No question of doing things by halves: when you decide to tone your body, you should work all areas, without exception. Discover the best exercises to strengthen the glutes, abs, thighs, and shoulders.

It’s decided, you want to get back in shape! Your goal? Have a shapely and more drawn silhouette. To achieve this, there is no secret: it is essential to work the areas where fat tends to accumulate, such as the stomach, thighs, and buttocks, but also those that determine your posture, and so your look, like the shoulders. Here are the most effective exercises to strengthen these different parts of the body.

Glutes: the Best Exercises

• Leg Kicks

Go on your knees with your palms flat on the ground. Lift one leg and kick up and down, controlling the descent. The variant? Perform these movements up and down, but also left to right. 

To make the exercise a little harder, you can add weights to your ankles, choosing the weight that suits your level. 

Start for example with weights of 1 kilo, then slowly increase. 

Be careful not to add too much weight, however, as this could cause pain.

• The Bridge

Sleep on your back with your legs flexed and your feet flat on the floor. Your arms should be extended alongside your body. 

Give a push with your legs, lift your pelvis off the ground and go up as high as possible, keeping your back straight, then come back down. 

Remember to squeeze your glutes and abs as you perform this movement! To tone your glutes, even more, you can put a small dumbbell on your pelvis and hold it with your hands.

• The Clams

Lie on your side with your legs bent and your knees pulled up to your hips. 

Raise the knee from above while wrapping your joined feet and bring it down. 

This exercise is even more effective with a rubber band: this allows you to add resistance and therefore to work the glutes even more in-depth.

Also Read: The Flexible Advantages of Stretching

The Best Exercises to Build Your Abs

• Lateral Sheathing

Do you know the traditional plank, which is the ultimate core strength exercise? 

Discover the side plank, which strengthens the abs, with an emphasis on the obliques! 

This exercise is therefore effective in combating love handles. 

To do this, lie on your side, supporting yourself on your forearm. Raise your pelvis so that your torso is in line with your legs and stay in this position for as long as possible. 

The goal? Increase the duration as you progress. To maintain balance and maintain this position, it is advisable to extend your arm that is not supporting you towards the ceiling and look in that direction.

• The Leg Lift

Sleep on the ground with your legs right and your arms at your sides. Then raise your legs, leaving them straight, so that they form a 90 ° angle with your torso, then come back down slowly, never touching the floor.

• The Pedal Boat

Rest on your back with your elbows on the ground. Raise your legs and pretend you are pedaling.

Thighs: the most effective exercises

• Slits

Classic and effective lunges not only tone the thighs but also strengthen the calves and buttocks. 

An effective exercise to shape the entire lower body! To do lunges, stand up, bring one leg in front of you and flex it to a 90 ° angle, then return to the starting position. 

Then do the identical move with the other leg.

• Squats

Traditional squats are the basis of fitness exercises. And for good reason: they are formidably effective! 

To do squats, stand with your legs shoulder-width separated. Keeping your back straight, bend your legs so that you get a right angle, then come back up. 

Good news: this exercise strengthens the thighs as well as the glutes!

• Cross-legged Kicking

Lie on your side and straighten your leg in contact with the ground. Bend the top leg and position your foot in front of the knee of the leg on the floor. 

The goal is to make small flaps with the latter, lifting it off the ground. 

A very effective exercise for building the inner thighs, an area where fat tends to accumulate.

The best exercises to strengthen the shoulders

• Side Elevations

Choose two dumbbells suitable for your level and take one in each hand. 

Position yourself upright with your legs shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, arms at your sides, and palms of hands facing your thighs. 

Slowly raise the arms, until they form a 90 ° angle, then lower them, controlling the movement.

• The Chin Pull

Stand with a dumbbell in each hand and your legs shoulder-width apart. 

Position your arms alongside your body, rotating the palms of your dumbbell-holding hands back. 

Without moving your shoulders, bend your elbows until your dumbbells are level with your chin, then return to the starting position.

• The Developed

Position yourself upright with a dumbbell in each hand. 

Bend your arms so that your elbows are at a right angle and your hands are level with your head. 

Your palms should be facing forward. Then extend your arms and bring them up above your head.

Image by Nathan Cowley via Pexels

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