How to Customize a Workout

Everyone knows that exercise burns calories and reduces disease risk. The key to a successful workout plan is identifying and targeting your problem areas, such as the arms, legs, buns or abs. Decide on your fitness goal, whether it is to lose weight, build muscle, increase flexibility, or a combination of all three. Here's how to customize a workout plan.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Treadmill or DVD
• Floor mat
• Resistance bands
• Exercise ball
• Weights

1. Identify your fitness goals. It may be that you just want to lose weight and improve your overall health. Weight-training may also be important if you're interested in building or toning muscles and improving your strength. Pilates or yoga may also be good if you're just looking for a stress reliever.
2. Get a total body workout through aerobics. Walk or run for up to 30 minutes on the treadmill on an incline to boost calorie burn and energize your legs and arms. Or, follow a 30-minute aerobics routine on DVD or at a class that involves arm raises, knee lifts, jumping jacks and hamstring curls for endurance and flexibility. Tuck in your abs to burn fat in that area and strengthen those core muscles. Cross-train with resistance bands as a bonus to work out the upper and lower body between your cardio routine.
3. Work out with weights to improve the look of your arms and legs. Hold the weights with your arms at your sides while doing leg squats and lunges. The squats are also helpful for working the buns. Use the weights to tone your upper body with bicep and tricep curls, chest and overhead presses, and push ups. These workouts also help you build strength while getting rid of excess flab in your arms and legs.
4. Try Yoga to improve balance and coordination while targeting the four key areas. A chair pose position requires you to raise your arms, bend your knees and move your hips as if you're about to sit into a chair. You can also practice seated forward bends by using a strap or belt around your feet while moving forward with your hips. Pull in your abs to strengthen your core and protect your back.
5. Do some basic Pilates exercises for muscle conditioning, flexibility, and to produce a lean body. Try 20 repetitions of the crisscross exercise, where you rotate your torso while on the floor, raise your shoulders and lift your opposite leg. Next, work your arms by raising them overhead while sitting tall on a floor mat. Then, exercise your legs and target your glutes by practicing leg circles while laying flat on the floor.
6. Practice abs exercises for at least three times a week, 20 minutes a day if your goal is to have a flat, firm stomach. Start with basic floor crunches if you're a beginner, then challenge yourself by doing crunches on an exercise ball. Place the ball behind your back to support it, then put your hands behind your head, your feet flat on the floor, and raise up to work the abs.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear loose-fitting clothing such as shorts, sweats, a T-shirt and a good pair of sneakers to avoid joint or muscle injury. Drink bottled water halfway through your workout to stay hydrated. After any workout, it's also important to warm up to slightly raise your heart rate, then cool down to lower your heart rate and stretch your muscles.
• Weight amounts vary depending on your fitness level. If you're a beginner, start with two-pound weights. If you're looking to increase the intensity, try five- or 10-pound weights.
• These workouts can be done in as little as ten minutes to as much as one hour, depending on your schedule. The exercises should be done three to five times a week if you want to see significant results.
• Doing the same exercises every day can make you bored. If you're bored, then you are more likely to quit your workout. Change your activities at least weekly to increase your fitness level, to reach your weight-loss goal and to stay motivated.
• Don't swing or lock your arms and legs during movement because you can injure your joints. Use controlled movements for an effective workout. Avoid stiffness or soreness by stretching after each workout.