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7 Seriously Effective Exercises to Sneak Into Your Beauty Routine

What's more impressive than fitting a workout and a DIY mani into your nighttime schedule? Doing them at the same time, obviously
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Smile and Sculpt
For those lengthy beauty rituals -- like 30 minutes spent whitening teeth or waiting for home color to set -- try some arm exercises with light weights. You'll want to focus on high reps to lengthen and sculpt your arm muscles. Try Mahri's lateral reaches: Start with your arms extended out to each side. Slightly bend the arms and pulse them out to the side for as many reps as you can, being careful to keep the shoulders down, chest lifted, and abs engaged.

You can also try triceps lifts: Bend slightly forward at the hips and extend your arms straight back, palms facing up. Pulse the arms up and down.

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Jumping Jack Flash
After a mani, pump up your heart rate and get your nail polish to dry faster with jumping jacks. You can also integrate other standing movements that move your hands through the air. Try these standing oblique crunches: Start with one leg stretched out to the side and your arms lifted at a straight diagonal away from the leg. Then crunch and raise your leg across your body while crunching your arms in to your knee. Try 10 repetitions on each side.

I'm a type-A kind of gal who needs to stay busy -- and productive -- all day long. Whether it's squeezing in a few sun salutations while my morning coffee is brewing, or late-night cleaning and nail-painting while catching up on the latest "Mad Men" episode, I'm a crammer.

And my beauty routine is no exception. Honestly, I get bored doing all those things I'm "supposed" to do at the sink: flossing, brushing, exfoliating, moisturizing, blow drying (OK, that one I usually skip). But if I complete all of these beauty tasks while doing some simple heel lifts and calf exercises, I'm entertained and feel productive. Score.

At the risk of sounding like Gwyneth Paltrow, I have to admit I enjoy fitting in quick workouts whenever I can. Adding small muscle workouts while you're completing a beauty task is a great form of spot training. I'm a barre class junkie, and sometimes I feel more sore from these exercises that target small muscle groups than a spin or zumba class (I'm serious).

To gather some multitasking wisdom, I talked to several personal trainers for the scoop on the best home workouts. They shared their favorite quick exercises you can complete while you're getting beautiful. Fitting in even 15 minutes of multitasking workouts throughout your day could make a difference.

Obviously, I'm not suggesting you cancel your gym membership. Think of these quick exercises as supplements to your fitness routine. You still need heart-pumping cardio to stay in shape, whether it's in the form of a fast-paced walk around your neighborhood or a fancy studio spin class. But if you're crazy efficient like I am -- or you're not vain enough to just love staring at your face during your beauty routine -- give these workouts a go.
BY LILA GLICK | FEB 4, 2015 | SHARES
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