Do you remember those cartoon ads where a little guy is on the beach with his girl friend when along comes a bully with six pack abs who insults her and then hits her boy friend when he objects to the remark, calling him a “bag of bones”?.

The boy friend takes the advertised body building course and in the next strip has become so well developed that he is able to flatten the bully with one punch.

When you looked at the ad the weakling seemed to have transformed himself into this perfect specimen within days. The beach and the costumes were exactly the same!

Despite that advertisement, to get a well developed muscular body takes time and dedication to a strict fitness regime.

If you want to look good, a great six pack and pectorals will grab attention on the beach, or in the gym.

You will seem to be glowing with good health, your clothes will fit better – no beer gut- and your confidence will increase. Lose your belly fat and get six pack abs.

The first and most important step to getting those six pack abs is to control your diet.

By eating foods rich in protein, together with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables you will lower your body fat. Learn about the best power foods for your body. Your aim should be a balanced diet that is low in fats and carbohydrates that will reduce the amount of excess body fat you carry so your overall condition will improve.

Next start any combination of aerobic exercises that suits your lifestyle. For example walking or cycling to work, daily jogging, swimming, using a home rowing machine or treadmill regularly willand improve your fitness.

Now you can move onto specific exercises designed to get those abdominal muscles looking great.

Sit ups or crunches are probably the most convenient and a very effective way of building up the abs, but they need doing properly.

Squeeze the abdominal muscles to raise your upper body and be sure to let your back muscles do as little as work possible.

You will be better off doing twenty five crunches relying on contracting your abs and curling forward than one hundred any other way.

Reverse crunches or any other tensing or squeezing of the abs will help, even while sitting at a desk or other work station.

Two or three intensive workouts a week concentrating on your abdominal muscles should be enough.

The most important priority is to keep excess fat from your body by eating sensibly. The way to perfect six pack abs is to stick to the diet, do the aerobics to keep your heart functioning properly, and squeeze those tummy muscles.

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Have you ever thought it would be nicer to go through your exercise regime in the ‘all together’ and be more liberated?

Well, not many people want to workout totally starkers, do they? For one thing the dangly bits would get in the way.

And who wants to see the nether regions that would be exposed in such a simple exercise such as ‘touch your toes?’

However, there are advantages

• No sweaty clothes to wash so I suppose you could say it’s more hygienic.
• You can quickly lose your inhibitions if everyone in the gyms in the same state of deshabille.
• Cheaper – no designer competitiveness.
• You’d put more effort into building those pecs or firming those gluts.

How did it start?

At the end of the day I don’t think it would go down too well if our athletes were encouraged to participate in their chosen field disrobed.

After all, who wants to watch a load of sweaty young men running across a field after the ball or hitting a ball to each other over a net. Where would you look? Silly question and I must stop repeating that word ball.

Though I do seem to remember a certain famous English footballer by the name of David Beckham being named ‘golden balls’ so perhaps it would be quite interesting after all.

However, in today’s society there are many many naturist clubs and resorts where nude exercise is encouraged and welcomed. Swimming is an obvious recreation that is much nicer done naked without the restrictions of swimwear.

The practice of yoga requires only the barest of essentials and is often a preferred way to gain total absorption.

However, in my opinion,  its entirely up to the individual as to how they dress or otherwise for their workouts.

How many times in your life have you put your hand up to the opposite shoulder and rubbed it in an effort to relieve the pain and aching?

There cannot be many of us who haven’t at times had such severe stress in our shoulders that all we want is a massage.

Unfortunately a massage is not the usual available option so the next best thing to do is exercise specifically targeted to ease those aching shoulders and the way is to stretch.

Shoulder stretching is the easiest of all the stretching exercises.

When you get out of bed in the morning and while the kettle is boiling for your first cup of tea or coffee simply do a few of the following simple shoulder stretches exercises.

• Anterior Shoulder Stretch
• Posterior Shoulder Stretch

The Advantages of Shoulder Stretches

• Helps you to gain good posture
• Is beneficial for sportsmen or women
• An excellent antidote to spending long hours sitting hunched up over a computer, which more and more of us do
• Feels good
• Loosens you up for the day ahead
• Perfect exercise as you age

Please note that frozen shoulder can come on after a period of disuse of the arm

Do you ever look at someone whose figure you admire and wonder why you can’t look like that?

No matter what you do, you just seem to have a body that will never look like that person. You might even have a very nice figure but it isn’t the same.

The reason is because your body type is different and it is impossible to change your bone structure.

To make the most of the body shape you have, you need to know what body type you are and which exercises will help to make your body look its best.

There are three basic body types and most of us tend to fit one type or another.

• Ectomorph

This body type is characterized by long lean muscles and a slim body with hips and shoulders the same width.

Ectomorphs do not find it easy to gain muscle mass and often have a difficult time keeping their weight maintained.

This body type is also more prone to injury. Some great exercises to help an ectomorph get and keep the optimum shape are lifecycle, treadmill walking, martial arts and kickboxing as a maximum workout.

Planks, step-ups and pushups are also very beneficial.  Basic stretches will round out a good exercise routine for this body type.

• Endomorph

This body type is often referred to as the pear shape. Its shape is rounder, curvier and softer than other body types with a large bone structure.

Putting on muscle is not a problem for endomorphs but losing weight, particularly fat, is not easy. Because they fear having an over muscled look, women with this body shape will often shy away from weight training or only use very light weights.

However, the best exercise for endomorphs to do is moderate weight training.

This is enough to make the most of this body shape without making it too muscular while giving the metabolism a boost at the same time.

Some of the best exercises for endomorphs include walking on a treadmill with an incline, interval stepping, uphill walking at a fast pace, kickboxing and cross training.

• Mesomorph

If you are a mesomorph, you are considered to be rather broad shouldered and have either a medium to large frame.

You find that losing fat and weight are not especially difficult problems and gaining muscle mass is easy.

A fitness boot camp workout is a good option for you as well as moderate weight training. A few other good exercises are stairmaster and crosstrainer intervals, running workouts, step exercises, the pilates system and yoga.

Jump rope is also a very good choice for mesmorphs to help maintain a good shape.

No matter what your shape is, you can get it into its best shape and keep it there with the right combinations of exercises for your particular body type.

Just remember that, if you are a mesomorph, you are not going to have the same figure as an ectomorph or an endomorph and vice versa.

You will have no choice but to accept that.

You can be just as beautiful whatever body shape you have been born with.

Everyone has a certain type of body shape. You might be a pear shape, an hourglass shape, a ruler shape, or an apple shape.  Let’s take a quick look at what these shapes mean.

For Men:

Pear Shape – Before you accuse me of calling you a fruit, read on!  A man with this type of body shape is usually larger in the hips and thighs than in the chest and arms.  He is usually petite in the arms and chest.  A lot of men with this body type have an athletic type build.

Hourglass Shape – No, guys. This doesn’t mean you’re girly. This is actually the shape many football players have, with small waists and hips, and broad shoulders and muscular thighs.

Ruler Shape – You are probably pretty thin, with minimal muscle build up.

Apple Shape – This type of body shape means that the man has a larger chest and arms, with a small waist.  Men with this body shape usually have a small butt and legs, and may look top heavy.

For Women:

Pear Shape – You have larger hips, with a smaller chest and arms.  Most women with this body type have flat stomachs and chests.

Hourglass Shape – This is one of the favorite shapes of a woman.  Your shoulders and hips are about equal in width, and you have a small waist and normally flat tummy.

Ruler Shape – You have a thinner body, with minimal curves.

Apple Shape – You have larger shoulders and larger breasts, with smaller thighs, and thinner or smaller hips and butt.

Unfortunately, we all get our body shapes genetically, which means “tough cookie,” if we want to get rid of them. 

However, we can utilize targeted exercises to shape up our bodies, and this will help us look great, no matter what body shape we are. 

Here are some great targeted exercises for each shape.

Pear Shape – For this shape, you need some great exercises that will balance out the difference in the bottom part of your body, and the upper part.  Do aerobic activities that target the lower body, and resistance exercises for the upper body.  You will be slimming the lower part, and building the upper part.  Some great ones for you are push ups, chin ups, leg lifts, jumping rope, and elliptical training.

Hourglass Shape – Cardio is great for this body shape, along with resistance exercises.  Try things like swimming, stationary biking with a bit of resistance, jumping jacks, bicep curls, shoulder presses and squats.  This kind of exercise will help keep your weight in check, ensure a good balance between upper and lower body.

Ruler Shape – You don’t really need to do much extra.  Your regular and balanced routine is fine, and ensuring that you get a healthy diet and nutrition.  Some people with shapes like this want muscle building, so go for resistance training that targets the upper and lower body.

Apple Shape –  Most likely, if you have this shape, you want to focus on losing weight.  Losing weight all over will balance out your larger upper body.  Do low resistance exercises with lots of repetitions, such as stair climbing, running and incline walking.

Good luck, and remember, we might not be able to change our body shapes completely, but we can change them for the better.

They say that sex appeal is in the mind.

Oh Yeah! Give me another drink.

In my opinion, it’s the body that contributes most to sex appeal. Hmmm!!!

Oh dear, I hope I haven’t offended anyone, but at the end of the day we are, most of us, interested in attracting a partner.

When you are young, if you are lucky and you have generous genes, you should have a firm young body ready for the taking or giving.

However, as we age, gravity tends to set in and take its toll even as young as thirty.

If any of you young things think this doesn’t apply to them believe me it will sooner or later.

If you think that’s wrong you can always click away from this site.

So, what are you going to do about it, if in fact, there’s anything you can do.

First of all, you are going to take a very long look in the mirror while standing completely naked.

Oh yes you are. Then you are going to take stock. Which areas do you most want to change?

For the ladies

Start from the top and work your way down (remember you are alone).

• Face – Eye makeup works wonders if you do it right.
• Bone Structure – Not a lot you can do about this unless you resort to the plastic (or even drastic) surgery that you see mentioned in the press sometimes.
• Skin Tone – There are a myriad of ways to improve your skin. If you suffer from skin problems you could find the solution in the pages of fashion magazines where the latest skin products are featured. Or you could try visiting The Skin Store, Body Care Products. If you have a more serious complaint, which lets face it many of us do at one time or other in our lives, go see a dermatologist and get professional advice.
• Boobs – When you are young these will be pert and upright. After having children or even as age creeps up on you, they will start to droop a little and gradually sag more and more as you get older.This is where that old faithful, exercise, can help. The alternative is to have them surgically lifted. Apparently it works a treat.(not that I would know!)
• Tummy – Again a problem area in later years. There are many exercises to help in this area. –
• Bum – Oh no! A real problem area for many women. This is not funny, women were built to have children and naturally their hips are larger as a result. But they don’t like it.Why are there some women who have loads of kids but still retain their sylph like hips? (but their tummies are usually quite big- ha ha) Anyway, back to the bottom line – there are masses of things you can do to improve your backside. Anywhere you go keep squeezing your butt muscles. The more you do the tighter they will become.Cut down on the calories to reduce that huge backside.
• Legs – For long sleek legs you should not only exercise but you should get them looking good with immaculate grooming. Remember your legs are more on show in the summer months and need some extra TLC (i.e. exfoliating, waxing, fake tanning) Exercises specifically for legs can be found here.

Take up walking seriously. This will create the necessary tension in your muscles which in turn will help get rid of the fat build up, tone the muscles and get you on the way to becoming sleeker and trimmer. Walk uphill, walk downhill, both will help.

For Men Only

The majority of men who go to the gym go to build muscle. It’s no secret that lifting weights can dramatically increase the size and muscle tone of the shoulders, chest, arms and legs.

Men are actually quite lucky in the way fat is distributed around their bodies. Wide shoulders and narrow hips are the norm.
But – What about that revolting stomach – a beer gut is such a turn off for women but a lot of them actually flaunt it.

Stop drinking beer

Start to realize that you cannot get away with looking like a slob. You expect your woman to look good, so why not you?

Take stock now before you get to the age that you don’t care.

Take up bodybuilding at the local gym – If you want to look good, stay trim and appeal to the ladies then working out is the number one priority.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and gals, look good, get fit, be sexy!!.

Some women aspire to skinny legs and others to fuller and more rounded shaped legs. The look of the legs is dictated by the shape and size of the bum.

An ample bottom can accentuate thin thighs whereas a trim bottom and full upper legs may lead to the thunder thighs effect. Neither of these two opposites are the desire of the vast majority of women.

The ultimate goal is to have legs that appear long in relation to the body and curvy and that means having to work at it. Whatever your basic shape the legs are amongst the most difficult of body parts to adjust to your desired shape so here’s how to go about it!

Starting with legs that are too thin, the first thing is to bulk them up without over emphasizing the bum. At the same time exercises designed to bulk up the muscles of the legs have a knock on effect on the bottom and that can be good.

A trim bottom leading to slender legs looks great.

Watch your diet and do plenty of leg only regular exercises such as cycling, lying on your back, feet raised and rotating, lifting small weights attached to your ankles with legs extending or even just running up and down stairs.

Check out these four exercises to bulk up skinny legs

These and similar exercises can be undertaken either at home or without major expense and while the derriere is gaining some benefit the major toning and muscle building is happening to the thighs.

If you feel that you have been dealt with legs that are too short then the smaller you can tone your bottom the longer your legs can look.

Thunder thighs are a more difficult problem as exercising can increase the bulk effect unless a strict diet regime is adhered to and that means will power.

Clearly fat tissue must be got rid of and thigh muscles must be toned and at the same time the bum needs a lot of work.

Running and other exercise routines that work on the areas below the hips are essential to balance the derriere and upper legs so that both appear attractive.

If you are lucky everything below the waist will look nice and in proportion but as we women grow older our bums tend to enlarge and our thighs look heavier, making our legs look shorter and heavier so that we do not look our best in jeans.

Recognizing the onset of age related figure problems is nearly half the problem, having the strength of will to do something about it is the next and hardest step but who, amongst us, does not want to stay as attractive as possible for as long as possible.

Put in the hard work and discipline and the man in your life will be happy, he won’t stray while you are looking good!

And as for those too skinny legs a little toning here, a little muscle building there, and as you get a little older your lower body is likely to become curvier and will fill out those tight jeans really nicely.

For a women to feel entirely good about herself is a rarity, we all have hang ups about our looks however much we are told how beautiful or attractive we are but at the end of the day we must make the best of what we are born with and be thankful that one mans meat is another mans poison.