Fitness and weight loss truly do not have to be complicated. Picking one
specific goal to work on each week is a relatively painless way to get
motivated and get moving. Below is a list of eight ways to make a
healthier you. It's recommended that you take just one step per each
week - so consider it an eight week fitness training plan.

Step 1: First determine where you are at and what is keeping you from
where you want to be:

You've told yourself dozens of times that tomorrow you are going to start
exercising. Yet, tomorrow has come and gone, and you still haven't started
moving. So, what's holding you back? What excuse seems fitting today?

It's time to face your excuses head-on so that you can overcome them and
choose to live a healthier lifestyle. Face your excuses head on to
completely discount them. Start by making a list of reasons (excuses) that
you don't exercise.

Step 2: Educate Yourself About The Facts And The Myths

Stop beating yourself over the head in frustration because you just can't
seem to lose weight or get fit. More than likely you just aren't armed
with the right information to help you be successful in reaching your
weight loss goals. There are so many diet misnomers floating about that
it's easy to feel like your drowning. The first step toward success is
distinguishing fact from myth and using the power of knowledge.

Step 3: Begin With Easy Ways To Start Moving

Think you don't have any time to fit in physical activity. Think again.
Stop thinking in the traditional exercise way. 100 years ago there weren't
any health clubs or treadmills or fitness balls, yet, somehow the majority
of the population was NOT overweight (quite contrary to our treadmill
obsessed society). They used their daily lives to keep them in a healthy
weight range and that's a great place for you start with too. Sure, our
lives are very different than our turn-of-the century counterparts, but we
can still use our daily activities to help us move.

Step 4: Workout Where And When Is Right For You And With The Best
Equipment

You can literally start making progress in fitness without any equipment
at all. So you certainly don't need a gym membership to get healthy.
Working out at home can be not only an economic choice but a truly smart
and beneficial one.

For an effective home gym, all that is required is a little bit of
planning. Don't fall into the trap of purchasing random fitness equipment
because of fancy advertising for the latest infomercial fad or the great
"sale" at your local fitness store. That type of purchasing leads to a
house littered with equipment that's only use is as a clothes hanger or
dust collector. This often happens because the equipment is either
useless, poorly constructed or quickly loses its value because it doesn't
progress with your fitness level. Keep your equipment purchases
inexpensive, effective and fun.

Step 5: Set your plan

It's easy to understand why some feel overwhelmed about beginning a new
fitness routine. Virtually every day the media is bombarding the public
with the latest "diet research" often times contradicting what may have
been reported just weeks earlier. And infomercials swear that 20 minutes
of this or 15 minutes of that is all that is required to look like a
Hollywood star.

With so much information (and misinformation), it can be hard to decipher
what fitness regimen will really deliver results. But truthfully, it's not
difficult at all to determine what workout will provide health benefits.

An easy way to get started is utilizing the F.I.T.T. principle. This
acronym stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type. Use the FITT
strategy when planning your workouts.

Step 6: Now is the time to really start getting more serious. Ensure you
are both eating right and exercising right

If you've stuck to the plan thus far (and not tried to combine weeks
together - jumping ahead won't help you and could hinder your progress!),
you should feel very empowered. This means you are truly making fitness
and wellness a part of your life because experts say that it takes about
six weeks to turn a new behavior into a daily habit.

But, it's not uncommon for people to do great with one part (usually
cardio workouts) yet struggle with another. For some reason strength
training is still a tough sell for many (particularly women).

Yet, strength training has amazing benefits. Make sure you are doing at
least two strength training sessions per week.

Step 7: Start monitoring your levels

Just moving, as previously discussed, is a great way to start. Then
including true cardiovascular workouts gets you focused on the right path.
Now you need to ensure that your working at a challenging enough level.
Check your heart rate and ensure that your intensity is where it should be for effectiveness.

 Step 8: Add Interval Training

To propel you to the next fitness level, burn more calories, increase your 
speed, improve your power and more, it's time to learn more about Interval 
training.

A simple definition of Interval Training is: short, high-intensity 
exercise periods alternated with periods of rest. These higher and lower 
intensity periods are repeated several times to form a complete workout. 
Here's a basic example: walk for 5 minutes at 3.5 MPH, walk for 1 minute 
at 4.2 MPH and then repeat this sequence several times.

Start incorporating Interval Training right now.

Want to put tangibles to this eight week program? Visit
http://www.workoutsforyou.com/workout_ebook.asp for a 22-page e-book that
provides specific details on how to make this eight week program work for
you.

About the author: Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing 
in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which 
provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for 
each individual. Visit: http://www.workoutsforyou.com for tips, sample 
workouts and more. Fitness professionals, learn how to support your
clients online, visit: http://www.trainerforce.com