10 Toning Exercises You Can Do From A Sun Lounger!
Whether you’re chilling in the back yard or relaxing on holiday, you can give yourself a nice dose of endorphins, tone and strengthen your body in as little as 10/20 minutes and you don’t even have to leave the sun bed!
Start by giving yourself a stretch including neck, back and shoulders, align your posture and take a deep breath. Now try some of these moves that focus on the most common areas we usually want to tone up like arms, stomach, bottom and thighs;
-
Front leg raises. Lie flat on the sunbed with one leg bent at the knee and the other pointing straight out. Raise your straight leg up in the air as slow as you can and back down as slow as you can. Repeat for 10 reps on each leg, remembering to breath in and out deeply at your natural pace.
2. Texting/browsing the web – you can do this standing up, sitting down or laying down (careful not to drop on face if laying down!), just hold away from you to work against gravity until you feel the burn in your arms. You can do this one anywhere with many different objects, just remember to keep your back straight.
3. Knee raises – lie flat on the sun lounger, arms by your sides (you can hold on to edges of sunbed if easier) and bring both knees up towards your chest (roughly 90 degrees), repeat for 10 if you can. Remember to breath…
4. Holding a full water bottle, hold your arm out to the side and make small circular movements, 20 in one direction and 20 in the other, then switch arms.
5. Side leg lifts – lay on your right side with your right knee bent 90 degrees and raises your left leg up towards the sky as slowly as possible, repeat for 10 then turn over and switch legs
6. Inner leg lifts – tone your inner thighs by laying on your right side and your left leg crossing over your right leg. Now lift the right leg and make small circular movements clockwise for 20, then anticlock wise for 20 or more if you can handle the burn. Then turn over and repeat on the other leg.
7. Half sit ups – Lay down on your back, raise your arms out straight in front of you (pretend to hold on to an invisible bar if it helps) then begin to sit up slowly, when you are half way to fully sitting up position, hold for a second and pull in your stomach, then lower back down and repeat for 10. Remember not to hold your breath.
8. Bingo wings – Lay on your front on the flat sun lounger and take a full water bottle in one hand. Raise the water bottle up behind you then back down and repeat for 10/15 on each arm, really working those triceps (bingo wing area). You could also hold the bottle out to the side and do circular movements to tone different areas of the arms.
9. Booty toning – Lay on your front and either wearing ankle weights or holding a bottle of water between both feet, raise your feet towards the sky, hold for a second then back down to the sun bed. Repeat for 20/30 reps
10. More intense glute toning – Before you sit down, stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart, about one foot away from the sun lounger. Hold arms out in front for balance, back straight, bottom out and chest up, resting your weight in your heels. Hold this squat position for 3/5 seconds.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated throughout, cocktails with alcohol and iced lattes don’t count!
If you are heading off on holiday soon, check out our No Fuss Travel Food and snack ideas so your pre-holiday healthy eating efforts don’t go down the pan as soon as you reach the airport…