Fitness advice

The task: Pick five of the best tips for getting and staying fit.

The experts: Roger Sommers is a certified personal trainer/fitness counselor from the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. He specializes in general fitness conditioning including weight loss, muscle toning, strength training, cardiovascular and training for cycling. Kimberly Wagler is the owner of Impulse Personal and Sports Training and has a bachelor’s degree in adult fitness from Malone College and a personal training certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

SOMMERS’ TOP FIVE TIPS:

1. Eat a balanced, moderately portioned breakfast, lunch and dinner, with two to three lower-fat, higher-protein snacks in between. Skipping meals, especially breakfast, is counterproductive to speeding up your metabolism.

2. Journal your food. Simply writing down your calories, as well as grams of protein, carbohydrates and fat, gives you a 50 percent higher chance of achieving your dream body.

3. Eat your meals slowly and stop eating when you start to feel full. Give the food 10 to 20 minutes to digest a bit; then your appetite should be satisfied.

4. Cut down the fat and raise the protein. Good lean protein sources include chicken breast, lean cuts of red meat, pork, turkey, fish, beans, lentils and tofu.

5. Avoid eating out on a regular basis. Most meals served at typical restaurants, whether sit-down or fast-food, are extremely high calorie and/or high sodium. If you do eat out, look for restaurants that offer better choices and have some “healthy” menu items.

WAGLER’S TOP FIVE TIPS:

1. Set goals, write them down, and post them where you will see them daily. If your goals are not well-defined you may get discouraged or frustrated with your workouts. If you have a bigger goal that is going to take awhile to accomplish, make sure to break it up into several smaller, easier-to- accomplish ones. This will help you to progress and keep your motivation levels high.

2. Develop a clear-cut fitness plan that outlines how you are going to achieve your goals. This will allow you to maximize your time in the gym and accelerate your results. Hire a professional to put a plan together for you.

3. Cardio done right. Get 150 to 200 minutes of cardio training in each week. Doing your cardiovascular exercise in the right heart-rate or intensity zone is a big key to one’s success. This is crucial for fat loss and heart and lung health.

4. Do strength training using proper form. This is essential for fat loss, maintaining or increasing bone density, shaping muscles and keeping your metabolism elevated. But it doesn’t matter how many repetitions you do if you are not using proper form. Without that, you will not see the results you want and you are putting your body at risk for injury.

5. Get professional assistance. Everyone should hire a personal fitness consultant/trainer to set up a custom program. An experienced and knowledgeable trainer will take the frustration and guesswork out of your program and make fitness more enjoyable.