Moderate exercise three to five times a week helps you stay fit and healthy. But if you want to kick it up a notch and see lasting changes in your body, mix these quick tips into your pilates routine and weekly workouts:

Be consistent. Whatever it is you choose to do, make a commitment and stick with it. You won’t see permanent changes without a consistent commitment.

Heavy breathing. Your cardio workout should be at least 45 minutes a day – 35 minutes at a minimum. For at least 20 of those minutes, you should be exerting full effort and out of breath. For example, you should be working so hard you couldn’t carry on a conversation.

Once a week. Go for 60 minutes on at least one of those days.

Work from your hips, engage your core. Try this little exercise to get a feel for how to engage your core muscles. Start walking. Now imagine someone standing behind you telling you to “hurry up, go faster, faster.”

You may notice that your core muscles tense, or engage. That’s the feeling you want to pursue when you’re exercising. You want to pull your body’s strength from your core.

The 2-day rule. Don’t let more than 2 days go by without exercising.

You’re almost done. With your cardio, tack on an extra 20 minutes for weight-training, or body strengthening exercises, such as leg squats and push-ups. Every body needs a different set of tools, so if you’re interested in purchasing a few items for your home gym, give me a call and I’ll help you choose the right pieces for your body.