Lonan O’Herlihy is a personal trainer to the stars, working with high profile clients across the globe.

Health on Female First

Health on Female First

He works with all of his clients remotely, via skype, training them in all aspects of health, fitness and nutrition, and usually from the comfort of their front room.

Here, he reveals his top ten exercises you can do at home to get in shape this summer…

Tricep dip:

How to do:

1. place your hands behind you on a chair or any piece of stable furniture 2. Ensure your hands are shoulder width apart 3. Bend your legs. You should be in a crab type position. 4. Slowly bend your elbow to 45 degrees and straighten slowly. 5. Straighten your legs to make the exercise harder.

Repetitions: Complete 10 reps and repeat 3 times

Top Tips

Using furniture for ease, this exercise really can be done almost anywhere at home. Great for toning the arms, getting rid of the ‘bingo wings’ and strengthening your upper body!

Bottled lat raise

How to do:

1. Grab 2 water bottles. One in each hand 2. Keeping your shoulders away from your ear and arms straight, lift your arms to a shoulder height. You should end up in a T position. 3. Slowly lower your arms back to your body.

Repetitions: Complete 10 reps and repeat 3 times

Top Tips

Water bottles can be used as good weights for this exercise! This one will target your shoulders and core, which will help to improve your overall posture.

Knee push-up

How to do:

1. Place your hands shoulder width apart and rest your knees on the floor 2. Slowly bend your elbows, lowering your chest to the floor 3. Keep your elbows close to your body to target your triceps 4. Straighten your elbows slowly and return to starting position

Repetitions: Complete 10 reps and repeat 3 times

Top Tips

This exercise focuses on the upper body which many women neglect. Strengthening your upper body is extremely for improving shoulder positioning and therefore posture. This will help to elongate your figure.

Bicycles

How to do:

1. Lie on the floor, facing up. 2. Place your hands behind your head and lift your legs and chest off the floor 3. Press your lower back into the ground and contract your core 4. Bring your knee towards your chest, and bring the opposite elbow to meet. 5. Do the same on the other side 6. Continue to alternate

Repetitions: 40 secs work 20 secs rest. Repeat 2 times.

Top Tips

This exercise helps to achieve a smaller waist by activating the core muscles in a diagonal motion. To ensure your core is contracting (and not your leg muscles) ensure your shoulder blades are off the floor for the entire exercise.

Flutter kicks

How to do:

1. Lie on the floor, facing up 2. Press your lower back into the floor 3. Lift your legs only off the floor 4. Keeping your legs straight, lift one leg and inch and lower, then the same on the other leg. 5. Speed this up so you appear to be kicking like your swimming back stroke.

Repetitions: 40 secs work 20 secs rest. Repeat 2 times.

Top Tips

Once again this is another great ab exercise but targets the lower abs to achieve a toned torso. To prevent your back aching, start kicking your legs higher (45 degree angle) and place your hands under your lower back (bottom). This places less strain on your lower back.

Scissors

How to do:

1. Lie on the floor, facing up 2. Press your lower back into the floor 3. Lift your legs only off the floor 4. Keeping your legs straight, bring both legs out to the side and back to the middle 5. When your feet reach the middle, cross the feet over and repeat step 4. 6. Ensure your alternate the foot that is on top when crossing over in the middle

Repetitions: 40 secs work 20 secs rest. Repeat 2 times.

Top Tips

This is my favourite ab exercise and also works the lower abs. The lower your legs go the harder it is. Once again, if you start to feel your lower back place your hands under your lower back, raise your legs and tense your core. If you feel your back lifting off your hands, you are at risk of hurting your back, so raise your legs higher.

Plank hip dips

How to do:

1. Plank position- place forearms on the floor, shoulder width apart. Straighten your legs out behind you and keep your hips in line with your shoulder. 2. Bring you right hip to meet the floor without moving your upper body 3. Repeat the same on the left side

Repetitions: 10 on each side. Repeat 2 times.

Top Tips

Continuing with the core exercises, this exercise focuses upon your obliques (sides of your core) and helps to target those love handle areas. Ensure your hips stay low and try and aim for your hips to touch the floor on either side. To ensure you have good technique in your plank, ensure your elbows are below your shoulders and squeeze your bottom muscles together.

Step ups

How to do:

1. Find a stable box or piece of furniture. You can use any piece of furniture for this that is no higher than your knee and no lower than half way down your shin. 2. Place your right foot on the box and drive through this leg to stand on top of the box. 3. Slowly lower your left leg back from the box onto the floor 4. Repeat the same with the left foot on the box

Repetitions: 12 on each side. Repeat 2 times

Top Tips

This helps to tone your gluts, hamstring and quads, as well as targeting cellulite.Make sure you drive through your raised leg and don’t bounce off the back leg. To increase the difficulty of this exercise, hold to water bottles in both hands.

Lunge pulses

How to do:

1. Lunge position. Step one leg forward, keeping your hips and knees facing forwards. 2. Slowly bend your knees 3. DON’T straighten your knees to starting positioning, only straighten 3/4 of the way and immediately bend you knees again. 4. Repeat with the other leg facing forward

Repetitions: 20 on each side. Repeat 3 times.

Top Tips

This is once again a great exercise to feel a burn and achieve tone in your hamstring, gluts and quads. It is important your knees are always at 90 degrees and front knee is inline with your second toe to ensure a good technique.

Donkey kicks

How to do:

1. Go into an all fours position 2. Place your hands directly below your shoulders 3. Lift one leg behind you up to hip level and keep your knee in a 90 degree position. 4. Repeat on the other leg

Repetitions: 10 on each side. Repeat 2 times.

Top Tips

Donkey kicks help to target cellulite and tone your gluts (bottom muscles). Try this exercise in front of a mirror as it is important to ensure your back is straight and not arching.

Lonan is an ambassador for Kaneka’s ‘Powered by Ubiquinol’ campaign, quality sports supplements for muscle recovery and endurance. For more info visit www.poweredbyubiquinol.com

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