1. You Need to Switch Up Your Workouts"After doing the same cardio or strength routine three to six ...

1. 10 things trainers wish you knew about your workout
1. You Need to Switch Up Your Workouts
"After doing the same cardio or strength routine three to six times, your body adapts and you burn
fewer calories," says Michael Sokol, the owner of One-on-One Fitness Personal Training Services, in
Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona. Eventually your results--weight loss, muscle definition--will slow
down. Also, repeatedly placing stress on the same muscles and joints could lead to an overuse injury.
Action plan: Once a month, change one
thing about your cardio and weight-
training regimens: Take a Zumba class
in lieu of your Saturday walk, for
instance, or use a resistance band
instead of dumbbells. Bonus: Mixing
things up may help you stick with
exercise. A 2001 study conducted at the
University of Florida, in Gainesville,
found that people who varied their
routines enjoyed their workouts more-
-and exercised more regularly--than did
people who went with the same thing
every day.
2. Cardio Isn't the Magic Bullet for Weight Loss
While biking, running, and walking are great for your heart, "research suggests that it's difficult to
lose fat when you do only cardiovascular activity," says Jeff Halevy, a celebrity trainer and the CEO
of Halevy Life, a health and fitness service company in New York City. Although aerobic exercise will
burn calories, it doesn't really change your metabolism.
What does: lean muscle mass. "Muscle helps you burn more calories even after your workout is
over," says Halevy. The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (the
baseline amount of calories you burn in a day), says Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., the director of fitness
research at Quincy College, in Quincy, Massachusetts. Women tend to lose five to seven pounds of
muscle in each decade of adulthood--one reason why the pounds creep on as we get older.
Westcott's research has found that if you do strength training three times a week, you can add an
average of three pounds of muscle in about three months, increasing your metabolism by 6 to 7
percent.
Action plan: Keep doing cardio three times a week, but add two or three strength-training workouts.
Aim to work all the major muscles over the week; complete one to two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions of
each exercise. To get started, check out the website of the American Council on Exercise for an
extensive library of weight-training moves.
3. Wimpy Weights Will Get You Nowhere

2. According to the "overload principle," for muscles to become stronger, they have to be challenged
with a load that's heavier than what they're used to. (Think about the weight of your handbag--dinky
three-pound dumbbells just don't compare.) Without challenging your muscles, "you can't
substantially strengthen or tone them," says Halevy.
Action plan: Choose a weight that you can lift for only 10 to 15 repetitions before losing good form-
-trainers call this "working to failure." (That doesn't mean your arms should feel like noodles when
you're done, or that you can't bang out a second set after a minute or two of rest.) Don't worry: You
won't bulk up. "Women's bodies have a biological limit on how much muscle mass they can build,"
says Halevy. "It's hard for women to get big without using steroids."
4. Muscles Come in Pairs; Train Them that Way
Most of us focus on what trainers call the mirror muscles--the ones you see when you look in the
mirror (biceps, quadriceps). But just as every action has an equal and opposite reaction, every
muscle has a mate that works in the opposite way. For example, you use your triceps to extend your
arm and your biceps to bend it. To avoid imbalances that can lead to injury, it's essential to train
both equally.
Action plan: Consider doing weight training in what's known as a split. Work, say, your biceps and
hamstrings one day, then your triceps and quadriceps the next. This way, you'll hit every muscle pair
over the course of a week. One exception: the back muscles. "Many women have weak back muscles
from working at a computer all day," says Carly Pizzani, a New York City-based personal trainer. If
you're deskbound from nine to five, follow a two-to-one ratio when working your back and chest.
That is, for every exercise you do for the chest, do two for the back.
5. Crunches Aren't Crucial for Strong Abdominals
"They're not the best exercise choice, because they strengthen only a few of the muscles in your
core," says Pizzani. What's more, if your abs are weak, doing crunches could cause a strain on your
neck, since you'll probably be pulling on it in an effort to lift your torso.
Action plan: Although you don't have to eliminate crunches from your repertoire, you'll get more
bang for your buck with moves that work the entire core area. The plank is a good one: Lie facedown
on the floor with palms down and forearms under your shoulders. Tuck your toes under and tighten
your abs to lift your torso. Keep your body in one line from head to feet. Hold for 30 seconds.
6. A Workout Doesn't Merit a Post-Gym Pig-Out
When you're feeling virtuous after you've exercised, it's easy to eat back all the calories you just
burned (and then some). If you're looking to lose weight, that won't help you toward your goal, says
Molly Morgan, a registered dietitian and a board-certified sports nutritionist in Vestal, New York.
(It's not OK to collapse on the couch afterward, either: In a 2009 study published in Medicine
Science in Sports Exercise, long periods of sitting were associated with an increased risk of death,
even for exercisers.)
Action plan: To stave off grazing after exercising, have a healthy snack an hour or two after your
workout. And stay mobile as much as possible. Take the stairs, do a loop around the office, or pace
while you're on a conference call.
7. Bad Form Is Bad News When You're Strength-Training

3. "When I see someone lifting weights with improper form, I get concerned," says Sokol. "Not only can
it diminish results but it can also lead to injury."
Action plan: Even if you've been weight-training for a while, it's a good idea to brush up on form. You
can find videos that illustrate good lifting form on ExRx.net. Or, even better, invest in a session with
a personal trainer. A few general tips: Count "one one-thousand, two one-thousand" as you lift the
weight, says Sokol, and "one one-thousand, two one-thousand" as you lower it. "If you lift too fast,
you let momentum, not your muscles, do the work," he says. When doing upper-body exercises, keep
your wrists straight; when doing squats and lunges, align your knees and ankles; and when bending
over for an exercise (like a dumbbell row), keep your back flat. Always keep your neck aligned with
the rest of your body.
________________________________________________________________________
4 Balancing Exercises for a More Muscular Middle
How to Keep Things in Moderation
24 Nutritious (and Tasty) Snacks
______________________________________________________________________
8. Working Out on an Empty Stomach Won't Burn More Fat
A common belief is that if you exercise before you eat, your body will turn to its fat reserves for
energy instead of the food in your stomach. In fact, it's just the opposite: In a 2011 study published
in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, people experienced a bigger
boost in metabolism--meaning, burned more fat--when they exercised after eating breakfast than
when they did the same workout on an empty stomach. The authors of the study theorize that when
you eat before exercising, your body uses more oxygen, resulting in a metabolism spike and an
improvement in fat burning.
Action plan: Eat already! Even a small snack with carbohydrates, protein, and a little fat, eaten a half
hour before, will power your workout, says Morgan. Good choices: low-fat yogurt and a banana,
whole-grain cereal and low-fat milk, or oatmeal and fruit. Or make it really easy and choose a fruit-
and-nut bar, such as a Lärabar ($28 for 16, larabar.com).
9. A Death Grip on the Cardio Machine Strains Your Body and Burns Fewer Calories
When you hold the treadmill or stair-climber handles so tightly that your knuckles turn white
(because you can't keep up with the speed, perhaps), your body is forced into an uncomfortable
position, which can put strain on your muscles. And "because your legs don't have to work as hard
when you lean on the machine, the number of calories you burn plummets," says Deborah McConnell
Plitt, a trainer for the Life Fitness Academy, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Action plan: Maintain proper form. On the treadmill, you should be able to stand tall and pump your
arms. On the stair-climber, keep your body centered over the pedals, with your head up and
shoulders relaxed. It's OK to hold the handrails lightly, as long as your posture is correct.
10. The Fat-Burning Zone Isn't Really a Fat-Burning Zone

4. If you've ever played around with the controls on a cardio machine, you may have experienced the
"fat burning" program, in which you exercise at a low, steady intensity. The idea is that low intensity
is better for weight loss than more vigorous effort, because you can sustain it longer. But studies
show that even in a shorter workout, boosting your intensity can burn as many, if not more, calories
than long, steady-state cardio. And "when it comes to losing or maintaining weight, it's the total
number of calories that counts," says Halevy. Plus, by working harder, you can get out of the gym
faster.
Action plan: Slow, steady workouts are a good place to begin if you're just starting a cardio routine.
But as you get more fit, bump up the intensity. Try interval training once or twice a week on
nonconsecutive days: Work at a high intensity for a short spurt (say, 30 seconds), lower the intensity
to recover (for 90 seconds), and repeat for 20 to 30 minutes.
http://www.abs-exercise-advice.com/best-ab-exercises.html