Important Exercises

Exercises are generally grouped into three types:

-Flexibility exercises, such as stretching, improve the range of motion of muscles and joints.
-Aerobic exercise, like walking and running, focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance.
-Anaerobic exercises, on the order of weight training, functional training or sprinting, increase short-term muscle strength.

A combination of these exercises should be included in a well balanced fitness program.

Aerobic Exercise
should be done 4 - 5 times a week. Generally a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes per session. Once you have base training behind you, consider adding interval training (covered in another section) to make your aerobic exercise more effective.

Strength training
use resistance -to strengthen and condition the musculoskeletal system, improving muscle tone and endurance.
Muscle burns fat. So when you build muscle, you burn fat even while you are relaxing.
You should plan on doing your strength training workout a minimum of 2 days a week and, ideally 3 days a week.

Anaerobic Exercise
Anaerobic exercise is exercising at high intensity levels for shorter periods of time. An example would be running 8 all out sprints during your workout, each followed by a period of 30 seconds or more recovery time.

Walking...

That sounds simple enought, right? Well it is, but there are ways you can walk that makes exercising more effective and efficient. You can't walk with the intentions of toning and losing weight the same way you casually walk around the house or the office. I've put together a list of techniques that you can do to help when you're walking for exercise. You may think these are crazy, but here they are.
-Bend your elbows. This will cause your arms to swing faster which in return will help your legs to move faster.
-Keep your stride short. Don't take long strides that feel awkward.
-Think heal-to-toe. Push-off with your heal. Toes should leave the ground last.
-Keep your abs pulled in and tight.
-Include interval training walks that include periods of very brisk walking followed by slower, recovery times.
-Remember to always stretch and warm-up.