Try This! Exercises and homemade products
A gentle stretch to loosen thighs and hamstrings
Lengthens and stretches thighs and hamstrings that are tight from working out (or just too much time at a desk).
A glutes/hamstrings workout by BarreAmped creator Suzanne Bowen
Strengthens and defines the glutes and hamstrings.
Full-body circuit of three moves
This is a full-body circuit of three moves that hit the upper body, lower body and core and also work on your balance and flexibility. You’ll want to watch the accompanying video because some of these moves can be tricky.
Biceps curls with 5-pound weights combined with lunges
Targets your glutes, thighs and biceps, and will give you a cardio boost. Also works on your balance.
The parallel, a dance move that will push your thighs to the limit
Targets and tones the thighs, especially the front and inner thighs.
Exercise circuit to charge up the body and mind too
This is a heart-pounding, full-body workout that you can do anytime, anywhere, with no equipment needed.
Pool exercise that kicks core, glutes and more into action
This move hits the core, lower back, glutes, hamstrings and even provides a little chest and arm action. Moreover, it gives your hip flexors and spine much needed stretching.
The fold-over ballet-based move works glutes and hamstrings
This move is called the fold-over, and it will help you build lean muscle by lifting the glutes and defining the hamstrings. It's for anyone who wants a Kim Kardashian booty with curves in all the right places.
Squats with overhead presses combine for fab shoulders and lower body
This exercise combo shifts between working out your shoulders and lower body, and will give you a cardio workout as well.
A combo exercise that targets the triceps and glutes
Works the glutes and the triceps, and provides an easy cardio boost.
'Spinning' push-up
This circuit works out the upper body, core and legs, and it adds a potent cardio pump.
Combo lunge
The combo lunge works the lower body and the back, and will also get your heart pumping.
'Busy bee'
This is a low-impact cardio move that tones the inner and outer thighs as it gives your heart rate a boost.
An exercise to practice proper lifting and help protect the back
This is a full-body toning exercise that focuses on strengthening the glutes, hamstrings and back. It also gives a little toning action to the biceps and shoulders, depending upon how much weight is involved.
'Baby burpees' a great pregnancy exercise option
A full-body exercise that raises the heart rate and builds a foundation (and confidence) for doing traditional burpees. "This is a great way to work up to one," Haley said.
The torso twist, fish and the punch
These three moves — the torso twist, the fish and punches — work your core from a variety of angles.
Gentle push-ups
Helps tone and strengthen the upper body, and builds a foundation (and confidence) for doing traditional push-ups.
'Baby Salutation' stretch
This move offers a side body stretch as it helps with tight hips, hamstrings and inner thighs.
Four pool moves
These four circuit moves — the sun squat, touchdown, split jacks and the jackknife — work the entire body while helping you stretch out hips that are most likely overly tight and shortened from lots of sitting.
Side crunches
Side crunches work the internal and external oblique muscles, as well as the transverse abdominus.
Cross-body punches
This movement kicks up your heart rate as it tones the entire upper body, especially the shoulders, biceps and triceps. It also works out the core and helps cinch in the waist — and everyone wants that.
"Mama squat and reach"
The "squat and reach" is a two-part flexibility and mobility exercise that opens up the hips, hamstrings, chest and back. It's a gentle all-over stretch.
Jumping lunges
Jumping lunges strengthen and tone the lower body, hips to calves, while also giving you a jolt of cardio and putting your balance to the test.
Burpee 'does it all'
Burpees strengthen the upper body and lower body, enhance mobility and balance, and kick up your metabolism. "It does it all," Harper says. "You will get the workout of your life."
Air squats are an effective exercise for thighs and glutes
'The Biggest Loser's' Bob Harper says the air squat is tops for getting in a lower body workout that will also raise your heart rate.
Lunges with a 'cheat'
Lunges are great lower-body toners. You isolate one leg at a time and use your glute, quadriceps and hamstring muscles to lower and raise the bulk of your body weight. The movement also tones the core and helps you focus on balance, posture and coordination.
Plank position for beginners
Plank position engages muscles throughout the body. It's a great exercise, but you might need to work up to it.
The bridge exercise helps lift and tighten lower body muscles
Engage the glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings with a lifting movement known as the bridge.
Rotator cuff exercise with dumbbell
This weight-bearing movement strengthens the four muscle tendons that run from your scapula to your shoulder, governing your range of motion in that area.
Medicine ball burpee works muscles, burns fat
The burpee exercise done with a medicine ball is a wonder in efficiency, working several muscle groups at once, while raising your heart rate to burn fat.
Two exercises to stretch leg muscles after a workout
Take your leg stretches to the next level with these two moves, which provide a 360-degree stretch of the leg muscles after a long workout.
V-up instead of abdominal crunches
Dr. Levi Harrison ('The Art of Fitness Cardio Core Workout') demonstrates working up to the V-up abdominal exercise.
Therapy ball exercise loosens IT band to help ease sore knees
If running or doing squats has left you with sore or clicking knees, the ilotibial band is probably to blame. A massage of this connective tissue can give you greater mobility.
Breathe easier with a therapy-ball spine massage
The balls massage the intercostal muscles around your rib cage, the multifidus muscle that runs along your spine and the rotatores muscles that lie underneath them, allowing you to breathe easier.
Ease lower back pain with a roll on yoga therapy balls
With yoga therapy or tennis balls, lower back pain can be eased with gentle rocking motions.
Rub away the tension with the trapezius tamer
After you've spent a long day hunched over a computer, the muscles in your neck and shoulders can feel like steel cables. Here's a great self-massage move using yoga therapy balls (or tennis balls) to rub away the tension.
Kneady ball can help ease knee pain, stiffness
If you have knee pain, we've got a remedy for you. Called the kneady ball, this therapy ball (or tennis ball) massage eases stiffness and soreness, allowing you to move like your old self again.
Plank-to-frogger exercise move
Many major muscle groups get a workout with this plank-to-squat combo.
Single-leg pulse works lower body
A twist on the lunge, the single-leg pulse is a good lower-body workout and gets the heart rate up too.
Squat with lateral kick builds firmness
If you're looking for a move that will get your butt "tight and right," this is it, says fitness expert Lacey Stone, who uses it on her Extreme Bootcamp app for iPhone and iPad.
Give your fitness regimen a little push
You're familiar with the push-up, but how about the push-away? It's an unexpectedly effective way to work your core and shoulders and get your heart rate up.
Kettle bell windmill
This version of yoga's triangle pose includes a kettle bell and strengthens your obliques.
Kettle bell for cardio
The kettle bell snatch is a natural progression for those who have mastered the basic kettle bell swing. The move is demonstrated here by David Schenk, co-founder of Cross Train LA in Hollywood.
Kettle bell swings
If you want to tap into the heart rate revving, muscle-building power of kettle bell workouts, the single-arm kettle bell swing is the best place to start.
Kettle bell arm lift targets plenty of muscles
This fluid kettle bell combination will work your entire body. It requires that you master two old-school weightlifting movements, the clean and the jerk.
Stand and deliver a shoulders-to-thighs workout
This standing abdominal exercise is a lot more fun than a crunch, and it manages to hit several other major muscle groups at the same time.
Lawn mower move grows your upper-body strength
Put that exercise tubing to work with the lawn mower, a version of the classic bent-over row.
Medicine ball makes the plank pose even more challenging
This medicine ball move will take that plank to the next level, giving your shoulders and legs more of a challenge.
The right medicine for building muscles and saving time
Here's a new way to use that medicine ball and challenge your muscles all the way from calves to shoulders.
Deep down wisdom exercise can help calm child
When your child is feeling scared or angry and appears headed for a meltdown, try this yoga pose to calm the child, so he or she is ready to shake it off and hug it out.
Kids can smarten up with Monkey Wisdom
When you need your child to calm down and focus before school or for that big test, Monkey Wisdom can help. This exercise is a great warm-up for reading and writing.
'Elephant ears' massage helps kids perk up
The gentle massage around the outside of your ears stimulates the energy meridians in the body, waking up your senses, so you're less distracted and anxious, and can hear and think more clearly.
The humming breath, a virtual hug for kids
The humming breath is a great way for children to calm and soothe themselves. It's sort of like a virtual hug, giving you that "everything is going to be OK" feeling.
Cat Wisdom stretch helps kids relax
It's not only adults who need to release stress and tension. Kids need to stretch their muscles and regroup too, after they've been sitting and focusing for a long time. Cat Wisdom helps to head off a bad case of the crankies, so kids can finish their day in a relaxed fashion.
Hip twists create a more defined waist
Hip twists are a great toning exercise to define your waist and strengthen your core. They're also a nice change of pace from those twisting crunches.
Rocking exercise can bring out-of-control kids to calmer seas
The side-to-side move called rock the boat releases tension and is soothing. Perfect for kids or adults after a trying day.
Rocking your way to stronger abs
Do you want rocking abs this spring? Try this popular CrossFit move to strengthen your entire core.
Triangle lift sculpts the lower body
An exercise for toning glutes and thighs, and engaging the abdominals.
Frog legs add kick to a thigh workout
Inner thighs are a problem area for a lot of women. This move can help tone that harder-to-work area while giving your abs a workout at the same time.
A semi-serpent-style push-up
If you're not a fan of traditional straight-leg push-ups, here's a new twist on them.
Stretch with the crab reach
You might not think of the crab as nature's most graceful creature, but if you mimic its stance when you stretch, you'll open up the tight muscles of your front body and give your backside a workout at the same time.
The scorpion reach to open up the hips
Think of the scorpion reach as one of your favorite hip-opening yoga moves on steroids. It's challenging, but it leaves you feeling strong and limber and ready for anything.
Lateral traveling ape
Cardio doesn't have to be deadly dull and serious. In this fun animal-inspired exercise, you'll get your heart rate up, build muscle and you might even crack a smile.
The shoelace, a yin yoga back reliever
If lower back pain, sciatica or stiffness is slowing you down, steal this move from yin yoga, a gentle style of practice known for its longer-held stretches.
A graceful stretch to the tips of the fingers
Sometimes you just don't know how much tension you're holding until you take a good stretch. This quick upper-body loosener, is sweet relief in the middle or at the end of the workday.
Dancers' stretch good for runners too
This tried-and-true warm-up exercise for dancers is a total body strengthener and provides good cross-training for runners with tight hamstrings.
The energizing tabletop lever
Are you having trouble starting your engine in the morning? This move, called the tabletop lever and derived from the Five Tibetans, a series of exercises used by monks or lamas for more than 2,500 years, helps to energize and strengthen your entire body.
Bringing fluidity back
Sitting in front of a computer all day can take a toll on the back. This flowing sequence helps to restore the mobility and ease to your spine using some of the same stretches your pets use.
The reverse fly to bring back balance
The reverse fly, demonstrated by celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak and featured on his "Harley's Hollywood Workout" video game, is a great way to balance your strength, giving you better definition and posture.
The skull crusher, for toned triceps
The supine triceps extension, sometimes called the skull crusher, is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to sculpt this muscle.
Prone hamstring curl
You don't need weights to get a challenging leg workout. The prone hamstring curl can bring the burn without them.
Skater lunges
You want your legs to look great from all angles? Why aren't you doing a lunge that works your thighs all the way around? The skater lunge hits all the major muscle groups in your upper legs, without putting as much strain on your knees.
Russian twist with stability ball
A stability ball is a powerful ally in your quest for flatter abdominals and a cinched waist. Not only can it make that plank or crunch more challenging, it also ups the ante on standing abdominal work such as the Russian twist.
The up and over
If time is short and you want to start burning calories quickly, try the up and over. This uncomplicated cardio drill helps you work on your balance and turn a strength workout into a sweaty cardio circuit.
The wood chop with leg swing
Whittle your waist with this move, which uses the arms and legs as levers to up the abdominal burn and strengthen your back. It's a nice change of pace from the traditional bicycle crunch.
The Russian dance
Take your weight routine to the next level with this high-intensity cardio drill. Sandwich this drill between weight-bearing exercises to create a circuit that packs in a cardio and strength workout at the same time.
Kneeling lat pull lean-back strengthens all around
If you want to tone and tighten your midsection — all the way around, from front to back — this exercise is for you. So, dust off that stability ball, get your mat and head down to the floor.
Yoga's crescent tones legs, builds balance
Yoga is a great way for athletes of any stripe to build lean muscle and improve their balance. Crescent reps are a great way to tone the legs and get the body warmed up for other exercise.
Yogi crunches
Have you ever seen a yogi with a paunch? Yeah, I thought not. Yoga moves, like these yogi crunches -- a variation of the popular boat pose -- challenge the core muscles, giving practitioners flat abs and a supported back.
Shoulder-opening stretch
After a long hard day hunched over the computer, a good shoulder-opening stretch can help melt away muscle tension and create more space for your lungs to breathe deeply, thereby creating a more relaxed you.
Deep breathing in the eagle pose
Yogis know that breathing is more than a necessity, it's a luxury, especially in times of stress. Just five minutes of deep breathing can calm your mind and diminish the stress-related cortisol hormone coursing through your body.
The powerful warrior three squat
This move, the warrior three squat, proves yoga is a powerful tool for building strength. It's also a good move for travelers to remember, so they can stay fit on the road using just their body weight.
A new trick for the downward-facing dog: A push-up
Looking for a total body exercise that stretches and strengthens? Try the down dog push-up. This move tones your upper and lower body, while loosening up your hips and hamstrings.
Sprawls for an upper-body workout
Sprawls are a challenging exercise based on mixed martial arts practices and focuses on the upper body.
Close-to-wide squat
You don't need a gym or pricey fitness machines to get a great workout. Fitness trainer Jackie Warner demonstrates a close-to-wide squat. You need a flat surface and a way to demark a circle.
Tone upper arms with bench tricep dip
Women come to Jackie Warner all the time and ask, "How do I get toned arms?" Warner, the author of the book "10 Pounds in 10 Days" and a fitness expert, has an answer: the bench tricep dip.
Firm up with step-ups
Taking a stroll? Here's a move that makes a walk in the park, well, less of a walk in a park. Fitness trainer Jackie Warner demonstrates step-ups that you can do on a bench.
The MMA drop-knee
This exercise is called a drop-knee, and it is based on mixed martial arts, or MMA, movements. It's a very challenging move because it requires that you let your back drop. Trainer Jackie Warner says to always concentrate on form and breathe through the movements.
Vault a wall
Parkour, a discipline developed in France, involves smoothly navigating over and around obstacles like walls, stairs and trees with jumps, climbs and acrobat-like moves. This safety vault, demonstrated by Michael "Frosti" Zernow, is "the first vault I would teach anybody."
An off-the-wall workout
Most of us traverse the environment by walking. Not Michael "Frosti" Zernow -- he prefers to vault, flip and catapult his way from A to B.
Rail balancing move
Many exercises require balance and this move focuses on that skill in this rail balancing move. Parkour is made up of many skills, each of which contributes to the ability to "fly" through the air.
Parkour top-out move
Parkour is a form of fitness that's made up of many skills, all of which combine to enable the practitioner to seem to fly through the air the way Michael "Frosti" Zernow can. Here he demonstrates the wall climb or top-out move.
Go ahead and jump
Jumping and landing properly is a basic parkour skill, "the first thing I would teach anybody," Michael Zernow says. You'll work your core as well as your legs, calves and feet.
Praying mantis exercise
Good form makes for a better workout, and that's one of the keys to ballet-inspired barre workouts. These exercises also increase flexibility and tone the muscles without adding bulk. Make sure the spine, neck and head are aligned and the movements are slow and deliberate.
Curtsy side lift, then take a bow
This move, with the genteel name of the curtsy side lift, is no lightweight. It works the major muscle groups of the lower body with a blend of dance and fitness.
Sumo squat with hitch-a-ride pulses
This two-part exercise works lower-body muscles and then the muscles of the upper back. It's good for posture, which often gets compromised on long days sitting at a desk. Make sure that the spine, neck and head are aligned and that the movements are slow and deliberate.
Triceps kick
The exercise is called a triceps kick, but it will give a workout to several other parts of the body too. As you do the exercise, make sure that the spine, neck and head are aligned and that the movements are slow and deliberate.
Plie side kicks
You don't need to get up en pointe to take a ballet approach to getting fit. Ballet-inspired barre workouts are super-popular now -- they increase flexibility and tone muscles without adding bulk.
A ballet-inspired 'booty lifter'
You don't need to don a tutu to try a ballet-inspired barre workout. These drills are super-popular now and for good reason: They increase flexibility and tone muscles without adding bulk.
Frog pelvic tilt exercise
The move targets the internal and external obliques on the sides of the abdomen as well as the transverse abdominis, which is below the internal obliques. Concentrate on the quality of the exercise, maintaining good form, rather than quantity.
A great leap
Don't forget to bring water to your workout, and not just to quench your thirst. Two water bottles are handy for this simple drill, demonstrated by celebrity personal trainer Mike Donavanik.
Skateboard pike
Still got a skateboard buried somewhere in a corner of the garage? Drag it out and repurpose it for this simple and effective fitness move, the skateboard pike.
Get the jump on animal push-ups
This is an exercise in which the sand helps absorb the impact of your movements, but it's also one that requires strength and determination. This is a plyometric exercise: one that develops power using quick, explosive movements.
The ladder drill
Sick of the sweaty, fluorescent-lit, loud-music gym scene? Don't want to cough up dough for memberships you'll never be able to cancel short of divine intervention? Try getting fit at the park. Or the beach.
Make your own endurance sports drink and save money
The ingredients are simple and inexpensive: a carbohydrate such as maltodextrin, electrolytes (salt and potassium) and flavorings, if desired.