How to get summer legs

Perfect pins: get your legs in shape this summer
10 April 2012

I've put together three of the best exercises to get those pins toned and beachworthy. Do them every day - properly, mind - and you'll see results in no time.

Static squat with "skating" leg extension, 1-2 minutes per leg
Start with a static squat, feet hip- width apart, abdominals active and knees behind your toes with bodyweight on the back two-thirds of your feet.

Keep your left leg still and, breathing in, lift your right foot so it's just off the floor and bring it in to touch your toes against your left foot. Now breathe out and extend your right leg straight out to the side, touching the toes to the ground, and then bring it in again. Repeat in a slow, controlled fashion, with your left leg in a straight line - hip directly over your knee and knee directly over your toes. After 1-2 minutes of slow controlled repetitions, repeat on the other side.

Step ups - three minutes overall
Find a step and starting with your right foot, step up, bring the left foot up to join it, and then back down again. Keep your chest tall, shoulders back and down and core engaged throughout. Make sure you change the leading foot halfway through the exercise. Make sure you step up and down at a brisk pace - you should feel slightly puffed at the end of three minutes.

Reverse lunges, 1-1½ minutes per leg
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, core engaged. Your arms should hang down, with your palms turned inwards. (If you want to work a bit harder, grab some hand weights.) Take a large step backwards with your right foot. Lower your hips until your left thigh is parallel to the ground with the knee directly above the ankle. Your left foot should be pointed straight ahead and your right heel should be lifted. Pushing through your left leg, contract your glutes and hamstrings strongly to return to the starting position.

Repeat for one minute and then swap legs.
David Higgins

David Higgins is co-founder of TenPilates (tenpilates.com)

Beauty tips for perfect pins

SMOOTHING
At home: Brand new this month is the easy-to-use HoMedics me at-home laser - promising 89 per cent permanent hair reduction - and this one is effective on a wider range of skin colours and hair types than any home lasers before it (although still not suitable for very dark skin).

You'll start to notice a reduction after two treatments and need four (at two-week intervals) for the full effect. £449.99, boots.com. If you're not ready for permanence then Bliss has its new Poetic Waxing microwaveable waxing kit, including a skin cleanser and pre and post-waxing oil to soothe the skin. £35.80, blissworld.co.uk

In the salon: In-salon laser hair removal has come a long way. The Soprano laser is truly pain- free, is faster and, unlike the more traditional IPL treatment, works on every skin and hair type - although you still need a consultation first to check. From £85 per session (three to six required) at the Dr Rakus Clinic, drritarakus.com.

The best salon waxes can grab even the shortest hairs so all that growing time of old has been consigned to (terrifying) legend. STRIP, whose wax can remove 1mm hairs, has added Olive Oil wax (and an olive oil- themed waxing room) at its new luxury wax bar at One New Change shopping centre. £92 full leg (or £76.66 as part of a course), stripwaxbar.com

SCRUBBING
At home: Sweeping an Aromatherapy Associates body brush up your calves and thighs will boost circulation, prep skin for moisturising later on and leave it silky smooth (£12, aromatherapyassociates.com). Follow this by rubbing a palm-sized amount of Nougat London's Pampering Body Scrub in fig and pink cedar into your skin. The softening mixture of cocoa butter and beeswax will look after dry patches and smells delicious. Rinse off with warm water (£18/200g, nougatlondon.co.uk). Follow up with Omorovicza's Dimple Vanisher to target puffiness and firm up the skin. £52, omorovicza.com/uk

At the salon: To get properly buffed, the Mandara Spa at the Park Plaza is the place to head for an Elemis Exotic Lime and Ginger Salt Glow. Your skin will be brushed, scrubbed and then oiled, getting rid of all the dead skin cells from your legs (and the rest of your body, too). £45 for 45 minutes, mandaraspa.com. Add to that with a Quadruple Thighpass at Bliss spa. The massage will get rid of toxins and the oils will stimulate circulation and help hide your cellulite. £117.50 for 60 minutes, blissworld.co.uk

POLISHING
At home: Massage thisworks' new perfect legs skin miracle cream (£36/120ml, thisworks.com, boots.com) into dry skin to get the just-back-from-hols look.

It has a subtle shimmer, smoothes on easily and contains friendly ingredients including arnica, caramel and vitamins C and E. Another option is Mediterranean Bliss Shimmering Body Oil by Champneys (£10 from most Boots stores) which isn't sticky, contains jojoba and sesame oils and works well when rubbed in after a bath.

At the salon: Try the Body Luminosity treatment at Richard Ward Metrospa in Chelsea which involves a thorough all-over body exfoliation (you can ask the therapist to concentrate on your legs) and scrub followed by a second massage using a nourishing Fluide de Beauté 14 dry oil. You'll leave with buffed, glowing calves (£105/one hour, richardward.com). For a complete finish or to even out the skin, a Vita Liberata spray tan - Alexandra Burke and Sienna Miller use it - at home or in the Harvey Nichols salon takes around three minutes but lasts three days. You can head straight out partying in a dress afterwards. £40, houseoffraser.co.uk
Victoria Stewart and Jasmine Gardner

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