How to Get Fit

Develop the right attitude. The mind may not be a muscle, but it's still incredibly strong, and can make the difference between succeeding and failing at your goal. Being fit is a marathon, not a sprint, and it requires making changes to your entire lifestyle.

• Don't approach this with the mindset that you can abandon the changes you make as soon as you reach your ideal fitness goal or you risk slipping into your bad habits again. Being fit should mean incorporating things into your life that you can eventually do by habit.

Keep track of your progress and be proud of minor improvements. It is a good idea to start a 'fit journal' so that you can keep track of when you work out, what you do and for how long. You can also log what you eat each day. You may find that when you have to write down whether you snacked or not you may be less inclined to snack.

• Don't think that just because you have one setback, you may as well scrap it all and give up for the day. Don't be discouraged if you stop losing weight or if you have a few setbacks; remember that, overall, you've put yourself on an upward trajectory and that's definitely something to be proud of.

Create a commitment contract with yourself. These contracts are otherwise known as a reward system. Set a goal for yourself and then decide upon a reward for yourself. Pick an item that you really want or something that you really want to do.^[1]

• For instance, make a contract with yourself that states that if you go on a run for 30 minutes every day you can buy the Gucci purse or new golf clubs you have had your eye on for weeks now.

Get someone else to get fit with you. It is much easier to reach your goals when you have someone to share the pain and the gain. Create a schedule that you can both commit to and keep each other on track.^[2]

• You could even get a group of people in on the 'get fit' schedule. Have everyone put $10 into a pot and the person who works out the most during the set amount of time wins the money.

Incorporate more physical exercise into your daily routine. By regularly challenging yourself you keep your physical self "tuned up". If getting fit means losing weight, this will help the pounds melt away -- and stay away! If you're training for endurance, this is the way to ensure steady improvement.

Take the subway or bike to work or school instead of driving. If that's not possible, park several blocks away from your office building to force yourself into two 15-minute walks every day. When you go to the grocery store, hardware store, movies, or mall, park at the end of the lot instead of wrangling for a spot near the front door.

Walk the dog more often -- both your body and your pup will thank you.

Clean your house vigorously. You'd be surprised how physically taxing housework is: dusting your shelves, cleaning your toilets, doing the dishes, mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and cleaning the garage will definitely give you a workout. Making yourself and your family clean parts of your house on a regular basis (i.e. every week or every other week) will not only create a better environment for you to live in, but also make burning calories, staying flexible, and keeping in shape a much simpler process.

Exercise at the office. Believe it or not, it’s completely possible to make sitting at your computer into a calorie-burning activity. You can stretch and workout your muscles by doing leg lifts, oblique reaches, and lower back reaches, among others.

Start an exercise regimen and stick to it. An proper fitness program has five components: A warm-up, an aerobic workout, strength-building exercises, stretching (flexibility), and a cool-down.

• A good warm-up is a steady walk outside or on the treadmill, a slow pedal on a stationary bike, or a few rounds on the stair master. You want to exercise just enough to get your blood flowing so that your muscles warm up. Exercising without a warm up could lead to pulling or straining a muscle.
• Cardio workouts improve circulation and endurance. This could include going on a run, biking at a high resistance, or doing an increased speed on a stair crunching machine. You want to work up a sweat and get your blood pumping. Good cardiovascular health is not only good for heart health and blood pressure, it has even been linked to a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.^[3] Doing interval training (i.e. alternating between low-intensity and high-intensity activity) has been shown to be a an especially fast and effective way to improve heart health and endurance.^[4]
• Building muscle through strength-training will not only increase your strength and tone, but will also increase your metabolism, as muscular people have been shown to burn more calories even when they’re at rest. You could work with weights, do squats, push ups, or crunches, among many other exercises.^[5] If going to the gym isn’t for you, try strength-training at home.
• Stretching during a workout increases your flexibility. It can also relieve muscle and joint stiffness. Stretch your legs, arms, back, any muscles that you used while working out (which should generally be all of them.)^[6]
• A cool-down is very similar to a warm-up. You should perform some sort of cardio exercise at a very low level. Cooling down allows your muscles to relax while the blood is still flowing through them at a slightly increased rate.^[7]
• Note: anyone over the age of 60 or who has heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis should consult a doctor before attempting interval training.

Switch things up. Any physical activity that takes a bit of effort will help you get fit, but it's important to remember that variety is the spice of life -- and of physical fitness! More importantly, as your body gets comfortable performing a certain activity, it learns to do it more efficiently, making it easy for you to plateau in your workouts. Keep both your body and your mind guessing by enjoying a diversity of activities and having fun.

• Dance for exercise. Anything from ballet dance to breakdancing or even jump style will increase your fitness if you stick with it. Enroll in a Zumba class or hip-hop class. You’ll be surprised by how many calories you burn while having fun.
• Jump in the pool. It doesn't matter if you're treading water, dog paddling, ormastering the butterfly stroke. Swimming is a good form of exercise that can be fun, too.
• Pick up yoga. Yoga is a healthy exercise that keeps both your mind and body fit. Pick one day a week to let your body indulge in some serious stretching, rather than doing your normal workout. Yoga will help you maintain your flexibility, but is also a great way to tone your muscles.

Try to join extracurricular activities like playing sports! Being with other people helps motivate you to keep going. For example, you're doing track. Your teammates motivate you to keep going (and possibly the fact you don't want to be last), unlike when you're at home on the treadmill by yourself when you can easily press a button and you're done.