Are you just starting to get back into a workout routine after years away from the gym? Perhaps you’ve never been to the gym in your life and need to figure out some sort of daily pattern of what the heck to do.

A few years ago I lost 40 pounds after years of sitting on the couch. So, let me give you some advice on how to get into or back into the swing of things.

First, start small. Don’t expect too much of yourself when you are beginning that way you will be impressed by the results you do achieve.

Second, do a combination of both weight lifting and cardio. Weight lifting will build muscle and the more muscle you have the more fat you burn. Cardio is important too. However, you don’t have to spend hours every day on a treadmill. By doing ten 50 – 100 meter sprints you will actually raise your metabolism so that you are burning more calories when you do spend longer on the treadmill.

Third, there is no reason to do sit ups or any sort of ab workouts until you have gotten down to the body fat percentage that will make your ab muscles visible. Men need below 10% body fat and women below 16%.

Four, you don’t need to spend hours a day in the gym. Just spend between 30 – 45 minutes five days a week. You can do cardio one day and lift weights the next. Variety is the spice of life and will keep you from getting bored.

Finally, here are some weight loss secrets that will add to the effectiveness of your efforts. Exercising in the morning before eating burns off the fat calories rather than carb calories so this is an optimal time. Green tea has been found to significantly increase the metabolism and therefore contributes to weight loss. Brew yourself some green tea and save it as iced tea to drink while you are working out.

And, last but not least, take cayenne pepper capsules. The benefits of this spice are too numerous to list here but one of them is that it also increases your metabolism.