You’ve finally begun an exercise program and you’ve been working really hard at it. You want to make sure you are getting the best results for all of your hard work but you aren’t really sure if it will pay off or not. What you need are some exercise tips. Sometimes, just reading tips that others use will increase your focus on your fitness goals. Try them and see—they just may work for you too.

1. Be consistent. Whatever exercise program you choose, stick to it. Exercise at least six days a week. Don’t allow excuses to get in the way of your fitness regime. Don’t give up.

2. Don’t forget to stretch. Stretching is so important when it comes to exercise. By allowing your muscles time to flex and adjust, you actually protect your muscles from strain, you ligaments from sprain and your joints from injury.

3. Avoid injury. Stretching before and after exercise will help you to avoid injury. Also, be careful of adding weights to your workout and add them gradually. Too much weight will overwork your muscles and can lead to injury. Staying free from injury will give you a much better work out and ensure you will be healthy enough to continue exercising.

4. Do aerobics three times a week. Make sure the routine you choose incorporates aerobics as part of the exercise program. Walking, running, jogging, cycling, skating, swimming, dancing or sports should be a regular part of your fitness workout. These aerobic activities raise the heart rate and help your heart and lungs to become stronger.

5. Add strength-training exercises to your workout. Every exercise program should include three days of strength training or resistance training exercises. These movements help to build and strengthen your muscles. The added bonus is what these exercises do for your appearance.

6. Incorporate the Pilates’ principles of engaging your core muscles. Engaging the core means to draw your belly button into your spine, which contracts the transverse abdominals. The trans abs are the muscles that help to strengthen your back and give you a tighter, slimmer waist.
7. Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. You should engage in physical activity as described in 4 and 5 above. One day doing aerobics and the next day strength training.

These exercises performed alternately will help to tone, shape, strengthen and sculpt your beautiful body.

8. Vary your exercise routine. Mix up your work outs for best results. If you normally walk on a treadmill and use the same old program, change it up and select the trailblazer mode for a surprise treadmill hike up and down inclines, speeding up and slowing down. Skip the gym one day and go play golf or tennis. Tennis burns about 750 calories in an hour.

9. Find an exercise buddy. This can be good and bad. An exercise buddy can be a real benefit when you are just getting started and finding your way around the gym or if you need a neighbor to power walk with you. The downside is if you depend on the buddy and won’t exercise without them. You have to be in charge of your fitness program. Don’t let anything or anyone sabotage your efforts.

10. Keep a fitness journal. Big results and much success can be attributed to keeping a fitness journal. You know I have spoken about it several times and thoroughly believe in its ability to help you transform your life.

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World-class cyclist “Jonny G” created the aerobic activity referred to as Spinning. Goldberg as a convenient and quick way to train for races. In 1989, he and John Baudhuin opened the first spinning center in Santa Monica, California and then developed a program to certify other spinning instructors.

Spinning is an aerobic exercise that takes place on a specially designed stationary bicycle called a spinning bike. Performed as a class, you pedal while motivating music plays and the instructor talks you through a visualization of an outdoor cycling workout. “You’re going up a long hill now, you can’t see the top yet…” During the class you adjust your pace. Emulating hill climbing and traveling down hill, you are sometimes pedaling as fast as you can, other times cranking up the tension and pedaling slowly from a standing position. This exercise helps you to focus inward and to work on your mind and your body.

Spinning burns a great many calories. Usually about 450 calories are burned in 45 minutes, plus spinning offers an awesome aerobic workout that gets your heart pumping fast. It also tones your quadriceps (front thigh muscles) and outer thigh muscles. Spinning doesn’t involve a lot of coordination making it easier to concentrate on your form than in other types of aerobic classes. Even though you follow the instructions from the spinning teacher, you are in control when it comes to your pace. You can finish a spin class, regardless of your fitness level, simply by adjusting your pace or the tension knob on the bike.

Your confidence will soar as you complete class after class. As I said this exercise works on the mind as well as the body. It’s a great way to keep your workout fun and exciting, you never know what is going to happen in the class, uphill, downhill, fast or slow, it will keep you in shape for all the absolutely wonderful things in life that are out there to enjoy.

How long have you been spinning?  Share your feedback in the comment space below:

How does your butt look? It’s hard to see it since it’s located on the backside of our bodies but it’s one of the parts of our body that we look at the most. I mean there’s nothing like a great looking butt in a pair of jeans. The way that denim cups the cheeks of a well-toned and formed rear is a sexy image indeed.

Nobody wants a flat butt, there’s no excitement to a derriere that looks like part of your back. But how do you work the muscles that give you a great looking butt? I’ve outlined some exercises that focus on the gluteus maximus and all his little friends. Concentrate on these moves to boost your booty for a fine looking bottom.

Squats are one of the best exercises you can do for your hips, butt and thighs.

Lunges are a challenging exercise because they work so many muscles at the same time. On the front leg, you’ll work the glutes and hamstrings and, on the back leg, you’ll work the quads and calves. What’s nice about lunges is that there is a variety to choose from such as:

Side to side lunges
Reverse lunges
Front lunges

The Step-up works by simply placing one foot on a step or platform and pushing through the heel onto the step. This is an excellent exercise for the glutes, but you will want to make sure your knee is bent to 90 degrees or less to keep it safe.

The Hip Extension is an exercise that targets the largest muscle in the body…the gluteus maximus. For this move, you can hold a dumbbell behind your knee or use ankle weights for added intensity.

But strength-training exercises aren’t the only way to get a pretty fanny. Fun and exciting activities will also strengthen your muscles in your backside and give you a beneficial cardio workout at the same time.

Hiking is great for working the glutes. Lunges help to strengthen your muscles so that hiking is much easier and you have less chance of injury to your back or knees.

Bike riding is great for your heart and targets the muscles in your hips, butt and thighs. Spinning will work the same muscle groups.

Walking is easy and you can do it anywhere without having to spend money on equipment. You can vary your intensity and change your path to add interest.

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The month of May is observed as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Organizations and individuals have joined in the “fitness fun” to promote awareness of the value of physical activity and how it relates to happier, healthier and more productive lives. To encourage this important mission, the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports reached out to both public and private organizations to form the Presidential Fitness Partners in May.

Fitness4Her has joined the fun and is encouraging women to make a Pledge to enjoy a healthier lifestyle through physical fitness. Exercise is a vital part of a successful fitness program and it helps women to build muscle and burn fat. Physical activity strengthens the heart and offers a wealth of health benefits that last a lifetime.

May Is The Month To Begin
With everything to gain and nothing to lose, now is the time to get serious about your health and your body. Why not join the council’s efforts this month and make a commitment to physical activity and sports? You can take the first step to fitness by making a pledge for health to change your life today.

Over 100,000 people, just like you have posted a pledge and we are just waiting for you to join in. Experience the reality of other’s testimonials as you read their inspirational stories. Make your pledge and watch the interactive map when your pledge pops up from your state. It’s fun but best of all; it’s a wonderful way to improve your life while inspiring others to make healthy changes too.

Already Fit?
If you are one of those women who already know the joy of fitness, you can still make a pledge today. Motivate others with helpful tips about exercise and activities that have worked for you. Make a pledge to take your fitness routine to the next level. Share your success story and encourage others. Spread the word and you can spread the inspiration. Make your health pledge now!

Dancing isn’t just fun thing to do when you’re young. Dancing is a great exercise that should be part of a healthy lifestyle. For instance, you can burn as many calories belly-dancing as you can walking, swimming or riding a bike. As with any physical activity, however, the weight-loss benefits of any sort of dancing depends on the frequency and length of your workouts and your exertion level as well as your weight and physical condition.

You’re practicing good health and fitness when you move to the music. If weight loss is a priority, choose a form of dancing that keeps you moving continuously. Simply put: the more you move, the more calories you’ll burn.

Dancing burns calories, boosts energy, improves circulation and tones muscle. A 120-pound woman can burn about 120 calories doing 30 minutes of moderate social dancing. Dancing helps to increase strength, endurance and flexibility. But did you know that dancing can also relieve tension and stress, improve your mood and boost your creativity.

Magical and transforming, dancing can breathe new life into a weary soul and make your spirit soar. Dancing can inspire new romances or rekindle old ones. Dancing puts you in touch with your body and builds your self-esteem.

Dancing can help keep your body, including your brain, healthy as you age. Exercise increases the level of brain chemicals that encourage nerve cells to grow. Dances that require you to remember dance steps help boost brainpower by improving memory skills.

Whether it’s ballet or ballroom, clogging or jazz, salsa or samba, dance is great for helping women and men of all ages and fitness levels stay in shape. There’s even chair dancing for people with physical limitations.

Indulge yourself in this most primal form of creative release. It’s a fun and exciting way to stay in shape that’s why it’s the darling of exercise. Go on, shake that booty!

How do you feel when you dance?  Share in the comment space below: