If you want to get in shape or stay in shape you can walk, run or cycle every morning, play sports with friends, but if you want to have muscles and look lean, then lifting some weights either at the gym or at home is your best bet.

People go to the gym for many reasons. eg:

To lose a few pounds if they are overweight.
To gain a few pounds (of muscle) if they are underweight.
To get fit and Healthy.
To get strong.

The most effective exercise plan for most should have some cardiovascular work and mostly weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio better than cardiovascular work alone.

Some Benefits of Weight training:
1. It is the best way to maintain and improve ones health from a variety of diseases and premature death.

2. It makes a person feel better and increases ones self confidence, prevents depression, anxiety
and gloom.

3. A weight training lifestyle helps a person live longer than an inactive person.

4. It instils discipline into a person, making other things in life easy.

5. It makes one stronger physically and mentally.

To start: one should consult a physician to get the go ahead and then get into it gradually.
Getting stronger, fitter, healthier week by week building up more endurance will be of great benefit to you.

Aim for 3 or 4 days a week working out, this is sufficient no matter what your goals are.
Maintain a reasonable diet.
You could consult with a professional to get an excellent eating plan to match your goals and gym
activities.They will evaluate you based on your needs, and recommend a diet plan.

A good diet should have nutrients from all the food groups.
This is made up by 3 basic groups.

The first is carbohydrates.The energy source. The food that a person consumes should have vitamins, minerals and some fiber. A lot of this comes from oats, rice, potatoes, cereals and breads, and also from vegetables and fruits since these have phytochemicals, enzymes and micronutrients that are essential for a healthy diet.

The Second is Protein. The building blocks of muscle and essential organs.This comes from fish, chicken, red meat and dairy. Protein is broken down in the body to form amino acids for repair and
growth of new cells.

The third is fat. The body's enemy, according to most.There are 4 types of fat: Saturated (the bad) from animals, the more animal fat you consume the higher your blood cholesterol will rise, increasing the risk of a malfuntion in the body.Should be taken in small quantities.Sources are: Beef, dairy, coconut oil.
Polyunsaturated (the good) Comes from plants, reduces blood cholesterol. Sources are: nuts,fish, safflower oil, seeds, corn oil and sunflower oil.
Monounsaturated (the best) also comes from plants, raises the good cholesterol.Sources are: Avocado,
olive oil, olives, nuts, canola oil and peanut butter.
Trans fats (the ugly) This is relatively new, the effects are unknown, it is believed that they behave like saturated fat (the bad) causing blood cholesterol levels to rise.

The consumption of fats (the good fats) is important for our health. They are used in the production of hormones and other activities.We do need some fat, but do limit the bad.

A great way to help your efforts in the gym is to give up some detrimental habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol. Smoking damages the lungs and dramatically increases the risk of lung cancer along with other diseases. Excessive drinking has also been shown to causes major diseases.
These two habits are definitely not worth having around.

The best thing one can do for themselves is to quit any destructive habits they have and get into that gym, start pumping some iron and look forward to greater Health and Fitness.

For more information on Weight training, Health, Fitness and Nutrition visit: www.explosivemusclegrowth.com