I’ve always been diametrically opposed to jogging.  Like a comedian I once heard, I always used to joke that the only reason I would ever run would be to the store for more cigarettes.  However, the age of thirty has been creeping up on me and I figured that my tiny little beer belly is never going to disappear of its own volition, so I decided that maintaining an exercise routine that didn’t eat up too much time would be beneficial to my health.

So I went out jogging.  And seriously, I had never felt healthier than after that first jog.  So I decided to forge ahead.  Not with the jogging though.  After the first few times, I decided I hated it (and it was wrecking my knees) but it really did the trick in helping me get on track to having a healthier lifestyle.  So I kept up with the exercising and over time developed a routine that is fun and helps me stay in shape.

My own personal health quest now starts with getting my needed cardio in by dancing around my living room to drum n’ bass music in my underwear three times a week for thirty minutes at a stretch.  Moving my body to deep guttural bass…oh, how it beats jogging.  The construction men across the street really seem to enjoy it as well. 

Like many women, my biggest trouble spot is the tiny beer belly I mentioned before.

It’s one helluva thing to work off, even for someone like me who is pretty fit and eats healthy.  But luckily I was flipping through the pages of an old Glamour magazine one day and happened upon an article about working your abdominal muscles.  The article also included an abs program put together by trainer Kurt Brungardt, which includes ten exercises you can do to work all the muscles in your abdominal cavity.  You can check out The Complete Book of Abs or Essential Abs: An Intense 6-Week Program by Brungardt to find a similar routine.

My booty is one of the more curvaceous features on my body and my boyfriend doesn’t want me to lose it, so I just do a lot of walking to keep my legs and butt toned and leave it at that for that area. 

My arms are another story.  While I have strong athletic arms, they are also covered by a layer of flab.  My muscles can get bulky if I use my set of three or five pound weights too much so I also do arm circles as well as certain Pilates or yoga moves like arm raises to work off the extra fat.

Finally, I spend about forty-five minutes twice a week practicing yoga and following along with an instructional DVD, since affording my own personal instructor is not an option at the moment.  I am also excited to report that I just purchased a yoga / kickboxing fusion DVD and I can’t wait to try it out.  And that, in a nutshell, is my exercise routine for a healthier lifestyle.