Workout: Workout Secrets From the Pros.

Professionals and successful exercisers reveal the top tips and tricks they use to make the most of their fitness routines.

Getting and staying fit can be difficult. For many of us, it's hard just to get up over couch. So what's the secret of people who have managed to make exercise a life style?

1. Be Consistent

Chase Squires is the first to confess that he's no fitness expert. But he is a guy who utilized to weigh 205 pounds, more than was healthy for his 5'4" shape. "In my vacation pictures in 2002, I looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man on the beach, " says the 42-year-old Colorado resident. Squires decided adequate was enough, cut out fatty food, and startedwalking on any treadmill. The pounds came off and soon he was working marathons -- not fast, but in the race. He ran his first 50-mile race in October 2003 and completed his first 100-miler per year later. Since then, he's completed several 100-mile, 50-mile, and 50k contests.

His secret? "I'm not fast, but I'm consistent, " claims Squires, who says consistency is his best tip for maintaining a prosperous fitness regimen.

It all started with 20 minutes on any treadmill, " he says. "The difference between my success and others who have struggled is that I did it everyday. No exercise program in the world works if you don't take action consistently. "

2. Follow an Effective Exercise Routine

The U . s . Council on Exercise (ACE) recently surveyed 1, 000 ACE-certified fitness trainers about the best techniques to get fit. Their top a few suggestions:

Strength training. Even 20 minutes a day twice weekly will help tone the entire body.

Interval training. "In its most elementary form, interval training might involve walking for two minutes, running for just two, and alternating this pattern throughout the duration of a exercise, " says Cedric Bryant, PhD, FACSM, chief science officer regarding ACE. "It is an extremely time-efficient and productive way to be able to exercise. "

Increased cardio/aerobic exercise. Bryant suggests accumulating 60 minutes or maybe more a day of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity, such since walking, running, or dancing.

3. Set Realistic Goals

"Don't strive for perfection or an improbable goal that can't be met, inches says Kara Thompson, spokesperson for the International Health Racquet and also Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). "Focus instead on increasing healthy behaviors. inches

In other words, don't worry if you can't run a 5K as of this time. Make it a habit to walk 15 minutes a evening, and add time, distance, and intensity from there.

4. Utilize the Buddy System

Find a friend or relative whom you like and trust who also desires to establish a healthier lifestyle, suggests Thompson. "Encourage one another. Workout together. Use this as an opportunity to enjoy one another's company also to strengthen the relationship. "

5. Make Your Plan Fit Your daily life

Too busy to get to the gym? Tennis star Martina Navratilova, health ambassador for the AARP, knows a thing or two concerning being busy and staying fit.

Make your plan fit your daily life, she advises in an article on the AARP web web site. "You don't need fancy exercise gear and gyms to get exercise. "

If you've got floor space, try simple floor exercises to target areas including the hips and buttocks, legs and thighs, and chest and biceps and triceps (like push-ups, squats, and lunges). Aim for 10-12 repetitions of each and every exercise, adding more reps and intensity as you build durability.

6. Be Happy

Be sure to pick an activity you truly enjoy doing, suggests Los Angeles celebrity trainer Sebastien Lagree.

"If an individual hate weights, don't go to the gym. You can lose weight and get a lean body with any type of training or activity, " he claims.

And choose something that is convenient. Rock climbing may be described as a great workout, but if you live in a city, it is not something you'll be doing every day.

7. Watch the Time

Your body clock, that is. Try to work out during the time you have the most energy, suggests Jason Theodosakis, MD, exercise physiologist on the University of Arizona College of Medicine. If you're a morning hours person, schedule your fitness activities early in the day; in the event you perk up as the day goes along, plan your activities inside the afternoon or evening.

"Working out while you have the most energy will yield the most effective results, " Theodosakis says.

8. Call In the Pros

Particularly when you're first getting started, Theodosakis suggests having a professional assessment to determine what forms of exercise you need most.

"For some people, attention to flexibility or balance and agility, may be more important than resistance education or aerobics, " he says. "By getting a professional examination, you can determine your weakest links and focus on these. This will improve your overall fitness balance. "

9. Acquire Inspired

"Fitness is a state of mind, " says physical fitness professional and life coach Allan Fine of Calgary, Alberta, Europe. One of Fine's tricks to get and stay motivated is always to read blogs or web sites that show him how others are already successful. "Who inspires you? " he asks.

10. Be Affected person

Finally, remember that even if you follow all these suggestions, there will be ups and downs, setbacks and victories, suggests Navratilova. Just be patient, and don't give up, she says around the AARP web site: "Hang in there, and you'll see sound results. ".