Fix Your Bad Workout Habits And supercharge your fitness routine
Everyone has their own workout routine, but are your bad habits getting in the way? Familiarity might be comfortable, but it’s not effective - certainly not when it comes to a sweat session. Doing the same thing over and over may soon, literally, tire you out. The good news: You don’t need to ditch your current workout to see more weight loss success. You just have to rev it up!
THE TREADMIL. Your Comfort Zone
Flipping channels on the teli, reading a gossip magazine or holding onto the rails for dear life. Oh, and are you at the same speed you were day before? And the day before that?
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Don’t bounce. You’re not in an allergy-drug ad, running through fields of flowers. Keep your movement forward, not up and down. Anything vertical is wasted energy: It doesn’t help you. Focus all your energy forward and you’ll go faster and burn more calories in a shorter period of time.
Squeeze your glutes. Do it as you push off your toes. By focusing on your backside, you’ll contract and tone the muscles.
Challenge your muscles. At the end of a workout, slow your speed to 2.5 to 3.5 miles per hour. Skip for 30 seconds, walk for 30; walk backward for 30, forward for 30; stand sideways and shuffle with your right foot leading for 30 seconds, walk for 30, and repeat with left foot leading. It will surprise your leg muscles and tone them up.
Make it a smooth one. Runners should land lightly to minimize impact on the joints; you shouldn’t be able to hear your foot strike over your iPod. If you can, you may need to slow the speed to get control of your strides.
ELLIPTICAL TRAINER. Your Comfort Zone
Gliding along at a medium pace while your legs are on autopilot. And, if the machine has arms, your upper body is too.
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Never stop working. To maximize fat burning, don’t let the machine’s gliding momentum dictate your pace. Your leg muscles should push the pedals around. If there are rails, lightly rest your hands on them - but no white-knuckling, since you may end up supporting your body weight that way.
Use intervals. During every third song on your iPod, ramp up the intensity and go as hard as you can. A steady pace at a sustainable speed burns calories consistently, but intervals blast up the count.
Use your whole body. Every other minute, concentrate on strengthening your arms or core - you’ll recruit more muscles and incinerate more fat. For example, if you’re on a full-body machine, consciously engage your arms; push and pull with the same intensity as you’re using for your legs.
RUNNING. Your Comfort Zone
To the beach and back without even breaking a sweat!
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Run tall. Think about running tall. Doing that immediately stops you from slouching and forces your arms to go front to back, not side to side. Your hips should stay tucked under so your butt doesn’t stick out. Make your stride more effective. You may go farther with less energy expended.
Mix it up. Run your regular route in the opposite direction so your body doesn’t know when to expect the hills. Better yet: Change your speed. If you typically run 30 minutes, try this 3-day routine: Day 1, go slower than your usual pace, but run for 40 minutes. Day 2, speed it up a notch, but run for only 20 minutes. Day 3 - throw in some intervals: Run fast for 1 minute, easy for 2, and repeat 6 to 10 times.
Drill it in. At the end of a workout, slim down your legs, bump up your heart rate, and build speed by doing drills. For 15 seconds, do knee pulls: Pull one knee high until your quads are parallel to the ground, then alternate with the other knee in rapid succession. Jog for 1 minute. Do 15 seconds of butt kicks: Try to hit your glutes with your heel. Jog for 1 minute. Finally, do the grapevine (moving sideways, step your left foot over your right foot, then your left foot behind your right foot). Do 15 seconds, leading with one foot, then 15 seconds with the other. Jog for 1 minute, then cool down.
WEIGHT TRAINING. Your Comfort Zone
Sticking to the lightest dumbbells… by the watercooler with your girlfriend.
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Forget vanity. The weight you’re hoisting should leave you red-faced and weak. By the last rep, you should feel as though you have to put the weight down. Each day you lift, change it up. On one day, choose a weight you can lift for 8 to 12 reps; the next session, go with a lighter weight and lift 12 to 15 reps; on the last session, increase the load and lift only 6 to 8 reps. It won’t make you huge girls, I promise! It will build more muscle and burn more fat.
Minimize downtime. Allow 1 minute between sets for maximum burn. You’ll keep your heart rate elevated and your metabolism juiced- both helpful calorie-burning boosts.
Recruit all muscles. Use as many muscles as possible. Stand instead of sit, squat while you work on your upper body and try to work multiple muscle groups in one exercise. Use your time wisely.
