In life we are in quest for the best fitness program to shape our bodies to look like the next Jennifer Lopez or Arnold We will lift heavy weights to failure, perform exercises that look out of the ordinary, workout for 2 hours because we think that more is better, and do 1,000 sit ups for a six pack. If this were the solution to exercises then everyone would have a perfect body. Contrary to what believe there is no black or white answer. There are however strategies that can be used to improve the effectiveness of your workouts.

Exercise tempo is a contributing factor that will allow to shed extra calories. Think about if you perform exercises really fast then you will burn fewer calories. Muscles are like rubber bands they stretch and shorten. The elastic capabilities of muscle will create less work. Now if you are an athlete then moving weight in a quick manner is optimal for the specifics of your sport and that is not the goal for dropping body fat. The next time you workout try to slow down your tempo by incorporating a 2 sec down 1 sec up pace, this will put more time under tension on your muscles which will build a larger fire to burn more calories.

Choosing the right exercises is also a major factor for optimal results. Typically we tend to gravitate to machine based training thinking isolating muscles is the answer. Think about if you isolate muscles you are doing less work. Why?? Well if you take the leg extension for example you are only working your quadaceps. Now if you perform a squat you are using quads, hams, hips, and the core plus little muscles that allow stabilizing. Another example is the notorious hip abs and adductor machine. These machines should be banded from all health clubs because they are pointless. Simply tie a band around you legs and side step for ten yards up and back. Doing this will not only work your hips but will help burn more calories.

Additionally manipulating limb angles will create more work on the body. How? Based on the laws of physics any limb or resistance further away for the body will cause the muscles to work harder such as holding a gallon of milk with a straight elbow at shoulder height. Putting this method into action for example performing a push up with the elbow perpendicular to the shoulder will cause more of the burn we desire. Also, holding a medicine ball with elbows straight while moving in a diagonal pattern from the knee to shoulder in a squat position burn 10x more calories.

Now that we have some useful strategies to make our workout effective we can cross out all of the ab, chest, biceps, triceps, leg, and pec machines off our exercise records. Adding these little tweaks will pay off in conjunction with a balanced nutrition plan and cardiovascular exercise. If you feel that you are unable to grasps the concepts then check out body solutions in Voorhees NJ and set up a free consultation with a trainer. The trainer will show you how to implement tempo, exercises, and joint angles into your program.