When most of us are starting on a new fitness routine we look towards new methods or some amazing new gadget to help us get that perfect body. Although new is often good, new does not always equate better. Sure there may be a new piece of equipment that will help flatten our belly or give you perfect 6 pack abs but more-than-likely it will become just another piece of furniture collecting dust. So instead of looking for new ways it makes more sense to use the tried and true, you know the ways that we know work and that have been proven to give results.

This article will give you five of the top fitness tips that will

start you on your way to a healthier and fitter you.

Allot a specific time in your schedule for exercise. It’s sometimes easy to say that we will exercise one hour a day every day but when it comes down to the reality of daily life there will always be some sort of a distraction. You either have to run to the store after work to pick up something or your just too tired and want to sit and watch television. If you mark down in your daily planner a particular time frame that you actually schedule in for exercise it will be harder for you to have an excuse not to

hit gym or jogging trail. Highlight this time and plan all other activities around it. Just pretend that this hour or half hour doesn’t even exist. This is your time and no matter what, you will keep this appointment.

Understand the importance of stretching. I know many people that believe that stretching just wastes five minutes of of their exercise time, so they skip the warm up and cool down. Sure everything seems fine until one day they pull a muscle or have an injury, then they are out of commission for a few days or even sometimes a few weeks. This then sets them back or worse, gets them out

of their exercise routine entirely. Before exerting itself, your body needs to gently bend and stretch it’s muscles so that it can accommodate the extra pressure put on it while you exercise. It’s almost like warming up a car before going out on a cold snowy day. If you can take time to warm up your vehicle, take time to warm up your muscles.

Add weight training into your exercise routine. I am not talking about learning how to lift 100 pounds, but slowly adding resistance either by the use of resistance bands or your own body weight. Resistance bands are great, they are inexpensive, you can find them in

almost any sporting goods department, easy to travel with and you can get them in all levels of resistance. I know that many women fear bulking up, but not only is a womans’ body not genetically built to easy build muscle but the resistance from bands is light enough so that she can firm up muscles but won’t build them up.

Shake up your training routine. Your body is wonderful at adapting to situations and this is usually a good thing but when it comes to exercise it’s not. You want to make sure that your muscles don’t get accustomed to any one particular type of exercise, so you want to

change your exercise routine every 10-12 weeks. If your stepping now, in 10 weeks or so start walking or jogging, on the other hand if you are walking every day sign up for a stepping or spinning class. Not only will this help your body get in shape better but there is also less chance of exercise boredom.

Work your core. When most people think of their core they automatically think of just their ab muscles. However, the core is your entire mid-section, yes it does include the abs but it also includes your back and your sides. Sign up for a pilates class or if you prefer to

workout at home grab a swiss ball and start working your core. This will not only start thinning your middle and help get rid of love handles, but will also help strengthen your back.

As you can see you don’t to go to the gym for hours every day or get involved in the latest fitness craze to stay in shape. Just a bit of planning and “old sage” exert advise will go a long way into getting you a fitter you.

Patricia is a health focused content author, today sharing with you [http://www.squidoo.com/weightloss-dieting-fitness/]Top Fitness Tips