July 30, 2009 - 9:25am

Stop the No-results Workout!

Kick the bad habits in the way of your best body

By Yuki Hayashi

1. You’re spending too much time at the gym.
Think short and sweet when it comes to your workouts. Forty-five-minute workouts that incorporate periods of high in-tensity are the fastest route to a lean, toned appearance, says Tommy Europe, personal trainer and host of Slice’s The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp. After your warm-up, do “30 seconds of hard [cardio] work at nine out of 10 on the effort scale, in-terspersed with 90 seconds of light cardio at four out of 10 on the effort scale,” says Stuart Phillips of McMaster University’s exercise metabolism research group in Hamilton. Repeat this high-intensity/low-intensity cardio for 10 minutes, then round out your workout with 30 minutes of strength training. During a workout, “your heart rate should hit 80 percent of your age-predicted maximum,” says Phillips.

2. You’re doing the same old thing.
Beware the workout rut. You need to mix things up and keep your body challenged or the desired slimming will stop, as your body uses less muscle strength and effort (which translates to burning fewer calories) when it becomes used to a particular workout. “Change your routine every 2–4 weeks, says Phillips.