5 Exercise No No's

1. Don't do the same routine every day, or every workout. No matter what you're training for, you need to have variety in order to improve.

2. Don't try lifting a weight that's too heavy- there's just no point in doing it if you can't do it right. If you have to swing the weight and use momentum, it's too heavy.

3. Don't hold your breath! Breathe continuously through the movement to get oxygen to those working muscles. Exhale during the hardest part of the exercise.

4. Don't just arbitrarily go through the motions, FOCUS on what muscle you're working and concentrate on contracting it properly to get the most out of the exercise.

5. Give yourself the chance to fully recover before training the same muscle again. The muscles get stronger during the recovery period, not during exercise. If you don't let them get stronger between workouts, they'll get weaker and you'll back track, big time!

Proper Breathing

Wonder when you are suppose to inhale and exhale during an exercise? You generally want to exhale during the concentric phase - when the muscle shortens, and inhale during the eccentric phase, as the muscle lengthens. So, when performing a bicep curl, for example, you exhale as you lift the weight and inhale slowly down.

What's also important to remember is that the muscle is contracted during the concentric and eccentric phase; don't just let the weight drop after you lift it. Keep the muscle under tension with slow controlled movements as you lift and lower the weight.

Building Muscle VS Losing Fat

My mom and I were just talking about spot training and I think some people might not know what it means when trainers say spot training isn't possible. It's true that it's impossible to take off fat in one particular area by only working that area, but it is possible to shape and define the muscle of a specific body part by doing exercises for it.

You're able to build muscle in one spot, but not able to take off fat in one spot.

So, if you say to a trainer "Just tell me what exercise will get rid of the fat under my arms and belly" they'll say it's not possible to spot train. If you ask a trainer "How do I lift my butt, get definition in my arms, and get a 6 pack", they should be able to list off numerous exercises to get you those results.

Also, if you're looking to lose weight, I can't stress enough that you need to do strength training. You need cardio, absolutely, but strength training will build more muscle mass so that when you do cardio, you'll burn way more calories. AND, it's strength training that will shape your body the way you want. Strength training, NOT cardio, will transform your body. I heard a trainer say once that if you have a pear shape body, and only do cardio, you'll end up just looking like a smaller pear. It's strength training that's going to build, shape, and define your body to make you look like a fit, strong, healthy person.

Get to it people!!