Tone Your Beach Bum

Are you going to be a beach bum this summer and sport a cover-up or do you want to have a beach bum? Spring is almost here, and that means you need to ask yourself this question now.

This is your chance to either boost your booty with a little more intensity and focus in your workouts for a toned beach bum, or do nothing and regret it come June.

By multitasking your toning moves you can work the arms, back and abs, but also work your butt with every move. By adding cardio intervals that also work the backside, you’ll also melt away fat and boost your metabolism. Pressed for time? It only takes half an hour three times a week.

Leading up to summer, I will be doing a weekly column that shows one multitasking toning move and one cardio interval. Collect them all or add them into what you are already doing. If you can’t wait for all the moves in the columns, then my new 30-minute multitasking toning and cardio interval "Booty Camp" DVD is available staring March 7 at www.nikkifitness.com and March 30 on Amazon.

Multitasking Toning Move 1: T&A (works your chest, and glutes, with biceps, abs and hamstrings as assistors.)

Set Position: Lay on your back with one heavy weight in each hand, about 10 pounds. Place your elbows on the floor and out to the sides away from your body and bend them at 90 degrees. Your wrists and the weights should be directly over the elbows so that your arms form a goalpost shape. Bend your knees so your ankles are directly below them. Extend the left leg to the ceiling.

The Move: Push through your right foot to lift the hips up into a bridge and your left foot moves closer to the ceiling, at the same time push the weights to the sky as shown here. Do 20 reps on this side, perform the cardio move, then do 20 reps on the other side, with right leg extended to the sky.

Cardio Interval 1: Jumping pleas (works glutes, quads, inner thighs and calves):

Do 20 regular jumping jacks, then on No.21 land in a plea squat position (pictured) with toes and knees wider than shoulder width, pointing to the sides, and aligning the knees over the ankles. Hop up and bring the feet and knees together and squat back like you were sitting in a chair, keeping the abs tight. That makes one rep. Jump back into plea squat and repeat for 20, finish with 20 more jacks and go back to the toning move on the other side. Finish with another round of this cardio interval.

You’ve just completed booty camp basic training!

For more of NikkiFitness' Toning Tips, visit Military.com's Fitness Center.