1. Strive for at least 150 minutes of exercise per week

Break it down to 40 minutes 4 days a week, 30 minutes 5 days a week, or however you’d like! Choose what works best for your lifestyle.

2. Cut your coffee calories

Cut calories in your morning cup of coffee by skipping the cream and sugar. Instead, try drinking it black or reducing your amount of each.

3. Keep a fitness journal

Tracking keeps you accountable, and studies show that those who keep journals are more successful at weight loss than those who don’t.

4. Pay attention to your thoughts

Thoughts are powerful; bring awareness to yours. Do you encourage yourself with positivity or hold yourself back with negativity? A change in mindset could be all it takes to get your health on track.

5. Eat the rainbow

Eat foods that are closest to their natural state as possible. Aim for whole, fresh foods in a rainbow of colors.

6. Avoid processed foods

Watch out, because processed foods have multiple negative side effects. Generally speaking, the fewer the ingredients, the better the food. Taking a quick look at food labels can tell you a lot, but ideally, the majority of food you buy doesn’t need a label.

7. Drink water

Most adults need about two quarts of fluid per day to replace normal water loss, or approximately eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. Try this hydration calculator to check your personalized H2O needs.

8. Protein up

Add protein powder to smoothies for an added boost. Choose unflavored powders for versatility.

9. Find your “why”

Identify your deeper reason to get healthy other than the number on the scale. Do you want to be able to run with your children or grandchildren? How about being able to enjoy food without feeling guilty all the time? Staying in touch with a deeper reason for health can motivate you to keep going when things get tough.

10. Do workouts you enjoy

Find a form (or two!) of movement you truly enjoy. It’s easier to stick to things we look forward to rather than dread.

11. Incorporate strength training

Add some muscle building activities to your workouts. Free weights, resistance band exercises, muscle sculpt classes or using your body weight with push-upsplanks and squats all work.

12. Set perfectionism aside

Keep in mind that striving for perfection usually leads to disaster. Set small goals and stair step your way to success by developing healthy habits.

13. Don’t DIET

Reverse the letters in the word and EDIT what you eat. Make it a lifestyle change toward healthier foods, not a deprivation plan.

14. Take recovery days

Give yourself one to two days a week for active recovery. Take a walk. Do a gentle yoga class. Just engage in something that’s less intense than what you do for exercise the other days of the week.

15. Keep healthy snacks on hand

Select healthier choices to have on standby in your fridge when hunger pangs or emotional eating strikes, such as a bowl of fresh strawberries or blueberries. Here are some healthy snacks to try whenever cravings strike.

16. Follow the 80/20 rule

Eat healthy 80 percent of the time. Indulge occasionally, but make sure most of your choices are healthy.

17. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store

Food tends to be the healthiest and less processed on the outside edges of most grocery stores. Here you’ll find fresh fruit and veggies, raw meat and fresh seafood.

18. Don’t just focus on the scale

Find different ways to measure success other than stepping on the scale. Instead, pay attention to how you feel after you’ve been working out consistently.

19. Get an accountability partner

Working out in groups can offer more benefits than working out alone – science supports it! Find your go-to person for exercise and weight loss support. Exercise together, share tips and swap encouragement.

20. Try working out in the morning

While the time of day makes no difference when it comes to results, you may be more likely to make excuses as the day goes on.

21. Display your results

Whether it’s the pounds you have lost, how many times you worked out this week, or a picture of you showing off results, display it to motivate you to keep it up!

22. Track your workout schedule

Circle the days on a calendar when you’ve worked out, or mark it on your phone. That way, you can feel proud of your successes and be able to repeat the schedule that worked for you in the past.

23. Build muscle

Want to speed up your metabolism? Building muscle is the key since muscle burns more fat at rest.

24. Two pounds at a time

Don’t overwhelm yourself with your ideal goal weight. When you are down two pounds, let yourself feel proud and then think about the next two.

25. Eat smaller portions

Portion control is crucial – especially when you are eating an indulgent food. These portion control tips can help you get started.

26. Use gym-wear as motivation

Buy a new workout top, headband, or piece of equipment. Having something new can motivate you to actually use it!

27. Eat slowly

Put your fork down in between bites to keep from overeating. When you eat more slowly, you allow your mind to recognize when your body is full.

28. Treat yourself

Pat yourself on the back for all your hard work with a massage, your favorite TV show, or draw yourself a nice, relaxing bath. Just make sure your “treat” doesn’t sabotage your success: like a pint of Ben & Jerry’s 😉

29. Make a list of positive affirmations

Here’s a few to get you started: I love to exercise. I want to live a healthy life. I am getting more fit each day.

30. Don’t beat yourself up

There’s no such thing as “cheating”. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Empower yourself to make a better choice next time.

31. Make fitness a top priority

Put your health goals at the top of your priority list. If you’re constantly taking care of everyone else, you’ll never have time to take care of yourself!

32. Swap a bad decision with a good one

When in doubt, go with the healthy alternative!

33. Don’t skip multiple workouts

Try to never go more than two days in a row without exercise, unless of course you are injured or ill. This applies to your vacations too! Remember: not all workouts have to be high-intensity. Try these low-intensity workouts for the days it’s hard to muster up the energy.

34. Eat mindfully

Pay attention to what you are eating. Ask yourself if you really are hungry or if something else is going on that’s causing you to turn to food. The HALT method can be helpful – ask yourself if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. Emotions can trick us into thinking we’re hungry when we’re not.

35. Just keep going

Don’t start and stop, just keep going. If exercise is new to you, start off slow and aim for a few workouts per week and then increase as you go.

36. Create measurable goals you can check off

These should be smaller things that take you only a couple of weeks to accomplish. You can have your ultimate goal, but if it’s years out, motivation can wane.

37. Don’t stuff yourself

Stop eating when you feel satiated, not stuffed.

38. Make an irritation list

Oftentimes, what’s getting us down are a bunch of little irritants rather than one looming problem.

39. Try a standing desk

If you have a desk job, consider a standing workstation. Or at the very least, stand up or pace when you use the phone. People in constant motion burn more calories.

40. Drink tea

Drink caffeinated tea as an afternoon pick-me-up or decaf tea as a way to wind down at night. There are so many health benefits to tea including: lowering blood pressure, reducing wrinkles, aiding in weight loss and more.

41. Set rules that work for you

Many people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off have set rules for themselves.

42. Make a habit list

Make a list of bad habits you are willing to give up and the good habits you will start.

43. Invest in a water bottle

Get a stainless steel portable water bottle to take with you everywhere. Using less plastic is good for the environment.

44. Push your limits

Change your limits and surprise yourself. When you mentally and physically push the line, it will motivate you to keep going—or set your sights higher.

45. Burn more calories than you eat

It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound. If weight loss is your goal, your caloric intake should be less than your calories burned.

46. Use a foam roller

Foam roll to relieve tight muscles and achy joints. Foam rollers are affordable and easy to use; aim for about three times a week for best results.

47. Read others’ success stories as motivation

Learning about others’ success can encourage you to keep going and believe in your own.

48. Try HIIT

Ramp up the intensity on your workouts to rev up your metabolism and break through a plateau. Try High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts to give yourself a boost.

49. Keep track of calories

People have the tendency to underestimate the calories they consume. Tracking your calories for a week or two can be helpful in getting an honest assessment of how many calories you’re eating per day. Don’t skip anything – you’ll only hurt yourself by not being honest.

50. Make movement part of your life

Think of exercise and movement as an all day thing. Just because you got in a 45-minute workout in the morning doesn’t mean you should sit on the couch the rest of the day.

51. View each day as a clean slate

Practicing self compassion means not beating yourself up after a day that fell short of your healthy living goals.

52. Trade soda for sparkling water

Sparkling water still has the carbonation you’re used to but will save you tons of calories, not to mention the artificial colors and sweeteners.

53. Ditch comparisons

Don’t compare yourself to others; focus on your own progress instead.

54. Try yoga

Yoga can help you feel centered (among other benefits). It stretches and strengthens your body, improves your breathing and awareness, and empowers your mind.

55. Get enough sleep

How much and the quality of the sleep you get can directly affect your appetite. Try this sleep calculator to find out the right bedtime or wake time for you.

56. Find music that motivates

Music can help take your workout up a notch if it’s music that appeals to you.

57. Indulge in small portions

When a craving strikes, it’s best to find a reasonable, healthy substitute that might still appeal to you. If not, allow yourself to indulge in a craving, but do so in small portions. Remember the 80/20 rule.

58. Use the right footwear

Make sure your footwear is suitable for your workouts. Everything from ankle, knee, and hip pain can be aggravated or even caused by improper footwear.

59. Don’t be afraid of fat

Healthy fat, that is. MUFAs, or monounsaturated fatty acids can actually keep you satiated and aid in weight loss. Nuts, seeds, olive oil, olives, avocados, and dark chocolate all make the cut.

60. Try circuit training

Circuit style workouts combine multiple different exercises and charge your metabolism while helping you shed pounds.

61. Eat more greens

Kale, spinach, broccoli, Swiss chard or collard greens. Greens are full of fiber, vitamins and minerals to protect you against disease.

62. Never dine at your desk

Tempted to stay near your computer through lunch? Don’t do it, your meal will be less satisfying and you’ll be more likely to want more food soon after.

63. Don’t forget to warm up

Without a proper warm up for your body, you’re likely to exacerbate joint and/or muscle pain and cause injury during your workout.

64. Cook at home as much as you can

You’re better able to control all the ingredients and stay away from excess calories. Try these easy, healthy recipes for inspiration.

65. Get your five servings

Aim to eat five servings of fruits and veggies daily.

66. Be consistent

Use consistency to compound your results. It’s not what you do once in a while that counts, it’s what you do each day.

67. Follow your favorite fitness gurus

Follow fitness accounts on social media and use them as daily motivation, inspiration and encouragement.

68. Try a fitness app

Fitness apps are a great way to track your progress at your fingertips. Find your favorite one and use it as an accountability tool. Here are some good apps to start with.

69. Plan ahead

Use Sundays as prep days to eat healthy all week. Get enough produce and staples needed for the week.

70. Snack on popcorn

When you’re in the mood for a crunchy snack, try popcorn. It’s a low calorie food you can eat a lot of that also has the added benefit of fiber. Homemade is the best!

71. Use races as motivation

Commit to a 5k to motivate you to train. Plus, you just may find out that the energy of the supportive crowds really motivates you to keep jogging—long after the race.

72. Stretch, stretch, stretch

This is so important, we said it three times. Be sure to stretch after exercise. If you can loosen your muscles post-workout, you’ll have happy joints ready to go for your next sweat session and less pain.

73. Ramp it up slowly

If you hate exercise, make incremental changes each week. Aim for 20 minute workouts at first, then increase your time.

74. Work out at home

Skip the gym membership fee and the commute and work out at home. Join me on Get Healthy U TV for tons of full length workout videos and workout calendars.

75. Beware of fitness fads

Don’t try fads and gimmicks. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Losing weight takes time and hard work, but you can do it.

76. Be prepared in the morning

The morning frenzy is real. Freeze a few fruit smoothies to grab on the go in the early mornings so you can stick to your plan without any hassle.

77. Drink lemon water

Drink lemon water in the morning to hydrate and balance pH levels. Alternatively, dilute one teaspoon to a maximum of two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in water. Start small and increase as you can handle the taste.

78. Think of workouts like appointments

Schedule your workouts just like you would any other appointment and stick to it. You wouldn’t no-show a meeting at work or a doctor’s appointment; don’t no-show your workouts either.

79. Keep alcohol to a minimum

Don’t overdo it on cocktails. If you’re gonna have a drink, a good choice is red wine. Red wine also has antioxidants, making it good for your heart. Liquid calories add up fast, so opt for one glass only.

80. Make a green smoothie for breakfast

Try this green smoothie recipe: frozen banana, pineapple, almond milk, coconut extract, kale and spinach.

81. Don’t get too stuck in routine

Same habits equal same results. If you aren’t getting results, change what you are doing.

82. Pay attention to serving sizes on labels

Even if the label says only 100 calories, if you’re eating double the serving size, then you need to double the caloric number as well.

83. Interval train

Twice a week, instead of going at a steady pace for 30 minutes, go easy for 3 minutes and hard for 1 minute. Repeat this pattern 5-6x!

84. Swap ice cream for Greek yogurt

Finding yourself reaching for ice cream every night? Try Greek yogurt instead with a little honey, berries, and dark chocolate chips or walnuts.

85. Be patient with weight loss

Don’t expect the weight to come off fast. Be realistic! Remember: it takes time to gain weight; it takes time to lose it.

86. Don’t go to parties hungry

Only fill your plate up once with your favorite appetizers and then stop eating. This becomes a lot more reasonable if you eat a small, healthy meal or hearty snack before you go.

87. Try a fitness tracker

Fitness trackers range from pricey to less expensive, but one that can track your steps and your workouts can add increased motivation to your fitness journey.

88. Snack-prep for busy schedules

It’s always good to keep healthy snacks on you—especially if your schedule is crazy.

89. Treat your injuries correctly

Got an injury? Treat it with ice/cold therapy if it’s less than six weeks old. If it’s more than six weeks old, heat therapy is your best bet.

90. Realize diet and exercise are intertwined

Even if we don’t like it, exercise and your diet are married forever. You can’t lose weight with one and not the other— period. There’s no getting around it.

91. Use exercise to boost your mood

Exercise is a great stress reliever and mood booster. When you’ve had a rough day, going for an outdoor run or throwing a few punches in a kickboxing workout may be just what you need!

92. Stick with your budget

Eating healthy on a budget is possible. Instead of buying fresh fruits and vegetables, try buying frozen, especially when out of season. They’re packed at the peak of freshness; just be sure to check the labels to stay clear of brands with other additives.

93. Be aware of your triggers

Does an argument with your spouse or loved one typically send you to the fridge late at night? Or how about a stressful day at work triggering you to hit up the drive-through on the way home? Being aware of your triggers can cause you to recognize when they may occur and prevent bad choices.

94. Cross train

You still want that cardiovascular exercise to stay in the schedule, but change the activity you are doing.

95. Prep hard-boiled eggs

Make hard-boiled eggs at the beginning of the week for a ready-to-grab protein-packed snack you can eat by itself, or add to other items like avocado toast.

96. Keep healthy snacks everywhere

Be prepared for hunger to strike when on the go. Keep non-perishable, healthy snacks on hand in multiple locations like your car, in your gym bag and purse. That way you can always have a healthy option you can turn to when in a pinch.

97. Develop a positive attitude

Your thoughts determine how you feel and often determine what you can accomplish. As Napoleon Hill once said, “What your mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve.”

98. Meditate

We need more meditation and less medication. Meditating is easy to do and its benefits are numerous. Reduce stress, improve your health, get centered, breathe better and get focused.

99. Reduce stress

Stress produces higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol which can make you crave sweet and salty foods. Reducing your stress will not only help your mind, it can help your waistline! Try these relaxation tips to chill out.

100. Take your vitamins

Even if you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, you may still be deficient in key nutrients. If that’s the case, supplement with these important vitamins.

101. Practice self-love

Exercising our ability to love ourselves is just as important as physical exercise. One way you can do this: after each workout, thank your amazing body for being able to do that hard work. This mindset of self-love is important for your health!

Fitness Tips To Make This Your Year Of Change

1. Define Your Challenge

Write down your ultimate physique goal and how you’d like to look. Include weight, body fat, and any physique improvements you’d like to see. Now divide it by 3. That’s roughly your 90-day goal—to get you a third of the way there.

2. Make Time For Your Health

Work up to 60 minutes of physical activity each day. That doesn’t mean you’ll be on the weight-room floor seven days a week, but strive to get some kind of activity—even if it’s a walk with your dog or a leisurely bike ride. Take advantage of great weather when it happens by taking your workouts outdoors. If you’re new to fitness, start with two 15-minute sessions or three 10-minute sessions to help you become acclimated.

3. Discover What You Enjoy

Weights are one of the best ways to make significant physical changes to your body. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys lifting. The most important determinant of long-term success with fitness is how much you enjoy an activity. Choose something that make fitness fun! Explore new exercise classes and activities to determine which you prefer. As a beginner, almost anything you choose will be challenging, but gains will be made starting your very first week.

4. Don’t Go It Alone

Train with a friend who’s at about your level of ability and has similar goals. You’ll be far less likely to skip your workout when you know someone is depending on you. It’s also more motivating when you push each other, and you’ll be far less likely to cut your sessions short.

5. Be Around People Whose Goals Align With Yours

Friends can help in other ways too. Surround yourself with five new friends at the office, school, or in your personal life who are committed to health and fitness. People who choose healthy lifestyles will engage in behaviors that will rub off on you. Similarly, if your friends are just the opposite, they’ll likely reinforce the wrong kinds of behaviors.

6. Avoid Comparing Yourself To Others

Instead, compare yourself to you of last week. If you make every week better in some way than the preceding week, you’re moving forward and making progress. Aim to improve yourself 5-10 percent versus last year’s version of you. It’s hard for any of us to feel good about ourselves when we try to measure up to physique athletes who may have been training for a decade or more. What these champions have in common with you is that they decided to improve their fitness one day, and then came back for a second, and kept going.

7. Read To Get Motivated And Learn

An easy way to get inspired and increase your knowledge of fitness, training, and nutrition is to commit to reading one online fitness article each day. Thousands of such articles cover a huge number of areas on this site alone! You won’t know everything there is to know in a week, but knowing a little more every day helps you better understand the what, why, and how of what you’re doing. Here’s a starter’s guide to fitness terms that’ll help you find your way around the gym. Just be aware there’s a ton of garbage advice available on the Web, so stick to sites you trust.

8. Embrace Physical Challenges Outside Your Comfort Zone

We all want to live comfortably, but workouts produce the best results when they make a little—or even more than a little—uncomfortable. Your body adapts to changes when you ask more of it than it’s used to giving. To make improvements, you must push just outside your comfort zone. Adjust your mindset to seek greater challenges over time, and you’ll see your body respond.

9. Don’t Rush To Self-Judge

Many individuals will drop out of their training program because they’re not seeing results fast enough. However, physiological adaptations occur incrementally. You most likely won’t see much—if any—improvement from one week to the next, but you surely will over 90 days. That’s why you should make an iron-clad commitment of at least three months when starting any exercise program. Only then should you compare before-and-after pictures and measurements.

10. Enter A 90-Day Transformation Contest

Want to see the greatest changes in your physique possible? Dive into a transformation contest! Don’t do it for the money; do it for the personal challenge. Going all-in and attaching a deadline provides daily motivation that can become self-perpetuating. Countless people have used this method to achieve incredible results, and so can you! Our site offers transformation contests every year for individuals of all levels, which you can find more about here.

11. Get On A Roll

Any fitness enthusiast will tell you that it’s easier to stay on track when you’ve already been following a successful program. Success breeds success. In contrast, it’s much easier for beginners to fall off the fitness wagon, precisely because they’ve got so little invested. As you improve and see physical changes taking place, you’ll be even more motivated to continue. That’s why those first few months are so important, why you need to keep pressing forward even when your mind would rather be on the couch. Buy into a training program for at least three months before evaluating. Only then can you reasonably assess your progress.

12. Slow And Steady Wins The Race

Ever heard the adage that life is a marathon, not a sprint? Well, the same goes with your fitness. Doing a four-hour workout in hopes of shaping up faster can do more harm than good—and who in their right mind wants to spend four hours in the gym, anyway? Take a more balanced approach to fitness. Commit to working out an hour a day. Your results will be better, and you won’t get burned out.

13. Rehab Your Injuries

If you’ve got a physical condition that limits your activity, schedule an appointment with a sports-medicine doctor or physical therapist. They can help rehabilitate the issues with various exercises. Equally important, they can teach you to modify your training so you can still exercise safely.

14. Rise, Then Shine

Work out in the morning, before the rest of the day gets in your way. Bonus: Nailing a morning workout boosts your confidence for the rest of day.

15. Get Off Your Duff At Work

Sedentary jobs are associated with greater risk for cardiovascular disease, not to mention an extra inch or two around the middle (and those two things are closely related).[1,2] Incorporate some kind of movement every 30 minutes or so at work. At BodyBuilding.com, you’ll see small groups of employees walking the building’s grounds throughout the day. Find other ways to break up long periods of sitting at your desk—even if it’s just delivering a message to a coworker in person rather than by email. Keep moving!

16. Adjust Your Schedule To Minimize Midwinter Blues

We all feel the midwinter blues, especially those of us at northern latitudes. Personally, for whatever reason, I’m simply not motivated to train when I get off work and it’s already dark outside, so I train in the morning or on my lunch break. While it may lengthen your lunch period, ask your boss if you can work late to make up for it.

17. Skip The Pre-Workout Stretch

I did not say, however, to skip the warm-up. Too many trainees consider stretching to be a pre-workout activity, when it’s best saved for the end. However, 5-10 minutes of cardio helps elevate your heart rate and increases circulation. You can even do some dynamic exercises as part of your warm-up as well. But that’s not the end of your warm-up; don’t forget to do several very light sets of your first exercise. Now you’re ready to tackle the weights with reduced risk of injury. You’ll be stronger, to boot.

18. Skip The Post-Workout Sauna

When you sweat after an intense workout, your body is cooling itself down. Subjecting yourself to an environment of extreme heat to “remove toxins from the skin” only subjects you to increased risk of hyperthermia, in which your body temperature can rise dangerously. Likewise, skip the post-workout Jacuzzi unless your body has had ample time to cool down.

19. Dine In Restaurants Only Once A Week

You consume more total calories when you eat out, and many of those calories will be empty, in the form of sugary beverages and desserts. You won’t be tempted to indulge during a weak moment if you’re eating at home and no junk food or soda is present.

20. Try A New Recipe For A “Clean” Meal Once A Week

Not everyone loves to cook. However, anyone can turn simple recipes into tasty meals that are clean and loaded with protein by starting with our Recipe Database, which lists more than 1,400 healthy and clean recipes.

21. Treat Yourself To A New Kitchen Gadget

Buying a new toy for your kitchen will make eating clean foods more pleasurable. Using the right tools can cut down on the time you spend in the kitchen, and save you money in the long run. Here are eight must-have kitchen gadgets you’ll want around.

22. Try A New Veggie In The Produce Section Of Your Supermarket Each Month

Besides being loaded with fiber, most veggies are also low in calories and packed with micronutrients. Here are three every athlete should be eating.

23. Choose Slower-Digesting Carbs Over Fast-Digesting Ones

Slow-digesting carbs such as brown rice, whole grains, yams, sweet potatoes, and quinoa provide more sustained energy throughout the day and should make up the bulk of your carbs. Fast-digesting carbs like sugar and white bread can spike blood sugar levels and increase the insulin response. Save these for your post-workout meal, when your body can use the extra carbs to replenish fuel stores and prevent them from being stored as fat. And don’t forget to keep carb-laden drinks in check!

24. Make A Healthy, Low-Fat Food For Your Next Potluck

Company potlucks are minefields of sweets and other nutritionally unbalanced foods. So start by putting a few healthy options on your plate with the intention of coming back a second time, which allows the first foods to start filling you up. It sure beats the “I’ll have one of everything” approach that many people use at potlucks.

25. Stop Buying Halloween Candy You’d Like To Eat Yourself

If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, don’t buy any Halloween candy ahead of time and expect the bag to still be full by October 31. Better yet, select candies that you really dislike, so you won’t be tempted to indulge—even if you have leftovers.

26. Don’t Give Sweets As Gifts

Don’t encourage others to eat Costco-sized Valentine’s or Easter sweets; they may just return the favor.

27. Limit The Damage Of A Late-Night Snack Attack

Midnight munchies can foil hard-earned efforts during the day, so don’t give in to temptations like these five worst choices. Good choices before bedtime include cottage cheese, hard-boiled eggs, deli meat, and nuts. If you’re searching for something sweet, reach for antioxidant-rich fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and citrus fruits, especially grapefruit.

28. Do Your Monday Workout On Sunday

Besides not having to fight the after-work crowds—and we know that can be a real headache—you’ll have the whole gym to yourself to use whatever equipment you please, even for supersets! Plus, you’ll be one day ahead on your workout schedule.

29. Go Mobile!

No matter your fitness goal, your level of experience, or available equipment, Bodybuilding.com BodyFit Elite has the workout plan for you. Through BodyFit Elite, you’ll find exercise plans that can help you lose weight, build muscle, or improve your performance.

30. Realize Big Muscles Doesn’t Equate To Being Fit

Fitness is about more than big muscles. Flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance, and body composition are elements in determining how fit you really are, and there are activity and exercise prescriptions for each one of them. Ultimately, a balanced approach that addresses each item is essential to being truly fit.

31. Wash Your Hands Before Leaving The Gym

Great, your workout’s over, and you crushed it. But consider that you’ve just touched numerous plates, handles, dumbbells, pins, benches, and machines—the same apparatus that other gym members have contaminated with a cold, flu, conjunctivitis, or other airborne disease. The gym environment is warm and humid, and bugs are easily spread. Kill them with soap and hot water.

32. Get A Heavy Dose Of “Vitamin L”

Watching the news today can be totally depressing, and that’s on top of your own set of problems. So laugh as often as you can. My favorite comic relief is watching reruns of “The Big Bang Theory,” but there are any number of comedy shows you can easily download to lighten the mood. Just make sure you turn everything off at least 45 minutes before bedtime—and that includes your phone.

33. Focus On Form First

If you’re working out with weights, the single-most important factor early on is learning how to use proper form—not lifting as much weight as possible! Most gyms offer an initial training session with a personal trainer when you sign up for a membership; study up on those exercises, or peruse a beginner’s routine from the Bodybuilding.com library.

Good form ensures the proper muscle groups are targeted and reduces the risk of an injury. Just watching how somebody else does a movement in the gym is like Russian roulette: sooner or later, you’re going to pick up bad form. This site contains photos and videos on how to do hundreds of exercises right in the Exercise Database.

34. Use Math To Build Muscle

Commit this fundamental process of muscle building to memory. You train given muscle groups by subjecting them to an overload and volume (sets + reps) of work they’re unaccustomed to. That’s the training stimulus. However, the microdamage to muscle fibers takes a few days for repair and growth, and it requires good nutrition (especially protein and carbs) and recovery, so what you eat and how you rest are important in the muscle-building equation. You do not build muscle in the gym; that’s only where you initiate the muscle-building process!

35. Start With Machines, Beginners

Learn movement patterns on machines first, and then try to duplicate them with barbells and dumbbells. Once you’re in proper position on a given machine, the machine balances the weight for you, which is much easier to control. Free-weight movements are harder to control because there’s no predetermined path that the weight must follow.

36. Learn The Basic Multijoint Movements

The best mass builders are the basic multijoint exercises, which you should be focusing on during your training. “Multijoint” simply means that more than a single pair of joints—and the muscles that attach to them—are at work. For example, when bench pressing, your shoulder and elbow joints are involved, which recruits your chest, delts, and triceps. These types of exercises have been shown to be superior for developing muscle mass by increasing the muscle-building hormonal response. Single-joint exercises don’t deliver near the same muscle-building pop.

Focus your workouts around bench presses, squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, and rows. They can and should be the foundation of your routine, done early in your workout with challenging weights.

37. Choose The Right Rep Target And Weight

If you’re looking to add size, choose a weight that barely allows you to complete 8-12 reps with good form on each set. That’s the range exercise scientists identify as being the best for building muscle. If you can do more than 12 reps, add weight so that you’ll be doing fewer reps. If you can’t reach at least 6, reduce the weight a bit. Simple, right?

38. Turn Up The Volume—On Your Sets, Reps, And Load

There are a number of variables that affect muscle growth, like exercise selection and rep range (which relates to “intensity”) but another one is volume. That’s the number of sets x reps x load per body part. Though you won’t be doing much total volume as a beginner, you’ll be adding exercises and sets over time for each muscle group. Higher-volume, multiple-set protocols consistently have been shown to be superior over single sets when it comes to building muscle.

39. Rest 60-90 Seconds Between Sets

Because muscle growth is determined in part by the accumulation of substances that build up over the course of your workout, taking rest periods that are too long allows them to dissipate. But cutting your rest periods too short means your body won’t be recovered sufficiently. That’s why exercise scientists recommend that you take about 60-90 seconds between sets.

40. Know When To End A Set

Though as a beginner you should focus on learning movement patterns and controlling the weight, as you gain experience, you should learn how to take your training close to what’s called “muscle failure.” That’s when you can’t complete any more reps on your own with good form. Training to failure is important in building muscle because it’s been shown to create a greater anabolic stimulus than training below this threshold.

41. Follow A Plan

As you can see, there are a number of variables to consider when designing a workout program. Initially, it’s hard to understand them all, so it’s easier to just follow one of the beginner workoutswe’ve created that closely matches your time commitment, goals, and level of ability. Knowing exactly what you want to do each workout—and why you’re doing it—will push you in the right direction better than walking into a gym and following a random approach to your training. Few people find their destination by instinct; following a roadmap will help you get to yours.

42. Master The Art Of The “Negative”

Lowering the weight is called the “negative rep,” and when you become more advanced, you’ll learn techniques focused on the negative that can help produce better size and strength gains than when you focus just on the positive. For the time being, simply lower the weight under control. Never let it just drop in an uncontrolled manner. And never rest in the bottom position.

43. Use An Athletic Stance When Doing Standing Exercises

In this position, your feet are about shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly outward, knees unlocked, and torso erect (chest out, shoulders back, low back slightly arched) with your head looking forward. This is a natural, stable, and strong position, and it should be a starting point for you when getting into position for almost any standing movement.

44. Focus On Building A Balanced Physique, Not Just The Mirror Muscles

Many guys focus on the so-called mirror muscles—chest, arms, and abs. Over the long term, that can lead to strength imbalances, posture problems, and increased risk of injury, not to mention ridicule. Training legs is hard work, and working back isn’t necessarily sexy, but these two muscle groups in particular are among the body’s largest and will help you burn more total calories when you train them.

45. Start With A Whole-Body Workout

One of the simplest ways to ease into a weight workout is to do a whole-body workout three times a week with a day of rest in between for recovery. A whole-body workout hits these major muscle groups: glutes, quads, hamstrings, chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, abs, and calves. Choose one exercise for each muscle group (multijoint exercises hit multiple body parts), training every other day.

46. Start “Splitting” As You Gain Experience

As you gain experience in the gym, start adding more exercises and sets (volume) for each body part for better overall development. Rather than just doing longer workouts, start dividing your training into a split, such as push muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps) one day, pull muscles (back, biceps) on another, and legs on a third. Given the greater overall volume you do each session for those individual muscle groups, you’ll also need a longer recovery session before repeating that workout again.

47. Customize Your Supplement Stack With Proven Winners

While there are dozens and dozens of products to choose from, start with these:

  • Caffeine, which energizes you when you’re feeling tired and allows you to stay focused and do more work in the gym
  • Creatine, which allows you to push heavy loads for more reps and has been shown to boost size and strength gains
  • Whey protein, which boosts anabolism so you’ll improve muscle building

Once you have those basics in your gym bag, you can more about the best supplements for strength training and bodybuilding or athletic performance. You’ll ultimately want to tailor your supplement choices to your goals and your budget.

Fat-Loss Strategies

48. Gain Knowledge To Lose Weight

If you’re looking to lose weight in 2020, you have thousands of resources to choose from for advice, but not all of them are evidence-based and legit. We not only want you to do it right, without any gimmicks, but safely as well. Check out Bodybuilding.com’s Foundations of Fitness Nutrition course to learn the essentials of eating right for any goal, including weight loss.

49. Find Inspiration That’s Just A Click Away

Read a transformation success story on Bodybuilding.com, like Jesse Shand’s. He’s lost over 450 pounds with the help of the Bodybuilding.com community members. What’s your excuse, again?

50. Post Your Selfies Where You’ll See ‘Em

Post a “before” pic of yourself on the fridge where you’ll see it every time before you open the door. Sometimes you need a little reminding of what you want to lose before choosing the foods you want to eat.

51. Connect With Others Via Social Media

Posting your progress photos and engaging with like-minded folks can be incredibly motivating. Many of them are going through their own weight-loss journeys and are a great source of real-world tips.

52. Eat Before You Go Shopping

Never do your grocery shopping when you’re hungry! You’re much more likely to put nutritionally empty foods and snacks in your cart, or to buy more food than you need.

53. Just Say No To Sugary Drinks, Teas, And Sodas

Americans consume almost 20 percent of their daily calories via liquids, so if you’re struggling with your weight, here’s a golden opportunity to cut a bunch out.[3] Drink flavored waters that contain BCAAs or a squirt of Mio or Crystal Light.

54. Measure Your Desserts In Minutes

When it comes to ordering a dessert in restaurants, make the conversion from dollars to minutes. That is, if a dessert cost $7.50, think instead of the amount of extra work you’ll have to do burn it off. Though imprecise, use this very rough calculation: Multiply the price in dollars by 10 and cut that number in half—that’s the number of minutes you’ll have to do to burn it off. The “price” of indulging in dessert is never what you pay for it. That $7.50 item will cost you 375 minutes of extra work. Still tempted?

55. Log Everything You Eat

Record everything you eat for a week, whether it’s in a food diary or an app like MyFitnessPal. You’ll begin to think more carefully about your food choices, which should help you eat substantially fewer calories.

56. Know That High-Rep Weight Workouts Aren’t Better For Fat Loss

Weight training is an essential component of weight loss, but it would be a mistake to think that doing high-rep sets with light weight is the best way to burn off extra calories and fat. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, meaning it burns off loads of calories all day long, even when you’re at rest. To build as much muscle tissue as possible—or even to keep it when dieting—train with moderately heavy weights in the 6- to 12-rep range. And stick with the multijoint exercises for the majority of your movements.

Studies have also shown that intense, moderately heavy lifting of this sort has the greatest effect on keeping your metabolism elevated for as long as 24 hours after your workout has ended.[4] That significantly adds to the total number of calories burned!

57. Do High-Intensity Interval Training

To lose body fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Doing cardio is one way to widen the caloric deficit. But not all cardio strategies are created equal. In fact, research is beginning to show that high-intensity interval training (HIIT), in which you alternate periods of very fast activity with slower recovery periods, can be more effective at reducing body fat than other types of exercise.[5] Not only does HIIT blast through calories in a shorter amount of time, the totals are amplified by the EPOC effect long after you’ve left the gym.

You likely won’t be able to start off by doing HIIT, but as your cardiovascular fitness improves, incorporate short bouts of near-maximal cardio activity (say, for 30-60 seconds) and alternate then with less-intense recovery intervals (30-60 seconds). Your heart will thank you, too.

58. Use Supplements To Boost Energy And Increase Fat Loss

No they won’t peel off fat if you’re just sitting on the couch, but metabolism-boosting and energy-enhancing supps will help you go further in your training and preferentially tip the scales to greater fat burning. They should be combined with the right kind of fat-loss program and calorie-deficient diet. Here are our picks for the best fat-loss supps.

59. Do Five Things Every Day To Help You Burn More Calories

The specifics are less important than this simple truth: When you burn an extra handful of calories five times a day, you’re in a better position to reach your fat-loss goal while improving your fitness. Some examples:

  • Take the stairs
  • Park farther away in the lot from your destination
  • Walk instead of taking the car
  • Sweep the garage or do some gardening
  • Take a walk on your break at work
  • Bike to the gym and back

60. Make A Fitness Date

Take a date or significant other out for a bike ride or go bowling. Having fun together doesn’t mean you have to go to a restaurant or movie, where the main offerings are all nutritional minefields. You’ll make a better impression by doing something different, and get in a little extra exercise as well.

61. Take A Walking Tour

Nothing’s more exciting than visiting a new city. So why take a taxi or subway when you can soak up the local color by spending an afternoon on a walking tour? Surf the Web for suggestions—and be sure to pack your sneakers.

Workout Tips & Secrets From Our Trainers

1. Set a workout goal for the week

While you should definitely move every day, a good place to start is by setting a weekly workout goal. You might choose to complete three workouts for the week and gradually progress as you get more confident. Whatever you decide, be sure to have a plan when you get started! If you’re following one of the programs in the SWEAT app, you can choose to complete one of the recommended workout sessions. 

2. Schedule your workouts

Trainer Kayla Itsines says that she schedules in four workouts each week, knowing that she wants to do three. “That way if I miss one of the workouts, I’ve still got three in the week”. 

It’s a great idea to plan ahead, and include a backup plan just in case you can’t make your scheduled workout time. 

3. Add some motivating workout music

Music is great for motivation during your workout. Find out how to build an awesome workout playlist, and check out our trainers’ playlists for inspiration. When you workout with the SWEAT app you can use Apple Music and Spotify to stream your favourite workout tunes. 

4. Remember why you started 

Perhaps one of the most important things, when you start a new habit like exercising regularly, is knowing your reasons for wanting to make a healthy change. Knowing your “why” will provide the motivation that you need to keep going with the program, even when you don’t feel like it. 

Whether you’re trying to stay motivated with a desk job, you’re a student, a mum or you’re starting a business, knowing WHY you want to create and stick to a new exercise routine will help you to dig deep and find the discipline to make time for your health and fitness. 

5. Grab a friend!

Exercising with friends is a great way to have fun while training and will also keep you accountable. It’s also one of the ways you can balance fitness with a busy lifestyle by combining socialising with exercise. When you know there’s someone else counting on you to show up for your workout, you are much more likely to go!

If none of your friends is into fitness, then get them to meet you for coffee afterwards! Your workout buddy doesn’t have to do the workout with you every time, there are other ways they can provide you with motivation and support. 

6. Remember to warm-up

good warm-up prepares your body for the challenges of working out and can help to reduce the risk of injury. It also mentally prepares you for your workout session, creating a break between your day and the time you’re dedicating to yourself. 

Warm-up using movement or dynamic stretches to increase your range of motion and get the blood flowing to your muscles.

7. Try skipping

If you need a fast workout that packs a punch, grab a skipping rope! You can do this at home or in the gym, anywhere with a bit of space and a flat surface. 

A simple jump rope workout for beginners could include skipping for 30 seconds, followed by 10 push-ups, then repeat using different bodyweight exercises like crunches, mountain climbers, planks and so on until you reach a 10-20 minute workout.

8. Increase the intensity with interval training

Interval training can help to make cardio workouts more challenging. If you haven’t done high intensity interval training before, it’s basically where you alternate periods of high intensity and low-intensity exercise. This allows you to work at a higher intensity for much longer than if you tried to do a steady-state workout, burning more calories in less time, meaning more “bang for your buck.” 

You can apply interval training to any form of exercise, including running, elliptical, rowing, stair climbing, cycling, swimming and even walking. If you are outdoors, a great way to incorporate interval training is to choose a route with stairs or a hill climb. This adds intensity to your workout without you having to think about it! 

9. Add strength to your cardio session

Doing strength exercises at the end of your walk or run can help to increase your strength and improve your performance over time. Exercises that you can combine with a walk or run include push-ups, step-ups, pull-ups, planks or lunges. 

Think about what might be on your route — can you use the playground equipment or a park bench for a short strength session? Combining some strength training with your cardio session can help if you don’t have enough time to do separate workouts. 

10. Remember to cool down

Allow for 5-10 minutes of stretching after each workout. This helps your heart rate return to normal and can prevent injury. Taking the time to stretch gives you a moment to reflect on the workout you’ve just done.

11. You can start at home

If you aren’t ready to join a gym, you can get started with strength training at home. With some basic equipment, you can start strength training in your own time and on your own terms. 

If you don’t have any equipment yet, you can substitute with household items. You may be able to buy second-hand gym equipment — check out what’s available on the community marketplace in your area. Some great items to start with include an adjustable barbell, dumbbells and a fit ball. 

12. Focus on your form

When lifting weights, all parts of the movement are important. One mistake that people make when lifting weights is focusing on the primary movement, then allowing momentum to drop the weight back into place. 

To get the maximum benefit from each movement, lower the weight in a controlled manner. This is called ‘eccentric training’. You’ll find that some of the negative-style exercises in Kelsey Wells’ PWR program in the SWEAT app call for you to focus specifically on this part of the movement. 

13. Choose the heaviest weight you can

Choosing the right weight for your workout for maximum results means that you want a weight that challenges you during the final reps, but also allows you to complete all the sets of a given exercise (and the rest of your workout!).  

It’s a myth that lifting weights will make you bulk up! For those who haven’t tried strength training before, you’re about to discover one route to becoming stronger and more confident.

14. Do cardio after your resistance workout

If you plan to lift weights and do cardio on the same day, try to do cardio after your resistance session to get the most out of your strength training workout. The reason behind this is to ensure that you have the maximum amount of energy for your strength work. Doing cardio following weight training may even increase the amount of energy you burn.

15. Focus on your breath

As you work against the resistance, the hardest part of the movement, breathe out. Then inhale as you return to the starting position, releasing the resistance. 

When you exhale, it increases engagement of your core and provides greater stability for the lift. Controlled breathing also helps more oxygen to get to your muscles. Slow, deep breaths also help with good posture and maintaining good form. 

16. Do supersets

A superset contains two dedicated exercises that focus on specific areas of the body. For example, a superset could include 12 reps of bench press followed by 10 reps of a bent-over reverse fly. Complete these exercises as many times as you can with minimal rest in a given time, say seven minutes, or do three rounds of each exercise with a 30-second pause between rounds. 

17. Lift heavy

To get stronger you will need to lift heavier weights over fewer repetitions. 

Stephanie Sanzo can help you achieve this goal safely with her BUILD program in the SWEAT app. She takes you through a 1RM assessment and a detailed strength program so you’re lifting the correct weight for your body each training session.

18. Be consistent

When you start lifting weights, consistency is the key to improvement. You might start with a light weight but with repetition, over time you will progress. 

Heavy lifting takes preparation, so take the time to build a strong foundation and before you know it you’ll start to see positive changes.

19. Get advice 

If you’re feeling uncertain when lifting, seek professional advice! You can ask a gym instructor to check your form and ensure that you are lifting safely. 

20. Maintain a log

Write down your 1RM, personal best lifts for each exercise and aim to improve these numbers. The best way that you can get results from powerbuilding is by focusing on lifting a weight that challenges you. Be mindful of your current ability and strength when determining a weight that is appropriate for each exercise. 

21. Don’t overdo it

Powerbuilding is fun and lifting heavy weights can give you a great sense of accomplishment! However, over-training can reduce the benefits you are training for and can also put you at risk of injury. That’s why it is so important that you allow adequate time for recovery. 

22. Choose a yoga style that suits your needs

Everyone comes to yoga for a different reason. You might be looking to strengthen your back and improve posture, stretch out tight joints and muscles, or boost your energy levels. 

Yoga is also practised as a form of meditation and relaxation and can help improve wellbeing. When deciding what style of yoga to try, think about the health benefits of yoga that you want to experience and choose one or two types that will meet your goals. 

23. Buy a yoga mat

To practice yoga at home, the first thing you should invest in is a non-slip yoga mat. A yoga mat gives you grip during the postures and enables you to practice without slipping and causing injury. There is a range of different thicknesses and yoga mat materials, so it pays to look for something that suits you. 

24. Wear comfortable clothing

When practicing yoga, choose clothing that you feel comfortable in and that allows you to move freely. If you’re not sure exactly what to choose, see our tips on how to buy the best yoga pants for ideas on what styles can suit different types of yoga.

For example, the clothing that you choose to wear for yin yoga where you’re moving more slowly might be different from what you would wear to a hot, fast-moving yoga class. The most important thing is that you are comfortable!

25. Add in some meditation 

Adding meditation to your yoga practice helps you to be present in the moment with your mind and body. Meditation and mindfulness can enhance the benefits of calming yoga poses to reduce stress after a tough day. 

26. Listen to your body

While yoga is a valuable tool for dealing with life’s struggles, it can introduce new sensations to your body. You may experience slight discomfort in some poses, but if it moves into pain, slowly ease out of the position. 

A great way to make sure that you don’t overdo it is by paying close attention to your breath throughout your practice. If you notice that you are holding your breath, or if your breathing becomes staggered, pull back until your breathing becomes steady again. 

27. You always have time for a workout!

You can still do a workout even if you only have 15 minutes! There are “quick workouts” in the SWEAT app, and even a short walk is so much better than doing nothing. If you are really pressed for time, you can even do just one round in seven minutes to get your heart pumping. 

28. Enjoy a wide variety of exercises

The best thing about HIIT is that you can get creative! There are so many different exercises that you can include in a workout, from burpees and mountain climbers to crunches and lunges. This is great because it means that you can do a workout just about anywhere! 

Keep your body guessing and keep challenging yourself to get your heart rate up, build strength and improve your cardiovascular fitness all at the same time! If you’re new to HIIT, try this beginner HIIT workoutto get started. You’ll find plenty of HIIT workouts that you can do either at home or in the gym in the FIERCE program in the SWEAT app. 

29. Challenge yourself with AMRAP or Tabata workouts 

In addition to choosing from a huge selection of different exercises, you can also change your workout style! This means that each workout is different.

AMRAP stands for “as many reps as possible” and it literally means just that — you’ll complete as many reps as you can of each exercise. 

Tabata training is a form of high-intensity training where you complete 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for a specific number of sets before moving on to the next exercise. There’s so much variety to choose from! 

30. Add in some weights!

High-intensity training isn’t limited to bodyweight exercises. You can challenge yourself by adding weights to your workout! Kettlebell or medicine ball exercises are a great way to add weight to your HIIT workouts. Adding weight increases the intensity of your workout— raising your heart rate, engaging your muscles and working you harder!

31. Take your workout outside

During summer you might enjoy changing up your workout routine. SWEAT BBG trainer Kayla Itsines says, “Find a park bench instead of a box in the gym. Get creative and make your workout fit around where you want to be and your other activities”. 

“If you’re meeting friends for a picnic or at the beach, arrive early to allow time for a walk or a quick step workout. There are heaps of bodyweight exercises in my BBG program that you can do anywhere.” 

32. Lay your equipment out before you start

Prepare for your workout by organising the equipment you need before you get started. This means you can move smoothly from one exercise to the next, keeping the intensity high. 

It might not be good gym etiquette to lay out ALL the equipment for your whole workout at the start. Instead, prepare the things you need for the first circuit, and use the break between rounds to set up the equipment for the next circuit. 

33. Include exercises targeting your upper, lower and full body

A highly effective circuit training routine will target ALL areas of your body to create a true full-body workout! You might start with squats and glute bridges, then move to upright rows and bicep curls. Including a variety of exercises keeps your body guessing and maximises the training effect!

34. Combine cardiovascular and strength exercises

Combining cardio and strength exercises will build your endurance. For example, you could start with burpees to get your heart rate pumping, followed by a round of goblet squats to build strength in your glutes, hamstrings and quads. This training style is very effective for burning fat while building your overall fitness level. 

35. Use any equipment you can find

Circuit workouts are ideal if the gym you use is often busy. Can’t get the exact equipment you were hoping to use? No problem! You can do circuit workouts using just about anything — kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, plates, steps, boxes, fit balls, a skipping rope, a slam ball — the list is only limited by your imagination!

36. Turn off notifications on your phone

It can be easy to get distracted by replying to messages, scrolling on Instagram, or checking your email, and before you know it the 30-second break between sets has turned into five minutes. If you can, turn off your notifications during your workout so you can focus without distraction!

37. Choose a time when you know you will have the least distractions

Ideally, you want to power through it and really focus on each exercise, without distractions! This might mean that you get up early and get it done before the day kicks off. If you’re a Mum, you might have to find a time when your children are napping or you have someone to take care of them. 

Whether you are an early bird or a night owl, the key is making the time for YOU to focus on your own fitness goals. You’ve got this!

38. Live in the moment

Keeping your workouts to under an hour can help to make staying present easier. Remember it’s quality over quantity! You should be thinking: “Can I jump just that much higher on my next burpee?” rather than “I wonder what’s for dinner…”! 

Whatever else might be going on in your life, during your workout all you need to focus on is you, your form and the next move.

39. Have a plan

Whether you write down a list of exercises on a sheet of paper or follow one of the workout programs in the SWEAT app, having a plan will ensure that you make the maximum use of the time you spend in the gym. 

40. Track your progress

Tracking your fitness progress is one of the best ways to stay motivated. You might keep a journal recording the weights and number of reps you’re completing, cross off a day on the calendar for each day that you dedicate time to your health and fitness, or check off the workout goal trophies in the SWEAT app. 

Another way to track your progress is with photos. Have you done a particularly sweaty session? Take a picture! We love it when our members share a post-workout selfie or a transformation photo using the SWEAT app!

41. Fuel your body 

Your pre and post-workout meals are important for providing energy to workout and nutrients to help your body recover and get great results from your training. 

Kayla recommends eating healthy snacks like apple slices with peanut butter, a fruit cup or eggs on toast before a workout. Remember if you’re eating a pre-workout meal close to your workout time, keep your snack small so you don’t feel ill during your workout. 

After a workout, you’ll need food that promotes muscle recovery. BUILD trainer Stephanie Sanzo recommends including a low-fat protein source with carbohydrates in your post-workout meal. 

For example, she’ll eat white rice for fast energy with grilled steak and a side of tomato and cucumber. Steph includes red meat in her diet as she’s found it gives her extra stamina.  

What you eat will depend on the time of day, but be sure to get a mixture of healthy carbs and protein to support muscle growth and recovery. 

42. Drink plenty of water

It’s important to be hydrated to make the most of your workout because your muscles are actually made up of around 70% water! Good hydration also helps you to recover faster from a workout. 

Carrying a water bottle with you can remind you to take regular sips. If you find it hard to drink plain water, try infusing your water with fresh lemon or lime. You could even make your own kombucha or drink sparkling water as both provide a healthy source of hydration.  

43. Make time for active recovery

Active recovery sessions are important to prepare your body for your next workout. Stretching and foam rolling can help to ease muscle tightness and loosen fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue found around your muscles, blood vessels and nerves. It helps to bundle some muscles together while allowing others to slide smoothly over each other. 

When your fascia is well-hydrated and lengthened through stretching and release, it helps facilitate smooth contraction during exercise. This means that your muscles can contract with more force and you also lower your risk of potential injury due to an increased range of movement.

44. Get enough rest

Rest is so important to your training schedule! A proper rest day can actually help to boost your performance for both cardio and strength training. Taking rest at the right time can help your body’s immune system stay strong and also helps to prevent injury from overtraining. 

You might use your rest day to check out the sauna at your local gym or pool or to practise mindfulness techniques to enhance your overall well-being. 

45. Have an Epsom salt bath to relieve sore muscles

When you’ve started a new training program, your muscles can take time to adjust to the increase in the intensity of your workload. This means that you may experience muscle soreness — a sign that your muscles have been working hard!

When this happens, an Epsom salt bath might help to relieve the soreness. Taking a bath also helps you relax and can reduce stress.  

46. Get a massage to help with muscle recovery

If you can make time for a recovery massage, this may help to relieve post-workout muscle stiffness. Find a therapist that you feel comfortable with, and schedule a time either for a one-off massage or maybe a semi-regular appointment. A massage is a form of self-care that can often be overlooked when you’re busy, but it’s worth it!

47. Take a nap 

If you’re feeling extra tired, taking a nap can provide that instant energy boost you need to get through your day. If you can’t get enough sleep at night for whatever reason, a nap can help you to catch up on the rest you need. It can also help with muscle recovery!

48. Wear compressions tights 

Wearing compression tights have been shown to help with faster muscle recovery and increased performance, so consider investing in a pair if you intend to work out regularly! There’s even some evidence that wearing compression tights during your workout can help to reduce your perception of fatigue. 

49. Have an ice bath to help with inflammation

If you’re not ready to invest in compression tights just yet, an inexpensive way to speed up your post-workout recovery is to take an ice bath. It does take some discipline to get into an ice bath, but the results can be worth it!

When you sit in cold water, your blood vessels and your lymph nodes constrict, and they dilate when you get out. This helps to increase blood flow, allowing more nutrients and oxygen to get to your cells and flushing away the metabolic waste that contributes to muscle soreness. 

50. Reward yourself for your hard work and determination! 

When you get caught up in a new workout routine, it’s easy to forget to pause and reflect on how far you’ve come. Make the time to celebrate — maybe you’ll do something fun with a friend after 30 days of consistently following a workout program, or share a selfie with your friends to celebrate your achievement! 

How you celebrate is up to you! Choose something meaningful that ties back into your reasons for starting the new healthy habit.

1. Use your body weight. You need nothing else besides your own body weight to get great results. The push up, for example, a very simple exercise performed with your own body weight will help you sculpt sexy summer shoulders and a nice firm midsection.

2. Pick up the pace! No matter where you are, you can squeeze in some extra cardio. Walk at a faster pace while breathing deeper to increase your heart rate. Bam! A mini cardio exercise.

3. Use your breath. To get the most out of your breath, breathe from the diaphragm. To do this, think of breathing in a 3D fashion; your ribcage should expand from front to back, top to bottom, and left to right. These deep breaths will help you burn extra calories and give you extra energy during your workouts. The bonus is that you can use this breathing style not only to burn more calories during exercise but also while walking to the corner store, working at your desk, or just sitting in the car on your next road trip!

4. Carry a reusable water bottle. No matter where you go or what you do, bring water with you. Our bodies can misread being hydrated for being hungry, leading to over consumption and weight gain. Also, when traveling on planes or to higher altitudes in general, the amount of oxygen in the air decreases equating to dryer air and reduced body hydration. This can leave you with unhealthy food cravings, headaches and poor body awareness from fatigue. To be more alert and make more right food choices, drink more water! Carry a reusable water bottle wherever you go. You can empty out the water before a security check point and fill it up right after. You’ll save money on bottled water, not to mention help reduce waste!

5. Be food prepared! No matter where we are, we’re often tempted to “grab and go,” especially when traveling. Unfortunately, most ready to go snacks are calorie packed and nutrient deprived. Save yourself the extra calories and pack some yummy granola bars, fruits and/or nuts in your carry-on bag so you’re prepared to fight the urge of the grab and go pastry.

6. No time? No problem! More intensity! Even 20 minutes will get you into the zone of fat blasting and muscle building as long as you maximize your effort. The goal of a short workout should be to workout at your personal intensity max. When you feel like it’s time to stop, try pushing for 10 more reps to maximize the hormonal response from your workout. Do this for at least 20 minutes targeting your upper, middle and lower body with push ups, planks, crunches and burpees, and you’ve got a complete workout!

7. Keep a food log. Recording what you eat is one of the best ways to stay on track. Make it easy for yourself and download an app (my favorite is Lose It!) to keep track of your daily intake no matter where you are. Your goal should be smaller meals, more often.

8. Bring a workout video. No matter where you are, you can pop in a video to stay on track – it’s like bringing a personal trainer wherever you go! My favorite is Exhale’s 30 Day Sculpt. It’s perfectly designed with 30 days of quick and efficient 20 minute fun, fat-blasting workouts!

9. Buddy up! Accountability is everything. Having a partner keeps you accountable and makes diet and fitness goals more fun! Not only have you set yourself up for success with buddy system accountability, but you now have someone to share your excitement with when you hit your goals!

10. Shop the farmers market for fresh produce. If your food can survive nuclear fallout, you shouldn’t be putting it in your body. The less time your food can survive on the supermarket shelf, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits and vegetables don’t last as long as a box of Wheat Thins and that’s a good thing! Vitamins and minerals that are found in darker fruits and vegetables are what you need to keep your body healthy. Pick up fresh produce wherever possible.

11. Find stairs! Climbing stairs is an incredibly effective cardio and lower-body sculpting workout, and you can normally find staircases somewhere in the vicinity of a park or beach.

12. Use water bottles as dumbbells. You get the dual benefits of resistance training and hydration, both critical during the summer. Water bottles can be used for a number of toning exercises such as tricep kickbacks, arm circles and overhead presses, and can also add resistance to lunges and squats.

13. Burpees. The most comprehensive exercise that can be done anywhere, anytime! Three sets of burpees will give you a cardio workout while also targeting upper body, lower body and core strength. It’s the all-in-one exercise!

14. Find a bench. Benches can be found in numerous outdoor areas and serve as a great fitness tool. For a quick full body routine, try the following: Start standing on top of the bench and lunge behind you bending the back knee as low to the ground as possible. Make sure your front knee remains directly above the heel to protect your knee. Alternate reverse lunges completing 8 on each leg, 16 total. Step down from the bench and turn around and sit on the bench with your legs extended straight in front of you, feet on the ground. Pressing your palms into the bench with fingertips forward, lift your rear end off and slightly in front of the bench, and bend your elbows directly behind you for a tricep dip. Shoot for 15 getting the full range of motion. Turn around and finish the set with 15 push ups, hands on the bench, back in a straight line from your neck to bottom of your spine. Start from the beginning with the reverse lunges, followed by tricep dips and pushups. Complete three full sets.

15. Pack some tubing or elastic bands in your suitcase. They’re light, take up very little space in your bag and can provide several options for toning and resistance training.

16. Ocean swim! Take advantage of nature’s biggest pool and get a great workout. When it’s time to cool down from the sun, create a challenge for yourself and see how long you can keep your feet off the ground treading water. Try three rounds and attempt to last a little longer each time.

17. Engage the family. Part of the beauty of summer is family bonding, and finding fun ways to incorporate fitness can also teach kids the value of staying active. I recommend creating a fun obstacle course for the whole family to participate in, either as individual competitors or as teams. Let the kids help you come up with the obstacles, which can be done at the park, the beach or in the backyard. Think of a tough-mudder inspired course…find something you can climb up, something to climb under, something heavy to carry or pull from one spot to another. Add in some long jumps or something to jump over, some cones/stones to zig zag around, or even simple hopscotch. You’ll get a great workout and have stories to tell for years.

18. Walk during airport delays/down time. Depending on the city you’re in, airports have become a modern day shopping mall. If you have a delay or extra time before boarding, take a lap around the airport and browse the shops in your terminal. You can pick up a gift for your loved ones and burn some calories while tugging along your luggage.

19. Pack for fitness. If you pack gym clothes at the top of your suitcase, it can be a great reminder to hold yourself accountable for a workout.

20. Rent a bike. Most major cities around the world have adopted “Rent a Bike” programs. This way you can tour the city and get a great workout.

21. Pack healthy snacks for long flights. It’s best to bring your own healthy snacks on flight rather than purchasing candies, chips and processed foods in flight. Good ideas for snacks include almonds, bananas and energy bars.

22. Hit the sand. Summer traveling involves some fun in the sun and if you’re really lucky, the beach! Challenge yourself with working out in the sand. Exercising in the sand provides an excellent training environment and in certain aspects actually works the body a lot harder than using a hard, flat surface.

23. Drink tons of water. Anywhere, everywhere, any time. Drinking water and staying hydrated can help fight jet-lag, it can amp up your energy and can also prevent heat exposure and heat exhaustion during the summer.

24. Book hotels with fitness amenities. When traveling, it’s easy to get off your A-game and not put any time in at the gym. When booking hotels or other accommodations, be sure that the location has some sort of fitness center or workout space, this way you have no excuse to slack off.

25. Eat the food of the culture. When traveling abroad, you’re most likely to taste different cuisines rather than gorging from places you eat from at home. This way, you can experiment with smaller, multiple meals throughout the day, which is better for digestion and building metabolism.

1 Work out why, don’t just work out

Our reasons for beginning to exercise are fundamental to whether we will keep it up, says Michelle Segar, the director of the University of Michigan’s Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center. Too often “society promotes exercise and fitness by hooking into short-term motivation, guilt and shame”. There is some evidence, she says, that younger people will go to the gym more if their reasons are appearance-based, but past our early 20s that doesn’t fuel motivation much. Nor do vague or future goals help (“I want to get fit, I want to lose weight”). Segar, the author of No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, says we will be more successful if we focus on immediate positive feelings such as stress reduction, increased energy and making friends. “The only way we are going to prioritise time to exercise is if it is going to deliver some kind of benefit that is truly compelling and valuable to our daily life,” she says.

2 Get off to a slow start

The danger of the typical New Year resolutions approach to fitness, says personal trainer Matt Roberts, is that people “jump in and do everything – change their diet, start exercising, stop drinking and smoking – and within a couple of weeks they have lost motivation or got too tired. If you haven’t been in shape, it’s going to take time.” He likes the trend towards high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and recommends people include some, “but to do that every day will be too intense for most people”. Do it once (or twice, at most) a week, combined with slow jogs, swimming and fast walks – plus two or three rest days, at least for the first month. “That will give someone a chance of having recovery sessions alongside the high-intensity workouts.”

3 You don’t have to love it

It is helpful not to try to make yourself do things you actively dislike, says Segar, who advises thinking about the types of activities – roller-skating? Bike riding? – you liked as a child. But don’t feel you have to really enjoy exercise. “A lot of people who stick with exercise say: ‘I feel better when I do it.’” There are elements that probably will be enjoyable, though, such as the physical response of your body and the feeling of getting stronger, and the pleasure that comes with mastering a sport.

“For many people, the obvious choices aren’t necessarily the ones they would enjoy,” says Sniehotta, who is also the director of the National Institute for Health Research’s policy research unit in behavioural science, “so they need to look outside them. It might be different sports or simple things, like sharing activities with other people.”

4 Be kind to yourself

Individual motivation – or the lack of it – is only part of the bigger picture. Money, parenting demands or even where you live can all be stumbling blocks, says Sniehotta. Tiredness, depression, work stress or ill family members can all have an impact on physical activity. “If there is a lot of support around you, you will find it easier to maintain physical activity,” he points out. “If you live in certain parts of the country, you might be more comfortable doing outdoor physical activity than in others. To conclude that people who don’t get enough physical activity are just lacking motivation is problematic.”

Segar suggests being realistic. “Skip the ideal of going to the gym five days a week. Be really analytical about work and family-related needs when starting, because if you set yourself up with goals that are too big, you will fail and you’ll feel like a failure. At the end of a week, I always ask my clients to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Maybe fitting in a walk at lunch worked, but you didn’t have the energy after work to do it.”

5 Don’t rely on willpower

“If you need willpower to do something, you don’t really want to do it,” says Segar. Instead, think about exercise “in terms of why we’re doing it and what we want to get from physical activity. How can I benefit today? How do I feel when I move? How do I feel after I move?”

6 Find a purpose

Anything that allows you to exercise while ticking off other goals will help, says Sniehotta. “It provides you with more gratification, and the costs of not doing it are higher.” For instance, walking or cycling to work, or making friends by joining a sports club, or running with a friend. “Or the goal is to spend more time in the countryside, and running helps you do that.”

Try to combine physical activity with something else. “For example, in my workplace I don’t use the lift and I try to reduce email, so when it’s possible I walk over to people,” says Sniehotta. “Over the course of the day, I walk to work, I move a lot in the building and I actually get about 15,000 steps. Try to make physical activity hit as many meaningful targets as you can.”

7 Make it a habit

When you take up running, it can be tiring just getting out of the door – where are your shoes? Your water bottle? What route are you going to take? After a while, points out Sniehottta, “there are no longer costs associated with the activity”. Doing physical activity regularly and planning for it “helps make it a sustainable behaviour”. Missing sessions doesn’t.

8 Plan and prioritise

What if you don’t have time to exercise? For many people, working two jobs or with extensive caring responsibilities, this can undoubtedly be true, but is it genuinely true for you? It might be a question of priorities, says Sniehotta. He recommends planning: “The first is ‘action planning’, where you plan where, when and how you are going to do it and you try to stick with it.” The second type is ‘coping planning’: “anticipating things that can get in the way and putting a plan into place for how to get motivated again”. Segar adds: “Most people don’t give themselves permission to prioritise self-care behaviours like exercise.”

9 Keep it short and sharp

A workout doesn’t have to take an hour, says Roberts. “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

10 If it doesn’t work, change it

It rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. “It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project,” says Sniehotta. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else, he says. “We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: ‘This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,’ there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.”

11 Add resistance and balance training as you get older

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal training and pilates instructor, and the owner of PilatesPT. Resistance training (using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

12 Up the ante

“If you do 5k runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10,” says Grant. “As you see those numbers go down, that’s when to start pushing yourself a bit faster.” Roberts says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. “You’re looking for a change in your speed or endurance or strength.”

13 Work out from home

If you have caring responsibilities, Roberts says you can do a lot within a small area at home. “In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise,” he says. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training. Doing six or eight exercises, this effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout.” Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, tricep dips and glute raises. “You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles and having a good general workout.” These take no more than 15-20 minutes and only require a chair for the tricep dips – although dumbbells can be helpful, too.

14 Get out of breath

We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Roberts. “With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.”

15 Be sensible about illness

Joslyn Thompson Rule, a personal trainer, says: “The general rule is if it’s above the neck – a headache or a cold – while being mindful of how you’re feeling, you are generally OK to do some sort of exercise. If it’s below the neck – if you’re having trouble breathing – rest. The key thing is to be sensible. If you were planning on doing a high-intensity workout, you would take the pace down, but sometimes just moving can make you feel better.” After recovering from an illness, she says, trust your instincts. “You don’t want to go straight back into training four times a week. You might want to do the same number of sessions but make them shorter, or do fewer.”

16 Seek advice after injury

Clearly, how quickly you start exercising again depends on the type of injury, and you should seek advice from your doctor. Psychologically, though, says Thompson Rule: “Even when we’re doing everything as we should, there are still dips in the road. It’s not going to be a linear progression of getting better.”

17 Take it slowly after pregnancy

Again, says Thompson Rule, listen to your body – and your doctor’s advice at your six-week postnatal checkup. After a caesarean section, getting back to exercise will be slower, while pregnancy-related back injuries and problems with abdominal muscles all affect how soon you can get back to training, and may require physiotherapy. “Once you’re walking and have a bit more energy, depending on where you were before (some women never trained before pregnancy), starting a regime after a baby is quite something to undertake,” says Thompson Rule. “Be patient. I get more emails from women asking when they’re going to get their stomachs flat again than anything. Relax, take care of yourself and take care of your baby. When you’re feeling a bit more energised, slowly get back into your routine.” She recommends starting with “very basic stuff like walking and carrying your baby [in a sling]”.

18 Tech can help

For goal-oriented people, Grant says, it can be useful to monitor progress closely, but “allow some flexibility in your goals. You might have had a stressful day at work, go out for a run and not do it as quickly and then think: ‘I’m just not going to bother any more.’” However, “It can start to get a bit addictive, and then you don’t listen to your body and you’re more at risk of injury.” 

19 Winter is not an excuse

“Winter is not necessarily a time to hibernate,” says Thompson Rule. Be decisive, put your trainers by the door and try not to think about the cold/drizzle/greyness. “It’s the same with going to the gym – it’s that voice in our head that make us feel like it’s a hassle, but once you’re there, you think: ‘Why was I procrastinating about that for so long?’”

READERS’ TIPS

20 Keep it bite-size

I’ve tried and failed a few times to establish a consistent running routine, but that was because I kept pushing myself too hard. Just because I can run for an hour doesn’t mean I should. Running two or three times a week for 20-30 minutes each time has improved my fitness hugely and made it easier to fit in. 

21 Reward yourself

I keep a large bag of Midget Gems in my car to motivate myself to get to the gym, allowing myself a handful before a workout. Sometimes I toss in some wine gums for the element of surprise.

22 Call in the reinforcements

I tapped into the vast network of fitness podcasts and online communities. On days I lacked drive, I would listen to a fitness podcast, and by the time I got home, I would be absolutely determined to make the right choices. In fact, I would be excited by it. Your brain responds very well to repetition and reinforcement, so once you have made the difficult initial change, it becomes much easier over time. 

23 Use visual motivation

I have kept a “star chart” on my calendar for the past two years, after having three years of being chronically unfit. I put a gold star on days that I exercise, and it’s a good visual motivator for when I am feeling slug-like. I run, use our home cross-trainer and do a ski fitness programme from an app. My improved core strength has helped my running and ability to carry my disabled child when needed.

24 Keep alarms out of reach

If, like me, you need to get up early to exercise or it just doesn’t happen, move your alarm clock away from your bed and next to your kit. Once you have got up to turn it off, you might as well keep going!

25 Follow the four-day rule

I have one simple rule which could apply to any fitness activity – I do not allow more than four days to elapse between sessions. So, if I know I have a busy couple of days coming up, I make sure I run before them so that I have “banked” my four days. With the exception of illness, injury or family emergencies, I have stuck to this rule for 10 years.

Expert Fitness Tips And Strategies Every Lifter Should Know

1. Make sure you’re eating healthy

Ask almost any personal trainer and they’ll tell you that regardless of your training goals, healthy eating is the backbone. Food is what fuels your body to reach your goals, and without proper nutrition through quality foods, you’re likely to stall. Maintain a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, complete proteins, and healthy fats like fish oils and flaxseeds.

2. Prepare ahead

Preparing meals in advance gives you the best chance to accomplish your nutrition goals, says Micah LaCerte, a personal trainer and fitness competition world champion. That way, he says, you won’t feel pressured to eat unhealthy foods or skip meals. Check out 10 of our favorite simple meal-prep recipes.

3. Eat more clean food

Eating only three daily meals? Not a great idea. “Half the people I deal with aren’t losing weight because they don’t eat enough,” says veteran personal trainer Mike Duffy. Duffy advises his clients “to eat five times a day, about every three hours, to stimulate their metabolism” including two mini-meals between three basic meals. With activity levels decreasing throughout the day, he advises to “eat less as the day goes on.”

4. Control your portion sizes

You’ll be eating more often, so paying attention to portions is extremely important. “Make sure chicken breasts, (and) meats, are no larger than your palm, and that pastas are no larger than your fists,” says Jay Cardiello, a personal trainer to countless celebrities and professional athletes. He also suggests using “smaller bowls, plates, and cups” because studies show people “serve themselves 20-40% more food when they’re using larger plates.” Here’s how to estimate portion sizes.

5. Eat with purpose

Everything you consume should have substantial nutritional value. “You want the most nutritional bang for your buck,” says Dan Trink, C.S.C.S., a strength coach and trainer. “Everything you eat should serve some sort of nutritional purpose in your body, fuel your workouts, and (be) geared toward optimizing your body.”

6. Understand the basics of building muscle

Talk to any personal trainer and they’ll tell you there are certain muscle-building basics. First, increase your caloric and complete protein intake, so your body has enough building blocks to get bigger. Then, when you enter the gym, focus on your form. Perform compound movements and train with weights on average around four times a week. Never underestimate the importance of rest. Remember, muscle tissue grows outside of the gym when you’re giving your body time to relax and recover following your workouts.

7. Work your full range of motion

Don’t take any shortcuts. “Aim for the largest range of motion you can achieve in your exercises,” says Lee Boyce, C.P.T. “Your muscles will do more work per rep, and it will result in your breaking down more tissue by the end of the workout.”

8. Don’t go too heavy

Wondering how to get the most out of lifting weights? “Use a weight that will have you failing on the set between the 30- and 40-second mark,” Duffy says. Time under tension causes muscle to grow. “If you’re failing at 20 seconds, you know that weight was too heavy.”

9. Carefully consider cardio

If getting huge is your goal, then throttle back on your cardio workouts, says LaCerte—chances are, you’ll be burning far too many calories. So what should you do if you still want to get in some cardio? LaCerte says “a light jog a few days per week for 20 minutes is adequate.” If you’re aiming to burn fat, of course, then focus on getting enough protein every day (usually one gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight), while still keeping your overall caloric intake low.

10. Choose supplements intelligently

Some trainers and lifters feel supplements can play a key role in boosting muscle gains. If you subscribe to that theory, then chances are, you’re already taking protein supplements—but what else? Creatine, for one, “seems to be about the most effective strength- and size-building supplement,” Trink says. To boost your performance, you may also want to try peppermint. Cardiello explains that the scent “alters the perception of how hard you’re working out,” making it seem “less strenuous, slower-paced, and easier to complete.”

11. Prepare yourself for endurance training

When it comes to training for endurance, you’ll need to be hydrated and be sure you’re eating properly because, by its very nature, this form of training is very demanding on your body. You should be doing a good mix of cardio and weight training. And, to increase your aerobic capacity, you should incorporate high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. You’ll likely be sweating buckets and burning calories galore, so be prepared.

12. Heart rate monitor

If you already own a heart rate monitor or fitness tracker, then this is a good time to start using it. If not, you may want to either go out and buy one, or learn how to do it yourself. “Don’t just exercise for a set amount of time and call it quits,” Duffy says. “You need to bring the intensity with it, and a fitness tracker can help you get a sense of exactly how hard your heart is working.”

13. Exhaust for endurance

To further your endurance training, you need to put in total effort. “You’re going for muscle exhaustion, so remember to fully exhaust the muscles,” Boyce says. How can you do that? Boyce suggests that you “get good at the bodyweight staples—pullups, chinups, pushups, inverted rows, (and) squats. If you can master these movements for high reps, your muscles will get well-conditioned.”

14. Consider reducing rest time

It’s always tempting to take a break when training, but LaCerte advises that you should “stick with rest times of 30 to 45 seconds between sets, because this will help increase your overall endurance. If you are strength training, lift moderate to heavy weight and keep your rep range between 8–15 reps. If you’re running, mix low-intensity, steady-state cardio with sprinting.”

15. Learn how to fight fatigue

Fatigue may be your biggest enemy when endurance training, but there are some ways to combat it. First, drink beet juice, which is packed with healthy nitrates that can improve your cardiovascular functioning. “Beets can actually increase stamina by up to 16%, and it helps your muscles produce more energy, more efficiently, making exercise less exhausting,” Boyce says. Another way to boost your performance is by carefully selecting your music. “When people listen to favorable music their blood vessels expanded 26%,” according to a study, Boyce says.

16. Understand strength-training basics

If you want to build strength, you have to set goals and be patient. As you’re starting off, it’s important to be consistent and stick with your plan. When you’re in the gym, don’t get distracted. Stay focused on the task at hand. When you leave the gym, make sure you get proper rest and keep track of your progress. If you stay determined, your goals can be accomplished.

17. Find your motivation

Motivation is key. Some good ways to stay motivated while you’re working out: Count down, not up, when performing reps. Another trick: “Look at your dominant hand while you’re pushing up,” Cardiello explains—it “automatically includes a positive reinforcement” because the dominant hand more easily and quickly moves the weight.

18. Carefully focus on form

When strength training, you’ll be putting your body through very strenuous activity, so it’s important to maintain proper form. By maintaining proper form, “you’re guaranteed to activate the muscle groups that you are looking to train and, most important, you’ll stay healthy and injury-free,” Trink says. “The guy who can stay healthiest can train the most, and, in the long run, make the most progress.”

19. Be mindful of the little things

Ever notice how a bunch of seemingly insignificant things can make all the difference? Strength training is no different. When you’re strength training, you have to “pay attention to the little things, because you’re only as strong as your weakest link,” Boyce says. “If you notice a deficiency, address it in conjunction with your program.”

20. Change helps

If you want to make progress, sometimes you have to change things up. “Ensure your body never gets adapted to what’s coming next,” LaCerte explains. Once that happens, you may notice diminishing strength gain results. To avoid this possibility, “switch up how heavy you’re lifting, your tempo of an exercise, your rep/set count, or what time of the day you’re lifting,” he says.

21. Understand the basics of fat loss

Forget calorie counting, and start thinking of food as fuel for your body. Getting six-pack abs is usually a function of fat loss, not a lack of muscle definition—and burning fat all boils down to a simple equation: Calories in versus calories burned. That means going beyond calories and studying your macronutrient intake—fats, protein, and carbs—to understand how much you consume relative to how much you burn during a workout.

22. Take photographic evidence

Can’t get the scale to budge? It’s possible you’re gaining muscle and shedding body fat—and that means your net weight change will seem “stuck,” even though you’re making progress. “Take pictures on a weekly basis—front, back, (and) side pictures all from the same angle, same lighting, same clothing.” That way, you’ll see change over time, even though it may not look like it day to day.

23. Understand how to use carbs

Say it with us: Carbs are not the enemy. Unless you’re on an extreme nutrition plan like the keto diet, carbs are an essential source of your body’s energy. That said, you need to be mindful about how you consume those carbs, because eating too many carbs—or eating carbs at the wrong times—can cause your body to store the excess energy as fat. Here’s how to eat carbs for more muscle and less fat.

24. Attack your lower body to burn fat

To flatten your belly, “go below your navel,” Cardiello says. “In a Syracuse University study, people burned more calories the day after they did a lower-body resistance training exercise than after they worked their upper bodies, simply because legs have more mass.” Here’s our roster of lower-body workouts on Men’s Fitness.

25. Hydrate properly

An often-overlooked factor, and one stressed by Trink, is to make “sure that your GI tract is healthy, because that’s how you absorb all your nutrients.” Do so by consuming vitamins, fiber, minerals, a probiotic, and water. Cardiello suggests you drink “ice cold water first thing in the morning” adding “you’ll naturally boost your metabolism by up to 24% for 90 minutes.” LaCerte recommends you “drink at least one gallon of water per day.”

Fitness Tips For Men Over 50

1. FIRST, HAVE A CHAT WITH YOUR GP

As we get older, it’s always a good idea to check in with our General Practitioners (GPs) for regular health check-ups. GPs can check your blood pressure, cholesterol and heart health and also measure your waistline to ensure you’re in a healthy condition before kick starting any new fitness programs.

2. CUT DOWN ON ALCOHOL

As you get older, different health issues may develop as you age that alcohol can affect in different ways. Cutting back on alcohol consumption means you’re at less risk of developing long-term health problems such as cancer, heart disease or liver cirrhosis (scarring). You might even lose weight, have more energy and feel better.

3. MOTIVATE YOURSELF

Need a reason to stay fit? How about a longer life? For men, fitness level can predict length of life even better than body mass index (BMI) can, according to a study of more than 14,000 men. As a man’s fitness improved, his risk of death from all causes dropped 15 percent and his risk of death from heart disease was reduced by 19 percent.

4. TRY AND STICK TO THE EXERCISE GUIDELINES

It’s recommended that older adults do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days. If 30 minutes seems too much to you, don’t worry, as some activity, however light, is better for your health than none at all. This could be walking around the block, doing some gardening, or even playing some backyard cricket.

5. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP

Not too sure where to start when it comes to exercising? No worries! Speak to an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. Basically, an exercise physiologist specialises in designing and delivering safe and effective exercise programs for all populations. Having a chat with one before undertaking any exercise is a smart move.

6. PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL

Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, which means that your heart, blood vessels and lungs all get a workout. You will breathe deeper, sweat and experience increased body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level.

7. TAKE THE STAIRS

Stair climbing burns more calories than a traditional walk and increases your chance to achieve weight loss. It can help to improve your energy, increase the function of your immune system and lower your risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and heart disease.

8. KEEP THE WEIGHTS ON

No equipment, no worries. Bodyweight exercises like squats, push-ups, or step ups will help to increase muscle tone, maintain sound strength, build bone density, maintain a healthy weight, optimize metabolic function, and reduce the risk of injury, falls and fatigue. It is recommended a minimum of two sessions per week be conducted to achieve the benefits of this training.

9. RESISTANCE IS KEY

Resistance training is one of the most effective ways to maintain muscle mass as we age. There’s a wide range of benefits of engaging in resistance training, and we listed 22 of them here.

10. KEEP IT SOCIAL

A social exercise group class may not immediately ease your arthritis or make your shoulder range amazing but if you have a good time doing it, you’ll feel better. Feeling better means you’ll be more likely to go back again to help kick start those health benefits. Even exercising with a buddy can help keep you accountable ensuring you both get your body moving and heart pumping.

11. JUST KEEP SWIMMING

Hydrotherapy is a type of exercise therapy done in a heated pool. It has a wide range of benefits and is used to target and treat a variety of conditions. The use of gentle, controlled movements in warm water (heated up to 31-35 degrees) allows people to steadily progress their range of movement. It’s also a safe, comfortable and often enjoyable environment.

12. DON’T NEGLECT THE CORE

Core strength is more than just working on the six-pack. These muscles support the spine through flexion, extension and rotation, and incorporate the pelvic floor. Learning how to properly engage and activate these muscles daily will help to prevent injury during daily activity, prevent incontinence, boost sexual health, and improve pelvic stability.

13. DON’T FORGET NUTRITION

Good nutrition plays a key role in healthy ageing and quality of life, especially when there are many physiological changesassociated with the ageing process. When it comes to providing adequate nutrition, making every mouthful count is key, and speaking with an Accredited Practising Dietitian can sometimes be the best option if you have any concerns.

14. AIM FOR THE GREEN

Did you know that simply by playing golf you can extend your life by 5 years in comparison to non-golfers? The research is piling up on the wide range of health benefits you receive from playing golf including improved longevity and cardiovascular fitness, reduced risk of chronic conditions, positive mental health and boosted strength and balance.

15. STRETCH IN FRONT OF THE TV

Can’t make it to a gym class or out for a run? Stretch in between your favourite tv show or footy game. Resistance stretching (also known as power band stretching) allows you to increase your range of motion and keeps your body moving correctly.

16. HOLD ONE-EAR AND STAND ON ONE LEG

Balance exercises are so important for older men over the age of 55 to help enhance proprioception awareness, coordination, maintain muscle activity and tone, and prevent against falls and the resulting injuries.

17. TRY NEW THINGS

There is no one perfect workout or exercise; everyone is different. There’s a wide selection of exercise or physical activity you can undertake from swimming, dancing, cycling, walking the dog, the list goes on! Creating an exercise habit is difficult, but finding one you enjoy can make it easier to come back to – and more likely you’ll stick to your program.

18. DON’T WORRY ABOUT RUNNING GIVING YOU BAD KNEES

The reality is that running is hard on your body but that’s why it can impact our health in such profound, positive way. Our body adapts and evolves to physical stress if it is dosed out appropriately and investing some money in the right pair of shoes helps too.

19. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART (RATE)

Exercise is a great way to keep your heart happy and healthy and it’s a good idea to pay attention to your heart rate during exercise. For adults, moderate intensity exercise is about 50%-65% of your age-predicted heart rate maximum. Your maximum age-predicted heart rate is calculated as follows: Age-predicted HR max = 220 – age. For example, if you’re 50 years old, your maximum HR would be approximately 170 (220 – 50).

20. REMEMBER TO TAKE TIME TO RECOVER

Your body won’t recover quite as quickly as it once did when you were younger, so it’s important to take it easy and to allow yourself some recovery time. Whenever we exercise, the body undergoes change to adapt to the stress that we place on it. The by-product of these adaptations can include muscle soreness and fatigue and reduced muscle strength and power. Resting your body is essential by getting plenty of sleep and staying hydrated.

Fitness Tips These Fitness Coaches Always Give Their Clients

1. Identify your “why,” “what,” and “how” so you can be clear about your goals (you can even write these down)

“The first step is truly taking the time to figure out your why, what, and how. The questions I ask my clients are: Why are you adding fitness and wellness into your life now? In what ways will your life be different when you have fitness in your life on a regular basis? And how are you going to include fitness into your lifestyle today, and this week? Once you know the why, what, and how, the mindset is ‘just do it.’ Nike got it right with that one.”

2. Try starting with three 30-minute workouts a week to pace yourself

“If you are just starting a new workout program, don’t overcommit or over-perform! Try starting with three days a week, and schedule it into your week like a doctor’s appointment. No need to take a full class—stay for 30 minutes, or try a short private training session or an at-home workout. You want to make sure you are working yourself into shape safely and effectively. Then, after week four, try adding another 30 minutes every other week. You’ll be surprised how empowered you’ll feel!”

3. Prioritize consistency over intensity

“You are better off doing a 45-minute, moderate-intensity strength circuit three times per week than to do a two-hour, high-intensity workout six times a week, and then burning out in three weeks because it’s not sustainable. And remember that it takes time and consistency to build your body, but one workout can put you in a better mood. You leave it all in the gym: the annoying boss, the argument with your best friend, being stuck in traffic… It’s like you get to press reset.”

4. Find other active people to support your efforts

“Motivation is what gets you started, but making things a habit is how you keep the longevity of an active lifestyle. Having friends, family, and coworkers that exercise with you can help you to persevere. Try to find workout buddies to do healthy things together. Also, what you do outside the gym will have a big influence on the workouts you do inside the gym—making positive changes in your nutrition, hydration, sleep, and stress levels will create big results.” 

5. Do workouts you actually like — you’re more likely to stick with it

“My best advice for beginners is to find something you enjoy and focus on small, incremental progress each day. I believe that we get the best results from consistency, and in order to be consistent we need to enjoy the journey. That’s why I like to focus on small daily goals—small goals completed each day make for big progress over time and give us a sense of accomplishment daily.” 

6. Invest in a great pair of shoes

“Wearing old, broken-down shoes can negatively impact your joints and ligaments, especially if you’re running, sprinting, or doing plyometrics. So selecting the correct shoes for your workout is important: For instance, tennis shoes are built for lateral movements. If you’re lifting weights, you will want a harder, flatter bottom of your shoe so you feel more connected to the floor. And if you are a runner, most specialty running stores will give you a stride assessment to help decide what shoes are best for your arch, heel strike, and foot width. Invest in the shoe that can be as diverse as possible in the gym and outside, but gives you the correct support your foot needs.” 

7. To avoid burnout and injury, start slow and take breaks during your workouts

“Start slow, set realistic goals, be gentle with your body and take breaks as often as necessary. Making the commitment to begin a new workout is hard enough, so if you’re not honest about your physical fitness level and go too hard, you’re setting yourself up to potentially burn out or get injured, and that’s so far from the intended goal.” 

8. Accept that you’ll have setbacks, and that’s OK

“Be patient with yourself—you will have setbacks, and every day will not be perfect. The key is to be persistent and keep moving forward. The only thing constant in life is change, so we should be prepared to make changes to be the best version of ourselves.” 

9. Think of working out as an act of self-care

“I always want my new clients to know that the journey they’re about to embark upon tends to be the road less traveled. Those mental battles are hardest to deal with in the beginning stages so stay humble, stay committed, and know that the benefits far outweigh any difficulties. Wake up every day and remind yourself that self-care in all forms is the best decision you can make.” 

10. Don’t skip your warm-up and cool down

“Warm-up before starting your routine—a proper warm-up [with dynamic stretching] is important to get the body ready for injury-free movement. Take time to stretch after your workout, and take rest days. There’s plenty of time to build and progress. My other tips: Go into your new venture with a fun, can-do mentality. Set goals and reward yourself upon meeting them, like a massage, new gear, or a weekend away. Stay hydrated, and get yourself on a good nutrition plan—you need proper fuel in your body to succeed.”

11. Master fundamental movements like squats and lunges before getting fancy

“Keep it basic, and don’t over-complicate your workouts. Too often people skip foundational exercises for workouts that look cool and are trendy. Mastering the basics truly takes time, so don’t rush through. A progressive basic workout program including exercises like squats, rows, lunges, and chest presses totally work and get great results.” 

12. Don’t compare yourself to people who are further along in their fitness journey

“Be willing to look silly and make mistakes without judging yourself. Keep trying, and with every workout you’ll get better and better. Remember, the goal is progress, not perfection. And in a group environment, don’t compare yourself to anyone else in the room. While others may move seamlessly and appear to have superhuman strength, remember that they were once beginners too. Don’t compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter eleven.” 

13. Know that results don’t happen right away, and that’s OK

“People come in with the expectation of long-term results happening fast, but people should look at fitness as a big picture and making exercise a part of their life routine, as opposed to an acute, momentary mindset. Also remember that working out is multi-faceted, and it’s the combination of healthy eating and training together that creates the best results.” 

14. Tune into that post-workout high, and enjoy it

“Focus on the feels. Most fitness goals are long-term projects, but the one exception to this is how we feel, which can immediately and profoundly improve after a single workout. If you’re just starting out, tune into the positive vibes you feel after exercise and let that be your reward. Remember, even as a newbie, you’re only one workout away from a good mood.” 

15. If you’re into numbers and stats, try wearing a heart-rate monitor to see how your body’s working in real-time

“I tell someone starting out to wear a heart rate monitor so they know how their body is responding to the physical stress of training. Workouts are much more fun if they make sense. That goes along with my motto: train smarter, not harder.” Quick note: A heart rate monitor is a device you wear that tells you your heart’s beats per minute, so you can check it in real-time during your workout. This gives you objective information about how hard your body is actually working, regardless of how hard you feel like you’re working, which is known as your rate of perceived exertion. How hard a workout feels can be influenced by factors like how much enjoy it, the temperature and humidity of the room you’re in, and more—but how you feel isn’t always entirely representative of how hard your body’s actually working.  

16. Set athletic goals, like doing push-ups on your toes instead of your knees or running a certain distance

“Set something other than an aesthetic goal. This can be a certain amount of weight you want to try to squat with, a distance you want to run, or maybe you just want to be able to do a push-up on your toes [instead of your knees]. The issue with aesthetic goals is that they’re fleeting, and they won’t keep you engaged enough to continue working during those tough times when you want to quit. There’s no better feeling than accomplishing that goal. Trust me—that’s how I got into fitness!” 

17. Nix excuses by laying out your workout clothes, signing up for workouts, and meal prepping fueling foods

“Make it easy for yourself not to find excuses. Lay your clothes out the night before or pack your bag. Sign up for classes or a trainer at the beginning of the week and put it in your calendar. Order your meals or meal prep or plan out your meals for the week, and make a list of go-to spots that have healthy food near your work, home, and gym. You could also sign up for a race—this gives you a specific training time frame. I know I can commit to things when there is a clear start and end date. It forces me to put in my best effort, and once I cross that finish line, I am overjoyed I accomplished it and ready for another challenge.” 

18. Practice gratitude for what your body can do right now (no matter what your future goals are)

“Be grateful for where you are, right now, and have a clear picture of where you’d like to be. From there, take on a simple plan that aligns with your goals and doesn’t bore you to death… and tackle it one step at a time. And remember to enjoy the process. Getting too caught up in where you want to be can rob you of your joy, today. And that just sucks. Happiness isn’t something that should be reserved for some imagined future. Your body is an absolutely amazing thing. Take a few moments, every day, to appreciate that. Believe or not, that simple gratitude can help you create the strongest body of your life.”

How to crush your fitness goals

1. Assess your fitness level

You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility, and body composition, consider recording:

  • Your pulse rate before and immediately after walking 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)
  • How long it takes to walk 1 mile, or how long it takes to run 1.5 miles (2.41 kilometers)
  • How many standard or modified pushups you can do at a time
  • How far you can reach forward while seated on the floor with your legs in front of you
  • Your waist circumference, just above your hipbones
  • Your body mass index

2. Design your fitness program

It’s easy to say that you’ll exercise every day. But you’ll need a plan. As you design your fitness program, keep these points in mind:

  • Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, such as preparing for a marathon? Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress and stay motivated.
  • Create a balanced routine. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefits.But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefits.Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
  • Start low and progress slowly. If you’re just beginning to exercise, start cautiously and progress slowly. If you have an injury or a medical condition, consult your doctor or an exercise therapist for help designing a fitness program that gradually improves your range of motion, strength and endurance.
  • Build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. Plan to watch your favorite show while walking on the treadmill, read while riding a stationary bike, or take a break to go on a walk at work.
  • Plan to include different activities. Different activities (cross-training) can keep exercise boredom at bay. Cross-training using low-impact forms of activity, such as biking or water exercise, also reduces your chances of injuring or overusing one specific muscle or joint. Plan to alternate among activities that emphasize different parts of your body, such as walking, swimming and strength training.
  • Try high-interval intensity training. In high-interval intensity training, you perform short bursts of high-intensity activity separated by recovery periods of low-intensity activity.
  • Allow time for recovery. Many people start exercising with frenzied zeal — working out too long or too intensely — and give up when their muscles and joints become sore or injured. Plan time between sessions for your body to rest and recover.
  • Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track.

3. Assemble your equipment

You’ll probably start with athletic shoes. Be sure to pick shoes designed for the activity you have in mind. For example, running shoes are lighter in weight than cross-training shoes, which are more supportive.

If you’re planning to invest in exercise equipment, choose something that’s practical, enjoyable and easy to use. You may want to try out certain types of equipment at a fitness center before investing in your own equipment.

You might consider using fitness apps for smart devices or other activity tracking devices, such as ones that can track your distance, track calories burned or monitor your heart rate.

4. Get started

Now you’re ready for action. As you begin your fitness program, keep these tips in mind:

  • Start slowly and build up gradually. Give yourself plenty of time to warm up and cool down with easy walking or gentle stretching. Then speed up to a pace you can continue for five to 10 minutes without getting overly tired. As your stamina improves, gradually increase the amount of time you exercise. Work your way up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
  • Break things up if you have to. You don’t have to do all your exercise at one time, so you can weave in activity throughout your day. Shorter but more-frequent sessions have aerobic benefits, too. Exercising in short sessions a few times a day may fit into your schedule better than a single 30-minute session. Any amount of activity is better than none at all.
  • Be creative. Maybe your workout routine includes various activities, such as walking, bicycling or rowing. But don’t stop there. Take a weekend hike with your family or spend an evening ballroom dancing. Find activities you enjoy to add to your fitness routine.
  • Listen to your body. If you feel pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea, take a break. You may be pushing yourself too hard.
  • Be flexible. If you’re not feeling good, give yourself permission to take a day or two off.

5. Monitor your progress

Retake your personal fitness assessment six weeks after you start your program and then again every few months. You may notice that you need to increase the amount of time you exercise in order to continue improving. Or you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you’re exercising just the right amount to meet your fitness goals.

If you lose motivation, set new goals or try a new activity. Exercising with a friend or taking a class at a fitness center may help, too.

Starting an exercise program is an important decision. But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. By planning carefully and pacing yourself, you can establish a healthy habit that lasts a lifetime.

Pearls Of Wisdom To Help You Train Better, Smarter And More Effectively

1. There are no quick fixes, shortcuts or magic pills when it comes to weight loss, health or fitness

Sorry to burst your bubble right off the bat, but it’s true. You can certainly speed up the process, avoid mistakes and maximise your efforts with tried and tested methods, but the key words here are your efforts. Working hard and being disciplined is a prerequisite. The trick is knowing and putting into practice the advice and methods that are more effective than others, so you’re able to maximise your time.

2. The scales are not a good way to track fat loss

Unless you have over 10-15kg to lose, the scales aren’t going to give you a great deal of useful feedback. The issue with scale weight is it doesn’t distinguish between muscle and fat, and most people know by now that increasing muscle will help you lose body fat and make you look better. Losing muscle is bad, increasing muscle is good, but the scales won’t tell you that!

3. Soreness is OK, but it’s not a marker of a good workout

Just because you aren’t sore the next day, don’t think that you didn’t train effectively. Some people tend to get quite sore and some don’t, it’s quite an individual thing based on your body’s own inflammatory response to training.

4. Stacking fitness on top of dysfunction will only lead to injury or plateau

This fact is greatly overlooked in much of the fitness industry. While movement quality and training technique isn’t ‘the sexy stuff’ which is going to motivate you and make for an inspirational marketing campaign, it’s often the difference between progress and results or spinning your wheels and getting nowhere. Even worse, training with poor technique and lead to acute or long-term chronic injury.

5. Attitude is the number one thing when it comes to your results

If you have a positive, can-do attitude with a genuine desire to improve and progress – you WILL get results. A bad attitude will hold you back significantly. There is a direct correlation between attitude and success, regardless of genetics and natural abilities.

6. Don’t buy into the idea that just getting older will lead to a decline in your physical performance

None of us are going to live forever, but the more time you spend keeping unhealthy habits, the worse you’ll get over time. The cause is NOT your age, but the amount of time spent living a lifestyle which is detrimental to your body.Is smoking for 10 years worse than smoking for 5 years? Is banging your head against a brick wall for 10 minutes worse for you than doing it for 5 minutes? Of course the answer is yes, and it has nothing to do with being older.

7. Exercise is just like brushing your teeth

No one gets excited about brushing teeth, but you know it needs to be done, and you just do it. And you wouldn’t clean your teeth five times one week and only once the next. By the same token, exercise shouldn’t happen in just 8-week or 12-week blocks, it should be a normal part of your routine.

8. There are many variables that have contributed to your current level of health and fitness

Some people are genetically predisposed to being leaner, stronger and fitter. Some people started exercising later on in life so have less training experience and are playing ‘catch up’. Some people grew up eating poorly, and are now trying to 

. Exercise is just like brushing your teeth

No one gets excited about brushing teeth, but you know it needs to be done, and you just do it. And you wouldn’t clean your teeth five times one week and only once the next. By the same token, exercise shouldn’t happen in just 8-week or 12-week blocks, it should be a normal part of your routine.

8. There are many variables that have contributed to your current level of health and fitness

Some people are genetically predisposed to being leaner, stronger and fitter. Some people started exercising later on in life so have less training experience and are playing ‘catch up’. Some people grew up eating poorly, and are now trying to change deeply ingrained habits and reverse the consequences. Some people just need to work harder than others to get the results they want. We are all different. It’s important to understand where you are along the spectrum and where you want to be, and match your dietary efforts and exercise output accordingly.

9. Recovery from exercise is just as important as the workout itself

A healthy post workout meal, 7-9 hours of sleep, stress reduction, and some downtime are essential to a balanced program and optimal results. You don’t get results from the workout; you get results by recovering from the workout.

10. You are what you eat, eats

What you eat (or don’t eat) might have the single biggest impact on your health and lay the framework for your physical fitness and body composition potential.But also think about the quality of the food you eat. If it’s a fruit or vegetable, how was it grown? If it’s an animal, how was it raised? Did it live in a cage or roam free? Was it given a natural grass fed diet or an unnatural grain fed diet? Was it pumped full of hormones and antibiotics? Your food is only as good as the health of the plant or animal it came from. You are what you eat, eats.

11. If you go looking for an excuse, you’ll always find one

But just remember than somewhere in the world there is someone else, in worse circumstances than you, still reaching their goals.

12. Results don’t happen in a linear fashion

Your body doesn’t work like that. Sometimes you just have to embrace the grind and deal with the monotony of eating well and training and have faith in the process. Don’t expect consistent progress every week. Sometimes things just have to come together to hit a critical mass or a tipping point and, all of a sudden, you’ll notice a big increase in fat loss, or a breakthrough in strength. Embrace the grind.

13. There are plenty of ways to improve your diet – not a one-size-fits-all approach

Not everyone has to follow the same eating plan as long as the fundamental principles stay the same – eat natural whole foods, remove processed foods, provide your body with sufficient nutrients to maintain health, fitness, muscle and strength, and create an energy or calorie deficit to lose unwanted body fat.

14. What you look like now, and how fit and capable you are, is largely the result of how you eat and move every single day

This will also be the case in one, five, or 10 years from now. 
How do you currently eat and move every day? And what adjustments can you make to help you reach your health and fitness goals?