It does not really matter how you get there but how will you get out. Years of neglecting your body have taken its toll on your fitness and health. All those warnings, either from your doctor, family member or from the TV shows, have somehow just gone past you.

You are now here because you have somehow realized that body fitness should be the most important thing in your life. You owe it to yourself and to your family after all. Being fit not only means having a slim, sexy and toned body. Body fitness is actually measured through 5 different elements which are:

• Cardiorespiratory endurance – ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues over sustained periods of physical activity. Long runs and swims are the few examples to measure your cardiorespiratory endurance.



• Muscular strength – muscle's ability to exert force for a brief span of time. This element can be measured by lifting weights for example.



• Muscular endurance – ability of muscle or muscles to sustain repeated muscular contractions or to continue applying force against a fixed object. Push-ups, squats or lunges are example exercises that measure muscular endurance.



• Body composition – ratio of lean body mass to fat. Lean body mass refers to the sum of the weight of your bones, muscles, organs and water. The rest of the tissue or fat tissue is expressed as a percentage of a total body weight. The most common measurement of body composition is BMI or Body Mass Index.



• Flexibility – the ability to stretch and lengthen muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments to their full range of motion.

Taking care of each of these elements is important for overall health. Just deciding to go to the gym will not solve all the problems with your fitness. There are certain types of exercises that will raise your cardiorespiratory endurance but will do nothing for your strength. It is important to engage in a combination of physical activities that will cover each of these elements.

There are two main types of exercises you should be doing, cardio training and strength training.

Cardio training [http://www.completebodyfitness.net] can be any activity you enjoy, like walking, cycling, aerobics, swimming, running, etc. Cardio session should usually last for at least 30 minutes or more and it can be done 5 days per week. These kind of traditional cardio trainings are important for a healthy heart and weight loss.

There are also more intensive cardio trainings that are called cardio interval training or sometimes high intensity interval training (HIIT). Interval trainings have all the benefits of usual cardio training but put greater stress on your body and you will get better results with them. HIIT training actually builds muscles because they incorporate aerobic and anaerobic elements in one workout routine. They last for 10-15 minutes and are a mix of low cardio intervals like walking or light running, and high bursts of power through sprinting. The sprinting intervals should not last more than 2 minutes and ideally they should last around 45 seconds. Interval training should be done 2-3 times per week.

If you are doing HIIT training, weight lifting can be optional, but you should know that nothing builds muscles like weight lifting. Having more muscles helps you to burn more calories even while your body is at rest. You should consider weight lifting if you want to build strong muscles and a tight physique.

If you incorporate a mix of these physical activities [http://www.completebodyfitness.net] in your daily routine you will start noticing differences in your life. Not only that you will see benefits like losing weight or have toned and firm body but being fit can also improve your mood, boost your energy level, have better sleep and last but not the least, it will put the spark back into your sex life.