A warm up should be completed prior to carrying out any lower back exercises or back stretching exercises. Simple walking for a few minutes or five minutes on an exercise bike should be sufficient before doing some back stretching exercises to warm up the muscles.

The pelvic tilt is an excellent lower back stretching exercise which can be carried out at home. Begin by lying on the back with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor, before tightening the buttocks and abdomen and flattening the small of the back to the floor. Hold the position for five seconds and gently release the muscles.

Repetitions of between five and fifteen can be carried out depending on the fitness of the person. Any sudden or intense pain is an indication that there is a problem and the exercise stopped.

The basic twist is also a good lower back stretching exercise; again this begins by lying on the back with the arms stretched out to the sides. Inhale as the knees are bent, kept together and brought up to the chest, exhale and slowly lower the knees, keeping them together, to the floor on the right.

If it is uncomfortable to actually get the knees to the floor get them as close as possible without over straining. Hold this position for a couple of seconds and return the knees to the chest while inhaling. Repeat the exercise and breathing techniques for the left side. Both sides should have repetitions of five.

Dorsal raises are excellent lower back exercises; the feet should be kept on the floor during this exercise to avoid putting excessive pressure on the lower back.

Lie on the floor face down and place the hands under the forehead, smoothly and slowly lift the head, shoulders and elbows about five inches from the floor, hold the position for two seconds before slowly returning back down. Repeat this exercise approximately five times.

If a person has weak back muscles the arms can be used to help lift the torso, remembering that only a few inches from the floor is the desired position and no further.

It is important that during these lower back exercises that the person looks straight down at the floor and keeps the head straight. Extending the arms out in front or holding weights will make the exercise harder and is suitable for those who are in physically good shape with strong lower back muscles.

Beginners should also consult a professional to ensure that these exercises are safe to carry out without supervision.

For most people an excellent starting exercise is the doorway push. This is carried out by standing in an open doorway and placing the palms of the hands onto the inside frame at chest height.

Focus on trying to keep the hands flat against the frame and with either straight or bent arms breathe in and push against the frame for between five and ten seconds, breathe out and relax the arms. Repetitions of these exercises can be built up over time.

By changing the hands over and placing the backs against the frame to carry out the same exercise a variety of different muscles can be worked.

Front cross overs can be carried out sitting or standing by extending the arms out straight at shoulder height and crossing one over the other alternatively keeping the movements controlled, smooth and small to begin with at a distance of about six inches. Once this has been mastered gradually increase out to twenty four inches before finishing with a slow return to six inches. Try not to let the arms drop below shoulder height throughout the exercise. Any sign of sudden intense pain should be acknowledged as a time to stop and let the arms and upper body relax.

Upper body exercises which can be carried out at home without equipment includes the wall press-up, this is ideal for beginners and those who have a weak upper body.

Begin by standing near to a wall and place the palms of the hands flat against the wall keeping the arms straight. Slowly bend the arms to take the upper body nearer to the wall, hold this position for a few seconds and then push against the wall to slowly return to the starting position. It increase the intensity of this exercise stand with the feet further away from the wall, remembering to keep the back and legs straight at all times.

Any pain experienced should be taken seriously and the upper body exercises stopped. Remembering that if these exercises are new them some aching will be experienced afterwards until the muscles become accustomed to being used. Aching muscles can be relieved with gentle swimming.

The gym should be regarded as a place to improve individual fitness and health and not as a way to show off and be fiercely competitive. A good gym will have professionally trained fitness instructors who will compile a fitness program which suits individual needs and takes into consideration existing levels of fitness and overall health.

Gym exercises typically begin with warming up muscles on walking, running machines, cycling and rowing machines before moving to adductor and strength building machines. The running machines should be programmed to begin relatively mildly with few steep inclines over a quite short duration, the rowing machines need to be adjusted to the person’s correct size to reduce the risk of injury and ensure the movements are carried out correctly.

Like the running machine the pull and duration needs to begin quite slowly to accustom the muscles to being used. Cycling machine should also be correctly adjusted to ensure that the length of the leg muscles are not being over extended, gradual inclines and rates can be increased over time.

Each of the gym exercises carried out on a variety of machines needs to be fully explained as to which parts of the body and muscles are being worked to achieve maximum impact. The weights can be added to once the correct techniques have been mastered and fitness improved.

Ideally circuits should be carried out twice a week to begin with unless informed otherwise by the instructor. Both the intensity and frequency can be increased over the weeks to obtain the most benefit. Skiing machines and moon-walkers are excellent machines, which like all of the other machines should be used gently to start with and increased over time.

Once the machine exercise has been completed the circuit should come to a close with warming down exercises to return heart rate and muscles back to their normal rhythms. Many gym exercises programs return to the running machines to accomplish this.

As many women know one of the first places excess fat deposits itself is the hips whether pregnant or not! To reduce the amount of fat deposits hip exercises should be carried out along with eating a healthy and nutritious diet. Hip exercises should also be part of a women’s workout routine to strengthen the hip joints and reduce the risks associated with osteoporosis in later life.

Simple walking will warm up the muscles around the hips before beginning hip exercises such as squats and lunges. Hip exercises should automatically be covered in any exercise program as circuits using adductor machines which rotate the hip joints in a controlled manner. If the hip muscles are to be worked hard then it should be remembered that other exercises which require stability should be avoided.

Novices can carry out effective hip exercises without going to a gym to use adductor machines. Begin the exercise routine with walking and carry out squats, lunges and leg raises, remembering to keep the back straight and the movements under control throughout. It is equally important to control the leg raises on the way down as well as up. Allowing the leg to simply fall back will not have any benefit at all in helping to exercise the hips, Slow, smooth movements and concentration are need to make leg raises an effective hip exercise.

Using a large inflated ball can also be used to strengthen the adductor muscles. Laying on the floor, sitting on a firm chair or standing holding the ball between the lower legs around the calf area,  gradually squeeze the ball trying to apply equal pressure from both legs and hold for a couple of seconds before releasing and carrying out repetitions. If carried out while standing balance needs to be controlled and it is more appropriate to use one leg for stability and carry out the exercise on one leg at a time and then changing legs.

These ball squeeze hip exercises can be gradually increased to approximately twelve each session. Once this goal has been achieved increase the amount to fifteen and try and hold the squeeze for a longer duration or inflate the ball so that it is slightly firmer.

Thigh exercies which combine activities such as brisk walking and cycling used in combination with squats and weights, are probably the most effective thigh exercises which can be carried out in the gym or a home.

Brisk walking, with relatively large strides which is fast enough to get the arms pumping and increase the heart rate is a great way to help tone thigh muscles and trim off excess fat. Cycling either on the road or on a cycling machine is also an effective way to tone thighs.

Both of these thigh exercises should begin on flattish ground or on a program setting which does not include steep gradients and be of short duration in order not to strain muscles and reduce the risk of injury. Over a few days or weeks, depending on the overall fitness of the person, both the gradient and duration can be increased to further strengthen and develop thigh muscles.

Squats can be carried out following all precautions such as keeping the back straight and not trying to squat too low to or carry out too many to begin with. Wall squats are ideal for toning thighs. Lunges are also beneficial and will help to firm thigh muscles. Squats, lunges and brisk walking or cycling will help tone thigh muscles without the expense of a gym.

In the gym thigh exercises will be part of circuit training with specific machines which are used to raise and lower the legs with the weights on the machines being gradually increased. Any good gym will demonstrate how to use the machines safely and to your best advantage which will result in trimmed and fabulous thighs as well as improving general health and fitness and reducing the risk of injury.

Thigh exercises for those who are already fit further extensions of these , such duration and increase in weights can be built up and worked on over time. As with any form of exercise those who have a medical condition or past injury should seek professional advice before beginning a thigh exercise program.

Stretching the back by lying on the stomach and using the arms to push and lift the upper body up, away from the floor and holding this position for five seconds before returning to lie on the floor is an effective and simple back pain exercise which should be repeated ten times, in a gentle smooth action without straining.

An alternative exercise is to lay on the back with both legs out straight, bring one leg up onto the chest and push the small of the back into the floor, hold this position for five seconds and return the leg to the floor. This exercise should be carried out in repetitions of five for each leg.

If the back pain is not too severe a pelvic tilt is an ideal back pain exercise. Begin this exercise by lying on the back with the knees bent, then tighten the abdominal muscles so that the small of the back presses against the floor, hold this position for five seconds and repeat five times to begin with and gradually build to ten repetitions.

Various back pain exercises which can also be carried out without a gym such as walking and swimming. Swimming can be of particular benefit as the weight of the body is supported by the water, if swimming itself is too uncomfortable gentle exercises carried out in the water can be beneficial to help ease back pain. By holding onto the side of the pool, gentle knee to chest exercises can be carried out.

Walking can be started at a slow pace, the duration and length of time walking can be relatively short and gradually increased over time. It is important to try and walk with the back as straight as possible to stretch the spine; hobbling and hunched shoulders may make the back pain more intense.

All back pain exercises should be carried out in a rhythmic way, without snatching the muscles as this may exaggerate the back pain further. Any additional sharp pain experienced during the back pain exercises is an indication that the exercise is either being carried out too fast or for too long, if this occurs the exercises should be stopped and the body given sufficient time to recover before attempting the exercises again.

Any sudden, severe back pain should be discussed with a physician prior to starting back pain exercises, to ensure that they are suitable to carry out without causing further aggravation to the back.

Aerobic exercises are needed to get the heart rate increased and the blood pumping. Aerobic exercises can help the overall condition and fitness of the body and should be undertaken for a least three times a week to gain the most benefit. As with any form of exercising a warm up should be carried out to gradually increase the heart rate at a steady pace. Once the heart is pumping the intensity of the exercising and duration of the ultimate exercises can be increased. The amount of time spent at each session also needs to be increased gradually and finally once the work out has been completed a warm down period is needed to reduce the chances of injury and to return the heart to its natural rhythm and beat.

Ultimate exercises which are aerobic can be carried out either at a gym by using the equipment such as rowing machines, running machines and ’snow walkers’. At home aerobic exercises such as power walking or jogging can provide aerobic exercising.

To build stamina and strength the aerobic exercising should be used in conjunction with anaerobic exercising. If using a gym a regime can be used which combines both of these forms of training.

Circuits, which consist cardiovascular training by using the gym’s training machine for a pre-set amount of time and then moving onto the resistance training by using machine which help build strength and stamina in the arms, back, stomach and legs and returning to work down with exercises which lower the heart rate.

They are called ‘circuits’ as the same machines and exercising are carried out in a specific order, the team members and professionals at the gym will discuss and detail circuits which are individualized for each person needs. As the circuits are completed the duration of each aspect can be increased until the ultimate exercises are being completed within each circuit.

This systematic and sensible approach to finding the most suitable and ultimate exercises will help prevent injuries, not cause them, and provide an exercise regime which benefits all aspects of the body which are beneficial when trying to maintain health.