Keep it simple!!

We are all guilty of reading up on the newest and craziest fitness fads. Sometimes it's very easy to get sucked in with the clever marketing or the fancy gadgets. The ab machine that will give you an 8-pack if you do it for 5 minutes a day or the new fitness class that 'melts' fat from your thighs.

For a beginner this can get confusing. For a long time now I have said stick with the basics. When I first joined the fitness industry I too got sucked in. I saw people doing single-leg alternate shoulder presses while balancing on a bosu ball. Why not just do a shoulder press with your feet on the floor and lift a heavier weight?

In the strength and fitness game, less is often more. Don't overcomplicate things with too many different exercises in the gym or confusing forms of cardio. If you are starting out and you want to get a bit fitter and a bit leaner, but you haven't exercised in a while then simply WALK! It's so easy and so simple but we rarely do it. This may be down to transport, lazyness, trying to fit too much into the day etc. But if we factored in 3 15-minute walks a day, all of a sudden we have totalled 45 minutes of cardio. Get off the bus a stop earlier, walk to work, put your headphones on and go for a 15 minute stroll one way and then 15 back. Not only will this improve things physically but mentally. If you have something on your mind, go for a long walk and i bet it won't be there when you've finished.

Some other basic strength exercises that you can base your programme around are:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Deadlifts
• Chest press
• Pushups
• Clean and press
• Shoulder press
• Chinups
• Rows

Don't get caught up the latest fad. Keep things simple, consistent and progressive. This will get results.

Oli.