workout because of your pre-exercise stretch.
So what should you do before your workout? Warm-up! Before you run, jump, or do anything strenuous, get your blood flowing for a few minutes by walking or marching in place.
4. Hand Weights While Walking
So you think that rhythmically pumping your arms forward and back while you walk or run helps create momentum, which makes you move forward even faster while simultaneously getting your abs and arms in the toning action (upping the calorie burn)?
Think again. Holding weights actually slows that momentum, decreasing your speed and therefore your cardio output and calorie burn. You are also putting yourself at risk for injury thanks to the repetitive weighted movement and force on your elbows. You can still tone and beef up your muscles while walking by just using the weight of your arms.
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5. Cardio Machine (Well, sort of)
We get it: you’re tired, over it, and just want to get through the last few minutes of your treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical workout, so you rest your elbows or hands on the handlebars and allow your upper body to slightly hunch over.
While you might be relieving your legs of some of the bodyweight burden, you could also be throwing off your alignment, shifting your spine, tensing your shoulders, and agitating your elbows, creating long-term discomfort or even injury, which is not so conducive to a continued effective workout.
Instead, stand up straight and imagine shifting your weight into a different lower body area. For example, if your quads are tired, try to shift your focus to your butt, putting the work into lifting and trimming those cheeks. Stop cheating!
5. “This-Area-Right-Here” Moves
Non-existent. You simply can’t burn fat from a specific area of the body. Fat burns off evenly from the entire body thanks to a combination of cardio, diet, and consuming fewer calories than you burn. You can, however, spot train. In other words, you can hone in on a specific muscle group and you will see a definite difference in how tone that section gets, even if the muscle tone lies under a layer of fat.
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To repeat, there aren’t any magic spells when it comes to exercise. So it’s time to bite the bullet, get up and move your body right now if you want to get a head start.
Stand Your Way To Flatter Abs Exercise (Video)
When people think of getting six-pack abs or a flatter tummy, many turn to crunches or floor exercises to get the job done. But besides diet, good standing posture actually helps flatten your belly too.
Focusing on your posture goes beyond how your midsection looks. Posture is important in fitness because
