Advice And Tips To Help You Get Fit And Healthy

Obesity has truly become an epidemic. Thanks to the increasingly sedentary nature of modern, high-tech lifestyles and the prevalence of fast food joints and unhealthy food, the average person has an incredibly poor level of fitness. The good news is that it is never too late to improve your health and fitness and get into great shape.

If you are a hundred pounds overweight and have never worked out a day in your life, it does not matter. The greatest, most difficult journey, no matter how long, begins with a single step. Take that step today and read this article. The fitness tips and advice that you learn, if applied correctly, will allow you to reach a high level of fitness in a relatively short period of time. Read on to learn more.

First things first, before starting any fitness program it is crucial that you develop the proper mind set. You must believe in yourself and know that you can achieve your goals. If you start a fitness regimen expecting to fail, then you will. It is also important that you do not make excuses for yourself. Do not blame your poor fitness on genetics. You are in total control of your fitness and can achieve any fitness goal that you set for yourself.

Perform regular aerobic exercise. Cardiovascular aerobic exercise, performed four or five times per week will do wonders for the health of your heart and lungs. You will also burn lots of calories and lose weight. Try to find an aerobic exercise that you enjoy. Skating, hiking, bicycling, swimming, tennis, dancing, team sports and martial arts all offer absolutely fantastic aerobic workouts.

If you are new to exercise, start off slow. Simply going for daily walks will do wonders for your health and fitness. As your fitness level improves, you can gradually increase the length or your walks. When walking becomes super-easy, you can move on to more difficult forms of aerobic exercise.

Start lifting weights. Strength training is a great way to improve your health and fitness. Remember, lifting weights is not just for building huge showy muscles. It tones your body, speeds up your metabolism and helps to prevent injuries. Concentrate mainly on performing basic compound exercises such as squats and presses. Use absolute perfect exercise form and technique. Use only your muscles to complete lifts, do not cheat and use momentum. This will only cause injury.

Eat healthy. No fitness regimen will be effective if you do not follow a healthy, well-balanced diet. Eat lost of fruits and veggies. Get your protein from lean sources such as egg whites, chicken breasts and skim milk, and eat as little saturated fat as possible. Although saturated and trans fats are very bad for you, the unsaturated fats found in fatty fish, nuts and extra-virgin olive oil actually are good for you, so do not eliminate all fat from your diet.

The exercise and diet tips contained in this article, if applied correctly, will enable you to develop a high level of physical fitness in a relatively short period of time. Believe in yourself and never give up. Good luck!