Tone up with Tony Little

Tony Little is the larger-than-life 'personal trainer to the world'. He has been a popular fixture on American TV for over 20 years and his company has 46 million customers, so who better to give use tips on shaping up this New Year?

Tony's tips:

Get started

"The hardest part about a work-out is getting started, but you almost always feel better afterwards. Using music with a good beat while you work out keeps you interested"

Find time

"Fit exercise into a time-slot that works with your life - don't try to do something you won't be able to keep up. So if you have a busy job you really need to get it out of the way before work, because you know once you get in your hours are going to go over and you're going to miss your workout. Other people have to switch it the other way."

Keep it simple

"Exercise is a destresser, often you just want to be physical, to sweat, to have time to yourself and to release all the stuff you've got in your head. Don't add anything more in there by doing complicated workouts."

Cardio AND toning

"Cardio and muscle toning balance each other; you can't do one without the other. Keep it low impact though, because high impact isn't good on your joints."

Avoid the quick fix

"Sometimes people go for too much of the quick fix; they should be dealing with experts to really help them change. If you see a quick weight-loss system be sceptical, because if you lose it quick you can gain it quick."

More about Tony Little

• In sharp contrast to his onscreen persona, off air Tony is quiet and soft spoken.
• It's all his own hair! Although he usually covers it up with baseball cap, Tony's long ponytail is all his own - "I use a lot of conditioner!"
• Tony does a lot of skits on Mad TV shows, MTV, VH1 and E entertainment

See Tony's exercise equipment