Eating Slowly
If your workouts consist of doing light weights and steady-state cardio, you might be in for some bad news: These things alone won't likely get you the results you're after, say experts. To increase your fitness level, burn fat, and improve muscle tone, you've got to step up your game.
Here are four things women tend to skip that can deliver serious results.
1. High-intensity training.
All that time coasting on the elliptical at a comfortable pace probably hasn't done much for your body, says
High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is typically a 10- to 20-minute workout that alternates short, intense bursts of activity with moderate-exertion recovery periods. "High-intensity interval training is the best way to improve your overall fitness, burn fat, and stimulate your hormones for a stronger body," says Benn.
How to tell if you're training hard enough? Look to your body for clues, Benn says. Good indicators are sweating, increased heart rate, and lactic acid production (i.e., feeling the "burn") during exercise. Moderate muscle soreness for up to a few days post-workout is also a good sign. "If you feel nothing," Benn says, "you probably didn't work out hard enough."
2. Heavier lifting.
For most women, a typical weight-training session equals light dumbbell exercises, says
Start by swapping out your normal weights for slightly heavier ones, and gradually work your way up.
3. Upper body workouts.
Women tend to store body fat around the waist, hips, and thighs, so that's where they typically focus their exercise efforts--neglecting their upper bodies, Benn says.
But you can't spot-reduce fat, and sticking with what's easy can stunt your progress, says Benn. Because you may feel weak while attempting pull-ups for the first time, Benn suggests doing the hard stuff at the start of your workout, "when you're freshest and feeling mentally strong."
"Focusing on underdeveloped muscles will improve the contours of your body," Benn says.
4. Training with a barbell.
Think barbells are synonymous with back-breaking chest presses? Not so. "You can do a tremendous workout just with a barbell," Benn says. "If you're holding a bar rather than using two separate weights, it forces you to get your body in sync."
Barbells are great for both upper- and lower-body exercises. Balancing one across your shoulders while doing squats, lunges, or walking lunges helps develop posture and balance, Benn says.
If you're flirting with a barbell for the first time, go as light as you need to. Even 10 pounds is a good start.
Bonus tip:
If you're worried you'll bulk up with any of these exercises, consider your body type. Benn says women generally fall into two categories: those who build muscle easily, and those who don't. If you build muscle easily, she suggests emphasizing high-intensity exercises. If you develop muscle slowly, you'll benefit from spending more time on heavy lifting.
&nsbp;
Available at Amazon.com:
Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements
Healthy Travel: Don't Travel Without It!
The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu
Get Stronger, Feel Younger: The Cardio and Diet-Free Plan to Firm Up and Lose Fat
Recent Fitness & Exercise Articles
- 4 Things Women Should Be Doing in Their Training But Are Not
- Stoke Your Competitive Fire!
- Shape up With Family-friendly Fitness
- Can Yoga Really Help Me Maintain a Healthy Weight?
- 4 Things Women Should Be Doing in Their Training But Are Not
- Get Moving With a New Fitness Gadget
- 5 Ways to Fire up Your Metabolism
- 7 Shocking Weight-loss Myths
- Get Back on Track
- Make Life-changing Resolutions a Reality
- The Stubborn Belly-fat Solution
- Lose Weight Faster With Mushrooms
- High-tech Help for Weight Loss
- Yoga Does the Body and Mind Good
- Do You Sit Too Much?
- Maximize Your Morning Energy
- Your Mini Work Workout
- Beat Winter: How to Exercise in the Cold
- Get a Jump on Your Fitness with Plyometrics
- Easy Workout Routines to Boost Your Mood
- Are You Exercising Hard Enough?
- Up Your Metabolic Rate with Weights
- Dance Yourself Happy: Why Swinging Your Body Lifts Your Spirit
- How to Get Cardio and Weight Training in 20 minutes
- Gyrotonic: Fitness That's Fun
- The Right Kind of Yoga for You
- Plan to Ski or Snowboard? Strengthen up Now
- Can Crash Diets Be a Good Way to Lose Weight?
- How to Prevent Sports Injuries
- Normal Weight Obesity - A Growing Concern
- The Low-down on Energy Drinks
- The Food Un-coma
- What's the Best Weight-loss Diet?
- Spot the Difference: Sore Muscles vs. Muscle Injury
- Adults at Forefront of Bicycle Boom
- Stone Age Diet Surprisingly Good For a Healthy Life Today
- Fibromyalgia Symptoms Improve With Tai Chi
- The Best Fall Sport for Cardio
- Banish Belly Fat
- Prescription for Better Health: Go Alfresco?
- Suspension Workouts
- Drink Up! Avoiding Dehydration
- Keep Your Athletes Hydrated On and Off the Field
- How to Lose Weight Safely
- Colleges Joining Effort to Turn Around Skyrocketing Obesity Rates
- Milk: When the First Food May Be the Best Food
- How Morning Exercise Can Boost Your Career
- Lose the Weight and Not the Energy
- Stress-busting Walking Workout
- Detox Light
- Wean Yourself Off Processed Foods in 7 Steps
- Buff up Your Back-to-School Body
- Debunking Detox Diets
- Real Shortcuts to Your Dream Body
- Exercise for Kids: 5 Tips for Parents
- 5 Ways to Exercise Safely in the Heat
- Exercise Your Body and Brain
- Winning Water-sport Workouts
- Fit Exercise Into Your Life
- Conquer the Biggest Mud Runs
- Traveling Light: Healthy Eating for Business Junketeers
- Better Ways to Get Your Produce
- Key Foods and Nutrients Especially Beneficial to Your Health
- Healthy Snacks for Energy
- Maximum Fitness: CrossFit Training
- Is Hefty the New Healthy?
- Aerobics Without Heartburn
- Nature's Gym: Exercising Outdoors
- A Lean Mean Stay-fit Exercise Routine
- Take the Work Out of Workout
- Middle-Age Spread and How to Avoid It
- Fiber and Weight Loss: Learn the Secrets
- Weighing the Evidence on 6 Popular Diet Programs
- Regular Exercise Helps Protect Aging Brains
- Lose Weight and Look Great This Summer
- Easy Exercises You Can Do At Home
- Flat Abs for Heartburn Sufferers
- Green Fitness
- How Many Crunches are Enough
- Fit Your Bike For the Perfect Ride
- Is Boot Camp for You?
- After-meal Workout
- Go From Stick to Thick
- Feeling Fatigued? Try Exercise!
- Sports Injuries: Many Preventable & Most Respond Well to Treatment
- Are You Fit or Fat?
- Tai Chi: Secret to Health and Well-being
- Fitness: Walk the Nordic Way
- Fitness: Workout With Your Better Half
Copyright © 2011 U.S. News & World Report