Is your fall schedule already in full swing? Are your kids – or you – back at school? Are you scrambling to complete end-of-year deadlines at work? Are you ready for the frenetic holiday season?

How on earth are you supposed to meet all your obligations and maintain a fitness regimen too?

High-intensity, low-speed strength training workouts (just once or twice a week) are the answer for you! Plus, you get the benefit of reshaping your body while maintaining a healthy fitness baseline. Now if you’d like to take it to the next level, it’s always a good idea to complement this routine with your other favorite types of exercises like yoga, Pilates, dancing, swimming or sports like tennis, squash or basketball.

Do you want to look terrific? A critical aspect to keep in mind is that strength training will not only tone your body, but it’s also a great step towards fortifying your muscles, joints and all structures around them so that they stay strong, healthy, and injury free. Use strength training as a preventative measure from musculo-skeletal problems that can occur in the future.

Here are some important tips to keep in mind:
1. Start with a few private sessions if your going to start yoga or Pilates. This is a great way to learn good form before engaging in group classes where otherwise the teacher may not be able to focus exclusively on you.

2. Start easy on yourself. Increase the effort you place doing these new techniques over time to avoid unnecessary body pains or stress.

3. Stop if it hurts. Exercise should feel good, not bad!  Recently, one of my new clients made this same comment, and I could not agree more.