The Fundamentals of staying fit

The big three for:

Building muscle size and losing body fat

Weight Training

Strength training is a crucial factor in losing body fat. Not only does it make your body and bones stronger, it also helps to raise your metabolism so you burn more calories all day long. For those wanting to lose weight, make sure your workouts are balanced between cardio and lifting weights. Keep your reps between 10-16, lift enough weight so that your last rep is difficult (not impossible) and don't be afraid of heavy weights (women included).

If you want to gain weight, focus on your strength training workouts for building muscle. Use enough weight that you can only complete between 6-8 reps of each exercise (use a spotter!) and make sure you give your muscles time to rest, recover and grow.

Cardio

Cardio, like weight training, is crucial for losing body fat. Pick any time of day, any activity--as long as you get your heart within your target heart rate zone and workout for long enough (20-30 minutes) to get the benefits. How much cardio you do depends on what you're trying to accomplish:

If you're goal is building muscle, keep your cardio at about 20-30 minutes, 2-3 days a week to keep your heart in shape without burning too many calories.

If you're trying to lose body fat, start with 3 days of cardio (if you're a beginner) and work your way up to 4 or 5 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes of activities such as running or walking

Note: None of the above is going to work unless you're eating right.           

Healthy Eating

If you want to keep building muscle, you should be eating more calories than you burn. The key is not just to add calories to your diet but healthy calories. Extra calories, called empty calories will only lead to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. You need to be just as careful about eating to gain weight as you do about losing weight. For gaining muscle mass you can’t go wrong by adding protein calories to your daily food intake.