The busy girl's super toning workout…

I'm going to take advantage of the fact that well… I was just too darn lazy to piece together an outfit today and rolled out of bed in work (te he… I love that I get to dance for a living now) clothes even though today was a day off. I know: you're thinking "Duh, Sig… days off are for wearing lazy clothes," but really… I tend to use my non dancing/flipping/twirling days to wear actual outfits… anyway (cos this sentence is getting to be downright Dickensian) I want to take this advantage to share with you just a few little workout tips.

As I've said numerous times ~~before~~ in this post, I teach dance and gymnastics for a living, though many of my classes are with youngins so I don't get the full effect of a high-intensity workout, but I'd still like to be toned and ready to hit the south of France, should the opportunity arise again this summer. Because I am a dancer above all else, I have ginormous calves (that make slipping into skinny jeans a real b*tch) and thighs that really stand no chance of ever having one of those new-fangled thigh gap thingers that's been all over the interwebs lately. I have an obsession with ab muscles, though the amount of schnitzel and beer I consume here in Germany has taken a toll here and now that I'm (nearly 30) and learning how to tumble, I am just beginning to build definition in my arms that actually has some strength behind it.

… and since, apparently, I'm way better at rambling about my life than I am at actually getting my sought-after workout in… here we go:

THE BUSY GIRL'S SUPER TONING WORKOUT

… it's all about multi-tasking, baby…

1) SQUAT- I do mine while brushing my teeth. In the morning, I do 60 squats with my feet parallel about shoulder-width apart. Before bed, I do 100 low bounces with legs just over shoulder-width apart and turned out. Knees will stay bent for these and boy, will you feel the burn. The benefit of doing squats this way is that in order to get them all done, you'll end up brushing your teeth for at least 60 seconds, if not for a full 2 minutes!

2) SQUEEZE- Buns, abs, etc. Squeezing your muscles = contractions, which = toning. I've had to get creative with how I work mine in since these may appear a bit obvious if you're in public, but I've found that if I squeeze your tush while driving, generally by the time I reach work from my house, I've gone through about 200 of them, but *note* they can get distracting while driving… so safety first! I like to do ab squeezes while I'm teaching/observing students in class, but they can also be done while standing in line at the bank, for your morning/afternoon/latenight latte, and at the grocery store.

3) LIFT- Everything as many times as you can! Children, books, lattes, etc. The heavier the item/the more times you can lift it= more tone!

4) TIPTOE- Wear heels, walk on your tip toes, when standing in line, pretend to be super impatient while going up on your tippy toes and coming back down. These are great ways to get your calves toned!

Hope these help!