There is no such thing as the perfect exercise regimen. However, there is a set of certain exercises that can physically prepare you for your regular work out. Practicing these 5 exercises everyday would give your body the perfect warm up. They’ll help loosen your body as well as increase blood circulation.

	The first step to any sort of exercise regimen has to be a jog. This can either be done in the comfort of your home itself or outdoors. However, make sure that you keep this jogging cycle light. This is essentially meant to loosen up all the muscles in the body and warm up the entire system.
	The next in the series of essential exercises are the basic bends. This regimen involves bending from the waist in all the four directions. Stand with your feet together and bend your upper body in front, behind, to the right, and the left side as much as you can. Repeat this at least seven to eight times. Although this might seem like a relatively simple exercise, it works wonders for your spine as well as your sides.
	The next is the vertical stretch. Stand still with your feet firmly on the ground and your hands by your sides. As you inhale, stand on your toes and raise your hands from your sides straight above your head and touch the tips of your palms to each other. Elongate your body as much as you can till you can feel a definite stretch in your spine and gradually your entire body. Maintain this position for as long as possible — 20 seconds or more preferably — and gradually come back to the starting position.
	The next stretch is the exact opposite of the one above. Stand with your feet together. Inhale while lifting your arms straight above your head. Exhale as you bend forward and down till your palms are touching your toes. If you are unable to touch your toes, try to bend as low as you can. Breathe normally while you are in this position and hold this position for at least 30 seconds. As you practice, you can increase the time to several minutes.
	Now, stand with your legs wide apart and your hands on the thighs. Bend your body at the waist, raise your right arm and touch the outer edge of your left foot. While doing this, make sure that your head is turned in the opposite direction (in this case, looking at the ceiling). Repeat this about 10 times alternating the left and the right side.

Doing this will ensure that you don’t suffer from any pulls and cramps while exercising. If you wish to, you can even end your warm up session with a jog, in the same way that you started. Once you’ve done this, you can commence your regular work out.

Are the scales of your weighing machine falling and shooting regularly? Have you lost and gained weight on an ongoing basis? For all those people out there who are constantly hassled by weight problems, here are a few tips to maintain that perfect shape, Forever.

Get Real
Okay, so you want to lose 10 kilos. It’s better to break your goal into portions. Lose two or three kilos at a time. This ensures that weight loss in permanent. Make Notes
Make a workout plan for the week, and stick to it come what may!

Aim for 400
Cut 400 calories from your usual daily intake through diet and/or exercise, and you’ll experience slow but steady weight loss.

Pack Lunch
Stop eating out! All that greasy stuff is not doing you any good. Pack a healthy lunch each day, like a chicken or vegetable sandwich, fruit and sliced vegetables.

A Lifestyle Revamp
Take the lift instead of the stairs. Walk whenever you can. Don’t walk into your house and head for the refrigerator. Change your habits. Get the drift.

Indulge Yourself—In Moderation!
If you’re a chip or chocolate addict, don’t sit with a bowl of it. Have smaller quantities and eat slowly.

Build Muscle
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. So exercise!

Weigh to check your progress.

Tidy the House
This is a great exercise, believe it or not! You can burn 80 to 90 calories during 20 minutes of housework!

Post Diwali can get onto your nerves, especially after consuming loads of alcohol, kaju-katlis, sweets, ice-creams, desserts and other ‘goodies’. All these delicacies can take its toll on your metabolism, immune system and not to forget those extra pounds you earn in the bargain.

As long as you exercise with dedication, every exercise is likely to prove beneficial to you. Make sure to follow these basic rules while exercising.

• Exercise with bodyweight or free weights (barbells or dumbbells).
• Exercises like squats, lunges, jumps, push-ups, pull-ups, dead lifts, shoulder presses work best.
• Choose a load that is heavy, one that you can lift for a maximum of eight times.
• Never train to failure. Always keep a couple of reps ’spare’ in each set by stopping the set before you really have to struggle.

All you have to do is follow this fitness regime for four weeks. Not only will you get your pre-holiday body back, but you’ll be in better shape than you’ve been for ages.

Incase if you decrease your hydration level, your metabolism changes causing you to react differently to the foods that you eat, hoard more fat and stress your immune system. Also try to introduce a pinch of pure sea salt (not table or iodinated salt) to every litre you consume.

While most people begin a new programme of fitness by hitting every permutation of the machines that the gym has to offer, they drive themselves into an exhausted failure. Cut everything short and follow the above fitness schedule.

American nutrition expert Elyn Satter warns us about the perils of losing perspective during dieting. Here are some sensible tidbits from her. Allow yourself to eat sometimes when you really feel like eating, like occasions when you are very happy or sad. It’s also occasionally okay to eat till you are more than just satisfied. Essentially she says be normal and allow yourself to fluctuate your eating according to your schedule, your hunger and your emotions. This will help in making your diet bearable. But may we add, don’t go overboard with this concession you are getting!

One of the biggest challenges is to maintain the weight-loss you have achieved. It is critical that you don’t stop the exercise. You might have noticed that the amount you eat would have automatically come down with the exercising, so you needn’t worry about diet per se so long as you continue with the workouts. However, continue to avoid fatty food. If your weight-loss was based on diet alone, then the best thing you can do is to start with workouts in order to maintain it. Moreover, dig out your old clothes and start wearing them (your old jeans are the best bet). This will help you get committed to keeping the weight off. Remember that a problem in life or just plain old stress might trigger a relapse of your old habits. Remind yourself of what life was like when you were heavier.

Target Muscles

Trapezius(upper), Rhomboids, various other neck and shoulder girdle muscles.