Toning Exercises Without Weights

Toning Exercises
The basic idea behind doing toning exercises is to make the muscles stronger and develop endurance in them. The muscles need to be worked out repetitively in order to develop the stamina. The body toning exercises are performed in order to develop a physique with a perfectly carved out shape. The emphasis is laid on improving muscle tone and it can be done with or without the use of weights. Since there is no specific exercise for toning muscles, we need to take a look at the different toning exercises without weights in the following paragraphs.

Toning Exercises Without Weights

Arm and Chest Building Exercises: Pull ups are the best arm toning exercises without weights to work up the chest muscles. In order to perform a pull up, the hands should be placed on a horizontal bar at a distance of the shoulder-width. The body should be raised above till the chin reaches the bar level and then lowered immediately. The above cycle could be repeated as many times as possible. However, care needs to be taken to see that muscles are not overworked. The pull ups performed in one go or without stopping leads to the completion of one set. Two or three sets of pull ups with a gap/rest of a minute between should be completed in a single session. In a single week 2-3 such pull up sessions would help in toning the muscles properly. Pull ups is one of the many different upper body exercises without weights and it offers numerous benefits. It helps in toning the chest and arm muscles along with the shoulders and sides of the back. It is also strengthens the fingers, wrists, abs and the lower back. Read more on:

• Chest Exercises Without Weights
• Shoulder Exercises Without Weights

It is necessary to take proper care while performing the pull ups. The movements need to be smooth while raising and lowering the body. Breathing should be deep and smooth in order to provide enough oxygen to the muscles that are being exercised.

Abdominal Exercises: The abdominal and lower back muscles are worked out with these back exercises without weights.

Planks: The planks are performed by putting the body weight on the forearms and toes. In this exercise, one has to keep the body (from toes till the arms) in a straight line and the position should be maintained as long as possible. More on abdominal exercises.

Crunches: The crunches prove to be helpful in toning the abs. The exercise is performed by lying on the back and placing the hands behind the head. The feet should be kept flat and knees in a bent position. The exercise should be performed by slowly crunching upwards while flattening the lower back towards the ground. It is necessary to lower the body slowly. Read more on stomach toning exercise.

Lower Body Exercises: The lunges and squats are the lower body exercises without weights which are commonly performed. The muscles of the lower body include the quadriceps, gluteus maximum, calves and hamstrings. More than one muscle groups are worked with the help of lower body exercises.

Lunges: The lunges are one of the important leg exercises without weights which are easy to perform. In this exercise, either of the legs should be put forward while the knee of the other/back leg should be lowered to the ground. The front knee should be bent at an angle of 90^o. It helps in toning the muscles. The same exercise can be performed by switching the legs. Here's more on toning exercises for legs.

Squats: The squats are performed by placing the feet at shoulder width and arms in front. The hips should be lowered to the ground while maintaining the thighs parallel to the ground. The body should be lifted and the hips lowered on the other side of the body. Read more on Toning Exercises for Thighs.

The above mentioned toning exercises without weights are easy to perform and help in developing a well sculpted and strong body.