7 Ways to Maximize Your Results

Our exclusive iVillage–Ladies' Home Journal survey found that 55 percent of women exercise less than once or twice a week. You'll get the best results, however, if you do cardiovascular training and stretching three to five days a week. To have even more success, follow these tips:

1. Add strength training or toning exercises two to three times a week. Do at least one exercise per workout for each muscle group. Rest a day between sessions to give your muscles a chance to recover and grow stronger.

2. Stretch after -- not before -- working out, when muscles are warm and limber. Hold each stretch for about 60 seconds.

3. Go at your own pace, but push yourself a little. During aerobic exercise, you're at the right intensity if you can feel your heart beating and you are sweating lightly. You should be able to carry on a conversation with a workout buddy -- if you can't, you're pushing too hard.

4. To get a more accurate reading on just how hard you're working, calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Multiply that number by .6 and .85 to come up with your target heart-rate zone. You should be near the upper end of this zone at the peak of your workout.

How do you measure your heart rate? Place the middle and index fingers of your right hand at the base of your left wrist directly below your thumb. Press lightly until you feel the thumping of your pulse. Count how many beats you feel in six seconds and add a zero to the end of that number -- you'll have a good estimate of your heart rate.

5. Drink water before, during and after your workouts. By the time you feel thirsty, you're in the early stages of dehydration, which saps your energy.

6. Have a light snack before exercising (leave yourself at least 30 minutes to digest) and another light snack within the 30 minutes following your workout. This will help keep your blood sugar steady so you don't zonk out in the middle of your workout or a few hours later.

7. Make an appointment with yourself to exercise. Write it down in your calendar or enter it into your Palm Pilot. Then KEEP that appointment, just as you would any other important engagement.

You can't make up for years of inactivity with just one workout, so don't go overboard in the beginning. Do as much as you can to start, and gradually build from there.