LEGS

There is no doubt that some of the most slender women around are ballerinas and gymnasts. We recently watched the Olympics and were able to see first hand that the legs on these athletes do not jiggle! I was a dancer from the time I could walk until I graduated from college. I never thought I would find a use for those skills until I noticed that my legs were not as sexy as they used to be. Here are some easy moves used everyday by ballerinas and gymnasts to make their legs strong. You can use them to make you legs less jiggley. Plus you can do it all before you jump in the shower.

Backward Kicks

This exercise will tone you butt as well as the back of you thighs. If you have an exercise band, the resistance will help your workout. Start with your feet together on the floor as you stand with good posture. Bring your arms out to your sides and parallel with the ground. Take the arm of the leg you will be kicking and move it in front of you so that your arms make an "L" shape. Now kick you leg behind you, and only kick as high as you can without moving your hips and back. Kick slowly and bring it back down slowly, you tow should only touch the floor in between kicks. To use the band, tie one end around your ankle that you are kicking and use your other foot to stand on the other end. Do 3 sets of around 20 reps for each leg; you can do more sets if you feel 3 are not enough.

Calf Raises

This one is very self explanatory, if you have stairs in your home you can work your muscles while stretching them at the same time. Simply stand on a stair with the back half of each foot hanging off. Rise up on your toes slowly and lower yourself slowly, to stretch allow your heels to fall below the stair. You can do this exercise on flat ground as well. Do as many reps as you can. While this exercise does not feel hard, you may feel it the next day if you over do it.

Lunges

Gymnasts do these to strengthen their quads so they can run fast and stick landings. You can do them so the front of your thighs look toned. The best way to do these is to move. Lunge across the biggest room in your home or the most open space in your gym. Simply take a step like you are walking but instead of lifting you back foot, allow you knee to touch the ground first before you rise to take a step. One important thing to consider is to keep you front leg at a 90 degree angle, do not allow your knee to pass the invisible line from your ankle or you may injure you knee. A couple sets of 5-10 reps should be good to start this exercise out.

Scissor Kicks

These will help you to decrease the size of your saddle bags as well as the extra stuff on your inner thigh. Laying on your side with you head on your hand, bend your bottom leg and slowly raise and lower your top leg from being parallel with the ground to perpendicular. Do a set of 8 reps with your toe pointed then a set with your toe flexed. Next Move you leg so it is perpendicular to your torso and repeat. Do as many repetitions of this set as you can, then switch legs. A good thing to try is to turn on a song and keep going through the routine until the song is over, then replay the same song for the other leg. If you build up enough strength, try to use an exercise band tied around your ankles for extra resistance.

Plié

This is one of ballet's best kept secrets. Pronounced plee-a, every ballet move originates from it. Standing with your feet together or apart, point your toes outward, extend your arms to a "T" shape and bend you knees slowly and raise up slowly. That's it! Do as many reps as you can.

Forward kick

This is the same as the backward kick, but you the front. For this you can keep your arms in the "T" shape and you can use the band for extra resistance. Make sure to raise you leg slowly to a 90 degree angle to work all the muscles. Also try kicking your leg to the side for a bit more work on you saddle bags.

Use these simple moves everyday and before you know it your jeans will fit better, you butt will look better, and you won't be afraid to wear shorts or a swimsuit.