Toning your whole Body doesn’t mean you have to spend hours each week in the gym pumping iron or running for miles every day. Good toning exercise routines work multiple muscle groups simultaneously.

Bodyweight Exercises

You can design bodyweight routines to work your whole body. Combine individual exercises to work your upper body, core and lower body. Select 3 exercises for each muscle group and then do 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise. After a brief, 10-minute warm-up consisting of aerobic exercise, such as jogging in place, do 3 each of squats, lunges and standing calf raises to work your lower body. Work your core by doing crunches, planks and push-ups. Push-ups are a total body exercise because you work your arms, back, core, glutes and legs. Finish your whole body, bodyweight routine by doing pull-ups followed by bodyweight rows. Do bodyweight rows by lying on your back underneath a barbell bar. Grasp the bar and lift your upper body off the floor toward the bar. Repeat the entire circuit 2 to 3 times once you increase your strength.

Swimming

Swimming is a genuine total body toning exercise. It’s easy to do but gives you a vigorous workout in a short amount of time. Swimming strokes, such as the freestyle, back stroke and butterfly, work most every muscle in your body when performed correctly. Water provides not only support for your whole body, but also provides additional resistance you can’t get when you exercise on dry land. You can firm and Tone your whole body in a swimming pool, even if you don’t know how to swim. Walk or run back and forth across the pool in waist-deep water to tone your lower body and core. Use hand paddles to push and pull water as you walk or run to tone your upper body at the same time.

High-Intensity Cardio

High-intensity cardio burns calories and tones your entire body. Running, jogging and brisk walking firm and tone your legs, thighs, buttocks and core. Tone your arms by vigorously pumping your arms as you run or jog while holding a couple of 2- to 5-pound dumbbells. Turn your walking, running or jogging workout into a high-intensity interval workout by sprinting at top speed for 30 seconds followed by 2 minutes of running, jogging or walking at a slower pace. Step aerobics while holding dumbbells also works your whole body, firming your arms, chest, core, buttocks and legs. Cardio exercises, including jumping jacks, jumping rope and squat jumps can be incorporated into any high-intensity cardio routine to firm and tone.

Toning Supersets

Toning supersets work your whole body in one exercise session. These exercises are easy to do and effective for full body toning. After your warm-up by doing some light aerobic exercise and stretches, do 3 sets of 10 repetitions of each exercise. Rest for 30 seconds between exercises. Repeat each set 2 to 3 times. Tone your upper body, core and thighs by doing crunches on a stability ball while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Follow crunches with 10 scissors to firm and tone your thighs, buttocks and core. Do lunges on each side, 10 repetitions leading with your right leg and another set of 10 repetitions leading with your left leg. If you have access to a leg press machine, start with 20 pounds of weight and do 10 repetitions on the machine. Rest for 30 seconds and do the entire set again.