Exercise daily for at least an hour. You do not have to kill yourself from running or jogging, but you should have some sort of moderate physical activity in your everyday life. A walk at a brisk pace for 60 minutes is enough to help shed those extra pounds.

Muscles aching after a high intensity workout? That just means your body is changing for the better. Be sure to stay hydrated, stretch, and eat foods with a decent amount of protein after each workout. The protein will help keep your muscles, not fat, rebuilding.

Mixing up your exercise routine, and adding in a few high-intensity workouts, can boost your metabolism and help you burn fat.

Lifting weights is important for building and retaining muscle. Higher amounts of muscle will result in a higher metabolism.

Sitting for a long time burns few calories and is bad for your health. Try to stand up regularly or invest in a standing desk. In fact, compared to sitting, an afternoon of standing up at work can burn an extra 174 calories.

Dragging your feet trying to get to the gym? Find a workout buddy. Having someone to work out with can make hitting the gym less intimidating and can make exercise more fun for both of you.

Address the what, why and how of your fitness journey. Once you’ve determined what your clear goals are, write them down so you can keep track of how you’re progressing and stay motivated.

Easing into establishing a workout routine is critical to avoiding injury and burnout. Allow yourself breaks during workouts if you find yourself reaching your limit. Rest days are essential to your fitness transformation, so you don’t need to feel guilty for not working out every day.

If you jump into a high-intensity workout routine as a beginner, you’re not creating a sustainable habit. You’re much more likely to burn out and drop the habit altogether if you ramp things up too quickly. You’ll still get the benefits of exercise with moderate-intensity workouts.

Find the types of exercise you enjoy and stick with them- focusing on making progress every day. Sticking to a regular schedule during your fitness transformation will be much easier when you enjoy the journey.

If you feel like the spotlight is on you while you’re at the gym, keep in mind that everyone else is probably feeling the same way! Most gym members are very supportive of one another- at every stage of the fitness journey. Everyone is working with the same goal in mind — to get fit.

If you’re in the earliest stages of your fitness transformation, try not to compare yourself to people who have had a consistent workout routine for five years. That comparison isn’t fair to you. Instead, look at those people as inspiration. If they can do it, so can you.

Your body can do amazing things right now, today. When you take the time to appreciate your body, you’ll feel better about yourself, and this positive mindset will help you create the strongest body you’ve ever had.

It’s the oldest quick fitness fix in the book: take the stairs not the escalator, park further away and walk. Any activity is good activity, and will only encourage you to do more. 

Identify your deeper reason to get in shape 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.

Whether you fully embrace yoga or Pilates or just make time for some short stretching sessions every few days, mobility work is a vital part of maintaining your long-term health. It will help you perform better and avoid injuries in your main activity, as well as combating the posture issues that can arise from long days spent sitting at a desk.

The physical benefits of being active are obvious, but it’s only once you start exercising regularly that it also becomes clear how much of a boost it can provide to your mental health. Try to disconnect from the stresses you might have in your work and home life, and pay attention to your workout rather than let your mind flit to the past or future. 

The first time you try an exercise it’s very hard, but at least it’s something new and different. The second time the novelty is gone, and it’s still hard, leading to the temptation to quit. Try it at least once more, as the third time is often the charm – when a sport or workout starts to become as enjoyable as it is tough.

This is a simple mental trick that might make resistance workouts a little easier. Counting down the reps means by the time it’s really hurting you’re at the 3,2,1 stage, which feels closer to the end than 8,9,10 or whatever target you’re going for.

Nothing builds motivation as efficiently as seeing signs of improvement, so make sure you keep some kind of record of your activity. It can be as simple as noting your record five-rep max or fastest 5K time, using either one of the many excellent fitness apps available or old-fashioned pen and paper.

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 and fitness on track.

Sure, it can be a pain to drag yourself out of bed for a morning workout. But opting for a 45-minute a.m. sweat session could cause a metabolic spike, helping your body continue to burn an additional 190 calories throughout the day.