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• The Handbook

Get in Shape

Week two of the new year. How are those fitness resolutions coming? Spare us the excuses. Harley Pasternak has heard them all. Known for whipping everyone from John Mayer to Kanye West into shape, the trainer and nutrition guru keeps them fit with his popular 5-Factor plan. His job, he tells us between workouts, is "to eliminate barriers" for people wanting to get in shape. Here, he eliminates some for you.

I hear this all the time and tell them that everyone has the time to workout. Yes, even you. All you need is 25 minutes a day, which you can do at home. Beyond that, just live a more active life. Walk more, take the stairs or get off the subway one stop earlier. All of these add up to supplement a workout.

Before exercising, it helps to down a bar or shake for convenience as part of a healthy diet. Sometimes we don't have access to proper nutrition (say, chicken breast, fish or fresh vegetables), so a bar or smoothie can fill the gap as a healthy snack between meals.

Dozens of studies have examined the efficacy of stretching for reducing injury or soreness. But none of them have shown that it helps. In fact, several studies have shown stretching before or during a workout can actually increase injuries and reduce strength as well. That being said, stretching is important for activities that require a larger than normal range of motion, martial arts, for example.

The main things guys do when they decide to get in shape is to do things that aren't sustainable. Don't do too much too soon ... pace yourself!