Toning up at home

By Rob Virtue on January 8, 2009 2:41 PM |

Tagged with:

Fitness

Fitness expert Laura Williams looks at less horrific methods of toning up this January

If the idea of the joining a gym seems expensive and too much like hard work, think comfort in terms of toning up this January.

Chung-shi your life. Chung-Shi are the shoes that have a built-in Pilates system (so they’ll help to sculpt and tone without you even realising it). They’ve been better received than some of their rival “health shoes�? too. Go to chung-shi.de for more information.

Stay in your living room. January is the month of the celeb fitness DVD. There’s a few to choose from: Mel B’s offering has received good reviews while Davina’s latest really does do what it says on the tin. You need a degree in choreography to master the moves on Tracy Anderson’s DVD (Tracy is trainer to Madonna and Gwyneth); ditto Denise Van Outen’s.

Get vibrating. It’s not as iffy as it sounds – the Power Plate is a fad that’s with us to stay. If you fancy honing and toning without gracing the sweaty free weights area, visit the Power Studio (www.thepowerstudio.com) in Millharbour to learn more.

Build a home gym. Your best home gym consists of a Swiss ball, a skipping rope and a resistance band or two. If you want to go fancy, you could invest in a step block or even some cheap dumbbells but they’re by no means compulsory.

Use your own body resistance. Yoga, Pilates, press ups, the Plank… all these tough exercises just use your own body weight as resistance so you can get a perfectly good workout on a rug in front of the telly.

Visit Laura's website at www.laurawilliamsonline.co.uk and email your diet and fitness questions to laura@laurawilliamsonline.co.uk