Taking this statement at face value, strength training is obviously intended to 'overcome weakness'; however, it's not quite as simple as that! You're only as strong as your weakest link. Most males (yes, me included...) spend their first few years in the gym obsessed with how much they can bench press. Thin legs can be hidden by baggy trousers and squats are deemed completely unnecessary. Bench press, while a great exercise, has limited carry over to sport or life and little effect on core strength. Run into someone on a rugby field, try to lift heavy furniture, or push your car in the snow and you'll suddenly find your massive bench press hasn't done much to help! Everyone has their favourite exercises in the gym but by avoiding other important exercises we leave ourselves weak overall and susceptible to injures. Training has to address our weaknesses, not just keep building the strengths we already have. Common errors we see are training only the upper body; training only the muscles on the front of the body (the so-called t-shirt muscles); and training the big muscles around a joint and forgetting about the little ones (for example lots of bench pressing and no rotator cuff work). In order to achieve what Charles Poliquin calls 'structural balance', a state where the various muscles around a joint are in the correct balance with each other, it is necessary to do some simple tests and design a programme to overcome your weaknesses.

Louie's statement stands true outwith the gym too. How many golfers practice the stuff they're already good at, for example their iron play, while their short game continues to let them down? And how many rugby players never perfect passing off their 'wrong hand' or tackling with their 'wrong shoulder'? And how may tennis players don't practise volleying? Even away from sport and the gym many of us are afraid to take on new roles at work, start our own business or try new hobbies for fear of failure. It's human nature to want to stay in our comfort zone and not take the risk of looking silly by doing the things we're not good at, but we improve our body and grow ourselves by doing so. Take five minutes now to identify one of your weaknesses and endeavour to make it a strength over the next month!

As the name suggests, 'cardio' is training for the heart; very simply, that will be achieved by raising your heart rate for an extended period of time. On the other hand 'aerobic' and 'anaerobic' relate more to how hard your muscles are working. Activity is considered aerobic when we can breathe in adequate oxygen for our energy demands to be met by the low-intensity aerobic system, one of three pathways our muscles use to generate energy. Activity which is performed at a higher intensity creates a situation where we can't breathe in sufficient oxygen to meet energy demands and the working muscles must rely on anaerobic methods of energy generation. Our anaerobic energy systems are relatively short-duration in nature whereas aerobic energy production can be maintained for very long periods of time. That doesn't make it better, just different! Both aerobic and anaerobic training will elevate the heart rate, with the latter raising it further; both therefore can be considered 'cardio'. Because treadmills, rowers, bikes, cross trainers and steppers are universally known as 'cardio machines' it is hardly surprising that we have a situation where the majority of people believe that these machines are the only way to exercise their heart in a gym, with swimming, running, cycling and any active sports fulfilling the same role outwith the gym. Weight training is considered to serve a completely different purpose by most. But does it elevate your heart rate? You better believe it! Measure your heart rate after a set of squats and you may be surprised at just how high it is! Even exercises which don't involve as much muscle mass as the squat will create a response similar to that experienced during aerobic exercise. Structure your programme appropriately, for example using supersets or a circuit-style approach, and your heart will receive a training effect just as effective as that achieved with traditional cardio. Really, anything which raises your heart rate to an appropriate level for a reasonable length of time can be considered cardio.

So the advice to do cardio for health reasons is sound, but you need to separate the terms 'cardio' and 'aerobic' as they are not the same thing. As I've discussed before, aerobic training can actually be detrimental to your health because of increased oxidative stress, inflammation, depressed immune function and elevated cortisol levels. Weight training and anaerobic training, e.g. sprint intervals and strongman training, provide the 'cardio' benefits without the downsides, still improve your aerobic fitness and are also more effective when it comes to fat loss. So, unless you particularly enjoy aerobic exercise, I really can't see the point of doing aerobic work when you can get your cardio from much more effective forms of training!

Finally, it should be noted that most of the time our muscles are fuelled by aerobic metabolism, this is not something which only happens during exercise. Likewise, our heart rate fluctuates up and down over the course of the day depending on what we are doing. Activity must therefore reach a certain threshold level before it can be considered 'training' so please don't believe that a hectic day at work or at home running around after the kids is a substitute for exercise! This is why it would also be incorrect to claim that classes such as Zumba or Pilates are forms of aerobic exercise. They may be benficial for other reasons, but they are certainly not challenging enough to be considered as effective aerobic or cardio training methods.

People start exercising for many reasons but most of them are vague 'I really should start exercising' sort of reasons. Two or three tough training sessions later, a nasty case of DOMS, and suddenly carpet bowls or zumba seems like a more pleasant option. Those who continue training long-term, often throughout their lives, tend to be training for a reason. It might be to perform better at a sport, to change shape, to make work or life easier, or to improve health. So take a leaf out their book and set yourself a goal.

You may have heard of the SMART acronym, meaning goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timeframed, or some variation of this. One example would be to run a 10k race on 10 June 2012 in under 1 hour. Or lose 21 pounds of fat by 30 April 2012. Or gain 6 pounds of muscle by 30 April 2012. I would need to know more about your personal circumstances to say whether these goals are achievable but they are certainly not unrealistic for most people if they truly commit to them.

You might think that being so precise with your goals is unimportant, but it is all too easy to fall off the wagon or accept substandard results if you don't go through this process. For example, if you simply say you want to 'lose weight' then by losing 2 pounds you can technically say you have achieved your goal even though it's a pretty unimpressive result. Likewise, simply saying you want to 'do a 10k' means you can walk half way, do it in 2 hours, and still say you have been successful. If you set an ambitious but realistic target then you will have to work hard to achieve it but the rewards are much higher at the end.

Another worthwhile strategy is to tell as many people as possible about your goal; this makes it much harder to back out of it as you would need to admit your failure to a number of people!

Finally, it's also worth setting mini goals along the road to reaching your main goal. For example, if your aim is to lose 6 inches off your hips by 31 March 2012 you could set mini goals of 2 inches by 31 January and 4 inches by 29 February. This helps to keep you motivated by ticking off these mini achievements along the way, while stopping you from being tempted to leave things until the last minute. It also means that if you miss your first mini goal you still have time to adjust your plan to achieve the overall goal on time. For example, you might set a goal of losing two stones by your wedding on 26 May 2012, with a mini goal of 1 stone by 1 March. If you have only lost 10 pounds by this stage then you have plenty time to make adjustments to your training and eating plan and still achieve the overall goal, much better than being disappointed to find you've only lost a stone by the time your wedding comes round.

So over the next week or so think about something you'd really like to achieve next year, something which is challenging but achievable given the time and resources available to you. Write it down along with a start date and a completion date and then phone 5 people to tell them what you have written down! Or be brave and tell us your goal in the comments section below so we can provide encouragement along the way! Next arm yourself with the tools and information you need to achieve your goal, enlist any necessary help and expertise you need, then go get it!

1. I don't have time. Easily the most common excuse and easily the worst. Rarely is a lack of time the issue but rather time management and prioritisation. If exercise is low on your list of piorities then that's fine, just don't pretend you'd like to exercise if only there were another 10 hours in the day. Truth be told, you'd fill those with something else and still say you don't have time. The majority of us spend lots of time watching TV, surfing the web, reading the paper and gossiping with friends but can't find 30 to 60 minutes three to four times a week to look after ourselves. Make some time, put your workouts in your diary and don't change them for anything! If you genuinely don't have time to look after your body then maybe you need to take a long hard look at that.
2. I don't enjoy exercise. I'm sure you don't, but I bet you'd enjoy living with some preventable illness caused by poor lifestyle choices like diabetes or heart disease a lot less. Anyway, you just need to think outside the box and find something you do enjoy. Yes, I'd love you to come to the gym but I'm not kidding myself that it's everyone's cup of tea.
3. I need to look after the kids. And the kids would no doubt like to be outside, so be active together; play games, take them for a walk (or a push), teach them a sport, whatever. Exercise should be fun and you can't have more fun than being a kid again!
4. I'm too out of shape. That's what exercise is for! I can never quite understand the idea that you need to be in shape to exercise, not exercise to get in shape. The belief that gyms are filled with lycra-clad goddesses is, sadly, not true so don't worry, you'll fit in fine just as you are.
5. I'm too tired. And why do you think that is? A lack of activity and a rubbish diet, that's why. The more you sit about the more you want to sit about! Exercise, a good diet and adequate hydration have a remarkable effect on energy levels. If you really must use this excuse then please at least be honest and just say you're too lazy!
6. It's too hard. Yes, but when did anything worthwhile ever come easy? If you want the results then put the work in. If you're not willing to put the work in then clearly you don't want the results badly enough and you should stop moaning about a lack of progress.
7. I have a sore back/knee/ankle/little finger/ear. Yeah, and probably a sore bum from sitting on it. Why do you think you have sore knees? Perhaps a lack of activity? Or a sore back? Maybe because it's too weak to withstand the demands of daily life. The vast majority of people find that their aches and pains of many years miraculously subside when they start lifting weights. Even genuine injuries caused by sports or accidents can usually be worked around and helped. Whenever anyone downright refuses to squat because "they hurt my knees" but are happy to use the leg press instead we know #6 applies - it's simply too hard. That's fine, just admit it.
8. I don't know what to do. That's what we're here for. If you forget easily then we can remind you. If you still forget then go to Jenni's classes and she'll remind you every week. And eat fish.
9. It's too dangerous. No, a heart attack is dangerous. Exercising under appropriate supervision is in fact incredibly safe. Just make sure your instructor is suitably qualified because taking advice from unqualified, or under-qualified, instructors is asking for trouble (and yes, we do know some locally!).
10. My job is active enough. Ya think? And that's why you're in the shape of your life? There's a difference between being 'on the go' all day and working at an intensity which brings you health benefits, never mind fitness benefits. I know of few jobs which help keep you healthy, none which actually improve your fitness, but plenty which make you unhealthy. And if you believe your job is active because you're tired at the end of the day then see #5.
11. I can't afford it. Until the government come out with a 'walking tax' then this one is just hopeless. Exercise needn't cost money. Ok, so you might need to spend some time in the weights room if you want to look significantly better, but improving your health can be free. And, if you're short of a bob or two for gym membership, have you ever noticed how much cheaper your shopping is without the biscuits and crisps in the basket?!

So now you're out of excuses there's only one thing for it: start exercising today! Go out for a walk. Or call the gym and book in for a training programme. Or book into some exercise classes. Or phone the secretary of the sports club you always fancied joining. But do it NOW! What's that? You can't, you're too... BZZZZZZZZZZ!

First of all, why the fuss over 'core' training? Some of it comes from 'research' (yes, all the scare quotes are absolutely necessary) which suggested that people with low back pain had weak abdominal muscles. Strengthen core muscles and, voila, healthy back. Suddenly everything in gyms was done on stability balls and Pilates was the most important class on the timetable. There are too many problems to list with the 'research', but one obvious one is that studies done on unhealthy subjects should not be applied to the general public. Perhaps a bigger motivation for many people is aesthetics and the fact that for some reason a toned midsection has become the main criterion on which physique is measured. Grown men can have the body of a 12 year old boy but if you can see their abs then they are deemed to be in great shape. Many people still believe the old 'spot reduction' myth which says you can burn fat from an area of your body by working the underlying muscles; hammer away at endless ab exercises and your stomach fat will miraculously dissolve into your bloodstream to be excreted at your next visit to the loo. The problem is that it really is a myth. If you don't believe me then have a quick check in the loo next time, although it's probably better that you just take my word for it. Television shopping channels make a fortune selling pointless ab gadgets, recommended by people who most certainly didn't get their physiques from using the thing they're selling. I've lost count of the number of people who have proudly told me that they perform hundreds of crunches or sit-ups every morning and evening. I can't help but ask why because I sure as hell can't work it out.

Don't get me wrong, there is certainly merit in the argument for a strong core. It provides a solid platform from which your arms and legs can operate, and forces generated by your limbs are transferred efficiently through your midsection to wherever they are being directed instead of being lost or diminished in an unstable core. So it's not the idea that's the issue here, it's the current method of choice. Think of any movement from bending over to pick up a child or a shopping bag, to a judo throw or a rugby tackle. Our abdominal muscles function as part of what is commonly referred to as a kinetic chain, performing their role in various whole-body movements in an integrated fashion alongside other muscles performing their own roles. Their job may be to lock the spine in place, providing the aforementioned solid foundation and maintaining the integrity of the spine, or to produce movement, or a bit of both. What they don't do is work in isolation. We've been conditioned to believe that they do by the fact that most gyms have rows of machines designed to work individual muscles which, incidentally, does wonders for the bank accounts of equipment manufacturers, somewhat less for the bank accounts of unsuspecting gym owners who have to buy the damn things and even less for your body. But to return to my argument, we've been led to believe that our muscles should be trained in isolation and it follows that the muscles of the core must therefore deserve their own exercises. Hopefully you can see the major flaw in this.

If not, don't worry, neither can the hundreds of personal trainers who charge good money to train their clients' cores with ridiculous exercises. Here's a more obvious argument: it also appears that the abdominal muscles have little potential for strength gains when trained in isolation, with some experts claiming that if you isolate your abdominal muscles then you are likely to see some improvement for the first 8 weeks or so and then progress will cease. For the rest of your life. How many of you have been doing abdominal exercises for more than 8 weeks? 8 years more like. Okay, you can stop now.

Or how about a quick look at the physiques of athletes. Seriously, if you want to look good then take a leaf out of an athlete's book. Do you really think they get abs like that by doing crunches and Pilates? Nope, just proper training and diet. Oh yeah diet. Remember, if you want to see your abs then you need to have pretty low body fat. I'd guess 10-12% before you see too much of them. Training will build the muscles you want to see, diet will let you see them.

So what constitutes proper training if doing it lying on your back is a waste of time. The answer is easy, convincing people to do it is the hard part. Quite simply, you do the main barbell lifts: squat, deadlift, press, and maybe some Olympic lifting if you fancy learning something a bit more challenging. In other words, whole-body exercises. This isn't just my own thinking by the way; people measure this stuff, and the greatest activity in rectus abdominis (the best known of your abdominal muscles) has been measured during the deadlift, but to be honest there won't be much between them all. People in the industry who tell you otherwise either don't have the experience with these lifts or they are simply too lazy to do them themselves. Either way, don't be misled by their thinking. The weight is perfectly scaleable to your current capabilities and as you increase the weight you increase the demands on your core, as well as on the other muscles involved in the movement. Most of the stuff done in gyms and classes is no more challenging to your core than the daily activities you are supposedly training for, and certainly does not compare with what you will face in most sports.

So do yourself a favour: forget the endless crunches and sit-ups and see just how hard your core muscles work while performing correctly executed and properly loaded barbell exercises!

I've said it before and I'll say it again many more times: the idea that females can build large muscles by lifting weights is just ridiculous. So don't make the mistake of choosing to lift pink plastic dumbbells in some attempt to avoid becoming Amazon-esque. If you are going to make the effort - and I beleieve every female from their teens to their 90s should - then at least do it properly and lift something heavy. Below are 10 reasons why...

1. Muscle mass raises metabolism. If the words 'muscle mass' didn't just scare you straight to point two then relax, I'm only talking a few pounds here! One pound of muscle will burn in the region of 50 calories (kcal) per day just to maintain itself. If you were to gain 4lb that's 200kcal per day and 1400kcal per week. Forgive me for involving arithmetic as early as point one, but there are 3500kcal in a pound of fat which means your supercharged metabolism will now burn off an extra pound of fat every two and a half weeks, all while you sit on your backside at work or watching TV - how good is that?! All you need is to commit to the 4 hours or so per week to gain that muscle. For those of you baulking at the thought of what 4lb of muscle might look like I can tell you categorically: much better than 4lb of fat! Weight training can also raise your metabolism simply as a result of performing a high-intensity session, with increases measured for almost 2 full days; if you train no less than every 2 days you'll have a permanently raised, fat-torching metabolism!
2. Osteoporosis prevention. Osteoporosisis is a bone-wasting disease which approximately 50% of women will suffer from during their lifetime. Often the first warning that you have it is a broken bone after a fall. Hips are one of the more vulnerable areas, and a depressing statistic is that the mortality rates from complications in the first year following a hip fracture are around 25%, with the highest rates in older adults. Many activities are claimed to be preventative, but weight training stands head and shoulders above anything else. In early adulthood weight training can increase bone density, and building up a 'bank' of bone before the inevitable decline after menopause is one very good reason young females should be encouraged to lift weights. Typically it was believed that weight training after menopause would only reduce the rate of bone loss, but more recent studies have demonstrated that it may in fact be possible to increase bone tissue in older women. So it's never too late to start!
3. Strength. Yeah, ok, it goes without saying that strength training will improve strength! Just be clear that not all weight training is strength training.  For example, lifting a yellow plastic 3kg dumbell in a 'legs, bums & tums' class is not going to improve strength. Or in fact anything for that matter. Nor does doing a few token biceps curls and abdominal crunches after your cardio session count. Strength is probably the most useful quality you can improve (see point four), and is often the key in maintaining quality of life and independence as we age.
4. Function. 'Functional training' is a description perhaps over-used in the fitness industry at present, especially when it relates to silly exercises done with small dumbbells and bosu balls, but it does have genuine merit when it is used to mean something like 'training which improves your ability to carry out daily tasks at home or work.' People often tell us they need to be fitter in order to carry out these tasks but make the mistake of assuming it is their aerobic fitness which is lacking. In fact it is almost always strength which is lacking; if you can lift heavy stuff then lifting light stuff becomes remarkably easy. Getting 'fitter' through endurance activities will make no difference, and in fact flexibility would rank higher than aerobic fitness when it comes to improving your functionality, so consider starting a flexibility programme alongside your strength training. By all means do 'cardio' for enjoyment, but take note of the 10 reasons not to do aerobic training post!
5. To look better. This is covered more in other posts, and I'll spare you the physiology lesson, but suffice to say that if you want to look better you need to do more than simply lose fat which, to be honest, you can do simply by improving your diet (although perhaps not along the lines most qualified dietitians would have you believe). Aerobic training will just make you lose more muscle along with the fat, lowering your metabolism and setting you up for a fall in the not too distant future. Have a look at the physique of an elite marathon runner and decide if that's really what you're after. Then compare body fat levels of the marathon runner with a sprinter and you might be surprised to learn who has less fat. Pilates and Yoga may claim otherwise, but their role is most certainly not in making you look any better. Strength training, when done at an appropriate intensity and using a programme which resembles that of an athlete, not a bodybuilder, has the capacity to dramatically change your body shape. We're all constrained by our genetics, but anyone who tells you it doesn't work wasn't trying hard enough!
6. Sport. If you take part in almost any sport, including endurance events, then strength training will improve your performance. The aim of your time in the gym is not to practise sport-specific movements, it is simply to get stronger and more powerful and your practise sessions will then convert this strength into something useful for your sport. All other things being equal, a stronger athlete will always beat a weaker opponent.
7. Empowerment. One of the things I enjoy most in this line of work is the sense of achievement, often mixed with surprise, a woman feels when she deadlifts 50kg on her first day in in the gym. With a fair bit of hard work this might become 100kg over the following months. It is empowering to be strong, and I think that is especially so for a female, knowing they don't need to be the 'weaker sex'. For hormonal reasons you probably won't get as strong as the guys in the gym (the same reasons you won't build large masculine muscles or have to shave your back before wearing a strappy dress) but you can still get very, very strong. Many women say they feel embarrased going into a weights room full of men, and I can understand that, but just remember that if they are watching you it is probably with genuine admiration, combined with jealousy about the fact that your technique is almost certainly better than theirs!
8. Joint health. I've lost count of the number of times I've cursed under my breath when someone has told me they can't lift weights because they have a sore 'X' (insert bodypart here which you believe will get you out of all the toughest exercises in the gym. Hint: knees and back are a popular choice). What these people fail to realise is that in the majority of cases it is years of either a lack of use, or perhaps misuse (it's somehow perfectly good for the knees to jog 10 miles on hard roads but not to squat heavy weights for 5 sets of 5?! And yes, there is research to back me up there!), which has caused the problem and that the answer lies in getting those joints moving again, improving their flexibility and strengthening the surrounding muscles. In cases where there is a genuine injury, there are very few we can't work around and still improve the situation.
9. General health. There is a belief that lifting weights is only intended to train your muscles and that 'cardio' exercise is the only mode of exercise which will achieve health benefits; this is a misconception, and a properly designed weight training programme can kill lots of birds with one stone, including improving your health (doesn't do much for the birds' health though). In fact, according to Dr Robert Rakowski, muscle mass tops the list of predictors of a long life. That may seem odd at first, but think about what happens when we are ill - we lose muscle tissue; start with low levels and we risk 'running out' during serious illness. Interestingly, strength is second on his list while aerobic capacity is fifth.
10. Time efficiency. You could perform all manner of different modes of training for osteoporosis prevention, weight loss, strength, aerobic fitness and 'toning' (aaaggghhhhhh I said it again), or you could lift weights. It's as simple as that; correctly performed weight training gives you all the benefits discussed above and many more not listed here, or in other words you get more 'bang for your buck'! For an investment of something like 3-4 hours per week doing a well designed strength programme you can achieve almost everything that exercise has to offer.

There are many more reasons to do strength training but hopefully 10 has been enough to convince you that it's a good idea! Let us know if you would like to make a start and need a helping hand because, as with all forms of exercise, you can waste time, effort and money if you don't do it right. On the other hand, you can make tremendous progress quickly with a well designed programme. See you 'at the bar' soon!

Primal Weight Loss Club meets from 5.30-6.00pm every Friday.

Science for Smart People

10 reasons not to do aerobic training:

1. It is ineffective after about 8 weeks. In other words, your fitness will improve for a short period of time beyond which you are wasting time and effort which would be better spent on different training methods.
2. Aerobic training is catabolic. This simply means it will cause you to lose muscle tissue which is detrimental for a number of reasons, not least because muscle mass tops Dr Mark Houston's list of predictors of how long you will live! This is because if you become ill, you will lose muscle mass; if you don't start with much you have less chance of surviving. Decreased strength and a slower metabolism are just two of many more reasons why losing muscle mass is a bad idea.
3. Adrenal fatigue. Like any excessive stress on the body, aerobic exercise can contribute to adrenal fatigue because of its long-duration continuous nature. Besides causing many umpleasant symptoms this can make fat loss almost impossible and often results in fat gain, particularly around the midsection. Probably not what you had in mind when you set off jogging! More intense exercise interspersed with periods of recovery is perceived as much less stressful by your body.
4. Inefficient use of time. Anaerobic training methods, for example weight training and interval training, have been shown to improve both anaerobic and aerobic fitness markers; in other words you improve both. Aerobic training only improves aerobic fitness, and I don't believe it even does it as effectively as anaerobic training. Two birds, one stone.
5. You have little need for high levels of aerobic fitness. People often complain about 'feeling unfit' during daily activities, for example when they have to lift heavy objects or run up stairs, but it isn't your aerobic fitness which has let you down in these examples. No job or daily activity that I can think of (I'm happy to hear your suggestions!) demand high levels of aerobic fitess. Strength is a much more useful quality, and the stronger you are the easier you will find any of life's tasks. And remember: your job only makes you as strong as the demands of the work involved. To find the work easier you need a strength reserve, so while a farmer may already be stronger than an office worker, being even stronger would make more sense than being more aerobically fit.
6. It won't get you fit for your sport. In the past, sports coaches often advocated boosting your 'aerobic base', with players in predominantly anaerobic sports spending time doing aerobic training in the off-season. The situation has improved dramatically in recent years, but some things are hard to let go and many amateur players in sports such as football, rugby and tennis waste time on aerobic work, and many boxers are still known to pound the streets like Rocky! Not only is it pointless, it may interfere with strength gains from weight training, something which is extremely valuable for your sporting performance.
7. It has little effect on your metabolism. Aerobic exercise may increase your metabolism for two or three hours while intense exercise can raise your metabolism for almost 48 hours, and this is one of the ways in which more intense training can have a positive effect on fat loss. The advice to do aerobic exercise for fat loss is completely out of date, and several studies have demonstrated superior fat loss on an intense interval protocol compared to much longer endurance training methods.
8. Time becomes the main programme variable. Rather than jogging the same distance at a faster pace or swimming the same number of lengths faster, many people simply go further at the same pace. This type of training is often referred to as Long Slow Distance Training (LSDT) in endurance training circles; unfortunately, it is the slow bit that seems to get emphasised while the distance, and therefore time, gets longer. And longer. And longer. There are many reasons not to train for too long, not least of which is the fact that a lack of time is often the reason (or excuse?!) people have for not exercising. And before you justify it by saying that you do increase your speed, if it's still continuous it's still aerobic!
9. Aerobic exercise does not equal cardiovascular exercise. Although the terms 'cardio' and 'aerobic' have become synonymous, 'cardio' is any activity which improves the function and health of the cardiovascular system, while aerobic refers to the intensity at which the working muscles are operating (and is relatively low as it relies on having adequate oxygen available). Resistance training and interval training are at least as effective as aerobic training at improving your cardiovascular health, yet this is still one of the main objections from people advised to drop their aerobic work.
10. It's boring. Now I appreciate that some people do actually enjoy going out jogging or swimming a few lengths, and we have to do things we enjoy and keep us sane! If that's the case then take the advice of Mark Rippetoe who says, "If you want to ride your bikes, don't be gone too long. In fact, be back before supper." However, many people find it mind-numbing but do it because they have been led to believe it is the best option for fitness and fat loss. Hopefully, having read the above points, you now realise that is not the case!

OK, you're convinced that your plan to start jogging, dust off the bike or do a few lengths of doggy paddle is a bad one. So what now?

The best bet would be to begin a weight training programme. (If you intend to keep up your aerobic training then a concurrent weight training programme would be a great idea too to prevent some of the inevitable muscle loss!). The benefits of weight training are too numerous to list here (that might have to be my next blog post), but suffice to say everyone should prioritise it in their exercise plan.

If you plan to run, cycle or swim in addition to weight training then interval training is a much better option than continuous work; the rest periods make it more manageable for beginners, while the high intensity intervals will provide anyone with a much more effective workout in a shorter time. A good starting point would be to do 45 seconds as hard as you can followed by around 90 seconds of easy recovery. Build up from 5 or 6 intervals to 12 over a few weeks, by which time your sessions will take around 30 minutes to complete including your warm up. This may seem like a very short time if you are used to long slow sessions, but if you get the intensity right on the work intervals you shouldn't feel like continuing regardless of your experience or fitness level!

So, in summary: forget the aerobic work, start an effective weight training programme and, if you still have a little time and enjoy 'cardio', finish with a short, sharp interval session. Just don't be sick on the floor!