Eating right and exercising have always been top priority for anyone who wants to live a healthier and better lifestyle. I have always tried to apply that way of thinking for myself and for my family as well. While eating healthy and constantly moving have always been beneficial, they weren’t cutting it for me anymore. I wanted a more leaner body, with more definition and more muscle tone. I consulted a friend that is a personal trainer and was given a list of things I could do to achieve these goals.

The first on the list for my new routine was cardio exercise. I was already exercising daily, but I decided to bump it up to a more strenuous workout. While I wanted to slim down a little bit, too much of a cardio workout can start to burn muscle as well as fat. I was advised to limit my workouts to three 30 minute sessions a week. The other days of the week, I used free weights for my muscle building workouts.

After a couple of weeks of this workout routine, I had to keep reminding myself to slow down a bit. I remember my friend telling me, that it’s very common for some people to over do it. I loved seeing the results that the exercising was giving me and I knew I could easily over do it. I didn’t want to risk any injuries, so I found it fairly easy to pace myself.

I was also advised not to use the same workout routine every time. Getting burned out is very common for some. Swapping out my workouts kept me interested. By mixing up your routine, you won’t find yourself getting bored of them. As long as you are doing the cardio and getting your heart pumping, it doesn’t really matter how you are doing it. Alternating between the cardio workouts and working with free weights helped a lot as well.

Dieting and starving yourself is never the right thing to do. Eating the right things and keeping your body fueled is. Especially when you are working out, your body needs the proper nutrition. Much like any machine needs the proper fluids in order to run properly, your body needs nutrients to function. Especially when it’s being pushed harder than it may be used to.

Taking much needed breaks from your routine is also essential for success. Muscles need time to rest in order for them to build themselves up. If you are constantly working them, they don’t have time to rest and grow. My trainer friend advises all of her clients to take e few days off every few months. She also tells them to not workout everyday of the week.

Supplements can be added to your diet as well. Some supplements come in the form of protein bars and protein shakes. There are also supplements that are much like vitamins. There may be a few that need the help of anabolic steroids to help build up their muscle tone.

Achieving the body that you want doesn’t have to be that difficult. If you follow the necessary steps of nutrition, exercise and rest, there will be a much leaner more muscular you in no time.