5 Low-Impact Aerobic Exercises - Leslie Sansone Style!

When I first started exercising, I went through a whole list of famous trainers that promised me weight loss. Tony Horton, Tim Holland, and even that funny Shaun T from Hip Hop Abs. Despite my attempts to lose weight, I always failed time and time again.

One day I was walking through the aisles of Costco when I found a simple workout DVD. It was titled Start! Working at Home 1&2 Mile Walk by Leslie Sansone. I thought, "Hey, why not?" Ever since then I've been hooked on Leslie Sansone and her simple and effective workouts. With just a few easy steps, some catchy music, and a little motivation I managed to lose my first 20 lbs in a little over a month!

Below are 5 Easy Low-Impact Aerobic Workouts that helped me lose weight. The best part is ANYONE can do them; All you to need to do is get up and walk!

And how can she help you stay active?

I mentioned before the reasons why I love Leslie Sansone. But there are a few reasons why her techniques are great for beginners.

To start, Leslie Sansone begins you at a slow pace. When you purchase her beginners DVDs, she'll start you out slow in a walking pace, and she'll increase the pace of the music as your body adjusts to the workout routine. With this slow pace comes permanence; once your body adjusts to the simplicity of the workout, you won't feel like exercising is a chore. Instead, you'll want to workout everyday, and you'll feel great about it!

She also doesn't use complicated terms. A lot of trainers use "muscle" words a beginner has never heard of - lats, planks, burpes, electrolytes, and they don't even bother to explain what they mean. With Leslie Sansone, she explains thoroughly what is happening to your body during the workout.

As you're working with Leslie Sansone, she tends to compliment you and motivate you throughout the workout:

"I'm so glad you decided to workout today! It's so healthy!""You made a great choice today. Good for you!""You can do it. I know you can.""You deserve a great body!"

This is only a short list of among many of her great commentaries. I have always been big, so it's great to hear these things about my choices. Even though I know she's not directly talking to me, she reminds me of a close friend who just wants to see you succeed.

And how did I find success?

As a person who has been overweight all my life, I can tell you that I've tried time and time again to lose weight. I've tried different diets, rented and purchased workout DVDs. I even fasted a few times to the point of almost fainting. But no matter what, the pounds were just not coming off!

When I bought Leslie Sansone's DVD I was amazed with my results. There's a few reasons I can attribute to this:

Her Exercises are simple

All her workouts revolve around 5 easy Aerobic Exercises: Power walking, sidesteps, knee lifts, kicks, and curls. You don't have to do squats, pushups, lunges, or any other painful exercises.

This was especially helpful for me because I was a beginner; I have never been to a gym and I've never exercised before (effectively, at least), so knowing how much success I can find from these simple steps is fantastic!

The music makes me want to dance!

The wonderful engaging music makes me want to get up and exercise. The fact that the steps are in sync with the beats of the music makes it feel like I'm dancing, not exercising. And that made the experience ten times more fun!

Other DVDs have music in the background, but it's used for complimentary purposes - so you can distract yourself from all the pain your feeling. For Leslie Sansone and her workouts, the music isn't just complimentary. It's ESSENTIAL to the workout!

Leslie Sansone has an AWESOME Personality

Everything about Leslie Sansone made me want to get off of my butt and workout. The whole time I was exercising, it felt like Leslie Sansone wasn't just any normal trainer. She wasn't a glamorized figure with 5 star decorations and much-too-expensive workout supplies. Instead, she talked to you like a person you could relate to. She was humble, loveable, and she pushed you and made it seem like she genuinely cared.

Also, she not only tells you what to do, but tells you why and how it all works in the body. Through this you'll learn exactly why you're losing weight, how calories works, and why you feel so good the whole time!

It doesn't even have to be about Leslie Sansone or her workouts. If you found success with your weight loss, please tell your story! I'm sure you will serve as a motivation to those struggling with their weight loss journey.

I know you're raring to go, but before you begin please read the following workout tips. They will help IMMENSELY with your weight loss.

• Eat something before you workout. You don't have to necessarily eat a meal; eat a banana (the best choice), an apple, or even a piece of bread. You want to give your body some fuel to work with. Otherwise, you won't be able to give your workout your best effort (and thus, little calorie burn!). Not to mention the pain of your stomach grinding itself together.
• Don't stretch before exercising. An old myth is that you should stretch your muscles fully before exercising to prevent injury. In actuality, the contrary is true; exercising before working out yields a higher chance for injury! Instead, warm-up your muscles by moving walking around. Save stretching after the workout when your muscles are warm.
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• Keep water with you at all times. Aerobic workouts cause you to sweat and lose a lot of water. It's important that you replace this water or else you will faint of dehydration. Typically, you'll want to drink a glass of water every mile just to be safe.
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• Exaggerate your movements. I know it may seem a little funny, but swinging your arms a bit higher or bending your knees really increases the intensity of the workout.
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• The longer the session, the more the burn. A lot beginners think of the workout like math. "If I do 10 minutes now, 10 minutes later, and 10 minutes before Dinner, that's a 30 minute workout!" However, this is not true. In order to get the most calorie burn, you need to complete the whole session. Your heart needs to be working for at least 20 minutes before it starts accessing your fat reserves (for more fit people this is earlier). Which means a good workout is about 30-40 minutes long.

Walk those pounds off!

The simplest low-impact workout is simply walking in place.

Start by walking slowly in place. Increase your speed slowly and steady until your heart rate starts to rise. Once you're ready, pump your arms by swinging them forward and backward, and locking your elbows in a 90 degree angle. Increase your speed a little more and pick up your legs a little higher, and you'll have the Power Walk Down.

For those that want a little higher (but still light) impact, you can take turn your Power Walk into a light jog.

If you need a little variation, try walking forward four steps and backward four steps. Walking backwards is good because it conditions untrained muscles (how many times every day do you walk backwards?). Be careful to make sure you clear your area to avoid tripping over things.

Do the Slide, and lose weight!

Side Stepping is an effective exercise that works out your inner and outer thigh. Because these areas of your muscles don't get a lot of exercise, it'll burn a bit BUT you'll experience a ton of calorie burn.

Start Sidesteps by stepping side-to-side two times in one direction, and two times in the other. Keep your foot aligned and sidestep ankle-to-ankle.

You could also vary the workout by doing Grapevines. The exercise is the same but has a little twist in the middle.

To increase the intensity of your Sidesteps, bend your knees a little until you feel a burn in your thighs.

Engage the legs

Knee Lifts is a wonderful exercise that works your front thighs, abdominals (to a certain extent), and obliques.

Start by standing up straight and keep your head forward. Then lift your knee until its perpendicular to your body. Make your knee bend at a 90 degree angle, and then alternate with the other knee.

It's very important that you maintain a safe posture. Keep your back straight, and keep your body forward. Don't lean back or else you can really injure yourself.

To work your obliques, simply turn your body a bit and, with both hands on top of each other, touch each knee as it rises. This simple movement twists the obliques and gives it a satisfying workout.

Vary your Knee Lifts by opening your legs and lifting your knees at a different angle.

Increase the intensity of your Knee Lifts by doing sets of 2 or 4 on each side at a time. Make your body really stretch by raising your hands high into the air and then bringing it down to touch the knee. This simple movement will crunch your abdominals and burn up a lot of calories.

Crunch that core!

Kicks is a great low-aerobic exercise because it really burns your core and your leg muscles.

To do Kicks correctly, simply lift your foot slowly until it is about perpendicular to your body, and then alternate legs. Make it nice and natural; imagine you're making huge steps at the pace of the music.

Remember that posture is important. Like Knee Lifts, posture is important so that you get the most calorie burn and so you don't hurt your back or pull a muscle.

To increase the intensity of Kicks, try engaging your arms. Whenever you lift your leg, lift your leg and right arm and reach forward each step.

To train your balance and coordination, alternate your hands and legs while your doing Kicks. If you lift your left leg, stretch forward with your right arm, and vice versa.

Alternative Calorie Burn

Hamstring Curls work the hamstrings (of course), but is also a great variation to the Knee Lifts and kicks.

To do Hamstring Curls, spread your legs a bit and curl each leg back, alternating as if you were stepping sideways.

To increase the intensity of Hamstring Curls, reach your arms forward. Every time you curl your leg back, pull your arms back.