Pilates exercises are part of a fitness method started by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s. This popular workout trend teaches awareness of breathing while focusing on the alignment of the spine. Pilates target back and abdominal -- or "core" muscles -- but is also effective for toning the legs, arms, shoulders and glutes.

The exercises are often performed on a piece of equipment called a reformer, but can also be done on a mat without equipment. During these Pilates classes, you'll perform non-weight bearing moves that use your body weight to tone your muscles. All Pilates exercises have numerous benefits, including increasing both strength and flexibility, while also improving lung capacity.

Pilates classes are available at most gyms. Still, finding the right instructor can be the key to success. Certified instructors will give clear and precises directions that focus on correct body positioning and breathing. It's the instructor's job to accurately demonstrate the exercises for you and to give you cues that make the movements easy to understand.

Pilates exercises are great for both beginners and advanced exercisers. Instructors should provide modifications for the exercises and offer some individual instruction to ensure you are performing the moves in a way that is both safe and effective. Injured students should be able to participate with these modifications, too.

Think Pilates might be right for you? Learn more about how Pilates gives the gain without the pain.

Obsession with youth is not only the plague of modern society. In the 1930s, a retired British army officer stumbled upon a remote monastery in the Himalayas where the monks were rumored to have found the fountain of youth. Amazed by their age-defying health and energy, he attributed their vitality to a series of yoga-like postures they practiced daily – as had generations of monks for thousands of years. These Five Tibetan Rites are believed to work by stimulating and balancing energy centers in our bodies called chakras that correspond to each of our endocrine glands. "They're like electricity transformers, receiving and regulating energy and transmitting it throughout the body," explains Sydney-based Carolinda Witt, who's been teaching the rites for more than seven years.

Witt says practicing The Five Rites is like flicking these energy switches to ON. And they're easy to do. In fact, she's made modifications that focus on breathing and building core strength so you don't have to be a veteran yogini to get yourself, well, turned on. Plus, it's yoga, so you'll create a leaner, stronger body! Start with three repetitions of each posture daily and in order. Add two per week until you're doing 21 in about 10 minutes. When you finish each move, pause and take three energy breaths. The directions are below.

Rite #1: Spinning
Harmonizes chakra spin rates. Improves balance, focus and coordination.

Rite #2: Modified Leg Raise
Strengthens and tones the core, hips, lower back, legs and neck.

Zumba: The word definitely sounds more like a festive tropical energy drink than a workout and I'll admit, until recently I'd never heard of it either. But if trend tracking is to be believed, this Latin-themed aerobic dance workout may be on the way to your gym even as we speak. As of July 2009, classes were being offered at over 40,000 gyms in 75 countries. And spinoff genres--among them Country Line Dancing Zumba, Aqua Zumba, an even Zumba Gold for seniors are gaining ground.

The Zumba story's a pretty winning one: Back in the 1990s, Alberto Perez, a young aerobics instructor teaching in Cali, Columbia, arrived at his class only to realize he'd forgotten all his tapes. Luckily, he had plenty of salsa and merengue tracks in his car -- he grabbed them, and proceeded to improvise the whole class to those beats. People loved it and there was, he says, just no going back. In 1999, he paired with some enthusiastic backers and brought the concept stateside, where it became something of an American Dream fitness story. Zumba's landed everything from book deals and videos to a partnership with Kellogg's (it's been featured on the back of their cereal boxes as part of a fitness campaign for the Hispanic market).

How would you like one exercise that works your whole body, requires no equipment, is easy to learn and is fun to do? Consider the bear crawl.

"The bear crawl engages many muscle groups including the shoulders, core and quads," said Crystal McReynolds, a coach at CrossFit Central.

To do the bear crawl, simply drop onto all fours with your hands directly under your shoulders, then rise up onto your feet. Now you're in the bear position! You can move forward and backward more quickly than in a standard crawl, and you'll work every major muscle group in the process.

A perfect L-sit Photo: CrossFit Oakland

Think parallel bars are only for extra-lean Olympians and teeny-tiny gymnasts? Think again! Amping up your workout routine with exercises on "parallettes" -- miniature parallel bars that are light, portable and inexpensive -- can dramatically increase your strength and balance.

Some of your favorite old-school exercises, like push-ups and triceps dips, can be made more effective and more fun by moving them from the floor to parallettes.

"A push-up becomes an entirely new movement when your hand is positioned on top of the parallette," says Melissa Byers, owner and trainer at CrossFit 603. "The parallettes demand greater wrist and forearm strength and stability, and your potential range of motion is greatly increased."

Have you always wanted to try Pilates, but never got around to signing up for a class? The Hundred is a classic Pilates move that will be sure to work your core muscles and flatten your tummy. Check out the video below to learn to do it correctly. And make sure to focus on your breathing and pulling your navel in tight!

This "Tuck and Push" combination offers an awesome opportunity to kill many birds with one stone. Within a few short reps, you'll have worked almost every muscle of your upper body and have successfully set your core ablaze. It's simple, fun and highly effective. Try it!

For more quick, innovative and fun training tips, visit Fitzness.com.

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Join fitness pro, Fitz, for this simple yet challenging move that will engage every muscle in your core. Try it with your legs bent, as shown in the video, or tone it down and do it with your knees bent. The Windmill allows your obliques to engage at their full range of motion and will help your low back grow strong as well. Once you master The Windmill as shown, try it with a medicine ball in between your feet.

For more innovative training videos and incredible belly busting recipes visit Fitzness.com!

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Try these three exercises using Gliding Disks and you'll achieve a full contraction of your abdominal muscles at a variety of angles. Want some sexy grooves between your hips? You know, the kind Usher has made so famous. Then pay close attention to the last of the three moves. If you don't own Gliding Disks, Fitz will tell you what household object you can use instead.

For more innovative training videos starring Fitz and a variety of celebrities, visit Fitzness.com.

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Using a small fitness ball, Fitz demonstrates three simple ab training exercises that will leave your entire midsection trembling. The workouts are simple, but intense!

For more innovative training videos, healthy recipes and Celebrity Fitzness interviews visit Fitzness.com.

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There's no doubt that push-ups can make a dramatic impact on your physique. They're challenging, work a ton of muscle groups and can be done absolutely anywhere. There's also a bunch of ways you can get creative with them. In this video, Fitz and her team demo a few fun ideas for push-up training with a partner.

For more fun training videos, recipes and celebrity fitness interviews visit Fitzness.com

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The Ballast Ball is like a regular Swiss Ball on steroids. It's full of an exciting substance that makes it perfect for a killer upper body and core training workout, as shown here in this video.

Discover innovative fitness equipment, training techniques and delicious low fat recipes at Fitzness.com.

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This simple core training move is surprisingly hard, but I've taken it to even greater levels here in this short video. Take a looksy and then try these exercises at home! Your abs, back, arms and hips will have no choice but to respond with great tone and strength!

Find great recipes, celebrity fitzness tips and innovative training videos at Fitzness.com.

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Some women may think exercise is boring. If only they knew some core strengthening moves have the possibility of leading to an orgasm.

Sounds like a myth, doesn't it? But Women's Health has quotes from a number of women who swear that they've experienced the elusive "coregasm." Since these women have nobody to please but themselves, I think it's safe to say they're not faking it. And experts agree that it's possible.

Ladies, we can't all pull off multiples and we may not all be capable of coregasms, either. But if you want to give it a try, Women's Health has a series of moves that have worked for other women. At the very least, you'll be strengthening your core. At best, you'll finish your workout with a smile on your face.

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I'm sure you're sick of hearing about the economic slump by now, and I won't go on about it or anything except to say this: If you're using it as an excuse to not get fit, don't. You might think that you need a membership to a fancy gym or expensive fitness equipment to get in shape, but in all honesty, the best exercises are the ones you can do for free. Like the plank.

The plank is excellent for working your core muscles, and even though you're not moving, it's more effective than a sit-up. And it only takes a few minutes of your time. Take a hint from the folks at Sister Skinny and do the plank during the commercials while you're watching TV. Hey, it worked for them.

Click here for more information on the benefits of the plank and how you can properly do it yourself.

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