femalenetwork.com

Cosmo gets mountains of mail and e-mail from readers wondering why their workout isn’t working. So we put the question to top NYC fitness pro Joe Dowdell, owner of Peak Performance Sports and Fitness Center. “I hear this all the time. Women come in and complain about how hard they work out, but they still don’t see an improvement in their physique—they don’t lose weight or gain muscle definition. They want to know how they should change their fitness routine in order to get the better body they’re striving for,” he says. There are 10 simple mistakes women make in their training, according to Dowdell—all are easily fixable once you’re aware of the problem, and many of the solutions require cutting down, not adding to your exercise time. So if you’re ready to see a new you, identify your mistakes by taking this quiz, and locate your workout mistakes, then get to work correcting your workout pronto.

Does your workout pass the test?
If you respond yes to one or more of the following questions, your current workout regimen needs a quick fix. To learn how to cure your faulty fitness plan, turn to the chart on the next page.

· Do you experience pain in the knee, ankle, or other joint when you take a fitness class or run on the treadmill? (See problem 1, overtraining; and problem 3, incorrect form)

· Are you doing 1,000 sit-ups a day, but your abs still look more like a jelly doughnut than a washboard? (See problem 4, spot reducing)

· Do you spend one hour a day doing cardiovascular activity but still don’t look toned or see any definition in your muscles? (See problem 8, cardio-crazed)

· Do you feel sore for three days or more after a workout? (See problem 1, overtraining)

· Do the weight machines on the gym floor look like foreign objects to you? (See problem 2, poor planning; and problem 8, cardio-crazed)

· Does your workout seem too easy lately? (See problem 6, stagnation)

· Do you only do one type of exercise? (See problem 7, single-minded workouts)

· Do you figure that since you’re going to work out later, you can order a slice of pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni for lunch? (See problem 5, eating overtime)

· Do you find yourself blowing off workouts to stay home and watch sitcoms or work late at the office? (See problem 10, bad timing)

· When you take a class, do you just go through the motions without really concentrating on what you’re doing? (See problem 9, faking it)

The Get-Smart Chart: Your Fitness Problems Solved
Using the quiz on the previous page and the problem-solution chart here, identify and correct the workout mistakes that are keeping you from getting in the shape you want.

1. Overtraining. You work out for at least an hour everyday but can seem to lose any weight. “Working out aerobically for more than 45 minutes is overkill,” according to Dowdell, “because your body can’t maintain the necessary level of intensity to keep burning fat.

The Solution: Cut your workout down to between 20 and 45 minutes—but raise its intensity. A simple way to tell if you’re working at a high enough intensity: It should be difficult for you to hold a conversation while doing cardio work—otherwise you’re working at too low a level.

2. Poor planning. You go to the gym with no specific goals in mind—thinking, As long as I’m here, I’m working out. If you just wander around the gym, you’ll never complete the proper number of sets or stay on a cardio machine long enough to raise your heart rate.

The Solution:

· Ask a trainer to help you plan a program. (Many gyms offer free intro sessions—call them on it if they have.)

· If you prefer to wing it, be sure your workout includes 20 minutes of aerobic activity, 10 minutes of stretching, and 30 minutes or more of weight training to gain strength.

3. Incorrect form. Doing cardiovascular activity or weight-training exercise with bad form can totally backfire—you may end up working a different muscle group than you intended or put unnecessary stress on your joints. Or worse, the exercise could bulk up an area you’re trying to slim down.

The Solution:

· Ask a spotter on the gym floor or take a class to learn the basics or exercise form.

· A few basic body-alignment pointers: Keep knees slightly bent, abs contracted (to support your lower back), spine straight with shoulders back, and chin at a normal height, not lowered into your neck.

4. Spot reducing. You focus on one area—abs, butt, thighs—and work it hard but still don’t see improvement. “Spot reducing doesn’t work. If you have weight to lose, your muscles won’t look better until you burn off the layer of fat on top of them with aerobic exercise,” says Dowdell.

The Solution:

· Focus on reducing your overall body-fat content with 20 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three times a week.

· Do muscle-strengthening exercises two or three times a week for your entire body—not just your trouble spot—to firm up and tone as well as balance out your proportions.

5. Eating overtime. You figure that since you worked out, you can go for Alfredo sauce on your fettuccine instead of pomodoro. Or you load up your A.M. bagel with cream cheese in anticipation of tonight’s workout. Soon you’re eating all kinds of high-fat food, using your workouts as justification.

The Solution: Get real. If you want to slim down, control what you eat. Have three healthy meals a day to keep your blood sugar balanced. If you exercise at night, have a healthy snack (pretzels, fruit, yogurt) an hour or two beforehand so that you won’t be famished (and tempted to pig out) afterward.

6. Stagnation. You do the same cardiovascular or weight workout month after month without increasing its difficulty. “If you don’t periodically intensify your workout, your muscles will plateau and stop improving, because you’re not pushing them hard enough,” explains Dowdell.

The Solution:

· Boost your cardio routine with interval training, interspersing one minute of more energetic spurts into your workout every five minutes.

· Intensify your weight workout by first adding a few more repetitions. When this becomes too easy, increase the weight.

7. Single-minded workouts. You have one workout you love, and it’s the only one you’ll do. You think it works because you still sweat, but the reality is that your muscles are so used to your favorite activity, they cease to improve because they are only being worked one way.

The Solution:

· “You need to challenge your muscles in different ways to get them perfectly toned,” says Dowdell. “Don’t give up your old workout, just alternate it with a few new ones and your body will start to improve again.”

· Try new weekend fitness pursuits like biking or hiking.

8. Cardio-crazed. You run, jump, bike, walk, skip, and step…but never lift. You’re addicted to the endorphin high you get after a run and crave it. Despite all your sweating, you don’t see as much muscle definition as you’d like and can’t seem to lose weight and keep it off.

The Solution: “Keep up the cardio, but add a strength-training component to your workouts,” says Dowdell. “Lifting weights even just twice a week will increase your muscle mass, which will make your body look more defined and make you a faster calorie-burning machine.”

9. Faking it. You go to aerobics classes religiously but hide in the back and put as little energy as possible into the routine and barely break a sweat. Or you spend your time at the gym flirting and gossiping instead of exercising. Basically you got through the motions without giving it your best.

The Solution:

· Get serious and get focused. “Visualize the better body you want as you work out,” suggests Dowdell.

· When you’re too tired to go to the gym, skip it. “Rest days are important to any fitness program,” he stresses. “If you give yourself a break, you’ll come back stronger.”

10. Bad timing. You schlep your gym bag to the office thinking you’ll slip out at lunch for a fast workout. It never happens. Or you plan to work out after work but can’t seem to get out before 7:30, at which time your energy is nil and you’d much rather hit the pillow than haul it to the health club.

The Solution:

· Get a fitness buddy to keep you motivated even when you’re feeling tired and lazy.

· Exercise in the morning so that nothing can come between you and your workout. Studies show that morning workouts burn the most fats. Plus they give you a start-the-day-off-right energy boost.