This is meant to be a concise article summarizing the benefits of exercise, plenty of advice that will give you a good headstart, as well as a recommended exercise list at the end. Just keep in mind that getting into shape and improving your lifestyle habits (including nutrition, rest, scheduling, etc.) take a long term, disciplined approach.

Fitness 101 – A Basic Tutorial
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Owen_Johnston]Owen Johnston

This is meant to be a concise article summarizing the benefits of exercise, plenty of advice that will give you a good headstart, as well as a recommended exercise list at the end. Just keep in mind that getting into shape and improving your lifestyle habits (including nutrition, rest, scheduling, etc.) take a long term, disciplined approach.

There are many benefits to exercise, including burning calories, elevating your mood, and heart disease prevention. Using cardio training to improve your fitness also improves your circulatory system, strengthens your heart and lungs, improves bone density, which all help immensely not just with other types of exercise, but life in general! Benefits to lifestyle include improved mood, stress / depression relief, better posture, being able to fall asleep quicker, as well as sleeping more deeply.

Not only that, strength training helps not only build your muscle mass and strength, but also your endurance, and performance of daily activities such as lifting, carrying, and walking. Your flexibility is also enhanced, which helps to prevent back pain, and pulling muscles. Not only that, even your ligaments and tendons adapt to training, and become stronger, and less prone to injury. The additional muscle and bone density gained in training also help in reducing injury to joints. The metabolism definitely gets a boost with effective training, which results in improved body composition. The end result will be more muscle and less body fat. More muscle doesn’t necessarily mean a big, bulky look – but regular, effective exercise will (as a rule) result in improved muscle tone.

Since this is not meant to be a comprehensive article, keep in mind that there is a lot more to understanding fitness than I can condense into just a few pages. Nutrition and lifestyle changes are two important topics to consider when starting a new fitness program. Also, it’s a good idea to join a local gym where a certified fitness trainer can help you figure out the best options and routines. Lastly, if you’re new to fitness, you’ll want to get at least a basic idea about nutrition, body mechanics, and fitness concepts.

If you’re just starting out, I recommend calisthenics, also known as body weight training. Calisthenics train the whole body – muscles and joints. This means no equipment required, so you can practice the exercises anywhere. Practicing calisthenics builds functional strength and muscle tone very naturally. It also boosts the metabolism. Even if you’re already in shape, easier calisthenics exercises can help train your whole body, strengthen any weak areas, and rehabilitate joints.

I recommend the Convict Conditioning approach to calisthenics. It teaches training progressions that range from easy to insane full body strength. I’ve worked through this approach personally and have taught it to my students, with great results. I would highly recommend it to anyone trying to get into shape. It’s an approach, not a set routine! Once you understand the basic concepts, you can become your own coach.

Two other ways to build strength and muscle are weights and machines. If you decide on either of these, start light, and build gradually over time. Before starting a program, though, be sure to find a workout partner you trust, or visit a local gym and talk to a certified fitness trainer. Gradually introduce more protein into your diet from natural sources, and supplements if needed. (Nuts, grains, cheese, milk, various types of protein powders such as whey and creatine, etc.)

I also recommend kettlebell training. Due to the ballistic, full body nature of a kettlebell workout, it accelerates fat loss, packs on lean muscle, and builds explosiveness. Kettlebells help with cardio, power, speed, muscle endurance, stance training, mental toughness, efficiency in movement, and strengthening your core. Strength and stamina in the lower back, legs, shoulders, and grip also benefit. Caution and proper form must be used at all times with kettlebells – as such, seek out a qualified instructor before starting with kettlebells.

Change up your routines up once in a while if it helps yu stay motivated. Also, what you do outside of the gym or exercise in general is just as important, such as making any necessary lifestyle changes, as well as getting the right nutrition and rest. Always try to eat fresh and drink things like water, tea, gatorade, fruit smoothies etc instead of sodas.

If you want to bulk up, work up to heavy weight and/or hard calisthenics exercises with low reps. If you want to tone up, you will want to start burning off any unhealthy weight, while also building muscle in challenging strength sessions. The key is to burn more calories than you take in. Remember to have a small, nutritious meal after a hard workout, such as a protein shake and a piece of fruit. Also, always give your body enough recovery time after a workout. Moderately heavy to heavy amounts of lifting should be done every other day to allow time to recover. (“Heavy” depending upon what level of training you are at.)

Need to lose weight? Get out and get movin’! Get any kind of cardio you can fit into your daily routine. Do laundry, some yard work, walk the dog, whatever! Get on the bike, jog, take an aerobics class… The list goes on! Find a friend to go outside and get active with – have fun with it!

Exercise List. Let’s look at some recommended body weight, dumb bell, and curl bar exercises. Remember to set realistic goals – such as allowing a few months to achieve the right look. Feel free to research other exercises as needed to help train for your own personal performance goals, and talk to your fitness instructor for ideas on how to tweak your routine.

1. Basic warmups and stretches. Warmups should usually include joint rotations, which oil up the joints, and some kind of aerobic activity, such as skipping rope, walking, or jogging. Aerobic activity warms up your body temperature and increases blood flowing. This helps to improve your muscular performance and ‘elasticity’, which helps to prevent injury (such as pulling a muscle). If you do not stretch correctly, injuries can occur, so always start slowly if you are new to flexibility training. Start with a few minutes of static stretching, which is used to stretch out the muscles while the body is at rest, then move onto dynamic stretching. Remember to do light aerobic activity such as walking or jogging and some more static stretching, at the end of your workout to cool down the body.

2. Pushup variations. These work primarily the pectorals, triceps, and deltoids. One armed pushups are the gold standard in chest and elbow strength.

3. Curls with dumb bells – these work the biceps. If done standing, use light weight if necessary to practice correct form. If using a curl bar, sit in a stable chair with your back flat against it, with your elbows locked in against your body. This will help stabilizie the body, and isolate the biceps.

4. Alternating front raises with dumb bells – works anterior deltoid. Allow your body to swing as little as possible – maintain correct form at all times.

5. Military presses with curl bar – works the deltoid muscles in the shoulders as well as the core and legs, which you must use to stabilize the weight.

6. Squats with curl bar – works the quadriceps. If you have trouble with your knees or ankles, lower the weight or do squats normally without the bar.

7. “Skull crushers” with curl bar – works the triceps.

8. Dead lift with curl bar – works grip strength with the erector spinae, gluteus maximus, adductor magnus, hamstrings, and quadriceps serving as the primary muscles.

9. Pullup variations – pullups are a compound exercise that primarily work the biceps, and latissimus dorsi (or ‘lats’ for short). The lats are the largest muscles on the torso, and run from your armpits to down beyond the ribs. Most of the other muscles in the back also get worked by doing pullups. Not only that, your fingers, palms, and forearms are given a great workout by holding up and pulling your body weight as you grip the bar. This translates to building grip strength. Lastly, pullups give your abs and hips a great isometric workout. Because of these benefits, pullups help train the body for hanging leg raises.

To do a pullup, start by getting a good grip on a horizontal bar or anything sturdy you can hang from. Keep your shoulder girdle tight and your elbows slightly kinked in the starting position, to help prevent injury. Generally, with full pullups, you will try to pull your body weight up until the chin clears the bar, and you then lower the body until your arms and shoulders are almost fully extended. If you don’t have the strength yet to complete the full range of motion, start with easier variations of the pullup. Also, to work strictly on grip strength, try working on hanging grip work (again using a horizontal bar or anything you can hang from).

10. Leg raises from a horizontal bar. This primarily works all the muscles in the abs, as well as your lats. You also get some benefits to your forearms and shoulders, since they are used to hold your weight from the bar. When you first grab onto the bar, do nothing else until your momentum has disappeared. Your body should be still and your legs straight before you start the first repetition of the exercise. Slowly raise your legs as far as you can. As your abs get stronger you can increase your range of motion in this exercise. If this exercise is too hard at first, try hanging knee raises or flat bent knee raises.

Visit the author’s [http://www.johnstonkarate.com/2012/07/fitness-101-basics.html]Fitness 101 page for a free tutorial video as well as plenty of links to quality resources!

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Fitness-101—A-Basic-Tutorial&id=7172220] Fitness 101 – A Basic Tutorial