your run. Of course, homework comes first, but you must make sure not to let friends or food get in the way of your exercise routine. Skip one day, and the routine falls apart. Believe me, this is easy to do, especially when your schedule becomes busier.

Routine. Incorporate your runs into your schedule. Find the time that works best for you, maybe three times a week to start, and then literally pencil it into your planner. This not only improves time management skills, it keeps an open block of time to dedicate to your run. After only a few weeks, you will have built up your strength and lung capacity to where you can take even longer runs, if time allows.

Music. Although it is imperative to stay aware of your surroundings, listening to your music while running is a must. Make a playlist of your favorite tunes for when you hit the trails. The playlist is very important, as the songs you choose can set your mood, speed, and even confidence level. High-energy songs are fine, but just be sure to find a group of songs that will sustain your energy, and keep you motivated and happy.

Stress Relief. If you’re going through a breakup, run. If you’re stressed about a test, but cannot study a single page more, run. If you’re homesick, run. Running is one of the best stress relievers. It is possible to run your stresses away. Pretend your stresses are under your feet, and you are stomping on them as you run. Or it also works for me to think about a situation that makes you livid and stressed, and push your body to run faster. After the run, and a cold shower, you will again feel ready to take on the world

It’s easier to form the good habit of exercising regularly together as a family if you set a goal. The goals you set should involve long and short-term aims for exercise. An example of a short-term milestone could be brisk walking for 30 minutes every day for a week, while a long-term goal could be completion of a 5K race. Each short-term goal should be relatively simple to reach, but the difficulty of each goal should be increased over time.

It also pays to commit to a time for exercising. This means defining a specific period each week to exercise together. Scheduling each exercise session allows you to approach it with the same commitment as you would an appointment, and means that you won’t skip it for a frivolous reason. A schedule also creates a routine, setting the pace for the rest of the day – whether you exercise in the morning or evening. You also give your family something to look forward to.

In the face of initial flagging enthusiasm, it’s always a good idea to provide positive motivation. It could be something as simple as praise for eating healthily or sticking to the exercise routine without fail, or a more substantial reward like a gift; however, this is akin to bribery, and should be avoided where possible.

It can be hard to be enthusiastic about exercising when your muscles are so sore that they threaten to seize up with every step you take. Fitness is achieved one workout at a time, and it is a rare routine that doesn’t encounter some obstacle or setback. The key to staying on track is to stay patient, keep your eye on the ultimate goal, and have the flexibility to work around any difficulty.

Fun is a big deal when it comes to getting the whole family to adopt the exercise habit. While it may be simple enough for one person to go for a quick run every day, a stroll through the park, or hike a nearby trail is more certain to keep a group interested. Similarly, a change of setting can make a difference when you want to overcome the unexciting routine of strength training at the gym.

The first thing is that you need to pick an activity that you actually enjoy, which means if you hate to run, then don’t, because that is not the best way to maximize your cardio workouts. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should swear off all cardio activity. You’ve got enough excuses – you can’t use this one. The key to sticking with a cardiovascular routine is picking an activity that you really enjoy doing. Just do this activity at increased intensity 2-3 times a week to get the best workout. (Tennis anyone?)

Additionally, make sure you have to right equipment. Whatever your chosen cardio activity, having the right equipment is a must. Not only will it allow you to perform the activity correctly, but it will also minimize your chances of injury, and it’s one of the simplest ways to maximize your cardio workouts. It is hard to help the your own cause if you are on the sidelines! This brings me to another point. Focus on correct form, because it will not only help you stay injure free, it will help you burn the most calories, and that’s profit-maximization (or in this case workout-maximization).

In some cases, people don’t get the best workout, because they didn’t necessary work their whole entire body.  Strive to work out all muscle groups.

Another tip is to switch up your cardio workout. The same old exercise might just bore you enough to seek the couch.

After the workout, it’s best to not eat for an hour, because you may burn some extra calories that way.

With these tips in mind, you can maximize your cardio workout.

One of the main reasons why I highly encourage walking is that it is so easy to do. You rarely have to force yourself to keep going and there are plenty of ways to entertain yourself while you are on your walk. For instance, you could bring a friend and either walk in silence or enjoy a long conversation. You could listen to music or a book on tape, or take pictures along the way.

Walking is cheap. You do not need to have a membership or some sort of a high tech machine to get the job done. You can splurge on weights or a camelpack, but on average, you are typically only going to be turning in time and calories in exchange for a relaxing walk.

Walking can easily become a part of your daily life. Perhaps you can walk to a store rather than drive, or go get your morning coffee at a nearby shop. You could make it a ritual with your friends to go after work, or perhaps with your colleagues during your lunch break. Walking can become an easily habit to stick with — just like how I bike everywhere now in Holland.

Another great thing about walking is that you will be less prone to injuries. Many people refuse to run because their knees are bad or because of past injuries. Walking can strengthen your muscles and prevent injuries from occurring or reoccurring. Walking can be gentle enough on your body so you can walk around for miles and miles without worrying about anything.

What else makes walking so easy? Well, how about the fact that finding a place to walk is usually extremely to do. Maybe you have to drive to a nearby park to enjoy the paths rather than the pavement, maybe you are lucky enough to have a forest behind you. In any case, walking routes can be easily found or created.

Walking is such an easy form of exercise that your body can truly benefit from. Do me a favor and try incorporating walks in your life today!

This summer I started walking my neighbors’ dogs for fun and exercise. Some of these neighbors call on me when they plan to be away from their home and ask me to walk their dogs. I take care of my mail (post office 1/2 mile away), phone bills (1/2 mile also), ATM banking (1/2 mile) and small shopping along the course of my walks also.

Besides the natural beauty where I live (Puget Sound Area), I get to chat with people who I “run into” while taking these walks.

I don’t document the distance I walk, but I often will go on two or three walks a day. I do, however, take note of the time I leave my house and the time I return – making a point to increase the amount of time I am gone (walking) as often as possible.

After walking became more routine for me, things I did on the way became more fun. For example, people I would see – would now look forward to a visit, the dogs get used to walks to the creek, blackberries would beckon to be picked, etc. Pretty soon walking a mile or two became part of any and every day without it ever seeming like exercise.

As you can see from hazeratti, calculating distance often just means plotting a route and making walking part of your schedule.

First off, I am a fan of working major muscle groups.  I like to focus on strength, speed and endurance.  To accomplish this I alternate workouts every month.  The 300 is best for muscle endurance.

300 to me, means 300 reps.  For the first two weeks, I do the following:

• Pushups – sets of 25, 25, 25

• Situps – sets of 25, 25, 25

• Chinups – sets 10, 10, 10

• Lunges – sets of 20, 20, 20

• Dips – sets of 10, 10, 10

• Leg-ups (hang from bar and drive knees to chest) – sets of 10, 10, 10

I start with one exercise and do one set of each, then take a two minute water break and go again.  I like to start with a different exercise each time to keep it fresh and challenge my muscles.

Every two weeks, I like to add ten percent more (round up) to the reps.  Pushups and situps are now at 28 reps, lunges equal 22 reps per set and the rest are up to 11 reps.  After the first add-on you will be up to 333 reps.

I love to use this workout as a cross-training tool.  When I get bored with my normal routine this is an awesome workout to use as a supplement.  You will get a full body workout each time you do it.  Not to mention a great aerobic routine, if you take short breaks in between supersets.

Another great feature to a routine like this is that you can do it right at home.  By installing a chin-up bar, you can accomplish each of these exercises without burning gas to get to the gym.  There are numerous doorway style bars on the market, and they are extremely affordable.  For the dips you can use a sturdy chair.  Put your hands in the front corners and your feet on the couch.

The point is that for much less than $300 you can get ripped like the cast of 300 with a simple workout.

First of all, this plan is best to supplement your current plan.  With it you will gradually build your endurance and strength.  You will only do one set of push ups, crunches and lunges.

Here is the plan for day one: Do as many push ups as you can on day one. (ex. 40 total push ups, 40 crunches and 30 lunges (each leg).

Day two: Do half that number in the morning (ex. 20 push ups, 20 crunches, 15 lunges). That night do the exact same number. The key is to do them with perfect technique and not cheating form simply to complete the exercise.  It is better to stop a few short than to cheat.

Day three: Add one more push up, crunch and lunge to day two’s morning and night set (ex. 21, 21, and 16 morning and night) .

Continue doing this every day.

Each week you must add 10 to your morning and nightly sets. On some days you will add more than one at a time. Don’t rush it, though, only add 10 a week!

This requires less than ten minutes a day, and in a month’s time you will have added 40 to your totals! You could be doing 520 push-ups per day in a year! All with slow improvements and a lot of discipline.

I did this back in high school and started with 30 and climbed to 200+. My friend Chris Hubinsky continued on and peaked at 1,000! He and I decided to give it another go and just started over, ten years later. I am currently on 40 push ups, 50 crunches and 45 lunges…and am going for 300.  I always wanted to do 300 push ups straight.

I seriously have been debating the acquisition of a pull-up bar.  It would be a huge benefit to my back strength and a great addition to the program.  Does anybody have any other simple workout plans that provide results?

We put our bodies through the ringer every workout, but we rarely do the easiest part of the workout correctly, our diet. Lifting weights and cardio workouts really stress our muscles. Once we get into the gym and get moving we diminish our calorie storehouses at a faster rate than we do just going through the motions of our days. For some of us, the goal is to burn those calories, but the need to supplement still applies.

Our muscles need many nutrients to repair themselves and to make the best of the workout. The most important of these are proteins, which repair and rebuild. There are two main types of proteins: soy and whey. Whey protein is quickly absorbed into the body and muscles. Soy is much slower. Whey protein should be taken immediately after a workout to rebuild the muscles that you have just torn down. Soy is best to use in a smoothie or as a midday snack to replenish your body throughout the day.

There are numerous other supplements that others recommend, however, protein is a need not a want. The others are very useful in helping you get to your fitness goals. If you do a simple search for supplements online, you will be bombarded with results. This posting may even be a result of such a search. Most of the trendy or, rather, “cutting edge” supplements turn out to be bad for us like ephedra was. Do you know that pro athletes were actually encouraged to take anabolic steroids in the 70’s to speed up recovery times?

The key is to do your research. Find a company that you can trust and look for medical reviews. Ask your doctor what she thinks about a particular supplement.