This is the amount of activity necessary for the average, healthy person to maintain a minimum level of overall fitness and well being.

WARMUP - 5 -10 minutes of exercises such as walking, slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles or trunk rotations.

MUSCULAR STRENGTH - a minimum of two 20-minute sessions per week that include exercises for all the major muscle groups. Lifting weights is the most effective way to increase strength and build muscle but is also vital for long-term fat loss.

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE - at least three 30-minute sessions once per week that include exercises such as callisthenics, pushups, situps, pullups and weight training for all the major muscle groups.

CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE - at least three 20-minute bouts of continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen) rhythmic exercise each week. Popular aerobic conditioning activities include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope-jumping and rowing. Doing that first thing in the morning, before eating will trigger a high fat burning effect!

FLEXIBILITY - 10 -12 minutes of daily stretching exercises performed slowly without a bouncing motion. This can be included after a warmup or during a cooldown.

COOL DOWN - a minimum of 5 -10 minutes of slow walking, combined with some light stretching. A very effective program that involves all major muscle groups goes here (remember the warm-up as described above) Squat: 1 x 20 reps, Pullover: 1 x 20 reps, Chin up: 3 x max, Superset with: Dips: 3 x max (a superset is going from one exercise to another WITHOUT pause between the two exercises).., Crunch: 1 x 20 reps. That's it and it will take about 30 minutes including warm up and cool down!

I suggest you do that 2 - 3 times a week, and the results will come very quickly! This program is a combination of weight training and a cardio workout, and it VERY effective in both muscle building and fat loss. The program is very old and extremely effective. The original name for this program is "Squat and milk" and it was used by all the old time bodybuilders to get huge amounts of muscle mass in a very short time. When used to get huge amounts of muscle mass, it is vital to eat as much as possible and drink tons of milk every day, then train the program 3 times a week as heavily as possible! But you can use it to trim your body as well, just avoid the huge amount of food and milk, and you will get very lean in a very few weeks! I suggest that you train the program in the morning as, if you do that, you will have a fat burning effect for the rest of the day.

(Never embark on a diet or exercise programme without first consulting a healthcare professional.)

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Exercise