Author: Grace Soong

Got results? You’ve been exercising on a regular basis for awhile. So, how’s it working for you? Are you noticing a change in your body? Or have you reached a  plateau ?

Monotonous weight routines. If you’ve been doing the exact same  weight-training  routine or watching 1980s aerobics videos on your old VHS player, then it’s time to mix it up! Your muscles adapt to any given exercise, which is why it’s important to consistently change your weight-training routine. Increase your weight size, add more reps, or try new exercises altogether to break through your muscle-building plateau.

Over-crunching. You do 500 sit-ups every night, and you wonder why your abs still aren’t flat. It’s probably because crunches strictly tend to work your rectus abdominus, just one of your abdominal muscles. In order to truly trim your waistline, you also need to work your external and internal obliques, and your transverse abdominus. Try a variety of abdominal exercises, including Pilates-based moves, to help whittle away your middle.

Cardio queen.  aerobic exercise  is important. You need it to burn calories and maximize heart health. But, cardio is just one part of a well-rounded fitness routine. You also need strength training and stretching. And don’t forget that good nutrition is a big part of your overall health too.

Rushing. When you race through your weight-training reps, you’re allowing momentum to take over, instead of using actual muscle. If you want to see more definition in your muscles, then you must stress the muscles to the point of fatigue. Focus on lifting and lowering your weights with steady control. Take your time, and think about the muscle behind every movement that you perform.

Relying on your workout only. If you are sedentary all day long, and rely solely on your workout to burn calories, then you are missing a wealth of opportunities to improve your overall fitness and well-being. Make just a couple of small changes to incorporate fitness all day long. Park in the farthest parking space when going to the grocery store. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. You’ll burn more overall calories throughout the day.

Tags: aerobic exercise, exercise, good nutrition, muscles, pilates

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 7:48 pm and is filed under Fit and Trim, Fitness, Healthy Living, Nutrition and Health, Strength Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.