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Fitness and exercise are not just about losing weight and getting into those skinny jeans - although this can be a great motivator - regular exercise can also reduce premature ageing, add years to your life expectancy, decrease your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure and lower your body fat and bad cholesterol.

There are also many short term benefits which can help to keep you motivated. A great fitness regime can boost your mood and your immune system, reduce mental and muscular tension and increase your ability to concentrate. Plus, lets not forget, stick with it and it should help you loose weight and get you the body you always wanted.

Exercise can be cardiovascular (raises the heart rate and burns calories) or use weight resistance (tones, builds and strengthens muscle). For most of us, combining both forms of fitness regularly is key. So whether you're after a fun and social way to workout (this does exist) or a results driven regime, read all about the newest, most effective ways we've found to get fit and stay in shape below.

Plus, click here to find out which exercise and fitness plans the celebrities love.

Kettlebells

By Kettlebell classes, Virgin Active; kettlebell weights, Reebok

Price: from £55 per month for gym membership

Stockist: Virgin Active

Best for: A fast, full body workout

Kettlebells may sound like some new-fangled kitchen utensil but they are actually weights. Weights which have been causing quite a stir since Jennifer Aniston attributed her slender, toned arms to workouts involving the equipment.

I set off to Virgin Active for a Kettlebell class; here’s the results…

My instructor ran through a brief explanation of what the workout does; apparently it tones the muscles and burns calories – the perfect all rounder. I was told I would be working out with a 4kg kettlebell as I was a beginner (however, when it came to the crunch I ended up using an 8kg one – not fair!).

We started by warming up, the usual - squats, lunges, running. After just 10 minutes I started to panic, eyeing my bottle of water and the bench longingly.

We then went through a series of moves involving the bell. The first involved me squatting with my legs apart and the kettle bell on the floor between them, I had to lift the handle until the bell was in front of me at hip height. The important thing to remember was to always pull in my bum and tighten my stomach muscles – the motion was short and sharp! I was encouraged to exhale sharply and loudly during each movement – tres embarrassing. I then went on to master the swing, which involves the same squat position but I had to hold the bell between my legs and out under my bum, keeping my back straight – this was the starting position. I then had to swing the bell out to the front above my head and back again, repeating 15 times – I felt very ‘Britain’s Strongest Woman’. The surprising thing was that just doing these reps made me sweat and my heart was racing. This explained the claim that the kettebell is a cardio, as well as toning workout.

We did the swing one handed (then having to switch hands while it was in the air!) followed by sit- ups holding the bell. I also mastered a movement where I stood with my legs apart and the bell in front of one foot, I then had to bend at the waist to pick it up lifting it up and back down. This worked my waist brilliantly.

After a mere 40 minutes I felt like I had achieved a thorough full body workout. This is brilliant for getting a lot done in a short space of time. And my mantra is ‘the less time spent in the gym, the better’. Jennifer is definitely onto something; I think I may have found my fitness calling.

Reebok sell kettlebells, from £19.99 for 3kg, so you can go to classes and exercise in your own time. Click here to buy them now.

Heartcore Fitness

By Heartcore Fitness

Price: £25 per class, £120 for 5, £200 for 10

Stockist: Heartcore Fitness

I consider myself fit. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and have done for 10 years. But it wasn't working anymore. It was time to start believing the personal trainers who used to annoyingly suggest that I do something different to the 30 min run, 20 min cycle routine that had become my friend. I waved goodbye to the security blanket of my gym and signed up for classes at Heartcore Fitness.

You've heard of - and we've reviewed - Proformer Pilates. It's the bed-like apparatus with swings and pulleys and weights that works every inch of your body. It is possibly the hardest exercise I've done. "Excrutiating" fits nicely as a description, but boy is it satisfyingly addictive. It is all too obvious that you are reaching parts you've never reached before and the morning-after aches prove this. And in a class of 6, you get to know the instructors so well (they remember your name from lesson 1) that you don't want to let them down.

At Heartcore Fitness you can combine Proformer classes with spinning on the bikes. If you thought you were getting a good work out from just one, you are entering a new realm with both. Intensive cardio followed by strengthening your core muscle groups. It's a one stop shop for a great body.
After a month my body is toned and lean (my legs have improved shape remarkably) and I can run for double what I used to.
Heartcore is hardcore, in its nature and results.