10 Workout Secrets: Expert Exercise Tips | Health & Fitness

5. Make Your Plan Fit Your Life

Too busy to get to the gym? Tennis star Martina Navratilova, health and fitness ambassador for the AARP, knows a thing or two about being busy and staying fit.

Make your plan fit your life, she advises in an article on the AARP web site. ?You don?t need fancy exercise gear and gyms to get fit.?

If you?ve got floor space, try simple floor exercises to target areas such as the hips and buttocks, legs and thighs, and chest and arms (like push-ups, squats, and lunges). Aim for 10-12 repetitions of each exercise, adding more reps and intensity as you build strength.

6. Be Happy

Be sure to pick an activity you actually enjoy doing, suggests Los Angeles celebrity trainer Sebastien Lagree.

?If you hate weights, don?t go to the gym. You can?lose weight?and get in shape with any type of training or activity,? he says.

And choose something that is convenient. Rock climbing may be a great workout, but if you live in a city, it?s not something you?ll be doing every day.

7. Watch the Clock

Your body clock, that is. Try to work out at the time you have the most energy, suggests Jason Theodosakis, MD, assistant professor and exercise physiologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. If you?re a morning person, schedule your fitness activities early in the day; if you perk up as the day goes along, plan your activities in the afternoon or evening.

?Working out while you have the most energy will yield the best results,? says Theodosakis.

8. Call In the Pros

Especially if you?re first getting started, Theodosakis suggests having a professional assessment to determine what types of exercise you need most.

?For some people, attention to flexibility, or balance and agility, may be more important than resistance training or aerobics,? he says. ?By getting a professional assessment, you can determine your weakest links and focus on them. This will improve your overall fitness balance.?

9. Get Inspired

?Fitness is a state of mind,? says fitness professional and life coach Allan Fine of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. One of Fine?s tricks to get and stay motivated is to read blogs or web sites that show him how others have been successful. ?Who inspires you?? he asks.

10. Be Patient

Finally, remember that even if you follow all these tips, there will be ups and downs, setbacks and victories, advises Navratilova. Just be patient, and don?t give up, she says on the AARP web site: ?Hang in there, and you?ll see solid results.?

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