Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

You know, I was working out in the gym yesterday, and I saw at least half a dozen people

wander into the weight room and kind of stand there, bewildered, attempting to figure out

just where to start.

Should they get on a cardio machine, go stretch first, jump right into a light, easy version of an exercise?

Well, this episode will cut through the confusion and teach you exactly what you need to know to do a perfect workout in six easy steps.

Begin with number one, a short cardio warmup.

In the episode, How to Warm Up and Cool Down, you learn that a brief bout of cardio for two to ten minutes can cause increased blood flow, higher muscle temperature, enhanced cooling

mechanisms, and better hormone production

and mental focus during your workout. A simple way to do a quick cardio warm-up is to hop on a

treadmill, bike, or elliptical trainer, start with an easy pace and simply increase the resistance

every 60 seconds for a total of about five minutes. Next, move on to step two, dynamic stretching. Now that

your muscles are warmed up, it's time for dynamic stretching, and this is much different than

static stretching, which would be something like reaching for the sky or touching your toes. Instead,

dynamic stretching involves moving your muscles and joints through different ranges of motion,

which is even more effective after they've been warmed up with your cardio.

Here's a sample dynamic stretching routine.

First, do 10 arm circles in every direction.

Next, do 10 leg swings for each leg in every direction.

Next, lunge from one end of the room to the other and back.

Shuffle sideways from one end of the room to the other and back. Reach for the sky and bend your

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