If you want to live well you need to stay in shape throughout your life or else you will not be well in later years. This will ensure you stay in shape after you already get fit. With the plethora of contradictory information out there, you might not know what to believe. The following advice will show you how to be in great shape.

When doing crunches, be careful not to strain your neck. If you put your tongue to the roof of your mouth while doing them, this can actually help to properly align your head and neck. Experts disagree on whether this helps on a physical or physiological level. Either way, it does seem to lessen neck strain.

Be sure to wear shoes that fit to aid you in your fitness routine. Ill-fitting shoes will cause multiple problems including blisters, ankle pain, knee pain, hip pain, and an number of other issues. If you think your shoes may be causing problems, first be sure that they are not too old, as shoes can have a wear-in pattern. Also, check with a physical therapist or podiatrist as they may be able to provide you with inserts for your shoes.

One way to maximize your fitness routine is to keep track of your workouts and how well you did. This will result in positive thinking and will push you to compete against yourself. There are many online logs that you can keep, as well as devices that you can use to automatically track your workouts. This way you can see your progression and formulate your own challenges.

Fitness is like a lot of other pursuits: You can do it much more effectively when you have a basic understanding of the subject. Whether you just want to get a bit more active or you’re training competitively for sports, you’ll get more out of your fitness regimen if you take the time to learn your fitness basics. You’ll start making faster progress towards your fitness goals when you put this article’s suggestions into practice.