Summer Exercises

Many women start exercising in the Summer to try and squeeze into that pair of shorts that fit last summer and chase away the extra warmth gained during the long winter months. I wish you could scare away the cottage cheese on your thighs, I mean, wouldn't that be just perfect? All I would have to do is put on a bathing suit and stand in front of a full length mirror - the cottage cheese would be so far gone, perhaps all the way to Bermuda. Unfortunately that just doesn't work!! Shoot!! How is it that every summer sneaks up on me? All of the sudden I realize that it's summer and I can't wear pants and turtlenecks all summer long, I will die of heat stroke. I will have to lessen the amount of clothes I wear, which results in parts of my body being exposed that I forgot about - such as arms and legs. But suddenly my thoughts and hopes of getting really skinny over the fall and winter months didn't happen. Now what?

One day I was musing about how there is this pressure to be fit and in shape during the summer months. Suddenly it is cool to be exercising and striving to be fit. While thinking about this I realized that people are more active in the summer time whether they want to be or not – beach volley ball games, walks and picnics abound all summer long. I realized that while at picnics some exercises may take you by surprise. One of these exercise programs I fondly refer to as the "my butt is stuck in a plastic lawn chair". This exercise program in versatile and easy to do. One of the great features of this program is that is can be done anywhere and at anytime - your child's soccer game, the company picnic and even in your own backyard! The "my butt is stuck in a plastic lawn chair" is usually not a voluntary exercise, but takes you by surprise. This exercise happens when you stand up from a leisurely sit in an uncomfortable plastic chair and it attaches itself to your butt. Suddenly, you are doing rapid squats, which is great for the thighs and downward pushups, which actively works the triceps. The other great aspect of this exercise is that it is over in 30 seconds and is done at a high level of intensity, normally referred to as interval training. Once you have extracted yourself out of the chair you will notice that your heart rate has risen from the exertion of trying to not look completely stupid.