Jorge's Top 10 Tips to Get Fit Fast

Jorge's Top 10 Tips to Get Fit Fast

By Jorge Cruise, Chief Diet and Fitness Expert
Saturday, September 27, 2008

Want to get fit fast? It's possible... you just need a little effort and a lot of heart. So if you're serious about a workout routine that will get you looking and feeling your best in no time at all, read on for the top 10 tips voted most useful by LifeScript readers...1. Start Strength Training
While most women think that strength training will make them bulk up, it's actually the secret to burning more calories and losing weight faster. Muscle speeds up your metabolism and burns fat. So the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you're sitting still. If you lose weight without doing strength-training exercises, you're likely losing muscle along with fat and actually slowing down your metabolism.While muscle is heavier than fat, it is also more compact. So, as you develop muscle you'll notice your clothes aren't as snug, even if the number on the scale hasn't yet budged. Female bodybuilders lift extremely heavy weights to see big gains in muscle size and, in some cases, take steroids to add more bulk. But you don't have to worry about building oversized muscles with a tailored strength routine. Trust me! Your muscles will look firm, sexy and shapely, not bulky.

2. Load Up on Vitamin C
Vitamin C plays an important role in muscle recovery and helps your body produce collagen, a major structural protein found in connective tissue that holds muscles, bones and other tissues together. But that's not the only reason you need vitamin C. During exercise, as your breathing increases to meet the demands of your workout, the chemical interaction between oxygen and your cell membranes, protein and other cellular components creates free radicals. These highly reactive substances are much like small fires that must be extinguished before they burn, or "oxidize," neighboring molecules in other cells, creating muscle soreness and stiffness. Vitamin C blocks free radical damage. Citrus fruits and dark green leafy vegetables are particularly rich in this dietary antioxidant. However, to get enough of this powerhouse nutrient, I recommend taking a vitamin C supplement every day – ideally, 1,000 milligrams.3. Stay Fit at Any Age
Think you're too old to start exercising? Actually, fitness is very important as you age to slow age-related decline in strength and motor skills. Ignoring it leaves you vulnerable and at risk of injury. Strength is a crucial component to quality of life. Without it, the most basic tasks become difficult or even impossible.

To combat muscle atrophy at any age your fitness routine should combine weight-training and aerobic exercise. The benefits of strength training include increased walking speed, decreased frequency of falls and the ability to easily rise from a chair, climb stairs, and carry out simple household tasks. It doesn't matter how old you are, it's never too late to rebuild muscle strength!

4. Exercise Equipment Essentials
You don't need fancy equipment to whip your body into the best shape of your life. You can begin many workouts, such as my 12-Second SequenceTM program, with just a Swiss ball, a mat and a set of dumbbells. Check out the Swiss Ball Squat. But even if you don't have these items, you can still start exercising today! All you need is a chair (instead of a Swiss ball) and a towel (instead of a mat). And you create all the resistance you need with your own body weight. But if you really want a challenge, grab a couple of soup cans or bottles of water – they make great dumbbells. Now that's a resourceful workout. Whether you're traveling or in your office at work, you can break a sweat and pump some iron… or at least some aluminum.

5. Lose Belly Fat with Resistance Training
Resistance training is all about getting toned, burning fat and boosting your metabolism. In fact, evidence supports the value of adding resistance training to your fitness regimen – especially where belly fat is concerned. (See related article: Are Hormones to Blame for Your Flabby Abs?)

Researchers in Korea found that combining aerobic training with resistance training decreased fat – particularly belly fat – better than aerobic exercise alone. The researchers divided a group of 30 obese women aged 40-45 into three groups: an aerobic-only (cardio) group; a combined-exercise (cardio plus resistance training) group; and a control (no exercise) group. At the end of 24 weeks, the control group increased their body fat percentage. The aerobic-only group lost body fat but did not increase their lean body mass. The combined-exercise group significantly increased their lean body mass, decreased their body fat percentage and lost two and a half times as much belly fat as the aerobic-only group. Talk about a good reason to pick up those dumbbells!

6. Make Those Reps Count
Picking the appropriate weight for a strength-training exercise can be an intimidating task, but it's also an important one. If you choose a dumbbell or barbell that's too light, you'll have to do a lot of repetitions to effectively work your muscles. If you pick one that's too heavy, you might strain a muscle or tendon or sprain a ligament. But pick just the right weight, and you'll be able to fatigue your muscle with fewer reps.

So how can you know which weight is right for which exercise? Here's the test: If your goal is to build muscular endurance, you should be doing 10-12 repetitions of an exercise. If you can lift the weight for more than 10-12 reps, it's not heavy enough. And if you can't complete 10 reps, then guess what? The weight is too heavy! It's a very simple formula, but one that will maximize the effect of every single rep.

7. Blast Belly Fat… But Not With Crunches
People often ask why they should bother toning arm and leg muscles when their trouble area is really the belly. After all, if you want a better belly, you should only target your abdominal muscles, right? Wrong! A half hour of crunches every day isn't going to do anything for the layer of fat that's hiding those ab muscles. You can't burn fat in just one area – weight loss affects your entire body. If you want a flat belly, cardio will help burn excess stored fat, and a comprehensive weight-lifting program will create lean, metabolism-boosting muscle all over your body. This is how you'll see true results. Only when you strengthen your entire body will you boost your metabolism enough to burn off the layer of fat that is hiding your beautiful abdominal muscles. (See related article: Whittle Your Waist)

8. Feel the Burn
If you want to build new lean muscle tissue, you have to completely fatigue your muscles. Proper form is essential to maximizing the benefits of strength training as well as preventing injury. But how do you know if you're fatiguing your muscles?

When lifting weights, you should feel a significant burn when you finish each set. If you aren't feeling that burn, your form or intensity may not be ideal. Maintaining proper form will ensure you feel the stress of each move on the specific muscle you're working. Don't let surrounding muscles support your movements. For example, when doing a biceps curl you should feel the full weight of the dumbbell or cable on your biceps, not your back or shoulders. Bad form not only cheats you of an effective workout, but also puts you at risk for debilitating injuries.

9. Shrink Your Body, Slim Your Thighs
Shrinking stubborn thigh fat isn't as impossible as it may seem. An exciting University of Maryland study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that women who followed an exercise program and a healthy diet for six months lost 15 pounds and shrunk their thigh circumferences by 4% – the same amount as the rest of their bodies. So, if you think you lose weight everywhere else first – and in your thighs last – you're wrong. And thankfully so! Just make sure you're focusing not only on calorie restriction, but also on creating the lean muscle your body needs to boost your metabolism. Fifteen pounds may not sound like much for six months worth of work, but it's important to note that these women were not extremely overweight to start with. The less weight you have to lose, the harder it is – but these women proved it is possible!

10. An Anatomy Lesson for Lean Legs
Your legs house some of the largest and most powerful muscle groups in your body. And the bigger the muscle, the more calories you burn when you exercise it. Your quadriceps are comprised of four muscles that run along the top of your leg from your hip to your knee. These muscles help you lift your upper leg at the hip, and they also help you straighten your entire leg at the knee. Along the back of your thighs are the three muscles that make up the hamstrings. These help you bend your leg at the knee. In your buttocks, there's the gluteus maximus, which works with your hamstrings to lift your leg back behind your torso. Why do you need to know all this? Because every time you lift, bend or otherwise move your legs, you're toning these muscles. Exercising these muscle groups will help smooth out your thighs, lift your butt cheeks, provide separation between your thighs and butt, and reduce the appearance of cellulite.