For a long time, many people considered fitness to be the realm of professional athletes. These days, it seems like everyone is interested in getting fit and starting any number of the new fitness crazes that pop up. Take a look at these helpful tips, they’ll provide a solid framework for your fitness journey.

Reduce stress on your muscles and avoid injury by warming-up before working out. Adequately warming-up will loosen up stiff muscles and get the blood flowing to them. Sudden movements on muscles that have not been properly warmed-up prior to exercise can result in pulled muscles, strains, and even tears.

When you’re doing cardio workouts on equipment like a treadmill or elliptical, don’t lean too much on the handrails. This reduces the amount of weight you’re putting on your legs while you work out and means you’ll burn less calories. It also means you won’t get the full muscle building effect from the work out since your muscles won’t be working as hard.

A good tip to stay fit, is to try circuit training. Circuit training is a method of lifting weights where you dramatically reduce the rest time and the weight. This method turns your weight lifting session into a cardio session at the same time, so you can kill two birds with one stone.

Mix up your intake of sugars before working out. Multiple sugars are better for a workout than sticking to one type of sugar for energy. While manufactured foods usually offer one type of sugar, natural foods such as fruits and granola can give you more than one type of sugar and increase your energy output and stamina.

If you put these tips into action, you’ll have a sturdy foundation for any fitness routine. Make sure to make fitness a part of your life by committing to the days and times that you will exercise, as well as making sure to eat right. Getting fit will make you feel great! What are you waiting for?