Getting in shape is hard even if you’ve got every weight loss book from Stop the Insanity to Weight Loss for Dummies. If someone tells you it’s easy, they’re lying. The truth is that it takes a lot of work, a lot of perseverance, it takes a lot of patience, and giving up is the easiest thing in the world to do. All you need to do is not work out one day, and then not work out the next day, and so on. Sticking to it on the other hand may be one of the toughest, most trialing things you’ve ever done. But, in the end, it’s worth it. Before you begin any serious work out routine, you will want to do the following…

Get Physical
Yes, you need to start exercising before you start exercising. Before you run out and buy a Bowflex, you need to get your body ready for regular physical activity with, well, regular physical activity. You can start simple by walking to work and pacing in your home or office when you have some spare time.

Quit Your Bad Habits
If you smoke, if you drink, cut it out before you start working out. Running a mile is tough enough. Running a mile for a smoker is a form of attempted suicide. When you quit smoking, you may gain a little weight, but ultimately you’ll be a lot healthier and be able to work out for much longer.

Set Goals
Here on this website, you’ll find all sorts of advice for losing weight, building muscle and so on, but you need to set specific goals. If you were a bus driver, you would follow a route from stop to stop, you wouldn’t just drive in every direction until you get there. The same goes for working out and losing weight. If you want to lose a lot of fat, then low-intensity, longer exercise sessions are important: walking, bicycling, swimming etc. If you want to build muscle, big weights and heavy hitting workouts are key.