Many of the people featured in our inspiring weight loss success stories express similar forms of gym anxiety. Going to the gym certainly isn't the only way to get fit, but in some cases the anxiety is so strong it prevents people from working out entirely -- and from reaching their health and fitness goals.

We firmly believe that the gym doesn't have to be such an intimidating, unwelcoming place. Which is why we asked our Facebook and Twitter pals to offer their very best advice for conquering this crippling fear that you don't belong. Here are some of our favorite responses:

Don't care what other people think. Do it for you. --Amber Renee Knight

We're all there for the same reason. Just go! It may change your life! --Kerri Murphy Wolendowski

Find one machine that feels like an easygoing, comforting warm-up. Start there each time. --Zan LeStat Ferris

I did initially, especially lifting weights (that's where most of the men are). I faked confidence until I really did feel confident. I'm there to be the best me I can and that's it. --Beverly Kelley Jeter

Start on something simple. Take a class. Start with a few simple machines and use light weights. ASK someone. Gym managers will show you how to use the equipment. Go when it's not busy and you will feel more relaxed. As long as you go, most people are willing to help. --Cheryl Davis

Realize that everyone else is self conscious too and more worried about their own looks than yours. --Shauna Carpenter

Think about yourself. Ignore those thoughts that weigh you down. You will find that you succeed. Now, who wants to work out! –Walter. Source - huffingtonpost.com Learn more »

Don't be in a tearing hurry to lose that baby weight. Slow and steady is best

What do celeb moms like Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Shakira and Kourtney Kardashian have in common? They took their time to get back in shape after having a baby. None of them were shy of showing off their 'mummy tummies' with the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton, being the most recent example. And while they may have an array of nannies and trainers at their fingertips, getting back in shape after pregnancy is not a lost cause.

While the first couple of months can be emotionally, mentally and physically taxing, things will soon fall into a familiar pattern. In the first four or five months, most babies tend to sleep a lot. Use this time to get back in shape. Dedicate time in your schedule for exercise and stick to it as much as possible. Easier said than done, but not impossible...

Start slowly

Pregnancy and child-birth are huge turning points in a woman's life and rather demanding. While your body is slowly returning to normal, it also needs a push when it comes to dropping all those pregnancy pounds. Avoid any sort of exercise for the first four weeks after delivery. This is the time when your body needs to rest. And if you've had a C-section, you shouldn't exercise for at least 10 weeks. Ask your gynaecologist when you can start doing light exercise. After delivery, a woman's joints are loose because of the hormone Relaxin, which makes everything stretch to accommodate the baby in the womb. Start by going for walks and increase the duration gradually. Do light stretching and exercises or yoga at home. Avoid intense cardio or lifting weights. Your aim should be to improve posture, strength, stamina, energy and gradual weight-loss.

Follow a schedule

As difficult as it is to follow a schedule when you have the responsibilities of a baby, try to stick to it as much as you can. Your baby will sleep most of the time during the first few months, so make the most of this. Catch a nap, run your errands, spend time with your partner, exercise a bit or just do anything that helps you unwind during this time. Take help from your partner, family and friends. Plan your time wisely.

Things to keep in mind

- Start slowly. Begin with a warm-up to stretch out your body.

- Go for a 20-minute walk daily and gradually increase the pace.

- If swimming interests you, start by doing 10 laps and increase the number slowly.

- Don't tire yourself out. Know and accept your limits.

- Keep yourself adequately hydrated by keeping a bottle of water always on hand.

- Whenever you workout, ensure that you wear a supportive bra.

- Check with your doctor beforehand what exercises you can do and what you can't.

Simple exercises to start off with...

- This exercise aims at strengthening your core muscles. Start by lying down on your back and bend your knees. Make sure your back is neither pressed to the ground nor arched and tighten your abdominal muscles. Slowly raise your hips off the floor until they are aligned with your knees and shoulders. Count till 10 and slowly return to your original position. Do this a couple of times daily and increase the number as your start feeling more comfortable.

- Strengthen your abdominal muscles with this exercise. Lie on the floor on your back with knees bent. Touch your back to the floor, tighten the abdominal muscles and bend your pelvis up a little. Count till 10 and repeat 10 times.

- Tone your pelvic floor muscles by doing kegel exercises. When you pee, contract the muscle to stop your urine flow. Wait for 10 seconds and release. Repeat this as often as you can, whenever you visit the washroom.

- Join a neighbourhood yoga class and inform them that you're a new mother so that they can suggest suitable exercises. Source- Times of India. Learn more »

No time to hit the gym? No problem! If you are a fitness, freak and all your fitness resolutions are going down hill due to your hectic schedule, then try these simple cardio exercises, which you can do anytime and anywhere, to burn quick calories and stay toned and healthy.

These cardio workouts are shared by Mike Jackson - Nutritional Consultant and Physique Transformation Specialist. This regime consists of low impact and high impact exercises for beginners, intermediate and advanced exercisers.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 1: Warm up

Begin your workout with a quick warm up session. This session will help you avoid injuries and make your workout more effective. So start by doing simple warm up sessions like stretching, bending, jogging etc.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 2: Jumping jacks

1. Start this childhood exercise by standing up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and let your arms hang down by your sides.

2. Jump up just off of the ground and spread your legs, while quickly raising your arms high above your head until your hands almost touch.

3. Keep your hands open with your palms facing away from you during the first part of the movement.

4. Bring your feet back to shoulder width while quickly lowering your arms back down to your sides to finish the first jumping jack repetition. Continue to repeat.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 3: Lateral jumps

1. Start this simple exercise by standing upright with your feet narrow under your hips.

2. Keep an object parallel to you, which is few inches tall.

3. Jump laterally over the object, keeping your feet together and raising your knees to elevate.

4. Land softly with your knees bent on the other side.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 4: Squats

1. Keep your feet flat on the floor. Don't rise on your toes or lift your heels off the ground.

2. Avoid letting knees extend very far past the toes. Keeping your heels firmly planted helps with this.

3. The general rule is to stand with feet shoulder-width apart, but taking a wider stance engages inner thigh muscles more (doesn't apply with one-leg squats).

4. Keep the back straight. You can bend at the hips, but your back should not curve.

5. If you're a beginner, start with bodyweight squats until you are comfortable with the motion.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 5: Lunges

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart.

2. Hold a dumbbell in either hand; if desired.

3. Take a big step forward with your right leg.

4. Bend both knees to slowly lower your body.

5. Don't bend knees more than 90 degrees and keep the front knee aligned over your front ankle.

6. Step back to the start position and repeat with left leg.

7. For explosive lunges: jump and switch legs in midair.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 6: Climber

1. Become a mountain climber at home to get those sexy legs. Start by being a plank position.

2. Perform a climber position by quickly alternating knees into chest, and then begin to 'run' feet about 45 degrees to the right.

3. Run back to centre and then travel 45 degrees to the left.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 7: Step exercise

Just use your steps to tone your body by skipping the elevator. When steps are taken regularly, they will help to tone and strengthen your leg muscles, besides it as easy as walking.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 8: High knees

On your marks, get set go to remember your childhood racing days with this exercise. Start in a standing position and begin the motion by running in place. Get the knees up as high as you can, the thighs should be parallel to the floor. Be gentle on your feet and keep the abs contracted.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 9: Running in place

This is a great cardio to burn some calories and raise your heartbeat. No much effort is required for this exercise, it is equivalent to running on a treadmill.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 10: Burpees

1. Start this burpee exercise from a standing position, and then drop into a squat with your hands on the ground.

2. Kick your feet back into a push-up position.

3. Jump back into a squat and then jump up with your arms extending overhead.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 11: Toe touching

Stand in an upright position. Bend at the waist, keeping your legs straight, until you can relax and let your upper body hang down in front of you. Let your arms and hands go down and then begin it to stretch to touch your toes. This simple exercise will help to improve the blood flow throughout your body and enhance flexibility. When performed at a high intensity, this exercise is great for burning fat as well as conditioning the muscles in your core and legs.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 12: Squat jump

1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width, arms by your side. Shift your hips downwards and make sure that your knees do not extend further than your toes.

2. Continue to lower yourself until you feel your heels lifts of the floor. With a very brief pause at the bottom, explode upwards through your lower extremity.

3. As you jump into the air, keep your feet level with each other and parallel with the floor. Attempt to land softly and quietly on the mid-foot, rolling backwards quickly towards the heels.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 13: Jogging

Jogging is a very good and simple exercise. You can go jogging outdoors or just jog in place while pushing your arms overhead. Try to kick high, as if you're kicking your own butt and really use the arms to raise the heart rate.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 14: Dancing

Dancing is a wonderful exercise, which not only helps to burn calories, but also lifts your mood. Play your favourite song and dance your way to good health.

Top Home Cardio Workouts # 15: Cool down

Once you are done with your workout, let your heart beat come to normal by walking around for a while or just relaxing in place. This will help your body cool and return to normalcy. Source-Times Of India Learn more »

Fitness enthusiasts are always on the lookout for innovative and simple workout techniques and are open to trying out new workouts.

An underwater workout is one of the simplest and fastest ways to sculpt your body. This emerging trend has let pools and gyms offer an increasing number of classes such as Water Boxing, Aqua Step, using specialised equipment to extend the normal range of exercises. As a result, it has appealed to a wider range of people.

It is a popular workout, because one can exercise underwater even while recovering from an injury or even if one suffers from health problems. It allows you to continue exercising without putting any stress on your injury, It's the buoyancy of the water that reduces your weight, therefore putting significantly less stress on your joints, bones and muscles. Also, because your body is supported by water your heart rate is slightly lower, meaning aquatic therapy is relatively safe for obese individuals, pregnant women and those suffering from hypertension and heart disease. When under water, you can perform basically any type of exercises that you normally perform outside the water.

Listed below are some easy underwater exercises that can be performed at the pool's shallow end:

Tread water - Start your workout with treading water. This may seem like a simple workout, but it will actually involve all your muscle groups, as you try to float. Try floating for at least 3 minutes, if you are a beginner and move your way up to 5 or 10 minutes as you get more advanced. While performing this exercise, try to keep your back straight, as this will make sure that you work your abs as well.

Knee-to-chest exercise - This movement is performed while standing on one leg, which is slightly bent, and one leg outstretched in front while one hand holds onto the side of the pool. It strengthens and stretches the muscles in the leg, hip and lower back.

Arm exercises - Start with simple arm lifts (with or without weights). Being under water, your arms may feel lighter, but you will still work on your muscles. After lifting, you can rotate them clockwise and then in an anticlockwise direction.

Lower body exercises - This movement is performed with one leg outstretched and the supporting leg slightly bent while one hand holds onto the side of the pool. It strengthens and stretches the muscles in the leg, hip and lower back.

Abs exercises - The abdominal muscles can be included in the water workout. Walking under water, maintaining your abs tight can be a starting point to work on your abs. Then lift one of your legs as high as you can. Find a wall grip and with your back to the wall, grab on to it, keeping your arms straight. Tighten your abs and try to lift both your legs as high as you can. Lift the legs to one side to work on your oblique muscles as well.You can even perform crunches in the water, but you can perform these only if you feel comfortable with floating on the water while you do these exercises.

Stretching exercises - After a session of aqua aerobics or water workouts, you will have to stretch. Position yourself in front of one side of the pool, facing the wall. Hold on to the edge of the pool (or a wall grip if there is one). Try to place your feet on the side of the pool while grabbing on to the wall grip as well. Inhale and exhale, trying to move your hips back. You can perform the stretches even before you start the workout, so that you won't get any injuries.

Exercising in water is much safer than working out at the gym and there are lower chances of strains or pulled muscles. Source-Times of India. Learn more »

Everyone does not have the kind of budget a fancy home gym needs, but that doesn't mean you cannot own one.

Here are a few basic pieces of relatively inexpensive exercise equipment, for a simple gym at home...

Exercise mat

This is a basic. You can use it for ab workouts, toning exercises, yoga and Pilates. You can place it on your carpet but if you don't have one then make sure you purchase a no-slip exercise mat. You don't want to slip and injure yourself during your Suryanamaskar, do you?

Resistance bands and tubes

Resistance bands can give you a full body workout no matter where you go.

A dumbbell set

This is an extremely versatile and a good investment. If you are serious about burning fat and gaining muscle then this is a must-have.

Barbells

This is for lifting heavier weights.

An aerobic step

Can be used for step aerobics or as a weight bench.

Bosu ball

This works very well for your abdominal workout and also improves your balance and core strength. You can use it for push-ups, back extensions or lower-body exercises, or as a weight bench.

Weight lifting gloves

To protect your hands from calluses, you'll want a solid pair of weight lifting gloves made of fabric that allows sweat to evaporate.

Adjustable weight bench

You'll need this for chest and back exercises, and you can even use it for a quick ab workout or some tricep dips.

Adjustable ankle weights

For working the stability muscles of the lower body invest in a quality pair of ankle weights for moves like standing leg lifts or leg extensions. Source-Times of India. Learn more »