STRENGTHEN AND TONE YOUR BODY

STRENGTHEN AND TONE YOUR BODY

You’ve made your resolutions. You’ve gotten your doctor’s go-ahead. You’ve even had a fitness assessment done. Now what? You only have 24 hours a day, and getting in shape probably isn’t the only aspect of your life. Sorting out different ways to gain fitness—both upping your cardio condition and getting stronger—can be daunting.
There are many options. None is “better” or “worse” than the others. They all help some people to get fit and healthy. The only thing that doesn’t work is a broken resolution. Remember, procrastination is not an exercise
The chapters that follow highlight many exercise programs to help you select what’s right for you. The most important aspects of getting fit are to balance your exercise program between aerobic and strength training and to keep at it consistently until you see results. If something sounds good to you, but it doesn’t feel right after you’ve given it a fair chance, you can try something else. Or if you start gradually—as you should—and outgrow your initial regime, you can switch to a different program.
Whatever you select, remember that a workout is work. You have to put effort into getting fit in order to be fit—and to stay fit. “No pain, no gain” was once a popular motivational phrase, and some people still use it. More recent thinking, however,believes that pain needn’t be part of any program. The sense of extending your physical horizons, putting in real effort, and stretching your limits is still what makes a workout work.
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”