Exercise is a key component to a healthy lifestyle. It gets the heart pumping and blood flowing. Many people exercise to tip the scales one way or another – some to lose weight, others to gain it.

So what are the best ways of achieving your goals?

Firstly, exercising takes on many forms: A brisk walk, or a bike ride count as exercise, as does more aggressive actions like running or swimming. Understanding your goals is important.

If you are interested in gaining weight or muscle mass here are a few tips:

1. Eat more. It seems simple enough, but many people are getting the caloric intake needed to gain muscle. Three meals a day are a must.

2. Try a protein supplement. Protein offers nutrients that rebuild muscle affected during a workout. It helps generate new muscle too.

3. Stay away from junk. Foods with high sugar content will do you no favors. Eat healthy, get lots of protein and vegetables, and stay away from sweets.

If you’re interested in toning your body and losing weight, here are a few different tips:

1. Keep eating. Starving yourself while working out won’t benefit you in the long run. Eating the right food at an abbreviated level is what you need. Keeping active requires fuel – food equals fuel.

2. Don’t workout at high weight. Muscles get bigger with more stress. Heavy weights offer increased resistance to your body, and will result in bigger muscles. Try more repetitions at lower weight.

3. Stretch. Always stretch. Gaining or losing weight, the best way to protect your body is by keeping it nimble.

4. Cardio. A good cardio exercise will burn calories fast, and will give you energy throughout the day.

Exercise is important. Setting goals, along with understanding how to achieve them is the best way to keep you getting fit and staying that way.