What exercise to do to tone up legs/bum/core?

[roamingcat]

Hi all,

I'm looking to tone up my legs, bum and core and would be grateful if you could suggest the best type of exericse which really made a difference in these areas. Should I be doing yoga? pilates? lifting weights? I already run 3 times a week so have the cardio covered.

Kettlebells. Swings, deadlifts, halos, around the world, etc. I can get a really good workout done in 15 minutes. Buy a 6kg or 8kg kettlebell and do some classes to learn proper form.

Not sure about the others but I've been doing 20-30 mins of yoga every day since the start of the year and I'm significantly more toned than when I started, especially my booty.

Thank you! Are there any particular videos you watch?

Thank you! Which yoga videos do you do?

Hey

When people talk about "toning" up this means to build/increase muscle. To do this you will need to weight train.

If you're a beginner you can start with body weight exercises such as squats, push ups etc.
To continue to see progress you will need to add more resistance I.e. weight training. Again as a beginner you could use dumbbells/kettle bells at home.
Joe wicks does so useful videos for both of these stages.

Then eventually if you want to take it further join a gym .

Best of exercises for lower body would be
Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts

There are various forms of each one. Lots of YouTube videos to explain these.

I would suggest yoga and Pilates as supporting exercises for weight training.

Also eat enough protein to support your muscles

Split squats

Barbell squats. Start with just the bar 20 kilos, then gradually work up to putting weights on.

Do 5 sets of 5 squats with a 2 minute rest in between. Do that 3 times a week - or you can do deadlifts on one or 2 of those days. Add in other “accessory” lifts like RDLS and split squats, and lat pull downs if you have access to a lat pull down machine.

Add tiny bits of weight each week so that the last rep of each set is really hard.

That’ll give you quads, abs, and glutes of steel if you can maintain a progressive overload over about 6 months to a year.

And up your protein intake - eggs, Greek yoghurt, chicken breasts …