Our bodies are designed to take in energy through food and expend it by exercise. Surplus sits around, stored as fat. However much you cut calories and fat intake (and we don’t think dieting is the best way of slimming, you won’t be able to lose weight efficiently and permanently unless you get moving.

Over the course of the 20th century, our patterns of exercise have changed dramatically. Although our mothers and grandmothers probably never went to the gym, they might well have taken a brisk walk every day, or gone riding and, since there were no washing machines or vacuum cleaners, most of them would have exerted a lot of energy doing the housework. The trouble now is that to deal with what most of us have to get through in a day, we have to cut corners – dash into the car, take a lift or escalator, tumble-dry washing rather than pegging it out and so on. Some days, we hardly move at all.

The solution, we are convinced, is to take exercise that you enjoy so that it becomes fun, combining fitness and relaxation. As well as making the body function better (from sending oxygen scudding to every part of your system to making your digestive system work more efficiently), exercise is a proven mood enhancer. It triggers the release of ‘feel-good’ hormones which whoosh round your body and give you a sense of well-being.

Working your body not only helps you lose weight and re-shapes it, it also boosts your energy levels, strengthens your heart and helps guard against all sorts of illness. We know too that it is vital in preventing osteoporosis, the loss of bone density which leads to brittle bones. And exercise is also pretty well guaranteed to improve your sex life.

How much and what sort of exercise do you need for general fitness?

In a perfect world, according to fitness expert Gloria Thomas, one of the star instructors of London’s Harbour Club, we would exercise for at least 30 to 40 minutes six days a week, doing a combination of strength, aerobic and flexibility routines. But, she says, the main thing is to do what you can fit in and never feel guilty. ‘Ten minutes every day is much better than nothing.’

You will notice some benefits immediately: the ‘exercise glow’, increased energy, improved spirits, fewer aches and pains (but don’t overdo it at first if you’re usually sedentary) and sounder sleep. Over three to six weeks, your body shape will start to change and firm up, but only if you eat a healthy diet as well. You may lose weight, but don’t worry if you are working out diligently and yet put on weight – muscle weighs more than fat.

If you are not used to exercise, it’s always a good idea to check with your doctor first, then start with a short time every day and build up gradually. Always start and finish exercise with some warm-up breathing and stretches, whether it’s a full-blown workout, speed-walking (also known as power-walking) in the park, or even a wild solo dance around your kitchen.

A useful tip from pros is that, while working out, you should always be able to chat easily, without puffing or panting, whatever the exercise. And never forget to breathe deeply, slowly, rhythmically.

Finally, don’t exercise if you have an injury or are ill in any way, and don’t overtrain as it may leave you more vulnerable to infection. If you are feeling below par, take a gentle walk or do a short stretching session and leave the power stuff for a day or two.

Strength: helps tone and redefines body shape, boosts metabolic rate and burns calories, helps protect against osteoporosis, is good for posture, can help prevent bad backs.

Try: weight training at home (add small dumbbells or ankle weights to your walk, jog, stretch routine) or at a local gym, but don’t use large weights while walking, jogging or stretching – they may cause injury. Try using your own weight against your muscles – for instance with resistance bands.

Aim for: ten to 20 minute sessions two to four times a week, on alternate days.

Aerobic (cardiovascular): strengthens heart and lungs, improves circulation, excellent for burning calories and body fat.

Try: brisk walking, walking up and down stairs or steps, dancing, swimming, water aerobics, running, cycling, jogging, rebounding (on a mini-trampoline), golf, tennis, aerobics or step classes, an exercise bike, treadmill, stair machines, kick boxing, squash (for advanced exercisers only).

Aim for: three to five sessions weekly, each 15 to 60 minutes.

Flexibility (stretching): you need to stretch out all major muscle groups after any workout to keep you flexible and help prevent injuries to joints and muscles. Stretching also helps even out lumpiness. It’s especially important for older people.

Try: yoga, any martial arts.

Aim for: daily stretch sessions, of five to ten minutes or more, plus one to two classes weekly (yoga classes are often 90 minutes long).

Start by checking your posture

You can lose five pounds (2.27kg) instantly – or look as if you have – by the way you stand and sit and walk. Droopy bodies with hunched shoulders are not only unattractive – they are positively bad for you because they restrict your circulation.

Begin by looking at how you stand. Stand side on to a mirror with your feet a hip width apart, legs straight – but don’t lock your knees. Pull your tummy in and check your spine. It should gently curve at your upper and lower back. There should be a straight line running down from your ears, through your shoulders, hips and knees to your ankles. Your arms should hang in the middle of your thighs as you look at them from the side.

If your shoulders are hunched, don’t force them back – let your shoulder blades sink down to open your chest and shoulders.

The brain has such remarkable powers that simply ‘thinking’ your body into this shape can encourage good posture. The Alexander Technique is also wonderful for bodies which store tension or are out of alignment.

If your tummy is sticking out, lift it gently towards your spine. Then tighten your buttock muscles and tuck your pelvis under your bottom. Think tall – imagine a string (or a golden silk thread if you’re feeling romantic) lifting up your crown and pulling it towards the sky.

Now start walking gracefully around the room, concentrating on your posture. Think of how big cats move. Your feet should be facing forward with the second toe leading, heel first on the ground; let your hips and bottom move freely while you swing your arms back and forward.

Load-bearing exercise to beat brittle bones

This sort of exercise (also called weight-bearing) has been shown to protect against loss of bone density (osteoporosis) and is important for all women. Basically it includes every type of movement that puts weight on your muscles and bones, including running, walking, swimming, weight training, cycling, aerobics, dancing.

Music

Very often the key to making exercise joyful is music, whether it’s pop, rock, jazz, classical or rhythmic drumming. In the cold western climate, most of us have forgotten the pleasure of moving to music. Yet you only have to go to a show like Riverdance to see how the toe-tapping rhythm uplifts the spirits of everyone there. So try exercising to your favourite music: dance wildly around your house, power-walk with a personal stereo, persuade the gym to play music with an appropriate beat as you pound the treadmill or stairmaster.

Children love exercising to music so you could organise family fitness sessions while the beat goes on in the background.

Tania Alexander’s A.M. Fitness Routine

This simple routine, which takes about ten minutes altogether, was devised by UK fitness expert Tania Alexander, author of No Sweat Fitness, and is suitable for anyone, at any age and any level of fitness. However, you should always check with your doctor before embarking on any unaccustomed exercise, or if you are pregnant or have a bad back. Don’t rush these exercises: do them slowly, preferably out of doors or by an open window.

Start with a breathing exercise
Stand with your feet forward, parallel and a hip width apart, tummy muscles gently drawn in, back and neck long as if a string is pulling you through the crown of your head. Let your shoulder blades relax and sink. Look ahead, then close your eyes, spread your toes and feel the ground. Stand in the same position throughout.

Breathe gently and rhythmically, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Take the same time inhaling as exhaling – count three or four beats on the in-breath, and on the out. As you get more practised, try holding your breath for a beat after inhaling and exhaling. If you enjoy visualisation, imagine your breathing pattern as a wave creeping up the beach, hovering for a moment, then flowing out. Once your breathing has settled, take five long slow breaths.

Tip: this is a wonderful exercise for calming yourself during the day.

Shake it all up
Shake your hands and one foot at a time, up and down, round and round, as vigorously as possible – if you can lie on the floor or some grass, even better, so you can shake hands and feet simultaneously.

Tip: shaking your hands briskly whenever you’re worried or stiff can relieve tension and stress and re-energise you.

Get your body moving from top to toe
Breathe slowly and rhythmically through these exercises.

shoulders: stand with feet a hip width apart, knees bent a little and tummy muscles drawn in. Rest your fingertips on the outside of your thighs. Using smooth controlled movements, slowly roll your shoulders backwards in a large circle. Keep your hips facing forward and your lower body still. Repeat five times backwards, five forwards.

Now place your right palm on the centre of your stomach and stretch up to the sky with the fingertips of your left hand. Then circle your left arm backwards from the shoulder five times in a wide movement as if you are swimming backstroke. Repeat forwards five times. Then repeat the routine the other side.

neck: mobilise a stiff neck by turning your head slowly to the right, then tuck your chin down towards your shoulder and gently roll to the left. Repeat five times in each direction. This is a semi-circular movement; do not take your head back.

hips: with your feet still a hip width apart, upper body straight, tummy tucked in, put your hands on hips, and slowly circle them in a clockwise direction. Keep your upper body and feet still so your hips alone are moving. Repeat five times clockwise, five anti-clockwise.

Side Stretch
Standing as for your breathing exercise, place your right hand on your right thigh. On an exhalation, swing your left hand straight up to the sky so that you feel a mild stretch down the left side of your body. Keep your upper body straight. Breathe in, then, breathing out, swing the arm down to the starting point. Repeat twice on each side.

March on
Remembering to keep tummy and bottom tucked in and walking tall, march around, inside (include stairs) or outside (up and over obstacles if you can) for two to five minutes at least.

Hail the sun
On an out-breath, keep looking straight ahead and swing both arms in front of you up towards the sky, simultaneously lifting one knee as high as you comfortably can. Breathe in, then, as you breathe out, lower arms and leg. Repeat five times alternately on each leg.

Finish by breathing your mind clear
Place your right thumb lightly over your right nostril. Breathe in deeply through your left nostril. Now close your left nostril with your middle finger and, as you do so, release your thumb and exhale through your right nostril. Then reverse the process: keeping your left nostril closed, breathe in through your right nostril, then place your thumb over your right nostril again, release your middle finger and exhale through the left nostril. Continue for 30 to 60 seconds.

Tip: This technique is marvellous for clearing the mind at any time.

Tip Drink plenty of water: keep an unbreakable bottle handy.

TARGETED EXERCISES

Even if you are taking plenty of exercise, you may have particular problem areas which will respond well to a simple routine. The culprits for most of us are tummies and legs.

Fitness expert Tania Alexander has devised these easy exercises for The Beauty Bible to give you lean and lovely pins and a washboard stomach.

Instant Stomach Slimmers
As well as making you look good, strong muscle tone in your stomach will improve your posture and help prevent back problems. Start by doing five of each exercise daily and increase the number by five each week. With faithful practice, you should start to see results within a couple of weeks. These gentle exercises should be suitable for all ages and shapes, but consult your doctor first if you are pregnant or have any injuries or health complaints.

Breathe in through your nose to prepare for each exercise and out through your mouth as you do each one.

Curl ups
Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Concentrate on anchoring your lower back to the ground, then raise your head and shoulders slightly off the floor as you let your hips roll up and your body form a C-shape.

Rest your arms loosely on your stomach or, if you are more advanced, put them behind your head. (N.B. take care not to pull on the neck as you come forward.)

As with all these exercises, it’s much more effective to do five controlled curl-ups than ten rushed ones. A common mistake is to curl up slowly then crash down. Curl up to the count of two, repeat on the way down. Check by placing one hand on your stomach as you curl up. If the muscles start to bulge, you are coming up too far or too fast.

Again, when you’re more advanced, you can add in a twist to work the side stomach muscles and help create a slimmer waist: place your hands behind your head and curl towards each knee with the opposite elbow leading.

Pull your stomach in
Not only does this make you look better, it’s good exercise for the stomach muscles. Make a conscious effort to do this as often as possible, even if you’re just walking down the road or standing in a queue. Also pull your bottom in, clenching the muscles. Don’t let your shoulders rise.

Walk tall
While you are pulling your tummy and bottom in, imagine you are being pulled upwards by a string at the top of your head. Remember to keep your shoulders and upper body relaxed all the time; it helps to imagine your shoulder blades sinking down.

Breathe and tone
Visualise your stomach as a balloon. When you breathe in, imagine it inflating. As you breathe out, let the air out like a balloon deflating. Your stomach will flatten almost miraculously. It’s easier to do this when standing, lying or sitting rather than walking.

Exercise your pelvic floor muscles
The lower part of your stomach, known as the ‘double belly’, is the hardest to tone, particularly if you have had children. Strong pelvic floor muscles act as an internal corset supporting your lower stomach muscles. The muscles on your pelvic floor form a figure of eight, from the pubic bones in the front to the coccyx at the back, and are the ones used to control the flow of urine. To exercise them, draw them all up internally and tighten. You can do this when you’re stuck in a traffic jam, at a bus stop or working at your desk.

Perfect Pins
The following exercises should produce mild tension in the muscles. Practise diligently and you should see an improvement in two weeks.

Walking
Stride out briskly for 20 minutes at least every other day. It works all the muscles from the top of the thighs to the feet.

Toning inner thighs
To tone inner thighs, swim breaststroke, go skating or take slide classes. Or try this easy exercise (above). Lie on your back, legs bent, feet flat on the floor. Place a large cushion between your knees. Breathe in, then exhale, squeezing the cushion as hard as possible. Hold for a count of two, then slowly release. Repeat ten times.

Toning outer thighs
To tone outer thighs, do leg raisers. Hold on to a table or draining board, and stand on your left leg, bending it slightly. Lift your right leg out to the side and, from the relaxed position shown (left) flex your right foot (flexing is the opposite of pointing) until you feel tension in the outer thigh. Keep your hips square and facing forwards. Repeat ten to 15 times each side.

Toning fronts and backs of thighs
First, to get a stretch down the front of your thighs, stand facing the table or draining board (right), keeping your knees soft, not locked. Flex one foot and curl it up to your bottom. Repeat ten to 15 times on either side.

To exercise the back of your thighs, from the same standing position, shuffle your feet backwards so that you are at least an arm’s length away and your back is as flat as possible. Hold on if necessary. Repeat the exercise, as above.

Slimming ankles
Slim puffy ankles with ankle circles. Circle five times slowly in each direction, keeping the rest of your leg still.

Shaping up calves
Shape up calves on the staircase. Hold on to the rail for balance.

Place your heels
over the edge of the step, rise on your toes and slowly down again so that your heels drop beneath the step. Repeat ten to 20 times daily.