Feeling and looking your best is always in season, and having a strong core helps with both.  Move through this effective circuit two to three times for a complete workout, and help tone your belly.  The best part is that there's no equipment necessary!  You can do this bodyweight routine just about anywhere.

1. Squat and Reach

• Begin with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart and toes pointed slightly outward.
• Keeping your weight in your heels, sit back into your deep squat.  Make sure your knees do not go beyond your toes.
• Holding your squat, raise both of your arms overhead.  Hold this position for a moment, and then return to standing while lowering your arms to your sides.  This completes one rep.
• Perform 15 reps.

2. Push-Up Rotation

• Begin in a plank position with your feet in line with your hips.
• Lower your body toward the floor, and then push through your arms, returning to plank.
• Twist to the left, reaching your left arm to the ceiling without letting your pelvis rise or lower.
• Return to plank position, bringing your hand back to the floor, and perform another push-up.  When returning to plank, twist to the right, and reach your right arm to the ceiling.
• Return back to plank position, returning your arm to the floor.  This completes one rep.
• Perform 15 reps.

3. V-Sits

• Lie on your back, and reach your arms rigidly to your side, off the floor.  Lift your legs off the floor, and point them, so they are at about a 45-degree angle.  Lift your head, so your shoulders are off the floor as well.
• When you're ready to begin, lift your upper torso off the floor, and bend your knees.  You can lean back to make this move harder or come up more to make it easier.  Slowly lower your upper body back down to the floor, straightening out your legs as you do so.  Stop when your back is on the floor, but not your head, shoulders, or legs.
• This completes one rep.
• Perform 25 reps.

4. Bicycle Crunches

• Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground (pull down your abs to also target your deep abs).  Put your hands behind your head.
• Bring in your knees toward your chest, and lift your shoulder blades off the ground.
• Straighten out your right leg to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow toward your left knee.  Make sure your rib cage is moving and not just your elbows.
• Now switch sides, and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep (and to create the pedaling motion).
• Perform 25 reps.

5. Reverse Crunch

• Lie on your back on the floor.  Place your hands on the floor beside you.
• Bring your knees in toward your chest with your feet together.
• Use your abs to slowly curl your hips off the floor and into your chest, and then slowly lower them back to the starting position to complete one.
• Repeat for one minute.  Don't swing your legs to create momentum;  use your abs to control your movement.

Once you've completed the full circuit, repeat two or three more times to challenge yourself!

If you can barely do a handful of push-ups, you'll be floored to see this amazing clip.  Ellen Degeneres climbed on the back of This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia, and he proceeded to effortlessly perform nine push-ups and looked like he could keep going!  Even more amazing?  Milo climbed on Ellen's back and she did two push-ups.  Feeling inspired to get this amazingly strong?  Maybe after doing this 30-Day Push-Up Challenge, you'll be able to do partner push-ups, too!

http://ellentube.com/videos/0-mwd1ti7p/

After a run nothing feels better than stretching out tired, overworked muscles.  Here are eight essential stretches to do after a run to target your lower back, quads, hip flexors, and hamstrings.

Tipover Tuck

Targets:  hamstrings, chest, and shoulders

Ease into this stretching routine with a gentle standing forward bend.  Interlace your hands behind you, fold forward, and come into Tipover Tuck.  After 30 or more seconds, come to stand up and release your hands.

King Pigeon

Targets:  abs and quads

Stretch the front of your body and increase flexibility in your spine with this cobra variation.  Lie on your belly and extend your arms out in front of you.  Walk them in toward your hips and bend your knees.  Remember to relax your shoulders, and if it feels comfortable, lower your head behind you, holding for 30 seconds.

Open Lizard

Targets:  hip flexors

Stretch your hip flexors and outer hips with this runner's lunge variation.  Come to a lunge position with your right knee forward.  Lower your left knee to the floor and rest your hands on the ground under your shoulders.

Slowly lower your right knee to the right, so you're resting on the outside of your right flexed foot.  Keep your arms straight, pressing your chest forward to increase the stretch.  Hold like this for 30 seconds and then repeat on the left side.

Butterfly

Targets:  hips and lower back

Sit on the ground, bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet together, coming into Butterfly Pose.  Fold forward to increase the intensity and hold for 30 seconds.

Head to Knee

Targets:  hamstrings and hips

From Butterfly, straighten your left leg and press the sole of your right foot against your left inner thigh.  Remain seated, or if you're more flexible, fold over your left leg, coming into Head to Knee, also called Hurdler.

Try to keep both shoulders parallel with the ground.  Hold for at least 30 seconds and then do this stretch with the right leg straight.

Seated Wide-Legged Straddle

Targets:  hamstrings and lower back

Straighten out both legs in a Wide-Legged Straddle position.  Either place your hands on your feet or walk them out in front of you.  Stay for 30 seconds, or longer if it feels good.

Bound Gate

Targets:  hamstring, inner thighs, and sides of the torso

Keep your left leg straight and bend your right knee, curling your toes around your right tush.  Lift your hips off the floor slightly and bring your left arm underneath, clasping around your right ankle.

Lower your hips back to the mat.  Spiral the chest toward the ceiling as you fold your torso over your left thigh.  Reach your right arm overhead and hold onto your left toes if you can.  Hold for 30 seconds and then switch sides.

Happy Baby

Targets:  lower back and hips

This relaxing pose is great to finish with.  Lie on your back, bend both knees and hold onto the outside edges of your feet.  Keeping your lower back on the ground, gently use your arms to press your knees toward the ground below your shoulders.

Hold here for at least 30 seconds, but feel free to spend a little extra time since many runners complain of lower back pain.

You'll feel stronger and more empowered than ever as you burn through calories with this at-home boxing workout, courtesy of TITLE Boxing Club Trainer, Michael Yabut.

Michael says, "You'll begin the workout with stretching and calisthenics to warm up your muscles, increase circulation and range-of-motion, and activate the nervous system." After your warm-up, "you'll transition into the rounds;  each round consists of three minutes of shadow boxing and full-body exercises to burn calories.  Between each round you may rest or participate in 'active' rest (which will help keep your mind and body engaged).  You'll finish out the workout with core strengthening and stretching."

Are you ready to feel the burn and get a badass boxing workout in at home?  Let's go!

The Warm Up:  7 Minutes

Repeat the two moves in each set as many times as you can within each minute period.

• Minute one:  jumping jacks (10 times), seal jacks (10 times)
• Minute two:  high knees (10 times), butt kicks (10 times)
• Minute three:  air squats (six times), alternating forward lunges (six times each side)
• Minute four:  push-ups (five times), mountain climbers (10 times)
• Minute five:  simulated jump rope in place (30 seconds), burpees (30 seconds)
• Minute six:  practice your boxing punches for two minutes:  jab, cross, hook, uppercut

The Workout:  15 Minutes

• Round one (complete as many rounds as possible in three minutes)
  • Straight punches:  jab and cross (20 times)
  • Speed squat:  "duck your opponents punches" (two times)
  • Hooks:  both sides (20 times)
  • Speed squat (two times)
  • Uppercuts:  both sides (two times)
  • Speed squat (two times)
• Active rest:  high knees (single-leg standing knee hugs), one minute
• Round two (complete as many rounds as possible in each minute)
  • Minute one:  straight punches (10 times), squat (one time)
  • Minute two:  hooks (10 times), squat (two times)
  • Minute three:  uppercuts (10 times), squat (three times)
• Active rest:  simulated jump rope, one minute
• Round three (punch ladder — climb up the punch ladder as high as possible within three minutes)
  • Straight punches (10 times), one push-up
  • Straight punches (20 times), two push-ups
  • Straight punches (30 times), three push-ups
  • Straight punches (40 times), four push-ups
• Active rest:  jog or run in place, one minute
• Round four (complete as many rounds as possible in three minutes)
  • Straight punches (50 times)
  • Hooks (50 times)
  • Uppercuts (50 times)
  • Burpees (five times)

The Cool-Down:  7 Minutes

• Sit-ups:  50 seconds
• Flutter kicks:  50 seconds
• Leg raise:  50 seconds
• Bicycle crunches:  50 seconds
• Elbow plank:  50 seconds
• Child’s Pose
• Runners lunge
• Chest expansion
• Lateral lean
• Shoulder stretch
• Triceps stretch

If you don't feel like heading out for a run, paying for an indoor cycling class, or trekking it over to your gym for a swim, you can still get in a heart-pumping, muscle-burning cardio workout at home, at the office, in your hotel room, while visiting your in-laws — or wherever you are — with this five-minute, five-move circuit.  These five bodyweight cardio exercises will also tone your arms, core, butt, and legs, which is an added bonus.

Directions:  Perform the first move for 40 seconds, then take a 20-second rest.  Perform the next move for 40 seconds, take a 20-second rest, and so on, until you complete all five moves.  Perform this five-minute circuit for a total of four to six times, depending on how much time you have.

Burpees

• Lower into a crouching squat with your hands on the floor.
• Do a squat thrust by jumping your feet back into a plank position.
• Do one basic push-up, bending the elbows and then straightening back to plank.
• Jump the feet forward to the hands, and come into a squat.
• Do an explosive jump straight up, getting as much height as you can.
• Complete as many burpees as you can for 40 seconds.
• Take a 20-second rest.

Jumping Lunge

• Stand with your feet staggered, your left foot slightly in front of your right.  Making sure you're not too stiff, keep your stance active with your knees bent in a slight but not full lunge.
• With your core engaged, push off the bottom of both feet into a jump, switching the position of your feet in midair, landing in a basic lunge with your right leg in front.
• Without rest, repeat this movement, alternating which leg is in front.  This completes one rep.
• Perform as many reps as you can for 40 seconds.
• Rest for 20 seconds.

Plank With Bunny Hop

• Begin in a plank position with your feet touching.
• Pull your abs in, and jump your feet to the right, bringing your knees toward your right elbow.  Your torso will twist to the right.
• Jump your feet back to plank.
• Jump your feet to the left, then jump back to plank to complete one rep.
• Do as many reps as you can for 40 seconds.
• Rest for 20 seconds.

Around-the-World Squat Hop

• Before you start this move, visualize a large square on the floor and you're standing in the bottom right corner, feet hip-distance apart.
• Keeping weight in the heels, bend the knees and squat down.  Take a huge jump forward to the top right corner of that imaginary square, landing quietly back into a squat.
• Keep going around the square, jumping to the left, jumping back behind you, and jumping to the right.  Now you're back where you started.
• Reverse your jumps around the square in the opposite direction.
• Perform as many jumps as you can for 40 seconds.
• Take a (well-deserved) 20-second rest.

Cross Jacks

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and extend your arms straight out to either side with palms facing down.
• Jump and cross your right arm over your left and your right foot over your left.  Jump your legs to the sides and open your arms, then cross with the opposite arm and foot.
• Perform as many cross jacks as you can for 40 seconds.
• Rest for 20 seconds.