The better your plan the better your results. If you take a rush at the problem you can do more harm than good. Our aim is to get fit and stay fit. The number one reason that people fail is that they go full speed into changing their diet and getting to the gym and quickly burn out. If you rush into a get fit and healthy regime and the results are not instant you can become dispirited and slip back into your old ways.

You are going to have to clean up your diet and, although this is essential, don’t go crazy. There is time enough later to count calories and regulate the balance between carbohydrates and proteins. For now eat healthy non-processed foods.

Next you have to confirm your goals. This will determine the actions that you must make and the decisions that you take. Many of us start with just wanting to feel good by looking good. By looking good we usually mean getting a beach body. You know, gaining some muscular definition, or looking “ripped” as they say.

Stay regular but start small. You will need to do weight training three to four times per week and cardio three times per week. Keep the weights light but the repetitions fairly high and alternate between upper and lower body on different days. Limit the cardio to twenty minutes for the first few weeks. Do the cardio after, but on the same day as the weight training.

Continue your dietary improvements and as your body becomes used to the changes you will notice a remarkable change in your feeling of fitness and well-being. As for the training, resist the temptation to increase the amount of weights too soon. Once you can visibly notice the improvement is the time to increase the repetitions and the amount of weight alternatively.

Although you started with the goal of looking ripped, it is perfectly normal to start considering the other two goals that usually occur. They are gaining strength and gaining size. It is not necessary to wait for months on your first goal before changing your routine.

Introducing some strength training will mean heavier weights at fewer repetitions. This will necessitate an increase in the food intake to fuel the increase in effort and to feed the growth of muscle. This is also the case for building bulk. Many students find that they get the most benefit by alternating every few months.

In all cases a steady increase in work rate produces the maximum reward.