Cheating your workout

Okay, so I was busy this weekend. I have been trying to make some improvements to the blog and that’s why I added the exercise dictionary page. It is a great addition, but I didn’t like having to find examples of the exercises online and sometimes not even finding exactly what I was looking for. When I did find the exercise and added a link I couldn’t guarantee that it would always be there. I would go back later and click on the links and the webpage had expired. This was frustrating, so I decided to make my own videos of all the exercises I use. This way I will be able to show you the exact moves and I will know it will always be here! So when you click on the the links to the exercises you will be directed to my YouTube page with one of my video’s. I hope this makes the exercises easier to understand. Mind you, these are far from professional videos, but they get the job done! 🙂

So today I wanted to talk a little bit about how you could be cheating your workouts.

Making the decision to get in shape and live a healthy lifestyle is an important part of being the best you can be. The hardest part is taking that fist step.

Now you have been living healthier and hitting the gym more than ever, but you aren’t seeing the results you were expecting. What gives? It might be because you are cheating yourself at the gym. Little shortcuts here and there add up and you might not even know how you are sabotaging your goals.

Here are a few ways you might be cheating your workout and keeping yourself from being in the best shape you can be.

You use ‘girly’ weights– Okay; I am not saying that it is bad to use 5 lb dumbbells. I AM saying that it is bad to use 5 lb dumbbells every time you workout and are not progressing in your weight lifting. The whole point of strength training is overloading your muscles so they become stronger. This is how you reap the benefits and how your body will change. You will begin to see more definition in your core and thinner thighs. You will no longer have flabby arms or a saggy booty. But, you will only see these changes if you continue to work your muscles to exhaustion, using the same 5 lb dumbbells every time is a waste of time.
You rest for too long in between sets– This reduces the intensity of your workout, thus reducing your caloric burn. Your rest should be 30- 60 seconds long. It’s important to actually time it because it makes such a big difference in how many calories you are burning and how effective your workout is. This is why circuit training is so effective.
You use no resistance when on cardio machines– When you are using little to no resistance while on cardio machines momentum is doing most of the work, as opposed to the muscles. This will reduce your calorie burn. Pump up the resistance- walk or run at an incline, or take your cardio outside where you can incorporate hills or even stairs.
You workout at the same pace and intensity the whole time. A plateau is inevitable when doing the same routine at the same pace all the time. Your body gets used to it and you quit burning as many calories. You need to keep your muscles guessing. This keeps the calorie burn up and also keeps you from getting bored!
Not using the right form– Just because it is hard does not mean it is burning calories. It could mean that you are doing the exercise improperly. This could be detrimental to your workouts and could also cause injury. If you have the money, spring for a personal trainer. Just working with them a couple times can benefit you tremendously. Research. Knowledge is power, so look up technique and the right form for staple exercises.

If you avoid these small mistakes you will see a big difference, I promise!

Now, here is an arm tabata workout that will add spice to your routine and give you serious results!

1. Kettlebell swings