You have come to the right place if you thing you should do something about the shape that your body is in, but you do not know where to begin. Motivation and knowledge are both needed to get into shape.
To exercise your abs, do not just do crunches. Although you may crank out 250,000 crunches, studies show that a mere 1 pound of fat is consumed. Thus, crunches alone are clearly insufficient. Therefore, it is important to work your abs in other ways.
Maintain a fitness log detailing your fitness activities for the day. Note your workouts and anything else that you engage in. You can tell how far you have walked in a day if you use a pedometer through the day. You will know what it will take to get to where you want to be if you compile data.
For those who are new to fitness, a few sessions assisted by a personal trainer could help get you started. A prospective trainer should be willing to examine your needs and help you figure out your fitness goals. A trainer will also be able to help you identify target areas and recommend a specific workout program that is suitable to you. Walking into a gym can be intimidating at first, so go easy on yourself and hire a personal trainer to help you get right into a workout routine. You will be able to get a good start in a plan that will work for you.
When lifting weights it is not always true that the more weight the stronger you will be. Light weights for longer time periods can do this as well. Many people think that big muscles come from lifting huge weights, but it actually from working the muscles for longer periods of time. Some of today's heaviest weight lifters use this particular method.
Want to boost your workouts? Stretching can help you build strength for up to 20 percent. Between exercises you should stretch each muscle that has just been worked for twenty or even thirty seconds. Improving your workout can be as easy as doing simple stretches.
Always make sure you are wearing shoes that are comfortable and fit your feet. When you are going to go shoe shopping, do it later in the day, when your feet are more swollen. There should be about .5inches of space between your big toe and the front of the shoe. You should have enough room to be able to comfortably wiggle your toes.
Feel like you don't have enough time a day to workout? Split your workout session into a pair of halves. Instead of boosting the overall time you exercise, simply split your current minutes into parts. If you're trying to jog an hour a day, try doing a half hour right when you get up and another 30 minutes at the end of the day. If you would rather not go to the gym 2 times a day, then do one workout at the gym and one at home.
Do what you can to not slack off when it comes to working out on weekends. Many fall into the habit of kicking back every weekend as a way of putting workweek stress behind them. However, getting in shape requires your attention every day of the week. Don't hurt all of your efforts by splurging on the weekends, you will never reach your fitness goals if you do this.
Increase the pace of your workouts to increase weight loss. You will lose more weight if you pack your exercises into a shorter time-frame. Building density in your routines can be done by limiting breaks between exercises or cutting them out entirely. You will shed more pounds this way.
Now that you've read the above article, you should have an idea regarding how you are going to go about getting fit. Knowledge is important in getting in shape, but action is even more important.
You will want to be sure you aren't spending any longer than an hour to lift weights. Muscle wasting also becomes a problem if you exercise for more than an hour. Keep your weight training under an hour.