What I love most today is Shaping Up!!!!!!

When I had my first baby, I gained about seventy five pounds!  I was an athlete in high school.  I played basketball and ran track.  I was married at 21 and had my first son shortly after I turned 22.  Being newly married, super happy, working and feeling excited about having a baby I just didn't give it a second thought.  Until after I had him and was left with the extra weight.

I started working out at home, and for the next few babies that is how I "shaped up."  But, after about four children, I needed to go out of the house to keep in shape.  So I joined the gym and have been going ever since.  About a year and a half ago I had my first personal trainer.  I loved it.  He helped me understand some great things and I've kept a lot of it up.

I've been working out with weights for years, ever since I got back into shape after the first baby.  I love weights.  I can see a difference with the weights after just a couple of weeks.  Here are my favorite exercises and why I love them.  (If you do any of these and they hurt you, stop doing them. I am not a personal trainer, just speaking from experience.)

 

You've seen this below:  An old school Jane Fonda move for sure.  It's a good one....but now try this....

 

Take your weights combined and place them on your outer thigh, raise the leg and feel the added burn while you lift your leg against the resistance of the weight.  This will tone your obliques, the area you see right under my elbow.  And it will tone up your outer thighs.  These are five pound weights.  So ten pounds combined.  It doesn't take much. 

 

You've seen this: A typical pilates roll up, which is a good exercise for your abs.  Now try this....
  

Take your weights and while you roll up cross one arm over to the opposite leg being lifted.  It will look like this:
This is great for the abs, upper back, arms and your upper legs.

  

You've seen this:  I love this exercise.  After seven babies, this ab exercise is great for me.  You hold the medicine ball to the side and rotate it from side to side.  Your legs are held up, they are not touching the ground at all.  Now try this:
 

Start normally like above, but as you come to the middle of your body throw the ball up, catch it and return it to the other side. This ball is eight pounds.  I use ten pounds at the gym.  I do it twenty times, three times.

 

You've seen this.   Now try this:

 

Keep your bum close to the seat of the chair, lift one leg and come down.
This is a great way of using your own weight to work for your body.  I love the added leg up.  The leg that is up is getting worked in the upper area and the leg that remains down is working double to get your body back up which is felt in the bum.  I need that.  :)

 

 

You've seen this yoga move.  Now try this:
 

Take your weight, while propped up with your arm take your other arm and swing it up with the weight in it.
 

Here's my arm as I swung up.  Let your arm go back down and swing back under your body and continue the swinging motion.  This is a killer stabilizing move.  Your abs are working super hard to keep you balanced while you are moving with the weight.  I love this.  It's one of my new favorite exercises.
 

You've all seen a regular lunge right?  Now try this:  Hold a medicine ball above your head, lunge and while in lunge stance, come up and down ten times, in place.  It's killer and lunges are theeeeee best for working your bum and legs.  I love lunges!!!

 I'm no expert, technically speaking.  But, I have had seven babies and have always used weights and these general floor exercises to shape up.  I know they work!  For cardio I usually do sprint intervals for two miles and then ride the bike for twenty minutes, or four miles.  I go to the gym twice a week and on Saturday mornings I do a 4.5 mile hike with some girlfriends. 

I love to exercise.  Not because I love the exercise in and of itself,  but because I love the way it makes me feel, for the results I see and for the mental relief and balance it gives me.  So, because of this what I love most today is Shaping Up!!!!!  Hope you got some ideas!