No one ever tells you this stuff without some agenda.  I’m not a personal trainer selling time, I’m not a diet guru selling books; all I am is a keen observer of my own health, fitness & nutrition.  So I’m going to give you a few simple steps to improve your fitness.

1. WALK, DON’T RUN:   seriously, running is too strenuous. This bucks convention quite a bit, i can hear you thinking it now, but hear me out.  Once each week go and wear yourself out with duration, not intensity. Walk your ass off. Walk so far your dog begs you to stop. 3 hours is a good goal.  Why? you’re stressing your body’s ability to fuel its muscles from stored reserves. You’re literally teaching yourself to burn fat.  The more you do these long walks, the better you’ll get at sourcing energy from your butt rather than your gut.  Further reading: here, here and here.
2. OK, NOW RUN:  once each week… run your little heart out.  Warm up well with walking & jogging. Stretch. Then, do some sprints.  ”Tabata sprints” are a deceptively effective workout.  Further reading with example workouts here
3. STRETCH IT OUT: at least once each week, though preferably every day: do some yoga-like exercises.  Warm your body up first, then stretch it out.  The goal is to keep in touch with your range of motion; to keep your body limber. ESPECIALLY if you sit at a desk all day.
4. LIFT SOMETHING HEAVY: at least once a week, preferably 3x a week, lift something heavy.  Stick to multi-joint lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, standing military press.  Choose a heavy weight that you expect you can do 5 sets of 5 slow & controlled repetitions with.  The key here is slow and controlled – do not enlist the help of momentum to aid you in these reps; if you can’t get the weight up in a controlled manner… you’re attempting to lift too much.
5. EAT LIKE YOUR ANCESTORS:  berries, nuts, leafy veggies, lean meats, seafood. Period. No grains, no dairy, no root veggies.  Why? Because evolution hasn’t caught up with our invention of farming; physically we’re still hunter-gatherers.  Source: HERE, HERE and HERE. Example recipes: HERE

For example:

Monday: 1 hour “run” (walk!), followed by 20 minutes of yoga.  This is on your time in your way – no $ needed.

Tuesday: 20 mins warm up on a treadmill, 20 mins yoga followed by 30 mins of heavy lifting.  This will require a gym. (70 mins total)

Wednesday: 20 mins warm up, tabata sprints, 20 minutes yoga cool down. (45 mins total)

Thursday: same as monday.

Friday: Same as Tuesday

Saturday: 3 hour “run” (walk!).  Go slow, but go so far you wear yourself out.

Sunday: Off, or, same as Saturday.