We can't all have Heidi Klum's genes, but we can look just as good in our skinny jeans! Photo: Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images

Skinny jeans might be popular, but for many, they bring with them an unpopular side effect -- some extra pudge coming up over the top of those jeans.

A new workout is designed to change all that. The Skinny Jeans Workout, according to CNN, "concentrates on core muscles, balance and posture. A cross between ballet, butt-burning stretches and light weight lifting, the workout involves the entire body." Basically, everything that goes into the jeans (booty, thighs) or affects how you fit in the jeans (abs, back, shoulders) is worked, and those who attend the class regularly swear by it.

Class instructor Tracy Cherpeski Bannister told CNN, "In addition to sort of holding it in, we're also lifting and lengthening and, as we do that, we sort of set our shoulders into place." Hey, good posture makes everybody look 10 pounds slimmer, so it only makes sense that working on muscles that help posture would get you into some smaller, skinnier jeans.

Working core muscles and posture is a great way to combat the effects of rounding ones shoulders while driving or, ahem, hunching over a computer keyboard all day, even if you're not trying to fit into skinny jeans. Does your gym offer the Skinny Jeans Workout?

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Do you have a desk job? If so, like me, you've probably found that if you do the keyboard hunch all day long, your shoulders and neck begin to ache eventually. Maintaining proper posture can help you avoid neck, shoulder and back pain. In addition, standing straight and tall helps you look more confident and put together ... some even say it makes you look thinner. Sounds good to me!

"Women's Health" has four exercises to improve your posture:

• The X. This Pilates move will engage your abs while lifting and lengthening your upper body.
• Port de Bras. Ballet dancers have impeccable posture; their art demands it. This ballet move focuses on form and forces you to use your abs to maintain posture.
• Extended Side Angle Pose. This yoga move requires balance and helps lengthen your spine.
• Kneeling Roll. This Alexander Technique moves has you keep good posture while using a Swiss ball to strengthen your back.

For more posture tips, check out this video.

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Poor posture can drag down your energy, emotions and self esteem. Yoga expert Stacy McCarthy provides simple instructions in this video for relieving pain, removing strain and boosting your confidence.

For yoga tips, innovative training videos and cooking demos from a welllness chef, visit SportsHealthExercise.org.

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Hunched over at a desk all day? Here's a quick and easy way to undo hours of bad posture.

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Ladies, I Kissed A Girl singer Katy Perry thinks you should suck it up -- your belly, that is. Holding in your Buddha belly will help you attract boys, she says. "I'm really critical of my posture, it makes a big difference," said the pop star to reporters recently, adding, "I try to suck my belly in. Everyone should do that whether you're on a red carpet or not. Even if you're just going out to dinner with your boyfriend you should try and suck it in."

The advice will come in handy -- Katy is on the market again after breaking up with her boyfriend recently.

Maintaining good posture is a quick way to look 10 pounds thinner -- but is sucking in your stomach at all times realistic? Or, more importantly, comfortable?

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It doesn't take major strength training of bodybuilding proportions to benefit the body. Nope, a little light lifting can work wonders for a body in need of a little revamping.

Lifting light free weights -- think two to four pounds for starters -- not only adds variety to a stale workout routine, it also can increase your metabolism, improve your posture, and help you lose weight. Another bonus: Free weights are less expensive and more versatile than weight machines. They also work the body in ways machines can't by forcing you to focus on balance and core strength.

Ready to try some light lifting? Take a peek at these exercises, which focus on the shoulder and back muscles but also engage all sorts of other areas. Give them a try, and you'll see what I mean. Keep this in mind as you get started: Position and precision of motion are more important than how many pounds you lift.

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If you don't have proper form when you walk for fitness, you may be missing out on some of the benefits -- you may even be setting yourself up for injury. Los Angeles-based fitness professional Lalo Fuentes has identified some common problems people have with walking form:

• Easy gliders. Some people walk with a very relaxed/cool stride; They tend to bring their legs forward and their heels touch the ground first. This type of walk can put the body off-balance and doesn't work the hamstrings and glutes as much as it should. If this sounds like you, then straighten up -- imagine a string being pulled upward from your head -- your stride will improve and so will the effects of your walking workout.
• Tippy toes. Many people who are into sports are used to being light on their feet. This can lead to a walking stride where the middle of the feet hit the ground first and heels immediately rise, leaving the person practically on tip-toe. The calf muscles are getting a great workout, but the hamstrings are virtually ignored. When walking, you should strike the ground first with your heel and then roll through from heel to toe.
  

When you have proper walking form, your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and obliques will get a better workout. In addition, you'll have better posture -- and, remember, posture has a big impact on your appearance. See AOL Health for more tips on walking workouts.

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You know good nutrition leads to better health. But did you know it can lead to a more beautiful you?

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The first rule of looking slim is to stand up straight -- good posture can take 10 visual pounds off your frame, easily. So, it's no surprise that someone has come out with a gadget to help you maintain better posture. Allow me to introduce you to the iPosture.

This handy dandy gadget is small -- the size of a necklace pendant (and can actually be worn as one, although, as your fit fashion consultant, I have to dissuade you from doing so) -- and alerts the user with small, short vibrations when he or she begins to slouch. You're allowed three degrees of deviation from your chosen posture -- if you slouch more than that for longer than a minute, it lets you know.

According to the website, there are a multitude of reasons you should be trying to improve your posture, including:

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Poor posture not only causes you to look 10 pounds heavier and feel less confident ... it also hurts! Check out this video from Stacy McCarthy, the yoga expert from She's Active Health Network. Stacy offers up a few simple stretches you can do anywhere at anytime to get you standing as tall as you should.

For more fun, quick, tips and recipes from degreed experts ...

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My grandma always told me to stand up straight. Good posture was important to her -- her rounded back made her crazy, and she never wanted me to face the same predicament. She never mentioned that good posture could strengthen my abs. Had she done that, I would have straightened up long ago.

One of the easiest ways to strengthen your abdominal muscles and support your back is through good posture. Think you've already mastered standing up straight? Probably not -- most of us feel like we're lined up properly but really, we aren't. Time for some practice. Try these five RealAge steps for perfect posture -- and a tighter tummy.

• Pull your shoulder blades back slightly toward each other and down away from your ears.
• Lift your chest up and out.
• Pull your head back just enough to keep it in line with your spine.
• Position your pelvis or hips to create or maintain a natural arch in your lower back.
• Pull your belly button in toward your spine without changing or tilting your hips or losing the arch in your lower back.
  
  

As you may have guessed, standing up straight isn't all you need to do for strong abs -- wouldn't it be nice if it were that easy, though? Nope, you've got to work a little harder at fitness than that. But standing up straight sure is a great start.

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Last week, I told you five food tweaks that can make your Buddha belly less ... um .... Buddha-ish. But if changing what you eat isn't your thing, Prevention Magazine recently revealed another five tips -- no diet changes necessary. Here they are:

• Stand -- and sit -- up straight. Good posture instantly slims your whole body, but especially your ab area.
  
• Imagine there's a magnet behind your belly button drawing it to your spine. It's an old Pilates trick that works wonders. Do this often.
  
• Sit like royalty. Allow your spine to curve naturally and hold your shoulders back.
  
• Become a cardio queen ... or king. It's effective in burning stubborn fat.
  
• Clean your house. Seriously. Vacuuming, sweeping and scrubbing uses your core muscles.

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