When it comes to getting fit and staying fit, there are so many new ideas about what type of exercise works and doesn’t work. However, you can’t beat getting stuck into a good quality cardio workout and getting your heart pumping. In fact, high intensity interval training (HIIT) which takes aerobic training to the next level with intense bursts of cardio, is the very latest in training styles to really gain popularity.

Fitness and exercise is part of the everyday lifestyle of so many people. However, with so many different ideas on what works and what doesn’t it can be confusing to know what are fitness truths and which are not. What is true is that there are many fitness myths that simply won’t go away regardless of science proving them to not have any weight.

It’s a fact that some people are naturally more flexible. However, if you appear to be doing the robot dance with stiff, jerky movements every time you move, then you might need to get some looseness and flow into your limbs. Yoga is all about greater flexibility and the benefits of this go way beyond trying to bend into a position that resembles a pretzel.

It’s nearly the end of January 2014 and let’s face it, a lot of us have yet to start our planned new fitness regimes. But it’s challenging to be a self-starter if you lack exercise experience or have been out of the fitness game for a while.

High intensity interval training is the number one fitness trend for 2014, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. And with the emphasis on short bursts of intense exercise, what better time to really make the most of the gym and all it has to offer to get your body in shape and your fitness levels higher.

A new year is the perfect opportunity to regroup, reassess and bring some balance into your life. Start 2014 with an exercise style that incorporates the idea of balanced fitness. Pilates creates stability by in the whole body by focusing on six solid principles: concentration; control; centering; flow; precision; and breathing.

There’s lots of advice out there on how to improve your fitness levels and how to really make the most of different training styles. However, what if you are an absolute beginner and need some solid tips on how to get off the starting blocks? If you want to set out on a fitness journey that’s going to take you down the right track for the rest of the year, rather than be an uphill struggle, then you just need to follow some simple ideas.

While you might have made and broken resolutions in the past, let’s face it, if you don’t make them in the first place then you definitely are not going to be able to see them through. New Year resolutions are not about rolling out the same old ideas but taking the opportunity to set the tone for the year ahead, especially when it comes to your health, fitness and lifestyle.