Unfortunately, you cannot pick or choose which areas you would like to burn fat. If your goal is to decrease belly fat by doing an excessive number of crunches you are simply wasting your time. Being able to see your abdominal muscles is directly related to your overall body fat percentage. If you don’t lose the belly fat you won’t see your abdominal muscles. This also goes for your thighs, hips and buttocks. In order to see the ‘tone’ in your muscles you need to have a balanced workout routine which includes both cardiovascular and strength training elements. This leads into the whole toning vs. building discussion I hear so many women talking about. Here it is ladies: ‘toning’ and ‘building’ muscles are the same thing! The more ‘toned’ you appear is the direct effect of the muscle you have built. So, don’t be afraid to lift some heavy weights as this is what will give you the results all of us women are after.

2. If I lift a lot of weights I will bulk up.

If I had a dollar for every time as a fitness instructor that I heard women say this... Fortunately for them, this is never an issue. Sure, some of us are genetically predisposed to putting on muscle with more ease than others but women are not born with the same amount of testosterone that men are born with and in general women are a smaller species with less bone mass than men therefore making it all the more challenging to “bulk up”. A key element that is always overlooked is that bulking up has much more to do with your diet than your training. In order to bulk up you need to consume an excessive number of calories on a regular basis and you need to partner this with lifting an excessive amount of weight on a regular basis. Let’s face it...if this was in fact a true statement, I would think that we would have many more men walking around looking like The Rock or at the very least Jason Momoa ;)

3. The longer my workouts are the better my results will be.

2 Complete 10 kettlebell swings, 10 thrusters, 10 renegade rows, plank for 60 seconds.

5. Running on a treadmill places less stress on your knees than running on pavement.

Whether running on a treadmill or running outdoors, it is the force of bodyweight on your joints that causes stress. Adding variety to your workout routine is the best way to avoid knee impact and by variety, I mean strength training. Since strength training increases muscle mass and improves joint stability the odds of suffering a knee related injury are significantly decreased if the muscles supporting these joints are strong. If you are an avid runner and this is your only mode of exercise I would highly suggest that you mix it up with strength training to not only avoid knee related injuries but to help support the rest of your body which is hitting the pavement or the treadmill on a regular basis. Strength training will assist you in having a strong upright posture which is something that can easily be lost if running is your only mode of exercise.

6. Machines are safer than free weights.

Unless the machines you are using are set at the proper weight and height for your body you can still make just as many mistakes around your form and still have just as high a risk of injury on a machine as you would with free weights. In my opinion, performing exercises using free weights are much more effective. Using free weights are more similar to real life situations compared to using a machine for assistance. An example of this is squatting down to pick up a child, moving a piece of furniture or carrying something up the stairs. This is also referred to as ‘functional’ training as it mimics everyday life. With that being said, ANY form of exercise is better than not any at all so if machines are where it’s at with you then you are on the right path!