Exercise

     Exercise the second most dreaded word in the English language, but the benefits of exercising is so great that its also one of the best words in the English language.  Why does exercise always get linked with diet?  Mainly because it helps you reach your goals of losing fat and looking great.  Think of your body as an engine, that engine burns up the fuel (calories), now you have the choice of making your body into an efficient engine that burns off lots of calories or the couch potato variety of engine.  Muscle tissue burns up 18 times more then fat on your body.  So, you add muscle, you boost your metabolism, you make your body engine work more efficiently.  So, Muscle = Metabolic boost = More efficient use of calories.  Make exercising a part of your daily life and you will see so many changes in your body and what you'll be able to eat that you'll be amazed.

Now that we have a basic idea of why exercising is so good we need to get you motivated and remove those little excuses for not exercising.  Yes, we've all used the excuse, "I'm too busy to work out" or "I don't have the equipment to workout."  That's all well and good, but in the end it is still just an excuse for not working out.  So, here are a few tips to get you on your road to a healthier you.

     1.  Make time for working out.  Just as everything in life you can always make time for exercising.  If you can make time to see your favorite TV show every night, guess what you can make time for your workout.   You could get up earlier to exercise or just work out as you watch tv...but you have to set aside time every day for this activity because it is so important.

     2.  Make sure that working out is fun.  Most people think that working out always involves cumbersome exercise machines or gyms, well, that's just not the case.  Walking, biking, jumping rope, even gardening can be a workout.  Also when you chose a workout routine, make sure you include variety of activities so you don't get bored doing the same thing day in and day out.

     3.  Include other people...who said that working out has to be an individual activity.  Go for a walk with a friend or a family member, go for a bike ride with your significant other, there is no rule that you have to be tortured, umm, I mean exercise alone.  Make it fun and include the people you care about.

     4.  Start slowly...be aware that you won't be buff from one really intense workout.  You need to exercise 3-5 times a week for at least 30 minutes.  If you start out too hard on yourself, you'll only end up stopping when you wake up the next morning with sore muscles.  Build slowly, if you've been very sedentary you will need to gradually build up to a healthy body...it doesn't come overnight!

     5.  Strength training.  Most women stay away from strength training because they fear they'll develop large manly muscles.  This is just not the case, women lack the hormones to develop muscle like men.  However, strength training will do wonders for the body, it increases muscle mass faster then any other type workout.  More muscle means more fat burning potential.  Also, its been proven that if women lift ways they reduce their chance of osteoporosis.  Get yourself some light dumbbells and start lifting.

     6.  STICK WITH IT!  That's the most important thing about an exercise routine, once you start, keep going, don't stop, and soon you'll find that exercising makes you feel wonderful.  You burn up calories, you get a nice lean looking body, and you're energy level will go through the roof.

Now that I've given some tips on getting started with exercising, let me show you a chart of activities and how many calories they burn off: