The right exercise program will do more than just make you bigger, faster and stronger. It will also make you smarter, healthier and happier. For people that make exercise a regular part of their lives, everything becomes transformed. They way they see the world and the way the world sees them is completely altered.

Here are the best exercise programs to make you more fit:

• Weight training

Your muscles are the “workers” of your body. Everything you do, from brushing your teeth to moving furniture, is controlled by your muscles. Weight training makes your muscles more fit by requiring them to perform movements that are out of their “comfort zone.”

When muscles are stretched and squeezed more than they are used to, the micro-fibers in them tear. Your body, the advanced adaptive system that it is, sees this as a threat and must stop it from happening again. It does this by repairing those tears and making the fibers stronger. And what is the effect of stronger fibers? Stronger muscles.

• Duration: 45 minutes.
• Frequency: 3 times a week.
• Equipment: Dumbbells, barbells, machines and kettlebells.

Cardiovascular

Your heart is the most important “muscle” you have. It is responsible for pumping oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to the important parts of the body. Cardiovascular workouts strengthen the heart by activating the cardiac muscle, which makes the heart fill up more and beat stronger, leading to increased circulation and energy levels.

By making the heart more fit, you lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of diabetes and minimize the chance of heart attack.

• Duration: 60 minutes.
• Frequency: 3-5 times a week.
• Equipment: Running shoes, bicycle, jump rope, swimming pool.

Yoga

You breathe in and out more than 25 times per minute. This crucial action is made possible by the lungs, a pair of organs that take oxygen from the atmosphere and transfer it into the bloodstream. Yoga improves those respiration organs by making them “suck in” more air during a workout.

If lungs are made to work more during a workout, they will become more reliable when it comes to ridding the body of carbon dioxide waste.

• Duration: 20 minutes.
• Frequency: 2-3 times a week.
• Equipment: Exercise mat.

Stretching

Muscles that are frequently challenged will need to be soothed. This is done through stretching. By stretching after every workout and on non-workout days, you relax the muscle, relieving it of tension and improving range of motion. Stretching also cuts down soreness time by filling the muscles with blood and oxygen.

• Duration: 10 minutes.
• Frequency: After every workout and on non-workout days.
• Equipment: None.

Rest is the most overlooked aspect of an exercise program. People assume that if it doesn’t make you sweat it won’t create results. This is untrue. If you don’t rest enough, your muscles won’t grow and your fat won’t be lost.

Rest doesn’t involve just sleep. It is also means taking it easy during your waking hours when you are not working out. You only have so much in your “tank.” If you spend it before you get to the gym, you’ll find yourself going nowhere.

• Duration: 6-8 hours.
• Frequency: Every day.
• Equipment: Bed.

“Fit” is not a simple word. It is an all-encompassing term that addresses every aspect of your life. If you truly want to become more fit, you need to participate in many different exercise programs. Each has its own unique benefits, but when combined with others, it becomes much stronger and more effective.