Fitness Made Easy

Don’t Speed Through Reps
It is not true that the faster you workout the faster you’ll see results. Actually, the slower you lift and lower the weight the harder your muscles work and the more muscle you build (remember that the more muscle you have the more calories you burn). The best way to slow down is to count 2 seconds while lifting and 2 seconds while lowering. If you want to get even better results try counting 2 second while lifting and 4 seconds while lowering.

Pay Attention To Form
Strength training requires that you lift a weight slowly and through the full range of motion in order to work the muscle correctly. Jerking the weight up or using other body parts to help lift the weight does nothing for you except waste your time and set you up for injury. Hire a trainer to learn how to lift weights correctly. The better your form the better results you get.

Intensity
Doing 4 sets of 12 regularly with a weight that is only somewhat challenging keeps you fit but it doesn’t get you in the best shape you could be. When your goal is to get strong and lean you have to push yourself much harder. This means lifting heavier in order to build muscle and change your body composition. Maintain your reps between 8-12 but lift enough weight so that the last 4 reps are really challenging. If you want to increase stamina maintain your reps between 10-15 with a weight that is challenging on the last 4 reps. The harder you push yourself the faster you’ll accomplish your goal.

Focus More on Strength than Cardio
Focusing all your time and energy on cardio may seem like a good idea but strength training is more important when it comes to getting lean and losing weight. While you may burn anywhere from 200-400 calories per cardio workout the effect wears off within an hour after you’re done. With strength training every pound of muscle that you build burns an additional 50 calories a day even while you’re sleeping. Putting on 5 pounds of muscle in a month means that you’ll be burning an additional 250 calories a day even at rest. You should also beware of doing too much cardio when strength training because it can burn up some of your hard earned muscle mass.

Neglecting Body Parts
Women tend to work on their legs, abs, and arms. The problem with this is that you create imbalances that lead to injuries. Neglecting your upper body makes your lower body appear bigger. So, to look good you must workout your upper body too. Don’t neglect body parts for fear of bulking up.