I used to be very physically fit and take all the time in the world to make myself up for the day and evenings out. I've convinced myself it's not just me or maybe hoping anyway. I really want to get back in shape and since our youngest child will turn 13 this year, it's about time I guess. I am looking to get two things and need suggestions. (1) an ab machine! I've looked at a few online and need your comments if you've got the Ab Roller or another one that has helped you. I KNOW I can lay in the floor and do crunches but I get bored and don't stay with it. Please hold off on the "those machine waste your money" comments and let me know if you have one, which one you bought, and do you like it. And (2) would love to have some color on my increasingly pale skin. Do you use a body bronzer or any sort of self tanning product that looks nice and brown. If there's some I should definitely avoid, would love to know that also. Moms, thank you a ton for any suggestions you might have. I look forward to seeing them and feeling better about how I'm looking these days!!
as far as the abs portion i am a nay sayer so i will suggest on the tan portion. tanning beds are cancer boxes. so i would either do natural sun or a natural bronzer. dying your skin isnt that kind to it. see if bare minerals has something.
I didn't use an ab machine, but I LOVED the "ab sculpt" DVD by the Firm. They have a whole series of workouts, but using this one not only flattened my stomach, but gave me fantastic definition in my abs! You do several exercises, and it is only 30 minutes, so I never got bored with it. Honestly, after I started seeing the results, I couldn't wait to workout! I'm waiting for my toddlers to become a little more independent so I can get back in the groove myself. Good luck!
Jergens body lotion, the one that darkens your skin slowly. I have the wh roller, liked it and just started using it again. Good luck on your goal and good for you for wanting to do this for yourself.
Those ab rollers -- the ones that are kind of a half circle with two handles, aren't expensive and are a good ab workout. But you can only do a few minutes of that, and then you will need to do things for the rest of your body.
Well, I know 2 people that bought the ab roller and both complained about it. One said it moved too much on the carpet and one time she rolled across the floor. The other said it moved too much on her wood floors. I do know a couple of people with the ab lounge and like it so maybe that would be a way to go. You could get a used one so you don;t waste your money. Of course, cardio ir really the only way to go since you cannot truly isolate one part of your body except to maybe tone up. My friend started doing Zumba and lost inches in her waste in a couple of months. She hates crunches and will not do them but she does do squats and lunges on her her in the house and she does leg lifts. She does these while doing regular stuff. If she goes from one room to the other, she lunges through them. She does leg lefts while drying her hair after a shower.
I don't have any advice on those machines, but there are a lot of places popping up around town (at least in my area) like Kosama or Extreme Body Shaping in which take you through a 10 week program of dieting and exercising with a personal trainer. Sort of set up like Biggest Loser in which a group of people are working with the same trainer. I think those have a lot of success and can be highly motivating. Just something else you may want to look into.
Self-tanners have come a long way. I got a spray tan last summer and made the mistake of going to the pool the next day. Most of it washed off of my legs within 24 hours. So I picked up some Banana Boat Summer color body mist. Honest to goodness I chose that one because it was the least expensive at Walmart! It is really great! Because it is a mist it is much more forgiving while you slather it on which makes it less likely to leave streaks. I noticed a marked difference in my skintone within a day or so and just kept applying daily or every other day to keep it up.
HTH,
A.
