What Are Body Sculpting Exercises?

Body sculpting is a term that covers a broad spectrum of exercise approaches. Basically, body sculpting refers to any exercise that targets a specific muscle group using a variety of techniques including free weights, exercise machines and resistance bands as well as modalities such as yoga and pilates, to improve strength and definition. Push-ups, abdominal crunches, side-lying leg lifts and dumbbell biceps curls are all examples of body sculpting exercises.

Free Weights

Free weights include dumbbells and barbells as well as ankle weights. Many people prefer to sculpt with free weights as opposed to machines because of the freedom of movement and relatively small space needed to perform specific exercises. For example, with one set of 10 lb. dumbbells, you can perform lunges, squats, triceps extensions, pec flys and rhomboid rows, targeting and toning muscles in both your lower and upper body, in one workout.

Exercise Machines

Exercise machines are another option for body sculpting and each machine comes with a variety of settings to address all fitness levels. In most fitness facilities, the machines are set up in a specific order enabling you to flow from one to the other for the most effective and efficient workout. You can sculpt your legs with the quad extension, hamstring curl and leg press machines. For your upper body, the most common machines are the seated row, biceps and triceps machine in addition to the chest press and lat pulldown.

Resistance Bands and Tubing

In the true sense of the word, resistance type workouts tend to encompass the idea of "sculpting" perhaps more than other exercise approaches. With dumbbells and machines the focus tends to be more on strengthening and building specific muscles. In general, with resistance bands, you will be performing more repetitions than with weights, which may actually lead to more of a sculpting or defining effect. One analogy is that dumbbells are the crayons you use to fill in the picture and resistance bands are the black sharpie pen you use to outline it. Examples of resistance body sculpting exercises are standing biceps curls with the band placed under your feet and hip abductions with a band tied or looped around the ankles.

Calisthenics or Bodyweight Exercises

Calisthenics are an effective form of body sculpting exercises that use your own body weight as resistance to work against. Push ups and triceps dips are examples of this type of sculpting. Yoga also uses your own bodyweight as an exercise tool. The basic vinyasa flow takes you from standing through a push-up type movement into a static stretch called a down dog and back to standing again. Abdominal crunches, bicycle maneuvers and elbow planks are all examples of calisthenic body sculpting exercises.