Many people say that improving their fitness is their goal for the new year. However, people often fail to meet their fitness goals due to a lack of knowledge or information about improving their fitness. This article contains a number of tips to help you on your way to improving your fitness.

Walking is a good way to boost fitness. Walking heel to toe starts that involves pushing your heels first and toes last can boost your calves’ efforts. Give your arms a workout too by power walking (bending elbows and swinging arms as you walk.)

If you’re just starting out with exercise, start out slow. Don’t jump in head first and try to run five miles without having exercised before. You can wind up injuring yourself and doing more harm than good. Instead start with a short walk and slowly increase the length and the speed. Before you know it you’ll be running five miles without any problems.

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.

Walking is a great exercise. When walking bend your elbows and it will help your arms to swing faster, causing your legs to move faster. Walk at a comfortable stride. Adding in intervals, where you alternate walking fast and then slow will help you burn more calories during your walk.

When doing squats, don’t rest the bar on your neck. Resting it on your neck will make the entire weight press on your spine which will make muscle and spinal injuries more possible. Hold the bar as low as possible on your shoulders, this will help save your neck.

Never accept pain during a workout. Pain is not a sign that you are doing something right, and you could really hurt yourself if you don’t stop when you’ve done too much. Know the difference between feeling natural tension in your muscles and outright pain. If pain doesn’t stop when you are done with your workout, consider seeing a doctor.

You should stop using a weight belt when performing most lifting exercises. Over time, a weight belt will weaken your abs and lower-back muscles. The only times that you should wear a weight belt is when you perform large lifts, such as squats, deadlifts and overhead presses.

Learn how to do squats by using a chair. Squats can be great for you, as long as you have good form. Learn how to do this by sitting in a chair, but standing back up the second you feel your bottom touch it. This is the best way to learn the proper squat technique.

As was stated at the beginning of the article, improving your personal fitness can be a very tough challenge, but becomes much easier if you have the right advice and tips to help you succeed. Apply the advice in this article and be on your way to better personal fitness.