Do you think fitness is a girl’s thing? Think again. Fitness could help you get a great body, live longer and have good health. Take a few hours every week to exercise. These tips will help you find out what kind of exercises you can do, what equipment you need and everything else you need to know.

Involve your entire family in getting fit. Choose active things to do for weekend entertainment, or go for an evening walk after dinner. If you instill fitness as part of daily life to your children now, they will be less likely to be overweight or unhealthy later in life.

A great tip to help you stay fit is to go for hikes. Not only will you be burning a lot of calories, you’ll be able to enjoy nature. Some hiking books list all of the hikes in a certain area and they can be a great resource.

When working out, use this order: dumbbells first, then barbells, then machines. This is because your small stabilizing muscles tire more quickly than your large muscles. Dumbbells and barbells require more use of these smaller stabilizing muscles, you should use them first and move onto machines, which rely more on your larger muscles instead.

Squeezing the muscles of your butt while lifting weights will help save your back. When you are lifting weights that cause you to lift over your head, make it a habit to squeeze your glutes. This will force your body into a position that will stabilize your spine automatically. A stable spine will lower your chance of back injuries.

Consider the pros and cons of fitness. The cons: It takes some of your time and requires motivation at first. The pros: You could have fun, get in shape and live longer. If you can take the time, taking up fitness is obviously the best thing you could possibly do.