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Plan your exercise: People who write things down are more likely to achieve their goals

There are 168 hours in a week. If you want to lose weight, then all you have to do is set aside 5 of these hours for yourself…..That’s right, only 5 hours!

Dedicate at least half your exercise time to weight-training

Cardio alone will not keep you lean. With each passing decade after the age of 25, our metabolisms decrease by 2-4%, resulting in 5 lbs of lean muscle loss every 10 years. Research has shown that decreases in  metabolism and lean body mass are NOT AGE RELATED, BUT MUSCLE RELATED. In other words, the more muscle you have at age 25 (and before), the slower your metabolism will decrease and the longer you will preserve your lean muscle for. If you want to live a fit and healthy life-style, then you’d be smart to start weight-training sooner than later! That’s right….the later in life you start weight-training, the harder it will become to gain muscle. So, stop reading, stop procrastinating, and get to it!

My top recommendations for weight-loss success and the development of lean muscle include:

• Hiking or walking uphill: Bring a friend! It makes the time pass faster and makes it easier to catch up socially while getting things done.
• Unstructured Jogging Intervals: Find a nice neighborhood and walk a block, then jog a block….progress to walking 1 block, then jogging 2 blocks. Make sure to bring your Ipod.
• Find an outdoor staircase and use it!
• Follow one of my many circuit-training videos from my video blog. Find exercises that can be done anytime, anywhere, that require minimal (if any) equipment
• Sign up for one group fitness class/week: find a boot-camp, boxing gym, or a Pilates studio. Do something that you have always wanted to try, but never made the time to do!
• If you have a bike or skates, then use them!
• Jump Rope! I suggest using a timer and beginning with 30-second long intervals followed by a 30 second break. Slowly increase your intervals by 15 seconds and work your way up to 2 minutes. Get creative and try to experiment with new skipping patterns.
• Go to the park with a friend and bring a basketball or tennis rackets and a tennis ball
• Walk your dog…or offer to walk a friend’s dog
• Walk to the grocery store and carry your groceries home: you’ll be likely to buy less food, making dieting even easier

Stay fit, stay happy, stay healthy, and stay tuned for easy and fun ways to lose weight and shape-up 🙂