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10 Mistakes of Fat Loss Exercise

1: You Didn’t Warm Up Properly

To most people, the 10 minute bike ride and subsequent arm waving constitutes a ‘thorough warm up’. The truth is that this hardly prepares you for the task of a fat-burning metabolic workout.

A proper warm up should wake up all your major muscles and is best done by taking your body through a series of body-weight exercises that stretch, strengthen, and balance your muscles.

Try this small warm-up sequence:
· 2 minutes on the rowing machine
· 5 lunges each leg
· 5 press ups
· 5 squats
· Prone Plank hold for 30 seconds
· Repeat above sequence (except the rowing machine) twice more.

A warm up such as this will get your muscles activated and raise your heart rate, giving you a boost of energy for your upcoming workout. Walking on a treadmill or cycling does not prepare your body for fat loss exercise and raises your potential for getting hurt or injured.
 
2: You Are Stretching At The Wrong Time

Traditionally we have been led to believe that we must use static-stretching before a workout (static stretching is when you pull and hold a muscle in place for a set amount of time before releasing it). After all, static stretching decreases our chance of injury doesn’t it?

The truth is that no, it doesn’t.

Static stretching, by its very nature, is a technique that relaxes and temporarily weakens your muscles. Having relaxed and tired muscles before a bout of exercise is one of the worst things for your body to handle. Trying to run, jump or lift weights with weak, relaxed muscles is a short cut to pulling a muscle or getting cramps at the very least.

I have no idea where the myth of static stretching for injury prevention comes from, but there is plenty of research out there that shows that is has no benefit to reducing injuries. Instead, your static stretch should come at the end of the workout. At this point your muscles want to relax.

3: You’re Doing ‘Cardio’ Before Lifting Weights

Here’s another gym tradition. I do know where this myth comes from.

You have been repeatedly told since the 1970’s that aerobic exercise (or ‘cardio’) is what you need to do to burn fat. Cardio burns fat, and weight lifting shapes muscles, right?

Again, the truth is that lifting weights (under the right parameters) is ten times more effective for melting fat than is long-duration aerobic exercise. The reason more people don’t lift weights in such a way is because it’s harder and they don’t want to get out of their comfort zone.

So, the typical train of thought is that the majority of the workout should be spent doing cardio (burning calories) and then do a bit of ‘toning’ at the end. However, this is counterproductive to your fat loss efforts for a few reasons.

Firstly, as I mentioned, weight lifting / strength training / resistance exercise / (whatever you want to call it) burns far more fat by raising your metabolism. Basically your body must keep burning energy for hours following the workout in order to heal your muscles. With a normal cardio workout – such as a 2 hour bike ride – your metabolism is not elevated and you only burn a small amount of calories (Which is exactly why you see people striving to do 5 or 6 of these ‘marathon’ workouts every week – a HUGE waste of time.)

Secondly, to lift weights with the right form and intensity you need to be fresh, alert and coordinated. These are not the adjectives I would use to describe the average guy who’s just come off his ‘500 calories burned’ elliptical trainer workout.

4: The Calorie Burning Stats On Machines Are Worthless

It’s a staple of gym workouts – hitting the cross trainer until the little screen says you’ve burned 500 calories. I know what you’re thinking. You’ve read in a magazine that 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3, 500 calories. So you think, “If I burn 500 calories every day of the week I’ll lose a pound!”

Sorry, but once again (and through no fault of your own) you’ve been misguided and led to believe more Biggest-Loser type mumbo jumbo.

The first problem with this approach is that the machines in the gym can’t accurately tell how many calories you are burning. The same so-called ‘500 calorie run’ will require less energy for a competitive athlete, and far more energy for an overweight, untrained individual.

The second problem is an extension of the first: the more you train and repeat this workout the fitter you will become. Therefore if you keep running the same distance you will burn fewer calories each time you do it (because you are exerting less effort). What was once a 500 calorie workout is now probably much less, only the monitor will never tell you.

Another problem with chasing the calories is that no matter what you do in the gym, the amount of calories burned during a workout is always a very small part of your overall metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn each day overall).

The most calories are burned after the exercise session has finished, when your body must now start the process of repair. Now we go back to Mistake 3, which states that for the biggest surge in metabolic rate you must be performing resistance exercise with your body weight, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells or resistance bands.

5: You Are Using Fixed-Resistance Machines Instead Of Real Free Weights

When I say resistance exercise, or free weights are the best exercises for fat burning, I mean REAL free weights such as barbells, dumbbells or other resistance equipment such as bands, medicine balls, kettlebells and of course your own body weight.

The fixed-resistance machines you see in gyms everywhere (and what the Curves 30-minute workout is based on) have far more drawbacks than benefits.

The whole point of exercise is to get off your butt and move your body. Sitting on a seat while pushing or pulling the machine is NOT a real workout. In fact, sitting even more will further weaken your core and will decrease any shape or tone you may have on your backside.

Another factor of fat loss exercise is that every exercise you do should burn the most calories possible. This means that full-body exercises that use your multiple muscles including your hips and core should make up your workouts. Sitting on your butt on a machine does NOT cause your muscles to work hard. The majority of exercises should be done standing up so you use the most muscles to burn the most calories. If want a fit and sleek physique, ditch the seated chest press, seated leg machines, tricep dip machines, and all others. Stick to the proper resistance exercise equipment I’ve mentioned above, such as free weights and body weight exercises.

6: You Don’t Have Any Variation

When it comes to resistance or cardiovascular exercise, variation is important. A big mistake many make is that they repeat the same exercises over and over for years. People become attached to their favourite exercises; usually the ones that give them the most ‘burn’ or that they think will improve one part of their body the quickest.

But a basic rule of physiology is that your body will adapt to any stress you place on it. If you keep using the same exercise over and over for months or years on end eventually your body will find it too easy and you will get no benefit from performing it, no matter how many repetitions you do.

Another problem with repeatedly using the same exercises is that you may suffer an overuse injury from stressing that part of your body too much in the same place. For instance, men who insist on bench pressing every single day will always have messed up shoulders and elbows, and women who believe running will help them lose fat always end up with damaged knees and ankles. I recommend you switch up your exercises every 3 or 4 weeks. Small changes may be enough. If you are a fanatical barbell bench presser, try using the dumbbells for a while instead. If you love that treadmill, try something new like the rowing machine.

7: You’re Trying To ‘Spot-Reduce’

Now we get to your abs workout. The first thing is that spot-reduction – training one area of your body intensely in order to burn fat specifically from that area – is a myth. Your body cannot choose one area in which to burn fat from; instead fat is burned from all over. Therefore, performing 100 crunches will not burn any fat, and will instead be a huge waste of time. If you want to see a six-pack, you are better off performing full-body exercises that have a bigger effect on your metabolism, such as squats and press ups, and eating a sensible diet.

8: You Are Forcing Your Core To Move In A Way It Isn’t Supposed To

Your torso (or core) is designed to work in a neutral, straight position (such as when you are standing or in a press up position). When you bend and flex your trunk – as in a sit up or crunch – you are repeatedly putting stress onto your spine in a position it isn’t designed to handle. This sounds reasonable when you consider for a moment the fact that a crunch exercise doesn’t resemble any action or movement you would perform in ‘real life’. It is NOT a functional exercise.

Your abs and core muscles surround the spine. As such, they are designed to work by bracing to protect your spine from harm. In fact, one of the world’s leading spinal experts, Dr Stuart McGill says:

“…when the spine is fully flexed, we’ve measured the spine losing up to 40% of its ability to bear compressive loads. In other words the spine is strongest when it is in a neutral position.”

Another suggestion of Dr McGills is that our backs only have a finite amount of flexes until something goes ‘pop’ and you have back pain for the rest of your years. (That ‘pop’ by the way is usually a slipped disc or a hernia in your back – which isn’t good for your fat loss efforts!)

I always inform my clients to use core stability exercises that challenge your core muscles by preventing movement, rather than trying to create movement. So this means perform more planks, side planks and other exercises that do not cause your spine to repeatedly bend. This one tip could potentially save you a lifetime of back pain!

9: You Aren’t Getting Fitter

Here’s a real big mistake 99% of people make. When you perform the same exercises at the same difficulty for the same time your body adapts and gets used to it. This is what we call ‘getting fitter’. Let’s use a mile-long walk as an example. The first time you walk that mile you’ll be out of breath and would have burned a lot of calories (let’s say 300 calories for the sake of example).

But when you repeat the same mile walk every day for months (or run on the same level on the treadmill, or try to burn ‘500 calories’ according to the monitor on the elliptical trainer, or lift the same amount of weight with dumbbells) you use less energy performing the same task. So after you’ve walked that mile twenty times, you are no longer out of breath and it doesn’t require much effort. Therefore, you are burning less calories each time you do it, since you are becoming more fit at that task.

This seems like common sense, yet 99% of people don’t think of this when they exercise. To see results, you MUST keep adding something to your workout to progressively make the workout more challenging. This way your body cannot adapt and must keep burning that higher amount of calories.

I recommend increasing ONE thing in EVERY workout you do. No two workouts should ever be the same. This way you can set new mini-goals and targets each day, making exercise more fun and focused. Let’s use some examples to show you how to progress your workouts:

For resistance exercise, such as a squat, you can either perform 1-2 more repetitions than you did last time, or increase the weight used (by no more than 5%), or you rest for a little less time between sets.

For cardiovascular exercises such as the rowing machine or cycling, you can slightly increase either the incline or the speed each workout. This simple task alone will put you ahead of 99% of people who go into the gym. This is the foundational principle to losing fat – you must keep getting fitter!

10: You Don’t Know How Fit You Are

If you are following the principles laid out so far – you are strength training, you are performing interval cardio, trying new core exercises, and getting fitter by progressing your workouts each time – then you need to be aware of how fit you are exactly.

Use a recording log to make a note of all the exercises you do, how many sets, reps, how much weight used and how long you rested between sets. This way you can see exactly what you need to beat the next time you step into the gym. Your targets will be set out ready for you – now you just have to beat them!

By leaving your program to memory you’ll never be on top of how much you are getting better at different exercises.

In fact, studies show that gym-goers who carry a small notepad with them and record their progress are 80% MORE LIKELY to reach their goal!

Source

Exercise Tips

1. Cut your workout time (quantity) down, and increase the intensity (quality) by using heavier weights and doing full body exercises. Doing movements that hit multiple muscles -- like a squat with a shoulder press, or a lunge with a biceps curl -- will zap more calories than movements that isolate individual body parts. During a short workout, this is the fastest way to bump up your heart rate and keep your body in a fat-burning zone.

 

2. Shorten your rest periods so you create a cardio-effect. You'll maximize your calorie burn if you do more work and keep your downtime to a minimum.

Body Fat Percentage