Developing healthy habits is a great way to become fit. But how do you really know which habits are truly healthy for you? Some things you think are good for you can end up causing you a lot of harm in the long run. Make sure you read this article for some great fitness tips you can use to get in the best shape of your life.

When you’re working through a fitness regimen, remember that you should always warm up. If you are under the age of forty, hold your stretches for thirty seconds. If you are over the age of forty, your stretches should be held for sixty seconds. Muscles become less limber as you age, so it is wise to adjust your workout to keep on top of these changes.

To prevent injury while lifting weights on a bench, make sure the bench is well-cushioned. When the bench is too hard, it can throw your spine out of alignment as you exercise, which in turn can damage the nerves in your arms. An easy test is to press down on the bench. Being able to feel the wood is a sign you need to move to a different bench.

To exercise your calf muscles, try heel ups. All you have to do is stand up like normally. Then raise your body on the tips of your toes. Then slowly lower yourself back down. Repeat this 10 times for three sets. Doing this is similar to a pushup, but for your legs instead of your arms.

You want your muscles to be strong and tone, but you also want them to be limber. Stretching your muscles is important, and will help your muscles to stay limber. If you happen to be under forty, hold stretches for thirty seconds. In the case you are over forty hold your stretches for sixty seconds since your muscles are less pliable.

If you are looking for a way to save time and get an efficient workout, for the entire workout don’t switch weights, keep the same one. Choose your weight based on your weakest exercise. Pick an amount you are able to lift no more than 6 to 8 times. Use this weight, and do your routine in a circuit.

You should count your repetitions backward when you are working out. When you count backward, you begin to think about how many you have left once you start getting to the end of the set. You will not be thinking about how many repetitions you have done, which can be hurt your motivation to finish.

Change the exercises around that you do often. By alternating exercises, you will avoid boredom and prevent your body from plateauing. Combine high intensity exercises like kick boxing with low or medium intensity exercises such as walking or jogging. Keeping it fresh will keep you interested as well as helping your body.

Bench pressing is the thing that many people define as the exercise that shows how strong you are. Everyone wants to know how to bench press more. A good tip is to look at the hand that you are dominant in while you are lifting up the bar.

A great fitness tip is to perform upright rows. Upright rows are a great exercise that can help develop your deltoids and your biceps. To correctly perform the upright row you’ll want to grab the bar at shoulder width. Then you’ll want to lift your elbows up while keeping the bar close to your body.

Smart fitness buffs do not subject themselves to long sets of crunches or sit-ups every day. The abdominal muscles that these exercises target are like any other set of muscles: They respond best when they get time to recover following a workout. The best results come from limiting ab workouts to two or three sessions a week.

When you are developing a workout routine, make sure that you focus on one specific area on your body if you want to get maximum results. This will give you the ability to aim for quality over quantity and can help to get you to where you want to be in your program.

Make sure that if you are feeling any sort of pain before your workout, to error on the side of caution. It is much better that you rest on days that you are not at the top of your game, to reduce the chance of hurting yourself. Exercise caution before working out when you feel pain.

Now that you know a little bit more about how to develop habits that are truly healthy and how to work to lead an active lifestyle, you can finally get off your rear and get started out in a positive direction. This article will help you become fit, but it’s still up to you to put forth the effort to make it happen.