If you’re like most you probably want to look good. In today’s society looking good for men is different than for women. The ideal man is muscular while the ideal woman is skinny. Every day the social media, TV, magazines, and movies, parade these ideals before us as the sign of true beauty. In truth, an ideal body is a strong healthy body and that ideal is different for each one of us. So whether you are a man or a woman, this is what you should be striving for.

The fact is being too thin and having little muscle strength can lead to health problems. Your risk of anemia and bone loss may increase, as well as a chance of developing irregularities of your heart.

The reason to lift weights in a gym is to make your muscles stronger and attain the associated health benefits. But a best-selling fitness author says most people waste their time and effort by either lifting weights that are too light for them or by exercising when their muscles have not recovered from their previous workout.

“Most people have no idea they are wasting their time because they’ve never been told the underlying principles of strength training,” says Sisco. “They expend energy and tire themselves out so they think their efforts are working. So people perform hundreds of unnecessary workouts that have zero chance of transforming their bodies.”

Before you start any workout (boxing or not) you should always warm up first. I usually do a couple of rounds (one round is 2 minutes long) of jump rope before I start my workouts. I will also shadowbox for a round or 2. Shadowboxing basically consists of fighting an imaginary opponent. Even if you don’t know any combinations, or even footwork, shadowboxing is still a great way to warm up, and its fun! Just throw some punches around, and imagine someone throwing punches back at you. Don’t forget to duck!

After you are all warmed up and feeling lose, try these workouts:

PULL-UPS: