What are your personal thoughts on fitness? Do you view everything you can on the subject and try to improve upon your own physicality? There are numerous resources available such as magazines, videos, books, and television shows. So where do you begin with your own routine? Try going through these tips to find your starting point.

To effectively build muscle, avoid painkillers. That may run counter to your instinct, but there’s some research to suggest that painkillers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen can, if taken after working out, render all your pain pointless by preventing muscle growth. Plus, scientists say the painkillers aren’t any more effective than placebos at killing the post-workout pain, anyway.

When developing a fitness routine the savvy exercise enthusiast will not rely on any one form of exercise. Building a regimen with diverse forms of exercise will not only prevent tedium, it will also make it easier to keep working out. Injury, equipment failure or other negative circumstances will have less effect on an overall routine if it includes many forms of exercise.

One way to ensure a safe fitness routine is to make sure that you have fully recovered from the previous day, before attempting your new workout. This can be done by measuring your morning resting heart rate and comparing it to your normal resting heart rate. If it is considerably higher than normal, you need more rest.

A good way to make sure you routinely do as much as you can to get fit is to take a friend to the gym with you. When you take friends to workout with you they not only make sure you don’t slack on going to the gym, but they help motivate you when you’re there as well. Working out together also relieves the stress and anxiety of going to the gym alone.

Plan to eat healthy and exercise on the weekends. The weekend is a source of rest and relaxation for a lot of people. You can have fun on the weekends, but don’t forget about diet and exercise. In order to succeed at losing weight, you have to make healthy living a 24/7 routine.

If you exercise, make sure that you hydrate your body as often as possible. Water is very important, as it will help to restore the liquids that you lost while exercising or lifting weights. Additionally, take a shower immediately when you return home to eliminate the excess bacteria on your skin.

Having a hard, defined six-pack will not be achieved through exercise alone. Exercises focusing on the abdominals are sure to build muscle strength, though they are unlikely to burn excess fat around the middle. If you want washboard abs, you will need to reduce your total body fat by improving your diet and doing plenty of cardio and resistance training.

Now that you have an idea on where to start crafting your own personal fitness routine, are you ready to start experimenting? Are you ready to apply what you read to your body? Can you start bettering your health and appearance properly and smartly? If you can, then have fun! If not, try reading the tips again.

By Alex