Feeling good about yourself in the area of fitness is important for your self-esteem and it can be something that improves your mental attitude toward life in general. Don’t settle for using what you already know about fitness when you can learn something new to get yourself to a whole new level. Take a look at these useful tips.

As you get older, your body loses muscle mass and muscle density ,so it is important to make the most of the muscles you have. Starting a routine with weights not only keeps you fit, but makes you stronger late into your life. Do your best to stick with it.

Set your goals first and this will help determine the rate at which you strength train and how often you must hit the gym. Less frequent workouts are required to develop larger, stronger muscles. However, those aiming to be lean, mean, and defined will more frequently stress the muscles in a strength training session.

Do not limit yourself to crunches to develop your abs. It’s been proven that crunches don’t burn much fat; one study even resulted with only one pound burned after 250,000 total crunches! Relying only on crunches means that you are not working as hard as you should be. Find other, more strenuous ways, to work those abdominal muscles.

A really good way to help you get fit is to perform cardio right after you lift weights. Studies have shown that doing cardio right after lifting weights burns more calories than if you were to do cardio by itself. You can also complete both workouts in one session.

As you can see from these practical and useful tips, it is never too late to add new information to what you already know in order to improve your mental attitude and feel good about your personal fitness. You never have to settle for good enough when you put this advice to work for you.