Five Fatal Fitness Mistakes, and What To Do About Them–Part 2

As promised, here is part 2 if the Five Fatal Fitness Mistakes. These last two might surprise you. Personally, I think they are the most important of all. If you missed the first 3, click here: First 3 Fatal Fitness Mistakes

4- Not having an action plan when it comes to your exercise - Without knowing what specific steps you need to take, or simply showing up at the gym mindlessly, your ability to change your body or stay consistent with your exercise will be compromised.

If you are doing the same routine, same weights, cardio, even if it seems like you are working hard… you are probably getting the same results. This is not a plateau, but this may be your feedback that you need to change what you do in order to improve or get to the next level.

Changing it up will also keep you inspired and motivated… and ultimately, change you.

Don’t be sure you know how, that is what a personal trainer or coach will do for you, and save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run. Be willing to pay for it, you are well worth it. Avoid the quick fixes.

5- Having an exercise plan that is not aligned with your values - If your goal is to go to the gym regularly but your time there conflicts with job, family, etc., then a gym membership might not be money well spent.

Your desire to exercise needs to be strong and compelling for you to do it. This does not mean if you have too many responsibilities that you can’t workout. On the contrary, without your health, your other responsibilities will be a moot point. Besides, you know as well as I do that some of the busiest people find time to work out!

If you hate working out at a gym, chances are you will get bored and drop out. Weight training and cardio machines are not the end all and be-all. Yes they are efficient and get the job done, but if it is not aligned with your lifestyle or you simply hate it, you will probably quit in the end.

I just had a conversation with someone today who was getting “advice” from a marathon runner. He was trying to tell her she needed to run in order to lose fat. Of course running might indeed make her lose fat but she told me she hated to run, especially outside.

She asked me if she could get the same benefit from dancing. Well, I asked her… have you ever looked at some of the bodies of professional dancers? She immediately saw possibilities where before she only saw limitations.

So what could you do that fits in your lifestyle, burns a lot of calories and you can still have fun?

Five Fatal Fitness Mistakes and What You Can Do About Them

Here are the first 3 of the five fatal fitness mistakes and what to do about them. Next week I will have the other 2!

1- Not getting stronger and increasing muscle mass. If your goal is to lose fat, increasing your muscle mass will increase your metabolism (burn more calories/fat throughout the day). You’ll be stronger, toned, leaner and get rid of cellulite. Establish a consistent routine, ideally 3 times a week.
A) Lift heavier than you did the last time, even if it is for one repetition, and build on that.
B) Slow down. Unless you are doing power-lifting moves or kettlebell swings (both are great), you should not be using momentum.
C) Change up the workout program, the amount of repetitions, the rest periods between sets, the lifting tempo, or the amount of sets you do. Changing the demand on your muscles keeps them from adapting to the same routine.

2- Spending too much time doing ab exercises in hopes of losing belly fat. Your abs may be strong and developed even if you can’t see definition because a layer of belly fat is covering them up. Seeing that amazing coveted 6-pack, takes amazing work. Most of the fat around your belly is a result of your nutrition. Your exercise to reduce belly fat should include interval cardio training and super-sets using high intensity, full body combinations  like squats, pulling and pushing exercises.

3- Thinking that you have to spend a long time doing cardio -Long slow cardio is not the way to burn fat, in fact, it might help you store fat, slow your metabolism, and burn more muscle, not fat.

Let’s suppose you start out at 20 minutes walking on the treadmill. Next you increase it to 30 minutes and so on… until you are walking an hour or more, but you can’t understand why nothing has changed in all that time. Your body has efficiently learned to adapt to the demand you are placing on it… so now it doesn’t need to burn as many calories in order to walk longer. In fact, it becomes very efficient at storing fat and burning off muscle!

Ever watched someone reading a book or talking on the cell phone while on cardio equipment… sometimes for over an hour? Who will burn more calories? The steady walker or the person who is totally focused, breathing hard, sweating and giving it their all-out, either with more resistance or speed?

Just like increasing the weight load with strength training, when it comes to cardio, you need to increase both intensity (how hard) and duration (how long)… and vary the type of exercise. Check out this earlier post on how to do a fat-blasting cardio workout.

If you need help designing a program for your workouts, I can build a 4-week program for you when you sign up for the custom program or you can get a copy of my “Women’s In Home Workout!” E-book that you to the right of this page. These are extremely affordable alternatives to personal training. With the custom program you’ll have access to me personally, and with the self-serve program, you can get effective workouts daily, that are designed based on the information you enter in.

Ten Goal-Setting Tips

You can achieve your goal as long as you follow the ten tips to creating your perfect outcome.

1- Keep the momentum – you may miss a workout here and there, or eat junk food in a moment of stress, but don’t let that be a reason to quit… get back in the game as soon as you can.

2- Use positive self-talk – we all have an inner voice that moves us forward towards our goals… or keeps us from achieving them. What does YOUR inner voice say?

3- Have written and clearly defined goals that are measurable and time bound – do not leave this to chance. Be specific about what you want, when you want it and an action plan of how you are going to achieve it.

4- Don’t reinvent the wheel – If something is already proven, backed by reliable scientific evidence, why wouldn’t you want to follow it exactly as it is?

5- Be willing to pay for it – This is not just about the money. It could cost you time, hard work, going out of your comfort zone, and this is where people often give up or use these “obstacles” as excuses. You cannot put a price on your health… it makes everything in your life run smoothly.

6- Run your own race, wear blinders if you have to - Do not let the “nay-sayers” and “sabotagers” get in your way. Stay focused and surround yourself with people who support you and your goal.

7- Make sure you want it bad enough – Is this goal worthy of your best efforts? Have a strong and powerful reason for wanting to achieve your goal.

8- Make sure it is consistent with your values - will this affect your responsibilities? Is it consistent with the way you see yourself?

9- Always buy the best equipment, don’t scrimp – you will end up saving a lot of time and money in the long run if you just do it right to the best of your ability in the first place.

10- Have a large goal in mind but chunk it down into smaller goals. When your goals are achievable you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Set progressively higher goals to keep the momentum.

New Year’s Resolutions

I want to thank everyone for all the kind wishes and positive
words I received over the year. I really love what I do and it is
extremely rewarding to know I have helped facilitate a change
that improved the quality of your life.

It is hard to believe that we are not only closing another year,
but a decade too!

For the first blog post of 2010, I would like to give you some
helpful tips to “master” the art of making New Year’s
Resolutions to create the outcomes you want.

First, consider a few questions:

1- Is your nutrition healthier than it was 10 years ago… or
even one year ago?

2- Have you been doing the same exercise routine year after
year but your body has shown no improvement?

3- Were you better off ten years ago in terms of your lifestyle?

Most people make resolutions. That is only the beginning.
Resolutions are the words you speak. They sound like great
ideas but they don’t really mean anything unless they are
accompanied with a plan of action.

Talk without action is only dreaming about a possibility…
and that’s a good start, because all actions begin with a
thought or a desire. When you make a commitment… and
make the appointment that is written in your schedule and
prioritized, guess what… you get it done, no kidding.

I am re-launching my New Year’s Resolution program from
last year at the same price with more added bonuses…
Because guess what, you will get it done, no kidding and
here’s why… it’s those tips I was going to tell you about…

http://bestbodymakeover.com/newyear/

1. Know what worked. It is important to identify all the
things that have worked well for you in the past. Commit
to them… do them consistently and more often.

2. Pay attention to what you learned. Whether you
reach your desired outcome or not, that knowledge is the
feedback that will help you advance. Then, you can speed
up your results each time around and not repeat the same
mistakes over and over again.

3. Have a plan in advance before you set your goal
rather than make it up as you go along. Without a plan you
will waste time. Setting a goal is just the start, achieving
your goal requires a consistent plan of action for both
training and nutrition.

4. Know what it will cost. Every goal has a cost… and it’s
not just about money. It can cost you time, it could cost
you a relationship, and it can cost you your health if you don’t
do it… Most of the costs lie outside your comfort zone. This
is probably what gets most people into trouble.

People don’t realistically think about the cost of what it will
take to achieve their goals. They are unwilling to pay the
price and quit at the first obstacle.

5. You are worth it, pay the price! That’s right… This may
be tough love but if it’s a goal you want, you need to suck it
up! This is your life and quite frankly you cannot put a price
on your health.

If you cannot honestly say you have improved your nutrition
or exercise habits over the past year or decade; then you can
make the next weeks, months, even decade ahead be different
that the last 10 by making a decision and a commitment to
change no matter what price.

Find out more about New Year’s resolutions and how you can
keep yours by clicking on this link:

http://bestbodymakeover.com/newyear/

You will discover everything you need to succeed: nutrition,
cardio training, strength training, and your motivation to do it
all. You will stay focused on the resolutions you make.

I will be customizing this program for you with personal
one-on-one attention. Nobody else gives you this kind of
support.

There is one catch… because it is important that I give you top
quality attention, it is very time intensive for me, I have to limit
this to 12 people.

As an added incentive to make 2010 a significant year of change
for you, grab this offer before January 6th, and save big time
for a limited time.

http://bestbodymakeover.com/newyear/

All the best in 2010!
Lauren