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Let's admit it, we all want to be fit, or if not fully fit reach a higher level of fitness, I know I do so I guess you do as well. A higher level of fitness is something we should all try to aim for, as there are so many benefits to a better level of fitness. The reason there are so many web sites, books and TV programs about fitness is that a higher level of fitness will be of benefit to you and help you to lead a healthier lifestyle.

So what are the benefits? Well one of the major benefits of a higher level of fitness is to help you loose weight and this is particularly true in the case of excessive body fat. Putting a fitness program in place is should help in loosing weight. Dieting on its own may work but with a fitness program in place the chances are greatly increased.

Being fitter lowers your heart rate when at rest. This means your heart doesn't have to work as hard when you are resting and being fitter also helps your body to take up more oxygen. This is circulated in your blood to your muscles and to your brain with the obvious benefits that fitness brings.

Fitness also helps to control or reduce your blood pressure levels, both diastolic as well as systolic. This has recently been particularly important for me personally as I have been suffering from hypertension and have been given medication by my physician to help reduce it. A problem of the medication has been to lower my heart rate which has meant less oxygen has been pumping round my body to my brain which often left me forgetful and confused. My work colleagues still think I am confused but they laugh and tell me it is a sign of old age. I don't really think they mean it it's just the usual office joking, but I have answered them by getting fit and I have been working on a fitness regime for several weeks now and the benefits are evident. I am no longer confused, my weight has gone down and body fat is disappearing. I feel much healthier and my hypertension is now under control. Other benefits are that a higher fitness level also helps to lessen the risk of heart disease and chance of having a stroke. Again I have been at risk here as I used to be a smoker but I've given that up as well. It's not easy to raise your fitness when you smoke, so cutting that out helps as well.

There are other benefits to fitness which you should also think about. Higher fitness helps to increase your strength and stamina and this is especially important, as we get a little older.

There are four major areas we need to look at for a proper fitness regime.

You need to develop a program of aerobic exercise to help develop your fitness. Aerobic activity is a fitness training activity which is lengthy in duration but low in intensity. This type of activity is exercises such as walking, biking, swimming and aerobic classes.

Take up resistance training, weight lifting to many of us, but I'm not qualified enough to discuss this in any depth. My fitness regime in this area consists of using small weights (to begin with) as anything heavy and I'd give up on day one.

Take up flexibility exercises. Yoga is an excellent example, and finally

You need proper nutrition, a balanced diet of the proper foods to develop your levels of fitness and help to raise your fitness levels.

Because of these 4 reasons I suggest you think about your local gym or a personal trainer. The experts are trained all about fitness and can advise you on what is best for you. Everyone is different and the fitness program you find on the Internet or in a book may be unsuitable for you in your quest for higher fitness. One of the major hurdles though is motivation. To raise your fitness you need to be motivated. You cannot buy fitness fruit from the deli and just become fit. Fitness takes time and you need to work at it. Just take it steady at first. I'm 48, smoked most of my life and have been overweight for most of it. I've also suffered from hypertension and was thought to be diabetic at one stage. Now I can jog for 6 miles 3 times a week, I eat healthily, pump weights for an hour and walk all day without any problems. How? Well I developed a fitness program, have worked at it, built it up and keep practicing. The result. My fitness levels are now higher than I ever though possible.

I did it, so now it's your turn. Good luck.